JP4878278B2 - Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs binding processing on a binding side after forming a sheet bundle by overlapping sheet materials, and more particularly to processing for maintaining confidentiality of inner pages of a sheet bundle that also serves as binding processing.

  2. Description of the Related Art A sheet processing apparatus has been put to practical use that forms a sheet bundle by superimposing image-formed sheet materials and then binds the binding sides of the sheet bundle. A sheet processing device for bundling various printed materials using a band material having an adhesive layer such as a heat seal at the end, and by binding and bagging a sheet material printed with test questions etc. A sheet processing apparatus that imparts confidentiality to the inner page has also been put into practical use.

  A number of technologies for providing confidentiality to the inner pages of a sheet bundle using a staple binding device that is standardly provided in a sheet processing apparatus and staples the binding edges of a sheet bundle at multiple locations to form a booklet. Or has been proposed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet processing apparatus that forms a sheet bundle by stacking sheet materials, and then folds the sheet with the image forming surface facing inward, and staples the open side of the bundle fold.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a sheet processing apparatus that wraps a long confidential sheet around a sheet bundle by circling the opposite side of the binding side of the sheet bundle, and binds the needle bundle by binding the sheet bundle at the binding side. Indicated. In addition, it is described that perforations are formed in both the security holding sheet and the sheet material in order to easily release the security of the sheet bundle.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a sheet processing apparatus that wraps a band material longer than the length of one turn of a sheet bundle around the sheet bundle as the sheet bundle moves, and processes the sheet material into an envelope.

JP-A-9-71362 JP-A-9-165136 JP-A-7-1890

  In the security keeping process disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to remove the staple binding when releasing the security of the sheet bundle. When removing the needle binding, a special tool is required, which requires considerable work time and skill including preparation, and a binding mark hole that is difficult to see after removal remains. At the same time as the confidentiality is released, the sheet bundle is separated, and there is a possibility that the sheet material on which the confidential information is printed out may be lost or the page order may be disturbed.

  In the security holding process disclosed in Patent Document 2, since a separately formed sheet bundle is sandwiched inside a large security holding sheet that is folded in half, a large mechanism space and a large mechanism are required. Since the sheet bundle is hidden inside the folded large-format security sheet, the staple binding cannot be positioned with high reproducibility at the exact position of the binding side of the sheet bundle during the staple binding process.

  In addition, since a fixed-size security sheet is used, if the thickness of the sheet bundle increases and the length of the security sheet becomes insufficient, staple binding cannot be performed at a fixed binding position of the sheet bundle. For this reason, if the staple binding position is shifted to the center side of the sheet bundle in accordance with the length of the confidential sheet, it is applied to the print portion of the sheet material, and the contents printed in the booklet state cannot be read. Further, a mechanism and control for detecting the edge of the confidential sheet and shifting the staple binding position to the center side of the sheet bundle are required, and it is difficult to incorporate the function into an existing sheet processing apparatus.

  On the other hand, when using a long security sheet from the beginning assuming a thick sheet bundle, the thin sheet bundle is stitched with the edge of the security sheet protruding greatly from the binding side and looks and handles. The performance (loading ability) will deteriorate. In order to trim the edge of the confidential holding sheet that has protruded after staple binding, the trimming mechanism must be cut together with the sheet bundle, but it is impossible to incorporate the cutting mechanism into an existing sheet processing apparatus as an additional function.

  In the envelope bundling process of the sheet bundle shown in Patent Document 3, it is necessary to prepare an envelope material sheet cut according to the sheet size and thickness of the sheet bundle to be handled. Patent Documents: Envelopes cannot be formed if the envelope material sheet is shorter than the sheet bundle, and if the envelope material sheet is too long compared to the sheet bundle, the glue margin becomes wider and the finished state (envelope) looks worse. Same as 2.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of realizing a good-looking security process by a simple mechanism arranged in a small mechanism space.

A sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a restraining member feeding unit that feeds a restraining member that restrains a sheet bundle by being wound around a sheet bundle formed of a plurality of sheet materials, and the supplied restraining member is connected to one end of the sheet bundle. A looping means that hangs the both ends of the restraining member on the other end of the sheet bundle, and the restraining member that is looped around the sheet bundle by the circling means is a sheet bundle at the other end of the sheet bundle. Binding means for performing the binding process integrally, and control means for changing the length of the restraining member supplied by the restraining member supply means according to the thickness of the sheet bundle. The binding means binds the other end of the sheet bundle at a plurality of binding positions, and the restraining member supply means sets a separate restraining material or the plurality of binding positions for each of the plurality of binding positions. A single constraining material can be selectively supplied .

In the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, the restraining member supplying means supplies the restraining member having a length according to the thickness of the sheet bundle, in other words, the length of the state in which the confidential holding process is integrated with the sheet bundle. Thus, orbiting means, when the restraining member by circulating opposite the binding side of the sheet bundle, overlapped the ends of the restraint member on the front and back of the binding side of a sheet bundle, binding the ends of the restraining member It can be accurately positioned on the side. In addition, the binding unit can bind the sheet bundle and the end portion of the restraining member at a fixed position inside the binding side that is set to look good regardless of the thickness of the sheet bundle.

Accordingly, even if there is no mechanism for moving the binding means to the center side of the sheet bundle following the end of the restraint member , or a mechanism for trimming the restraint member and the sheet bundle integrally after the binding process, the confidentiality maintaining process with good appearance is performed. Can be executed. With a simple mechanism arranged in a small mechanism space, it is possible to realize a confidential processing with good appearance.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The sheet processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment described below. As long as the sheet bundle is kept confidential with the band material fixed also for binding the sheet bundle, it is possible to implement another embodiment in which a part or all of the configuration of the embodiment is replaced with the alternative configuration. .

  In this embodiment, an independent sheet processing apparatus installed on the downstream side of the apparatus main body for image formation will be described. However, the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention may be built in the housings of various upstream devices, and the control of the sheet processing device may be performed by a control device of the upstream device or an independent external control device. Good.

  In this embodiment, an image forming apparatus that forms a full-color image by transferring toner images of respective separated colors on a sheet material in an overlapping manner will be described. However, the image forming apparatus of the present invention can adopt not only an electrophotographic image forming apparatus but also an ink jet system, a thermal transfer system, various printing systems, etc., and various types such as a printing machine, a copying machine, a printer, a FAX, a multifunction machine, etc. It is possible to implement according to the application.

<Image forming apparatus>
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus. 1A is an overall view, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the image forming apparatus 10 has a sheet processing apparatus 200 as an independent optional apparatus connected to the downstream side of the apparatus main body 100 that forms an image on the sheet material S. The apparatus main body 100 includes image forming units 105, 106, 107, and 108 that are unitized in common by changing the toner filled in the developing device to yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. The sheet material S used for image formation is taken out one by one from the cassettes 101, 102, 103, and 104 for each size, and conveyed by being adsorbed and supported on the transfer belt 120.

  The image forming units 105, 106, 107, and 108 transfer and superimpose yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toner images respectively formed by electrophotography on the sheet material S on the transfer belt 120. The sheet material S carrying the four-layer toner images superimposed thereon is conveyed to the fixing device 110 and subjected to heat and pressure, whereby the toner image is fixed on the surface and a full-color image is formed. The sheet material S on which the full color image is formed is discharged to the sheet processing apparatus 200.

  The sheet processing apparatus 200 stacks the sheet materials S received one by one from the apparatus main body 100 on the processing tray 213 to form a sheet bundle St. The sheet bundle St formed on the processing tray 213 is moved to the sheet bundle conveyance path 294, and the edge on the rear end side is stapled by the stapler body 240. The sheet bundle St that has been subjected to the staple binding process is delivered to the bundle delivery belt 250 and then delivered to the lower delivery stacking table 261.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the apparatus main body 100 includes an operation input unit 151 that performs various settings and operation commands interactively through a touch panel. The control unit 150 controls each unit of the apparatus main body 100 according to various settings and operation commands input through the operation input unit 151.

  The sheet processing apparatus 200 includes an independent control unit 160 that is different from the control unit 150 of the apparatus main body 100. The control unit 160 controls electric parts 170 such as a motor, a sensor, a solenoid, and a clutch, and operates a mechanism 180 such as a roller, a belt, and a flapper. However, the control unit 160 may be provided integrally with the control unit 150 of the apparatus main body 100 to control the sheet processing apparatus 200 directly from the apparatus main body 100 side.

<Sheet processing device>
2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a buffer operation, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a gripping operation of a sheet bundle, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a band sheet conveying operation, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the band sheet hanging operation.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet material S is sequentially transferred from the entrance roller 201 to the transport rollers 202 and 203 and the buffer transport roller 204 and guided to the transport flapper 211. The conveyance flapper 211 switches between a conveyance path 292 for forming the sheet bundle St and an upper discharge path 293 for discharging and stacking the sheet material S as it is without forming the sheet bundle St. The sheet material S conveyed to the upper discharge path 293 is discharged from the upper conveyance roller 207 via the upper discharge roller 208 onto the upper discharge stacking table 260 that can be moved up and down.

  When the transport flapper 211 is switched to the transport path 292, the sheet S is transferred from the buffer transport roller 204 to the lower paper discharge roller 206 and discharged to the processing tray (bundle forming unit) 213. When the sheet material S is stacked on the processing tray 213 to form the sheet bundle St, the sheet bundle St is moved to the sheet bundle conveyance path 294, and the processing of the sheet bundle St is started. Until the processing of the sheet bundle St is completed, the succeeding sheet material S cannot be received on the processing tray 213, and during that time, a plurality of received sheet materials S are put on standby in the buffer path 291 (hereinafter referred to as buffer). Action).

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the conveyed sheet material S1 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the buffer conveying roller 204, and stops on the conveying path 292 in a state where the rear end of the buffer conveying roller 204 does not come off. To do.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the buffer flapper 210 is switched in the direction of the arrow C, and then the sheet material S1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow B so as to return to the buffer path 291. Then, the sheet material S <b> 1 stops near the position where the rear end (original front end) has passed through the buffer flapper 210.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the buffer flapper 210 is switched in the direction of the arrow D, and the sheet material S1 in the buffer path 291 is moved to the arrow in time with the sheet material S2 conveyed next. It is conveyed in the E direction. By changing the conveyance start timing of the sheet material S1 in the arrow E direction, the amount of deviation when the sheet material S1 overlaps the sheet material S2 can be arbitrarily changed.

  The sheet material S2 conveyed in the direction of the arrow D overlaps with the sheet material S1 in the vicinity of the buffer flapper 210, and is conveyed to the conveyance path 292 in an overlapped state, and stops with the rear end of the buffer conveyance roller 204 being not pulled out. .

  Thereafter, by repeating the operations of (a) to (c) in FIG. 3, the number of sheets can be further increased to 3, 4, and the sheet material can be superimposed on the conveyance path 292. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet materials S1 and S2 that have been waiting on the conveyance path 292 are transferred to the lower discharge roller 206 and wait for the processing tray 213 to be received, and are processed in the overlapping state. It is discharged to the tray 213.

  Subsequent sheets S that are not buffered are discharged one by one onto the sheet materials S1 and S2 stacked on the processing tray 213. Each time the sheet materials S 1, S 2, and S are discharged to the processing tray 213, the leading edges of the sheet materials S 1, S 2, and S are aligned with the leading edge reference plate 214. Each time the sheet materials S1, S2, and S are discharged to the processing tray 213, the sheet materials S1, S2, and S are pushed to the width of the sheet materials S1, S2, and S in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface by a pair of side end alignment plates (not shown). Side edge aligned. In this manner, the stacking and alignment of the sheets S are repeated until the number of sheets on the processing tray 213 reaches the number of sheets, thereby forming the sheet bundle St.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the sheet bundle St is formed on the processing tray 213, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 moves in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle St and grips the leading end side of the sheet bundle St. The sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 is disposed at three positions in the width direction of the sheet bundle St that does not interfere with the stapler main body 240 and the needle receiving portion 241 when ascending / descending, and in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle St, the position where the sheet bundle St is gripped and opened. Move to and from the position. The sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 moves up and down along the sheet bundle conveyance path 294 while holding the sheet bundle St, and positions the staple binding position of the sheet bundle St on the stapler main body (binding means) 240.

  The leading edge reference plate 214 is a regulating member that serves as an alignment reference in the conveying direction of the sheet materials S1, S2, and S discharged to the processing tray 213. It is mounted so that it can rotate in any direction. The front end reference base 216 is movable in the direction of arrow F with the front end reference plate 214 provided in order to accommodate sheet materials S of different sizes.

The band sheet ( restraint member ) Bs is supplied as a consumable for exclusive use of confidentiality processing in which a strong paper material ( restraint material ) with a width of 30 mm is wound into a roll, and a plurality of rolls are loaded for each staple binding position of the stapler body 240 Then, it is stored in the body of the sheet processing apparatus 200. When performing the confidentiality holding process, the band sheet Bs passes through the sheet bundle conveyance path 294 in the thickness direction and is gripped at one end by the band presser 234.

In the process in which the sheet bundle St gripped by the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 moves down the sheet bundle conveying path 294, the band sheets Bs are sequentially pulled out from the roll without interfering with the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220, and the sheet bundle. The lower end of St is circulated and overlapped on the front and back of the sheet bundle St.

  The cutter (cutting means, perforation processing means) 235 is controlled by the control unit (160: FIG. 1B) of the sheet processing apparatus 200 to cut the band sheet Bs into a required length. The control unit (control unit) 160 designates the size, the material, and the number of stacked sheets of the sheet material from the control unit (150: FIG. 1B) on the apparatus main body 100 side. The required length of the band sheet Bs is a length that wraps around the opposite side from the binding side on the front side of the sheet material St and reaches the binding side on the back side, that is, twice the length in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle St. And the thickness of the sheet bundle St. The cutter 235 also serves as a perforation processing device that forms perforations at a plurality of positions (specific positions) in the longitudinal direction of the band sheet Bs.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 moves the gripping part 221 in the H direction in the drawing so as to grip the sheet bundle St, and holds the sheet bundle St between the gripping part 222. Hold it. FIG. 4B shows a state where the sheet bundle St is gripped by the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220.

  In FIG. 4A, only the gripping part 221 is described, but both the gripping part 221 and the gripping part 222 may be moved, and the gripping part 221 is fixed and gripped. The part 222 may be moved. Further, in the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220, in order to prevent a deviation from the sheet bundle St, a pad material made of a rubber material, a cloth, or the like as a base material is used for the sheet contact surfaces of the grip portion 221 and the grip portion 222. Or it may have an uneven shape.

After the sheet bundle St is gripped by the sheet bundle conveying mechanism 220, as shown in (c) of FIG. 4, the tip reference plate 214, in order to enable the transport of downstream of the sheet bundle St, in the direction of arrow G Rotate. Here, the protection guide 223 is a member that is positioned between the band sheet Bs and the sheet bundle St and protects the leading end of the sheet bundle St, and interferes with the leading end reference plate 214 in correspondence with the band sheet Bs. It is placed in a position that does not.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4D, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 moves in the direction of the arrow I while holding the sheet bundle St, and conveys the sheet bundle St downstream.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), in the initial state, the band sheet Bs is held at the leading end side by the conveying roller 230 ( restraining member supply means ) while being previously cut by the cutter 235 and stopped. is doing. The cutter 235 performs perforation processing and cutting processing on the band sheet Bs that is pulled out of the roll by the transport roller 230 and transported.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the cutting edge of the cutter 235 has an uneven shape like a saw blade, and by changing the amount of penetration of the cutter 235, perforation and cutting processing are performed. Switch. The cutting edge of the cutter 235 has a concave portion 239 and a convex portion 238. When only the convex portion 238 is allowed to enter the band sheet (Bs: FIG. 2), a perforation is formed, and both the convex portion 238 and the concave portion 239 are formed. When it enters, it becomes a cutting process.

  A band sheet cradle (not shown) is arranged facing the cutting edge of the cutter 235, and the amount of penetration of the cutter 235 is determined by two levels of the band sheet cradle biting amount of the cutter 235 by an abutment mechanism (not shown). To adjust. As shown in FIG. 7B, the band sheet Bs is perforated so that the perforation Mm is positioned at the center of the surface of the sheet bundle St.

  Note that the processing varies depending on the desired type of the final sheet bundle, for example, it is possible to select not performing perforation processing depending on the setting level of the security preserving processing.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, as the band sheet Bs is conveyed by the conveying roller 230, the delivery guide 236 rotates in the direction of the arrow L about the rotation shaft 237 and stands in the sheet bundle conveying path 294. . The leading end of the band sheet Bs is guided by the upper surface of the upright delivery guide 236, passes through the sheet bundle conveyance path 294, and is delivered to the opposing band presser 234. When the front end of the band sheet Bs reaches the band presser 234, the band presser 234 holds the front end of the band sheet Bs as shown in FIG. Then, the delivery guide 236 rotates again to return to the original position, retracts from the sheet bundle conveyance path 294, and does not hinder the lowering of the sheet bundle (St: FIG. 2). In the process of pulling out the band sheet Bs from the roll, the cutter 235 is moved in the arrow K direction to perform perforation.

  The decurling roller pair (231, 232) contributes to the conveyance of the band sheet Bs together with the conveying roller 230. In order to eliminate the curling of the band sheet Bs wound in a roll shape, the upper decal roller 231 is formed of a foam having a low hardness with respect to the lower decal roller 232. Therefore, the lower decurling roller 232 bites into the peripheral surface of the upper decurling roller to form a nip, and the winding is corrected by the band sheet Bs passing through the nip.

  In this embodiment, a mechanism that corrects curling using the decurling roller pair (231, 232) is adopted, but the method is not specified, and in addition, a belt, a roller, three or more Even a mechanism using a roller is not particularly problematic.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the band sheet Bs automatically circulates to the leading end side of the sheet bundle St as the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 ( circulating means ) descends, and on the front and back of the sheet bundle St. Superimposed.

  In a state where the band sheet Bs is disposed through the sheet bundle conveyance path 294, the sheet bundle St gripped by the sheet bundle movement mechanism 220 is conveyed through the sheet bundle conveyance path 294. The band sheet Bs is gradually pushed downward on the leading end side of the sheet bundle St and gradually pulled out from the roll.

  At this time, if the leading end of the sheet bundle St and the band sheet Bs are in direct contact, the edge is caused by frictional contact with the band sheet Bs when the number of the sheet bundle St is small or when the sheet S is thin paper. Part turning, wrinkles, dents, etc. may occur.

  Therefore, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 is provided with a retractable protection guide 223 that protects the leading end of the sheet bundle St in the traveling direction. The protection guide 223 is arranged at a position corresponding to the band sheet Bs with a length corresponding to the width of the band sheet Bs. Then, it can move in the width direction of the band sheet Bs and can appear and retract so as to retreat from the gap between the sheet bundle St and the band sheet Bs.

  Prior to the start of lowering, the protection guide 223 is set at the position facing the band sheet Bs of the sheet bundle St, and the sheet bundle St reaches the position where the band sheet Bs stands by with the protection guide 223 at the head (FIG. 4 ( d), FIG. 7 (a)). Thereafter, the supply of the band sheet Bs and the movement of the sheet bundle St by the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 are performed, and the band sheet Bs is pushed and bent with the front end in the conveying direction of the sheet bundle St as a top, and is hung on the sheet bundle St.

  Then, the band sheet Bs is cut by the cutter 235 at the timing when conveyance of the length necessary for the confidentiality holding process is completed, and at the same time, the band presser 234 releases the nipping of the front end portion of the band sheet Bs. As a result, the band sheet Bs is hung as a single sheet on the front and back of the sheet bundle St. Further, the protection guide 223 moves away from the gap between the sheet bundle St and the band sheet Bs.

  Thereafter, the pressure roller 242 presses and superimposes the band sheet Bs on the surface of the sheet bundle St, applies a predetermined braking load to the band sheet Bs and the sheet bundle St, and removes looseness of the band sheet Bs. As a result, it is possible to prevent the band sheet Bs from being loosened in the sheet bundle conveying path 294 and the adhesion from being lost.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the sheet bundle St conveyed by the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 has its binding edge positioned on the stapler body 240 (binding means), and is stapled by the stapler body 240 and the needle receiver 241. Then, a staple binding process also serving as a confidentiality holding process is performed. The stapler main body 240 strikes the needle toward the needle receiving portion 241, penetrates the overlap between the band sheet Bs and the sheet bundle St, and collides the tip of the needle with the needle receiving portion 241 to bend inward. Thereby, both ends of the band sheet Bs are bound to the sheet bundle St by the stapler body 240 and the needle receiver 241.

  In FIG. 7B, both ends of the band sheet Bs protrude from the binding side of the sheet bundle St, but in practice, the cutting length of the band sheet Bs is controlled as described above to It is made to correspond to the binding side of the sheet bundle St.

  Further, the withdrawal time of the protection guide 223 may be before or after the bundling operation by the stapler main body 240 and the needle receiver 241. The protection guide 223 is moved to a position where the end of the original sheet bundle St can be protected when the next sheet bundle is processed.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, after the bundling operation, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 further lowers and conveys the sheet bundle St, and then releases the restraint of the sheet bundle St, thereby removing the sheet bundle St. Delivered to the bundle discharge belt 250. The bundle discharge belt 250 conveys the sheet bundle St and discharges the sheet bundle St onto the lower discharge stacking table 261.

<Control of sheet processing apparatus>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of control of the sheet processing apparatus. FIG. 8 illustrates the above-described confidentiality holding process as a process of the control unit 160 illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the job content is transmitted from the control unit 150 of the apparatus main body 100, the control unit 160 of the sheet processing apparatus 200 determines whether or not to perform confidentiality processing (band processing) (S11). ).

  If band processing is designated (YES in S11), the control unit 160 stacks the sheet material S on the processing tray 213 to form a sheet bundle St (S12). When the sheet bundle St is formed, the control unit 160 clamps the leading end of the sheet bundle St with the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 (S13). The controller 160 causes the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 to lower the sheet bundle St in the sheet bundle conveyance path 294 (S14).

  In parallel with the control of S12 to S14, the control unit 160 starts supplying the band sheet Bs by the conveying roller 230 and the decurling roller pair (231, 232) (S21). The control unit 160 determines whether or not perforation is specified (S22), and if specified (YES in S22), performs the perforation with the cutter 235 (S23). If there is no designation, the band sheet Bs is cut by the cutter 235 at the predetermined lowering position of the sheet bundle St, and is waited at the initial position (S24).

  Banding is completed when the sheet bundle St is positioned on the stapler main body 240 by the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 (S15). The control unit 160 determines whether or not the stapling process is designated (S16). If the stapling process is designated (YES in S16), the protection guide 223 is retracted (S17), and the stapler body 240 is moved. Operate (S18).

  Note that when the confidentiality processing (band processing) is designated (YES in S11), the stapling processing is always designated. Even when the band process is not specified (NO in S11), if the staple process is specified (YES in S16), the control unit 160 retracts the protection guide 223 (S17) and operates the stapler body 240. (S18). When the stapling process is completed (S18), the control unit 160 releases the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220, transfers the sheet bundle St to the bundle discharge belt 250, and discharges the sheet bundle St onto the lower discharge stacking table 261 (S19).

  However, if the stapling process is not designated (NO in S16), the control unit 160 releases the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 without operating the stapler body 240 and receives the sheet bundle St on the bundle discharge belt 250. Pass (S19).

<Modified example of confidentiality processing>
The form of the sheet bundle subjected to the confidentiality holding process is not limited to the form shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, (a) is an explanatory view of another form of the security keeping process, and (b) is an explanatory view of another form of perforation position.

  In the form shown in FIG. 9A, the sheet bundle St is subjected to the security maintaining process using the wide band sheet Bs that straddles the two staple positions Sp. However, the width of the band sheet Bs is shorter than the width of the sheet bundle in order to secure the grip margin by the sheet bundle moving mechanism outside the staple position Sp (not gripped in the middle of the staple position Sp).

  It can also be mailed as an open book by filling in a destination on the band sheet Bs and sticking a stamp. A perforation Mm is formed at a position close to the staple position Sp on the front and back sides of the sheet bundle St and the leading end side. For this reason, when the band sheet Bs is broken at the perforation Mm, the portion remaining on the sheet bundle St of the band sheet Bs reinforces the staple position Sp, and the sheet bundle St can be prevented from loosening and the sheet material from falling off. . When the sheet material is thin or weak, the needle binding portion can be reinforced.

  Whether to supply a band material for each staple binding position or to supply a wide band material across two needle binding positions is prepared according to the security level by preparing multiple rolls with different widths. . Needless to say, the present invention is also effective in the case of performing confidentiality protection processing across three or more staple binding positions. When there are a plurality of needle binding positions, the band binding material may be supplied to each group by dividing the needle binding position into several groups.

  FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram in the case where the perforation positions are changed in a form corresponding to FIG. 7B. Needless to say, the present invention is also effective when the security holding process is performed at each of three or more staple binding positions. Since the perforation Mm is formed at a position close to the staple position Sp on the front and back of the sheet bundle St, after the band material is broken from the perforation Mm to release the confidentiality, the remaining band material is removed from the staple binding portion. Reinforcement is as described above.

  In this embodiment, the security processing is added to the sheet processing apparatus capable of bundle formation and staple binding, but may be implemented as a security processing dedicated machine. The present invention may be implemented in a form that does not incorporate a bundle forming mechanism and performs confidentiality processing on a sheet bundle that has been conveyed from another upstream apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, the band sheet Bs is rolled and mounted in the machine body. However, the band sheet that has been trimmed to a predetermined length from the beginning and perforated at a predetermined position is stored in a cassette in a stacked state and is stored in the machine body. May be installed. In this case, a long band sheet may be prepared, the length may be adjusted according to the sheet size and thickness of the sheet bundle St, and then the staple binding process may be performed by superimposing the front and back of the sheet bundle St.

  In the present embodiment, the protective guide 223 is lowered integrally with the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220. However, the protective guide 223 is lowered prior to the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 to form a band that conforms to the appearance of the sheet bundle St. The sheet Bs may be bent. In this case, after retracting the protection guide 223, the sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 can be lowered to superimpose the sheet bundle St and the band sheet Bs.

  In the present embodiment, the band sheets Bs are sequentially pulled out from the opposite side of the sheet bundle conveyance path 294 by pressing down the band sheet Bs by the protective guide 223 with the leading end of the band sheet Bs fixed to one side of the sheet bundle conveyance path 294. However, the center position in the longitudinal direction of the band sheet Bs is positioned below the protective guide 223, cut to a required length, the sheet bundle St is lowered without restraining both ends of the band sheet Bs, and the band in a folded state is obtained. It may be superimposed on the sheet Bs. In this case, an extra standby space for the band sheet Bs is necessary, but the friction of the band sheet Bs against the tip of the sheet bundle St is somewhat reduced.

<Effect of this embodiment>
In the present embodiment, when the sheet bundle St is fastened by a binding tool such as a staple, a band band sheet Bs having a side shorter than one side of the sheet bundle to be bound by the sheet bundle St is wrapped around the band bundle St. Supply as material. The band sheet Bs is wound around so as to enclose the sheet bundle St and fastened together with the sheet bundle St by the binding means. Therefore, if the band sheet Bs is broken while the bound sheet bundle St, the print information can be easily viewed. It becomes possible. Then, the band sheet Bs is broken and the sheet bundle St is declassified by using a mechanism for inserting perforations at an arbitrary position with respect to the supplied band sheet Bs or using a band sheet with perforations. Is easy.

  Since the band sheet Bs has a width shorter than the binding side of the sheet bundle St, it is possible to clearly indicate necessary information and information that must be displayed to the used one while satisfying the security function of the sheet bundle St. Is possible. Since the end portion of the sheet bundle St is open, it is possible to directly inspect for defects in the sheet bundle St such as missing pages.

  On the other hand, in the security holding process shown in Patent Documents 2 and 3, since the security holding sheet or envelope is covered over the full width of the sheet bundle, it is possible to check the printed contents of the sheet bundle, the collation, or the cover part. Have difficulty. As shown in Patent Document 2, when a perforation for releasing confidentiality is formed on all pages of a sheet bundle, a cut portion from the perforation narrows the printable area of the sheet bundle.

  The band sheet Bs is prepared in a roll shape, and the length of the band sheet Bs is changed depending on the thickness, number of sheets, and the like of the sheet bundle St. Therefore, the bound sheet bundle St can be obtained without changing the binding position of the staple or the like. it can. Since the band sheet Bs is used after being cut to a required length each time, it is possible to cope with various sizes of the sheet material S and the thickness of the sheet bundle St with one type of roll. However, if it is desired to change the width of the confidential information portion depending on the level of confidentiality, a plurality of rolls having different widths may be prepared and selectively used.

  Further, since the band sheet Bs is perforated, when the separation of the band sheet Bs and the sheet bundle St is necessary for viewing the sheet bundle St, the separation work can be easily performed. . Even after the separation, the cut end of the band sheet Bs remains in the sheet bundle while being staple-bound, so that the binding force of the sheet bundle St does not decrease, the binding hole does not spread, and the sheet material does not fall off.

  Further, not only can the binding force be changed arbitrarily by changing the material of the band sheet Bs, but if a transparent material is used, necessary information under the band sheet Bs can be clearly indicated. For example, by making the band sheet Bs a transparent film or the like, necessary information written on the front cover and back cover of the sheet bundle St can be clearly shown to the user, and mistakes can be prevented. .

  Compared with the security process shown in Patent Document 1, when browsing the sheet bundle after releasing the security, a tool for removing the binding tool such as a staple is unnecessary, and labor and time are saved. The

  Compared to the confidentiality preservation process shown in Patent Document 2, the width of the band sheet Bs is narrow, so it is easy to check the surface writing of the sheet bundle St, and to check problems in the sheet bundle such as missing pages. Compared to a band sheet having the same width as the sheet bundle St, it is easy to break and open.

  Further, when the sheet bundle St becomes thicker, the length of the band sheet Bs is adjusted so that the end of the band sheet Bs is properly aligned with the binding side of the sheet bundle St, so that the staple binding is performed by the thickness of the sheet bundle St. There is no need to change the position to the inside of the sheet bundle St. Therefore, the spreadability of the sheet material is not impaired in the unpacked state. There is no case where the tubular band seal is pulled up and down and the contents of the sheet bundle St are stolen. Since evidence of breakage remains, it is not necessary to overlook that the contents of the sheet bundle St have been stolen.

  Accordingly, it is possible to provide a sheet processing apparatus 200 that can form a sheet bundle that can be easily opened and can be easily bundled while enhancing security.

  In addition, it is possible to make the best use of the mechanism and control of a sheet processing apparatus capable of bundling processing including a processing tray 213, a sheet bundle moving mechanism 220, a stapler main body 240, and the like. Can provide functionality.

<Correspondence with Invention>
The sheet processing apparatus 200 is supplied with a stapler main body 240 that performs binding processing on the binding sides of the sheet bundle St formed of a plurality of sheet materials S, a conveyance roller 230 that supplies a band sheet Bs that restrains the sheet bundle St, and the like. A sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 that circulates the band sheet Bs on the opposite side of the binding side and superimposes both ends of the band sheet Bs on the front and back sides of the binding side of the sheet bundle St. Both ends of the overlapped band sheet Bs are bound together with the binding side. However, the transport roller 230 or the like changes the length of the supplied band sheet Bs according to the thickness of the sheet bundle St.

  The sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 and the like overlap each other with the both ends of the band sheet Bs aligned with the binding side end of the sheet bundle St. The transport roller 230 and the like are loaded and accommodated with a roll-shaped band material obtained by winding the material of the supplied band sheet Bs into a roll shape. The cutter 235 cuts the supplied band sheet Bs from the roll-shaped band material. The controller 160 calculates a necessary length of the band sheet Bs from the thickness of the sheet bundle St and the sheet size of the sheet bundle St, and cuts the band material to the necessary length using the cutter 235.

  The cutter 235 also serves as a perforation processing unit for forming a perforation in the band sheet Bs, and the control unit 160 forms a perforation at a specific position of the band sheet Bs using the cutter 235. However, the band material may be previously subjected to perforation or other processing that facilitates cutting at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction.

The band sheet Bs has a width shorter than the length of the binding side of the sheet bundle . A plurality of types of band materials having different widths may be accommodated, and the band materials may be switched according to the required finished appearance.

  The stapler main body 240 performs a binding process on a plurality of binding positions on the binding side, and the transport roller 230 or the like supplies different band sheets Bs in parallel to the plurality of binding positions.

  The sheet processing apparatus 200 includes a processing tray 213 and the like that form the sheet bundle St by superimposing the received sheet material S, and the stapler main body 240 also serves as a means for binding the formed sheet bundle St into a booklet shape. . That is, it is also possible to output a booklet-like sheet bundle that is not subjected to confidentiality processing.

  The sheet processing apparatus 200 includes a sheet bundle moving mechanism that moves the sheet bundle St from the processing tray 213 with the opposite side of the binding side as the head and positions the binding side on the stapler main body 240. The sheet bundle moving mechanism 220 and the like rotate the band sheet Bs around the sheet bundle St as the sheet bundle St is moved by the sheet bundle moving mechanism, and both ends of the band sheet Bs are placed on the front and back sides of the binding side of the sheet bundle St. Overlapping.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a sheet processing apparatus 200 and an apparatus main body 100 that forms an image on the sheet material S and discharges it to the sheet processing apparatus 200.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of a sheet processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a buffer operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing of the holding | grip operation | movement of a sheet bundle. It is explanatory drawing of the conveyance operation | movement of a band sheet. It is explanatory drawing of a band sheet cutting blade. It is explanatory drawing of a band sheet hooking operation | movement. 6 is a flowchart of control of the sheet processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of another form of confidentiality-keeping processing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 100 Image forming means (apparatus main body)
200 Sheet processing apparatus 105, 106, 107, 108 Image forming unit 110 Fixing device 160 Control means (control unit)
204 Buffer transport roller 206 Lower paper discharge roller 207 Upper transport roller 208 Upper paper discharge roller 210 Buffer flapper 211 Transport flapper 213 Bundle forming means (processing tray)
214 Tip reference plate 216 Tip reference table 220 Band material rotating means (sheet bundle moving mechanism)
221, 222 Gripping part 223 Protection guide 230, 231, 232, 234, restraining member supply means (conveying roller, upper decal roller, lower decal roller, band presser)
234 Band presser 235 Cutting means, perforation processing means (cutting device)
238 Cutting edge convex part 239 Cutting edge concave part 240, 241 Binding means (stapler body, needle receiving part)
261 Lower discharge stacking base 291 Buffer path 292 Transport path 293 Upper discharge path 294 Sheet bundle transport path S, S1, S2 Sheet material St Sheet bundle Bs restraining member, restraining material (band sheet)
Mm perforation

Claims (14)

A restraining member supply means for feeding a restraining member that is hung around a sheet bundle formed of a plurality of sheet materials and restrains the sheet bundle;
A circulating means for wrapping the supplied restraining member around one end of the sheet bundle and superimposing both ends of the restraining member on the other end of the sheet bundle;
Binding means for binding the binding member wound around the sheet bundle by the winding means integrally with the sheet bundle at the other end of the sheet bundle;
Control means for changing the length of the restraining member supplied by the restraining member feeding means according to the thickness of the sheet bundle ,
The binding means binds the other end of the sheet bundle at a plurality of binding positions;
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the restraining member supply means can selectively supply separate restraining materials for each of the plurality of binding positions or a single restraining material straddling the plurality of binding positions . A constraint member that accommodates a plurality of types of constraint materials with different widths and is wound around a sheet bundle formed of a plurality of sheet materials to restrain the sheet bundle is selectively supplied from the plurality of types of constraint materials. A restraining member supply means;
A circulating means for wrapping the supplied restraining member around one end of the sheet bundle and superimposing both ends of the restraining member on the other end of the sheet bundle;
Binding means for binding the binding member wound around the sheet bundle by the winding means integrally with the sheet bundle at the other end of the sheet bundle;
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to change a length of the constraint member supplied by the constraint member supply unit in accordance with a thickness of the sheet bundle. 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wrapping means overlaps the sheet bundle with both ends of the constraining member wound around coincident with the other end portion of the sheet bundle. The restraining member supply means has a cutting means for cutting and forming the restraining member from a restraining material,
The control means calculates a necessary length of the restraining member from the thickness of the sheet bundle and the sheet size of the sheet bundle, and cuts the restraining material into the necessary length using the cutting means. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the control unit forms a perforation at a specific position of the restraining member using the cutting unit. The restraining material, the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 to 5 any one of claims, characterized in that are in advance subjected to machining becomes easy cutting at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction. The restraining material, the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it has a width shorter than the length of the binding side of the sheet bundle. A constraining member supplying means for supplying a constraining member for constraining the sheet bundle by being wound around a sheet bundle formed of a plurality of sheet materials, and having a cutting means for cutting the constraining member from the constraining material;
A circulating means for wrapping the supplied restraining member around one end of the sheet bundle and superimposing both ends of the restraining member on the other end of the sheet bundle;
Binding means for binding the binding member wound around the sheet bundle by the winding means integrally with the sheet bundle at the other end of the sheet bundle;
Calculating the length of the restraining member supplied by the restraining member supply means from the thickness of the sheet bundle and the sheet size of the sheet bundle, and cutting the restraining material into the computed length using the cutting means; And a control means for controlling to form a perforation at a specific position of the restraining member using the cutting means . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the wrapping unit overlaps the sheet bundle with both ends of the constraining member wound around coincident with the other end portion of the sheet bundle. 10. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the constraining material is preliminarily processed at a plurality of positions in the longitudinal direction so as to be easily cut. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the constraining material has a width shorter than a length of a binding side of the sheet bundle. A bundle forming means for forming a sheet bundle by superimposing the received sheet material,
The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the binding unit also serves as a unit that binds the sheet bundle formed by the bundle forming unit into a booklet shape. The circling means circulates the restraining member around the sheet bundle by moving the sheet bundle from the bundle forming means and positioning it with respect to the binding means, and both ends of the restraining member are connected to the other end of the sheet bundle. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the sheet processing apparatus is superposed on the sheet processing apparatus. Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a, a sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13 for processing a sheet with an image formed.

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