JP4910906B2 - Recording material cutting and conveying apparatus and recording material processing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording material cutting and conveying apparatus and a recording material processing apparatus using the same.

Conventionally, as a recording material cutting and conveying device used in a recording material processing apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer, for example, a pair of discharging rolls as a conveying member for discharging a recording material to a discharge receiving receptacle, and coaxial with the discharging roll And a rotary blade pair as a cutting member for cutting the recording material side portion in the width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction, and the recording material side portion is cut simultaneously with the discharging of the recording material. (See Patent Document 1).
In such a recording material cutting / conveying device, the recording material cutting / conveying device rotates to the downstream side in the recording material conveying direction from the nip area of the discharging roll so that the user does not accidentally touch the rotary blade from the discharging / accommodating / receiving side. A protective cover is disposed as a protective member that covers the blade pair.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-262408 (see Embodiment 1, FIG. 3)

  A technical problem of the present invention is that a recording material cutting and conveying apparatus capable of effectively preventing a recording material discharge failure caused by the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the conveying member riding on the protective member of the cutting member and A recording material processing apparatus using the same is provided.

The invention according to claim 1 is a pair of conveyance members that sandwich and convey a recording material, and a width direction side portion that is provided in the vicinity of the conveyance member and that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording material conveyed by the conveyance member A protection member that protects the cutting member so as to cover at least a downstream portion of the cutting member in the recording material conveyance direction, which is positioned below the recording material conveyance path and is located below the cutting material conveyance path. An extruding member that contacts the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material that has passed through the clamping area of the member and is pushed out to a position where the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material gets over the protective member, and the extruding member includes the conveying member The recording material cutting / conveying apparatus is characterized by moving forward and backward with the rotation center of the recording material as a swing fulcrum .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pair of conveying members that sandwich and convey a recording material, and a width direction side portion that is provided in the vicinity of the conveying member and that is orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording material that is conveyed by the conveying member. A protection member that protects the cutting member so as to cover at least a downstream portion of the cutting member in the recording material conveyance direction, which is positioned below the recording material conveyance path and is located below the cutting material conveyance path. An extrusion member that contacts the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material that has passed through the member clamping area and is pushed out to a position where the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material gets over the protective member, and conveys the recording material more than the conveyance member It is provided on the upstream side in the direction so as to be able to be contacted and separated, and has a paired contact / separation conveyance member that sandwiches and conveys the recording material at the time of contact, and the pushing member operates following the separation operation of the contact / separation conveyance member It is characterized by being That is a recording material cutting conveying device.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to the first or second aspect , the cutting member is provided coaxially with the conveying member and rotates, and recording is performed simultaneously with the holding and conveying operation of the recording material by the conveying member. The recording material cutting and conveying apparatus is characterized in that the material is cut.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to the first or second aspect , the pushing member pushes the upstream end in the conveying direction of the recording material near the protective member in the width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveying direction. It is a recording material cutting and conveying apparatus characterized by being a thing.

The invention according to claim 5 is the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the pushing member repeats the pushing operation of the recording material a plurality of times .
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the recording material, and a recording material cutting and conveying device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects that cuts and conveys the recording material processed by the processing unit. A recording material processing apparatus provided.
The invention according to claim 7, orthogonal first and the recording material cutting conveying device for cutting the widthwise sides perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction, the recording material conveyance direction by the first recording member cutting conveying device A recording material cut and conveyed by the first recording material cutting and conveying device, and a recording material cut and conveyed by the first recording material cutting and conveying device. A direction-changing transport mechanism for transporting toward the second recording material cutting / conveying device and a recording provided on the downstream side of the second recording material cutting / conveying device and cut by the second recording material cutting / conveying device. and a recording material containing received for accommodating the timber, the recording material processing apparatus is characterized in that to use a recording material cutting conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in the second recording member cutting conveying device is there.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the recording material discharge failure caused by the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the conveying member running on the protective member of the cutting member , and to newly support the recording material. It is possible to dispose the extruded member at an appropriate place without providing a member or the like, and the configuration can be simplified while saving space.
According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to effectively prevent the recording material discharge failure caused by the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the conveying member running on the protective member of the cutting member, As the drive source, it is possible to use a drive source for contacting and separating the contact / separation transport member without the need to provide a new drive source.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3 , a structure can be simplified, without adding the rotating shaft etc. of a cutting member separately.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4 , the recording material edge part which climbed on the protection member of a cutting member can be extruded effectively.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5 , the extrusion operation | movement of the recording material edge part which got on the protection member of a cutting member can be stabilized .
According to the invention of claim 6 , a recording material processing apparatus capable of effectively preventing a recording material discharge failure caused by the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the conveying member running on the protective member of the cutting member. Can be built.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 7 , the recording material processing apparatus which can discharge | emit the recording material by which the periphery dimension was cut | judged to the optimal dimension to a recording material accommodation receptacle can be constructed | assembled.

Outline of Embodiment Model First, an outline of an embodiment model to which the present invention is applied will be described.
1A and 1B show an outline of a recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to an embodiment model embodying the present invention.
In the figure, a recording material cutting and conveying apparatus is provided with a pair of conveying members 2 (for example, 2a and 2b) for nipping and conveying a recording material 1, and provided in the vicinity of the conveying member 2 and conveyed by the conveying member 2. A cutting member 3 (for example, 3a, 3b) that cuts the width side portion orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording material 1 and the cutting member 3 that is located below the recording material conveyance path and is cut by the cutting member 3 A protective member 4 that protects at least the downstream portion in the recording material conveyance direction from the area, and an upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material 1 that has passed through the sandwiching area of the conveyance member 2 and conveys the recording material 1 And an extrusion member 5 that is pushed out to a position where the upstream end in the direction gets over the protection member 4.
According to this aspect, the push-out member 5 pushes the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material 1 to the recording material 1 after passing through the nipping region (nip region) of the transport member 2. Recording material discharge failure due to the material 1 riding on the protective member 4 is effectively prevented.
That is, when this mode is not used, when the recording material 1 passes through the nip region of the conveying member 2, the conveying force does not act on the recording material 1, and the recording material 1 is not sent to the discharge receiving side, for example. There is a concern that the upstream end of the recording material 1 in the transport direction rides on the protective member 4 that covers the cutting member 3, and recording material discharge failure such as the recording material being out of order on the discharge receiver may occur.

This type of recording material cutting apparatus is often incorporated into a recording material processing apparatus.
An example of this type of recording material processing apparatus includes a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the recording material and a recording material cutting and conveying device that cuts and conveys the recording material processed by the processing unit.
Here, a typical example of the processing unit is an image forming unit (an image forming method can be appropriately selected such as an electrophotographic method, an ink jet method, an electrostatic recording method, etc.). And a mode in which various types of processing (perforation processing, bending processing, binding processing, etc.) are performed.
Further, as a mode of cutting the peripheral dimension of the recording material as the recording material processing device, a first recording material cutting and conveying device for cutting a width side portion orthogonal to the recording material conveying direction, and the first recording material cutting a second recording member cutting conveying device for cutting the widthwise sides perpendicular to the conveyance to and the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material in a direction perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction by the conveying device, wherein the first recording medium A direction changing and conveying mechanism for conveying the recording material cut by the cutting and conveying device toward the second recording material cutting and conveying device; and a second downstream side of the second recording material cutting and conveying device. Examples include a recording material storage receiver that stores the recording material cut by the recording material cutting and conveying device. In this aspect, the above-described recording material cutting / conveying device (an aspect including the conveying member 2, the cutting member 3, the protective member 4, and the extrusion member 5) may be used for the second recording material cutting / conveying device.

In such technical means, the present embodiment model is based on an aspect in which the cutting member 3 is provided together with the conveying member 2 and at least a part of the cutting member 3 is covered with the protective member 4.
Further, the conveying member 2 may have a pair configuration in which the recording material 1 is nipped and conveyed, and as a form thereof, a roll shape, a belt shape, or the like may be appropriately selected, but a roll shape is typically used.
Here, in order to improve the cutting accuracy by the cutting member 3, it is necessary to keep the recording material 1 flat when cutting. For example, in order to secure the surface rigidity of the recording material 1, the recording material 1 is corrugated. It is not possible to use a conveying member 2 such as a corrugation roll.
Further, the cutting member 3 may be appropriately selected as long as the side portion of the recording material 1 can be cut. For example, a linear moving type in which the recording material 1 is cut by moving a cutting blade up and down is applied. It is also possible to use a rotary type that cuts the side portion of the recording material 1 using a pair of rotary blades that rotate mainly in the conveying direction of the recording material 1.
Furthermore, the cutting member 3 should just be provided in the vicinity of the conveyance member 2, for example, if it is a rotation type, besides the aspect provided coaxially with the conveyance member 2, the aspect provided in the axis | shaft different from the conveyance member 2 is provided. Is also included. In this case, the cutting member 3 may cut one side portion of the recording material 1 using the pair of rotary blades 3a and 3b, or may use a plurality of pairs of rotary blades 3a and 3b. The recording material 1 may be cut at one side.

The protective member 4 is a functional member that prevents the user from accidentally touching the cutting member 3. However, after the conveying member 2 has passed through the clamping area (nip area), the conveying force by the conveying member 2 is a recording material. 1, there is a possibility that the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material 1 remains on the protection member 4 and remains without being conveyed. The model of the present embodiment has been devised to solve such a problem.
Here, the protection member 4 is a member that is positioned below the recording material conveyance path in the cutting member 3 and protects at least the downstream portion in the recording material conveyance direction from the cutting area of the cutting member 3. It suffices that the upstream side portion of the recording material 1 in the transport direction is on the protective member 4. For example, if the cutting member 3 has a vertically paired configuration, it is possible to cover the downstream portion of the cutting member 3b disposed in the lower side than the cutting area of the cutting member 3b.

Further, the pushing member 5 may be any member that abuts on the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material 1 and pushes it out.
This is because, for example, when an auxiliary conveying member such as a paddle or a roll contacts the surface of the recording material 1 to apply a conveying force, there is a risk of damaging the image on the surface of the recording material 1. This is because it is difficult to secure an installation space for providing such an auxiliary conveyance member immediately after the conveyance member 2.
Further, as the drive system for the pushing member 5, a dedicated drive source may be used, or a drive source of another functional member constituting the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus may be used.
Furthermore, if the pushing member 5 pushes out the upstream end in the carrying direction of the recording material 1 after being conveyed in the holding area of the conveying member 2, the pushing member 5 can move against the moving recording material 1 immediately after the conveyance. The upstream end in the transport direction may be pushed out, or the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material 1 that has come to rest on the protection member 4 may be pushed out.

From the viewpoint of simplifying the configuration, the cutting member 3 is provided coaxially with the conveying member 2 and rotates, and the recording material 1 is cut simultaneously with the nipping and conveying operation of the recording material 1 by the conveying member 2. It is preferable.
Further, it is preferable that the pushing member 5 pushes the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material 1 in the vicinity of the protection member 4 in the width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction.
In this case, for example, when the recording material 1 resting on the protection member 4 is viewed from the width direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction, the distance from the protection member 4 increases, in other words, the closer to the center of the recording material width direction. While being bent and bent, the amount of bending is smaller in the vicinity of the protective member 4. Therefore, by extruding the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material 1 in the vicinity of the protective member 4, it is possible to effectively extrude the end of the recording material 1.

Moreover, as a preferable operation mode of the pushing member 5, it is possible to repeat the pushing operation of the recording material 1 a plurality of times.
According to such an aspect, even if the recording material 1 cannot be extruded by a single operation, the recording material 1 can be extruded by a plurality of extrusion operations, so that the recording material 1 can be reliably extruded. Is possible.
The number of operations may be appropriately selected according to the extrusion capability of the recording material 1, the transport speed of the next recording material 1 transported from the upstream side in the recording material transport direction, and the like.
Furthermore, as a drive transmission mechanism for the push-out member 5, from the viewpoint of space saving and simplification of the configuration, there is one that moves forward and backward with the rotation center of the transport member 2 as a swing fulcrum.
Furthermore, as a preferable drive transmission mechanism for the push-out member 5, a contact / separation conveyance member having a pair structure (providing contact and separation between the conveyance member 2 and upstream of the conveyance direction of the recording material 1) is provided. (Not shown), and the pushing member 5 is operated following the separating operation of the contacting / separating conveyance member.
In this case, the contact / separation transport member may be appropriately selected such as a roll shape or a belt shape, but typically a roll shape member is used.
According to such an aspect, it is preferable in that the drive source for contacting and separating the contact / separation conveyance member can be used as the drive source for the push-out member 5 without newly providing a drive source.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows Embodiment 1 of a recording material processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, a recording material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes an image forming device (printer device) 11 for creating an image, and high gloss processing is performed on an image on the recording material S above the image forming device 11. And a post-processing device 12 for cutting and conveying the recording material S and an image reading device 13 for reading a document.
Further, the image forming apparatus 11 is provided with a first recording material container 30 and a second recording material container 31 for supplying a recording material S such as paper to the lower part of the image forming housing 20, and above the first recording material container 31. An image forming engine 40 capable of forming a color image on the recording material S from the one recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31 and an unfixed toner image on the recording material S that has passed through the image forming engine 40 are fixed. The first fixing device 60 is provided. In addition, a recording material conveyance path 70 that is a conveyance path for the recording material S from the first recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31 is formed at a facing portion of the image forming engine 40.

  The image forming engine 40 used in the present embodiment adopts an electrophotographic system, and is four colors of yellow (Y color), magenta (M color), cyan (C color), and black (K color). The image forming units 41 (41 a to 41 d) are arranged in parallel to the intermediate transfer belt 50. Therefore, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the respective image forming units 41 (41a to 41d) are sequentially primary-transferred and multiplexed on the intermediate transfer belt 50, and the multiplexed toner images are secondary-transferred ( A secondary transfer roll 53) is transferred onto the recording material S conveyed from the first recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31 at a time, and guided to the first fixing device 60. . Note that the color arrangement of the four-color image forming units 41 is not limited to this order, and may be any other order.

The image forming unit 41 (41a to 41d) in the present embodiment is charged with a photosensitive drum 42 as an image holding body that forms and holds each color component toner image, and a charger 43 that charges the photosensitive drum 42. An exposure device 44 such as a laser scanning device that forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 42, a developing device 45 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 42, and a toner image on the photosensitive drum 42. For example, a primary transfer roll 46 that performs primary transfer onto the intermediate transfer belt 50, a cleaning device 47 that cleans residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 42, and the photosensitive drum 42 that has been cleaned by the cleaning device 47 are neutralized. A static elimination roll 48 is provided.
In the present embodiment, the exposure device 44 exposes the entire four-color image forming unit 41 with a common one.
Reference numeral 49 denotes a toner replenisher that replenishes the developing unit 45 with toner.
Further, the intermediate transfer belt 50 is stretched around a plurality of stretching rolls 51 and 52, and is circulated and conveyed, for example, with the stretching roll 51 as a driving roll and the stretching roll 52 as a driven roll. However, the tension roll 52 is opposed to the opposite roll. Further, a cleaner 54 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 50 is disposed at a position facing the tension roll 51 of the intermediate transfer belt 50.

In the present embodiment, the first fixing device 60 includes a heating roll 61 having a built-in heating source, and a pressure roll 62 disposed to face the heating roll 61.
Furthermore, the recording material conveyance system in the present embodiment accommodates, for example, a first recording material container 30 that accommodates, for example, coated paper dedicated to photographic images as the recording material S, and A3 size plain paper as the recording material S, for example. A second recording material container 31, and a pickup roll 32 for feeding the recording material S at a predetermined timing and a recording material S in the vicinity of the first recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31. A scrubbing roll 33 and a retard roll 34 are provided, and only the uppermost recording material S can be sent out.
The recording material conveyance path 70 extends substantially vertically upward from the first recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31 and conveys rollers 71 and 72 for conveying the recording material S, and recording to the secondary transfer position. An alignment roll 73 for adjusting the conveyance timing of the material S and a switching gate 74 on the downstream side of the first fixing device 60 are provided.
Further, the recording material conveyance path 70 is connected to the post-processing apparatus 12 via the main conveyance path 77 for guiding the recording material S to the first discharge receptacle 76 via the discharge roll 75 by the switching gate 74 and the discharge roll 78. Branches to a connection conveyance path 79 that guides.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a post-processing device 12 that obtains a high-quality image having no margin such as a photographic image is provided.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the post-processing device 12 includes a second fixing device 100 that is disposed in the post-processing device casing 15 and re-fixes an image on the recording material S, and a second fixing device 100. An X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200 that conveys the recording material S sent from the fixing device 100 in the same direction (X direction) and cuts both sides of the recording material S in a direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction, and X-direction cutting. A Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 300 that conveys the recording material S in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the cutting direction by the conveying mechanism 200 and cuts both sides of the recording material S in a direction orthogonal to the recording material conveying direction. Yes.
In the present embodiment, when a photographic image is obtained, the surface of the recording material S that has been fixed by the first fixing device 60 is further fixed by the second fixing device 100 to thereby fix the surface. Smooth finish and high gloss image can be obtained. In the present embodiment, the second fixing device 100 is provided in the post-processing device 12. However, the second fixing device 100 is not limited to this, and may be provided on the image forming device 11 side or separately. It may be provided.
The post-processing apparatus housing 15 is provided with a second discharge receiver 16 through which the recording material S after re-fixing and cutting is sent (see FIG. 4).

In the present embodiment, the second fixing device 100 includes a heating roll 110 with a built-in heating source, and an endless fixing belt 120 is bridged between the heating roll 110 and the stretching rolls 121 and 122. A heat sink 130 as a cooling member for cooling the recording material S is disposed inside the tensioned fixing belt 120, and a pressure roll 140 is provided to face the heating roll 110 through the fixing belt 120. is there.
The heating roll 110 includes a release layer made of, for example, a PFA tube on the surface of a metal cylindrical core 112 in which, for example, a halogen heater 111 as a heating source is built.
On the other hand, the pressure roll 140 includes, for example, a metal cylindrical core 141, an elastic layer 142 made of, for example, silicone rubber formed on the surface of the core 141, and formed on the surface of the elastic layer 142, for example. It is comprised with the mold release layer which consists of a PFA tube etc.
Further, the fixing belt 120 is constituted by a member in which a coating layer having high smoothness made of fluorine rubber, silicone rubber, or the like is formed on the surface of an endless film substrate made of, for example, thermosetting polyimide.
Further, on the downstream side of the second fixing device 100, peeling guide members 150 and 151 for peeling the recording material S are disposed on the downstream side of the stretching roll 121 immediately after the heat sink 130. A delivery roll 160 for delivering the recording material S is provided on the downstream side of the release powder inner members 150 and 151.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5A, and 5B, the X-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 200 includes a position detector 210 that detects the leading or trailing end position of the recording material S to be conveyed. A pair of conveyance rollers 220 that sandwich and convey the recording material S, and the recording material S is conveyed on the downstream side of the conveyance roller 220 and both sides of the recording material S in a direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction are cut. A cutting / conveying unit 230 serving as a recording material cutting / conveying device, and a stop conveyance roll 250 that conveys the recording material S that has passed through the cutting / conveying unit 230 and stops the recording material S at a predetermined position are provided.
Here, the transport roll 220 includes a drive roll 221 and a driven roll 222 disposed in contact with the drive roll 221. Further, the stop conveyance roll 250 is a contact / separation conveyance roll provided with a drive roll 251 and a driven roll 252 that can be contacted / separated with respect to the drive roll 251, and both rolls when conveying the recording material S in the X direction. 251 and 252 are arranged in contact with each other so that the recording material S can be nipped and conveyed, and when the recording material S is conveyed in the Y direction, both rolls 251 and 252 are arranged apart from each other.
4 is a view of the post-processing device 12 shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the A direction, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are views as viewed from the A direction and the B direction in FIG.

The Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 300 includes a pair of conveying rolls 320 that sandwich and convey the recording material S stopped after being conveyed in the X direction by the X-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 200, and the conveying rolls. A cutting and conveying unit 330 is provided as a recording material cutting and conveying device that conveys the recording material S on the downstream side of 320 and cuts both sides of the recording material S in a direction orthogonal to the recording material conveying direction.
Here, the transport roll 320 is, for example, a contact / separation transport roll provided with a drive roll 321 located on the lower side and a driven roll 322 that can be contacted / separated on the upper side of the drive roll 321, and an X-direction cutting transport mechanism. While the recording material S is being transported by 200, both rolls 321 and 322 are spaced apart, while when the recording material S is transported in the Y direction, both rolls 321 and 322 are placed in contact with each other. Can be nipped and conveyed.

Next, details of the cutting and conveying unit 330 of the Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 300 will be described. Although the cutting and conveying unit 330 of the Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 300 will be described here, the basic configuration of the cutting and conveying unit 230 of the X-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 200 is substantially the same.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the cutting / conveying unit 330 of the Y-direction cutting / conveying mechanism 300 includes a pair of conveying rolls 350 as conveying members provided on the opposed rotating shaft 340 and the rotating shaft 340. And a pair of rotary blades 360 as cutting members provided on the outer side in the axial direction of the transport roll 350.
Here, as the transport roll 350, for example, a drive roll 351 disposed on the lower side of the paired configuration and a driven roll 352 that is disposed in contact with the upper side of the drive roll 351 and sandwiches and transports the recording material S are provided. .

Further, the rotary blade 360 is, for example, a part of the lower rotary blade 361 disposed on the lower side of the pair configuration and the upper rotary blade 362 disposed on the upper side of the pair configuration arranged in a overlapping manner in the cutting region R. It is.
In this example, the lower rotary blade 361 has an outer blade structure having a sharp blade on the outer side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 340 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A and 8B. It is disposed along a plane orthogonal to the rotation shaft 340 via a holding bush 363 fitted and mounted on the 340.
On the other hand, the upper rotary blade 362 has an inner blade structure having a sharp blade on the inner side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 340, and is inclined with respect to the outer blade surface of the lower rotary blade 361 by a predetermined angle θ. ing. Here, in the mounting structure of the upper rotary blade 362, the stopper 365 is fixed to the inner side in the axial direction of the upper rotary blade 362 of the rotary shaft 340, while the upper rotary blade 362 is pressed against the stopper 365 by the biasing spring 366. Further, a protrusion 367 is provided on a part of the stopper 365, and the upper rotary blade 362 is held by the protrusion 367 in an inclined arrangement at a predetermined angle θ.
The inclination angle θ of the upper rotary blade 362 is a parameter for maintaining good cutting performance by the rotary blade 360 and is appropriately selected.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the cutting conveyance unit 330 is provided with a protective cover 370 as a protective member.
The protective cover 370 is provided to prevent the user from accidentally touching the rotary blade 360 from the side of the discharge opening (not shown) to the second discharge receiver 16. A covering portion 371 that covers a downstream portion in the transport direction of the recording material S from the cutting area R of 361 is provided, and is fixed to, for example, a part of the post-processing device casing 15.
This type of protective cover 370 may cover at least the portion of the rotary blade 360 facing the discharge opening (not shown) to the second discharge receiver 16, and in this embodiment, the lower rotary blade 361 is covered. The corresponding portion is covered, but if there is a possibility that the user may accidentally touch the upper rotary blade 362 in relation to the discharge opening, the upper rotary blade 362 is also not shown in the drawing. A protective cover may be provided.
Note that the protective cover 370 described above is not provided in the cutting / conveying unit 230 of the X-direction cutting / conveying mechanism 200 because there is little concern that the user directly touches the rotary blade 360.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cutting and conveying unit 330 is extruded to push the recording material S that has passed through the nipping area (nip area) of the conveying roll 350 to the second discharge receiver 16 side as shown in FIGS. A mechanism 400 is provided.
The pushing mechanism 400 has push arms 410 that can move forward and backward between the upper roll (driven roll in this example) 322 of the transport roll 320 and the upper rotary blade 362 on both sides in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 340. . The push arm 410 is formed by forming a slit 412 in which a rotary shaft 340 is slidably fitted in a plate-like arm body 411, and one end of the push arm 410 is connected to a link mechanism 415.
In this example, the link mechanism 415 rotatably supports the link support shaft 416 on the post-processing device casing 15, and the link arm 417 is formed so as to protrude from the portion corresponding to the push-out arm 410 of the link support shaft 416. At the same time, the free end of the link arm 417 is rotatably joined to one end of the push arm 410, while the link support shaft 416 is directed toward the contact / separation conveyance roll 320, which is detachable at the approximate center in the axial direction. Thus, the swing arm 418 is formed so as to protrude, and the rotary shaft 323 of the upper driven roll 322 of the contact / separation transport roll 320 is supported by the free end of the swing arm 418 so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
Further, a driving force from a drive motor capable of rotating forward and reverse (not shown) is transmitted to the link support shaft 416 via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown).

In this example, the swing arm 418 is for releasing the contact state (nip) of the contact / separation transport roll 320, and in the state where the contact / separation transport roll 320 is in contact, as shown in FIG. When the link support shaft 416 is rotated in a predetermined direction as shown in FIG. 10B by a driving force from a driving motor (not shown), it swings counterclockwise. Thus, the upper driven roll 322 is spaced from the lower drive roll 321.
Further, in the state where the contact / separation transport roll 320 is in contact, the push-out arm 410 has an initial standby position (which interferes with the transport operation of the recording material S) via the link arm 417 as shown in FIG. 10), the swing arm 418 swings as shown in FIG. 10B, and the link arm 417 is moved accordingly. The pusher arm 410 swings obliquely downward, and moves forward toward the second discharge receiver 16 along the recording material transport path downstream of the nip region of the transport roll 350 with the rotation shaft 340 as a support shaft. It has become.
At this time, the push-out operation of the push-out arm 410 may be performed at least once, but the push-out operation of the push-out arm 410 may be performed a plurality of times by repeatedly controlling the forward / reverse rotation operation of the link support shaft 416. Good.
In addition, since the stop conveyance roll 250 is provided in the downstream of the cutting conveyance part 230 in the X direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200, the cutting conveyance part 230 is not provided with the extrusion mechanism mentioned above.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5A, and 5B, the X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200 and the Y-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 300 are recorded by the cutting conveyance units 230 and 330. A cutting waste processing mechanism 500 for collecting cutting waste T of the material S in a cutting waste collection container (not shown) is provided.
First, the cutting waste processing mechanism 500 of the X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5A, the cutting waste processing mechanism 500 is provided with a cutting waste separation member 510 on the downstream side of the cutting region of the rotary blade 360 of the cutting conveyance unit 230, and the cutting waste separation member 510. The recording material S after cutting and the cutting waste T cut by the rotary blade 360 are separated, and the cutting waste T is guided obliquely downward in the same direction as the conveyance direction of the recording material S, and the cutting waste is The conveyor belt 520 conveys to a cutting waste collection container (not shown).

  On the other hand, the cutting waste processing mechanism 500 of the Y-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 300 will be described. The cutting waste processing mechanism 500 rotates the cutting conveyance unit 330 as shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 11 (a) (b). A cutting waste separating member 530 is provided on the downstream side of the cutting area of the blade 360. The cutting waste separating member 530 has a function of separating the recording material S after cutting and the cutting waste T cut by the rotary blade 360 in the same manner as that of the X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200. Unlike the direction cutting and conveying mechanism 200, an arcuate guide member 531 is provided along a semicircular arc portion of the lower rotary blade 361, and a holding bush 363 of the lower rotary blade 361 is provided on a part of the arcuate guide member 531. Auxiliary roll 532 that rotates following the rotation is arranged, and the arcuate guide member 531 and auxiliary roll 532 change the direction of cutting waste T about 180 degrees with respect to the recording material conveyance direction (FIG. 10B). ) In the middle Y1 direction), it is guided obliquely downward, and the cutting waste T is dropped on the cutting waste conveyance belt 520 from the direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the cutting waste conveyance belt 520, and the cutting waste collection outside the figure is accommodated. It is obtained so as to convey to.

Next, a processing process of the recording material processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.
Now, when print information is input to the recording material processing apparatus 10 from an input processing apparatus (not shown), an image forming operation is started.
That is, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 42 of each of the image forming units 41 a to 41 d by a known electrophotographic process, and then each of these color toner images is substantially the same as the photoconductive drum 42 by the primary transfer roll 46. The images are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 50 that moves at the same speed (see FIG. 2).
On the other hand, when one recording material S is sent out from the first recording material container 30 and the second recording material container 31 and conveyed to the alignment roll 73 by the conveyance rolls 71 and 72 of the recording material conveyance path 70, this alignment roll. After stopping once at 73, the toner image is transferred to the secondary transfer roll 53 at the timing of writing the image on the recording material S, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 50 is transferred to the recording material S.
Thereafter, when the recording material S is conveyed to the first fixing device 60, the unfixed toner image on the recording material S is fixed by the first fixing device 60, and an image is formed on the surface of the recording material S. .
For example, in the case of forming an image on plain paper among the recording materials S, in this example, if the recording material S in the second recording material container 31 is used, the recording material S is sent from the first fixing device 60. The recording material S is discharged and accommodated in the first discharge receiver 76 from the switching gate 74 via the main conveyance path 77 and via the discharge roll 75.

On the other hand, in the case of forming an image on a photographic coated paper of the recording material S, in this example, if the recording material S in the first recording material container 30 is used, for example, the image is sent from the first fixing device 60. The recorded material S is re-fixed by the second fixing device 100 of the post-processing device 12.
In other words, when the recording material S sent out from the first fixing device 60 passes through the connection conveyance path 79 from the switching gate 74 and is sent out to the post-processing device 12 through the discharge roll 78, the second recording material S is further supplied. After being heat-fixed by the fixing device 100, the image is cooled by the heat sink 130 on the smooth conveyance surface of the fixing belt 120, thereby forming a high-quality image with a smooth surface.
Then, the re-fixed recording material S is peeled from the fixing belt 120 by the peeling guide members 150 and 151, and is sent to the X-direction cutting and transporting mechanism 200 by the feed roll 160.

Next, the recording material S is conveyed to the X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200, and the side portion (margin portion) of the recording material S in the direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction (X direction) is cut (see FIG. 4). .
That is, in the X-direction cutting and transporting mechanism 200, the position detector 210 detects the transport position of the recording material S, the transporting roller 220 transports the recording material S, and the cutting transport unit 230 transports the recording material S. At the same time, the side portion (margin portion) of the recording material S in the direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction is cut.
The cut cutting waste T is recovered by a cutting waste processing mechanism 500 into a cutting waste collection container (not shown).
Thereafter, the recording material S is conveyed toward the stop conveyance roll 250, and when a predetermined time elapses after the passage of the recording material S is detected by the position detector 210, the stop conveyance roll 250 conveys the recording material S to the nip. And stop when it reaches a predetermined position.
At this time, the transport rollers 320 of the Y-direction cutting transport mechanism 300 are spaced apart so as not to hinder the transport operation of the recording material S by the X-direction cutting transport mechanism 200.
That is, as shown in FIG. 10B, in the Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism 300, the link support shaft 416 rotates counterclockwise, and the swing arm 418 rotates about the rotation axis of the upper driven roll 322 of the contact / separation conveyance roll 320. In this state, the paired contact / separation conveyance rolls 320 are separated from each other.

Next, the recording material S is conveyed to the Y-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 300, and the side portion (margin portion) of the recording material S in the direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction (Y direction) is cut and the second discharge is performed. It is discharged to the receiver 16.
That is, after the stop conveyance roll 250 is stopped, the nip state of the stop conveyance roll 250 is released and the stop conveyance roll 250 is spaced apart, and as shown in FIG. A conveyance roll 320 is placed in contact, and the recording material S is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roll 320.
Then, the recording material S is sent to the cutting conveyance unit 330 by the rotation of the conveyance roll 320.
In this state, the recording material S is nipped and conveyed to the conveyance roll 350 of the cutting conveyance unit 330, and at the same time, the side portion of the recording material S in the direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction is cut by the rotary blade 360. As described above, the cut cutting waste T is advanced in the direction opposite to the recording material transport direction (Y1 direction) by the cutting waste processing mechanism 500, and the cutting waste collection (not shown) is collected via the cutting waste transport belt 520. It is collected in a container (see FIG. 11B).
On the other hand, the cut recording material S is sent out onto the second discharge receiver 16 by the transport roll 350 of the cutting transport unit 330.

In particular, in this cutting and conveying section 330, since the conveying force does not act on the recording material S after passing through the nip area n of the conveying roll 350, as shown in FIG. Without being sent out, the upstream side (recording material rear end) of the recording material S in the conveying direction may run on the protective cover 370.
In this embodiment, when the recording material S passes through the nip region of the transport roll 350 in order to send out such a recording material S, as shown in FIGS. 10B and 12A and 12B. The link support shaft 416 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and the contact / separation conveyance roll 320 is separated by the swing of the swing arm 418. As a result, as the link arm 417 swings, the pusher arm 410 moves forward toward the second discharge receiver 16, and the pusher arm 410 moves onto the recording material transport path on the downstream side of the transport roll 350 with the rotary shaft 340 as a support shaft. To move the upstream end of the recording material S in the transport direction to the second discharge receiver 16 side.

In this embodiment, the link support shaft 416 is rotated at a certain speed by a driving force from a drive motor (not shown). Therefore, the push arm is rotated via the link arm 417 as the link support shaft 416 rotates. 410 moves at a certain speed in the recording material conveyance direction, and the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the recording material S is effectively hit by the pushing arm 410 and is effectively pushed out to the second discharge receiver 16 side.
In addition, the number of operations of the push arm 410 may be one. However, if the recording material S is operated a plurality of times (for example, about five times) after passing through the nip region of the conveyance roll 350, the number of operations is temporarily one. Even if the pushing arm 410 does not hit the upstream end in the conveying direction of the recording material S by the operation of the pushing arm 410 for the second time, it is possible to reliably hit the recording material S at a plurality of times, and the recording to the second discharge receiver 16 is possible. The discharging operation of the material S is stabilized.
Further, the pushing arm 410 may be set so as to hit the upstream end in the recording material conveyance direction against the moving recording material S immediately after passing through the nip area of the conveyance roll 350, or the recording which is stationary on the protective cover 370. It may be set so as to hit the upstream end of the recording material conveyance direction with respect to the material S, and in this embodiment, it can be set appropriately for both.

Further, in the present embodiment, the extrusion arm 410 is disposed between the upper transport roll 352 and the upper rotary blade 362, and thereby, the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material S near the protective cover 370. It is possible to strike with certainty. That is, the recording material S riding on the protective cover 370 is bent when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction, and is bent and bent toward the center of the recording material S in the width direction, while in the vicinity of the protective cover 370. The smaller the amount of deflection. Therefore, the recording material S can be reliably pushed out by bringing the pushing arm 410 into contact with the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material S near the protective cover 370.
In the present embodiment, the link support shaft 416 rotates while the push-out arm 410 is operating, and is disposed on the drawing path of the recording material S by the stop conveyance roll 250 of the X-direction cutting conveyance mechanism 200. Since the contacting / separating operation of the transport roll 320 of the Y-direction cutting transport mechanism 300 is also performed at the same time, the next recording material cannot be transported by the stop transport roll 250. Therefore, in the present embodiment, after the operation of the extrusion arm 410 is completely completed, the next recording material S is conveyed to the stop conveyance roll 250.

(A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the recording material cutting conveyance apparatus based on Embodiment model which embodies this invention, (b) is the arrow line view seen from B direction in (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows the recording material processing apparatus of Embodiment 1 to which this invention was applied. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a post-processing device used in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the post-processing apparatus seen from the A direction in FIG. (a) is an arrow view seen from the A direction in FIG. 4, (b) is an arrow view seen from the B direction in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cutting / conveying portion of a Y-direction cutting / conveying mechanism used in Embodiment 1; It is an arrow view of the cutting conveyance part seen from the VII direction in FIG. (A) is an arrow view seen from the A direction in FIG. 7, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the vertical rotary blade seen from the B direction in (a). 6 is a perspective view illustrating details of an extrusion mechanism of a cutting and conveying unit of the Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism used in Embodiment 1. FIG. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement process of an extrusion mechanism. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the cutting waste processing mechanism used in Embodiment 1, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the processing operation process of the cutting waste after cutting. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a recording material discharge operation process by a cutting and conveying unit of a Y-direction cutting and conveying mechanism used in Embodiment 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording material, 2 (2a, 2b) ... Conveyance member, 3 (3a, 3b) ... Cutting member, 4 ... Protection member, 5 ... Extrusion member

Claims (7)

A pair of conveying members for nipping and conveying the recording material;
A cutting member that is provided in the vicinity of the conveying member and that cuts a side portion in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording material conveyed by the conveying member;
A protective member that is positioned below the recording material conveyance path among the cutting members and protects at least a downstream portion in the recording material conveyance direction from the cutting area of the cutting member;
An extrusion member that abuts the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the transport member and is pushed out to a position where the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material gets over the protective member ;
The recording material cutting and conveying apparatus , wherein the pushing member moves forward and backward with the rotation center of the conveying member as a swing fulcrum . A pair of conveying members for nipping and conveying the recording material;
A cutting member that is provided in the vicinity of the conveying member and that cuts a side portion in the width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording material conveyed by the conveying member;
A protective member that is positioned below the recording material conveyance path among the cutting members and protects at least a downstream portion in the recording material conveyance direction from the cutting area of the cutting member;
An extrusion member that abuts the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material that has passed through the holding area of the transport member and is pushed out to a position where the upstream end in the transport direction of the recording material gets over the protective member ;
The contact member is provided on the upstream side in the recording material conveyance direction from the conveyance member so as to be freely contacted and separated.
The recording material cutting and conveying apparatus, wherein the pushing member is operated following the separation operation of the contact / separation conveying member . In the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A recording material cutting and conveying apparatus, wherein the cutting member is provided coaxially with the conveying member and rotates to cut the recording material simultaneously with a holding and conveying operation of the recording material by the conveying member. In the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The pushing member extrudes an upstream end in the carrying direction of the recording material in the vicinity of the protective member in the width direction orthogonal to the recording material carrying direction. In the recording material cutting and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The recording material cutting and conveying apparatus, wherein the extrusion member repeats the recording material extrusion operation a plurality of times. A processing unit for performing predetermined processing on the recording material;
A recording material cutting conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, cutting conveying the recording material that has been processed by the processing unit, the recording material processing apparatus having a. A first recording material cutting and conveying device for cutting a width direction side portion orthogonal to the recording material conveying direction;
And the first recording medium cutting conveying device a second cutting the conveyed and widthwise sides perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction of the recording material in a direction perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction with the recording material cutting conveying device ,
A direction changing and conveying mechanism for conveying the recording material cut by the first recording material cutting and conveying device toward the second recording material cutting and conveying device;
Wherein provided on the downstream side of the second recording member cutting conveying device, and a recording material containing receiving housing the shredded recording material in the second recording member cutting conveying device,
Recording material processing apparatus is characterized in that to use a recording material cutting conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in the second recording member cutting conveying device.

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