JP4967802B2 - Bookbinding equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus that performs a binding process by applying glue to the back of aligned sheet bundles.

  A bookbinding device that forms sheets by stacking sheets output from image forming devices such as copiers and printers, forms a bundle of sheets, applies hot-melt type glue to the back of the bundle of sheets, performs binding processing, and creates a booklet. It is a widely used device.

  The glue applied to the back of the sheet bundle is a solid tablet or small piece at room temperature, and a predetermined amount is charged into the hopper of the apparatus.

  The solid paste in the hopper is sequentially fed to the melting tank in an appropriate amount, melted in the melting tank, maintained at a predetermined temperature, and applied to the back of the sheet bundle by the application means.

  In order to always apply a constant thickness to the back of a plurality of sheet bundles, the temperature and amount of glue in the melting tank are within a predetermined range, and It is desirable to control the variation as small as possible.

  Proposals related to means for supplying solid glue to the melting tank include, for example, a quantitative receiving member that accepts a certain amount of solid glue at the outlet of the hopper storing the solid glue, and based on the replenishment signal. Then, by rotating the receiving member, the solid paste in the storage member is dropped into the melting tank at once (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  That is, this proposal is to supply a certain amount of solid glue to the melting tank every time it receives a replenishment signal, but in order to suppress the variation in coating as described above, it is melted in the melting tank. In some cases, it may not be possible to satisfy the demand for reducing variations in the temperature and amount of glue.

  As the most effective means for that purpose, it is conceivable to increase the capacity of the melting tank and to melt and store a large amount of glue.

  However, such a measure may lead to an increase in the size of office equipment that is severely demanded for the installation area, and there is also a risk that an odor generated by a large amount of melted paste may damage the office environment. .

  Therefore, there is a demand for using a small melting tank and reducing the temperature fluctuation and quantity fluctuation of the glue melted in the melting tank.

  In order to meet such a demand, the supply timing of the solid paste supplied to the melting tank and the supply number of the solid paste must be controlled correctly.

  However, depending on how the solid paste is arranged at the time of conveyance, the count of the solid paste supplied to the melting tank may not be accurately performed.

In addition, since the amount of glue used by one application varies depending on the thickness of the glue to be applied and the thickness of the sheet bundle, in the control of supplying a certain number of solid glues at a certain timing, In some cases, it is not possible to meet the demand for minimizing fluctuations in the temperature and amount of glue in the melting tank.
JP 2002-380393 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the situation as described above, and its purpose is to accurately count the number of solid pastes to be supplied to the melting tank and to supply an appropriate amount of solid paste at an appropriate timing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bookbinding apparatus that reduces variations in glue application performed on the back of a sheet bundle.

The above-mentioned subject is achieved by realizing the following invention.
1. A binding apparatus that applies a melted solid paste to the back of a sheet bundle and performs a binding process,
A storage section for storing solid paste;
A melting tank for melting and storing the solid paste;
Transfer means for transferring the solid paste from the reservoir to the melting tank;
A solid paste detection sensor for detecting the solid paste being transferred by the transfer means;
A bookbinding apparatus comprising: a control unit that calculates the number of solid pastes transferred based on a time width of a detection signal sent from the solid paste detection sensor.
2. The transfer means includes
2. The bookbinding apparatus according to item 1, wherein the solid glue is a means for arranging the solid glues in series and transporting them with a belt.
3. The control means includes
3. The bookbinding apparatus according to item 1 or 2, wherein the transfer unit is controlled based on the calculated number of solid pastes.
4). A remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of glue melted and stored in the melting tank;
The bookbinding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit controls the transfer unit based on a signal sent from the remaining amount detection unit.
5. The control means includes
The thickness of the sheet bundle is calculated from the information on the thickness of the sheet and the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle, and the number of solid glues to be transferred is determined based on the calculated thickness. The bookbinding apparatus of any one of -4.

  According to the present invention, the number of solid glues supplied to the melting tank for storing glue to be applied to the back of the sheet bundle is accurately counted, and an appropriate amount of solid glue can be supplied into the melting tank at an appropriate timing. As a result, it is possible to reduce the variation in the amount of glue in the melting tank. As a result, a variation in glue application to the sheet bundle is reduced, and a bookbinding apparatus that performs bookbinding with high quality is realized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bookbinding system in which an image forming apparatus A and a bookbinding apparatus B are connected. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the bookbinding apparatus B.

  The image forming apparatus A is a known apparatus that forms an image on a sheet S by electrophotographic technology. Around the rotating image carrier 1, a charging unit 2, a writing unit 3, a developing unit 4, a transfer unit 5A, a charge eliminating unit, and the like. Means 5B and cleaning means 6 are arranged.

  The image carrier 1 uniformly charged by the charging unit 2 is subjected to scanning exposure based on image data by the laser beam of the writing unit 3 to form a latent image.

  The latent image is reversely developed by the developing means 4, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the image carrier.

  The toner image is transferred onto the sheet S sent from the sheet storage portion 7A by the transfer unit 5A, and the sheet S carrying the toner image is separated from the surface of the image carrier 1 by the action of the charge removing unit 5B and fixed. Sent to means 8.

  The sheet S carrying the toner image sent to the fixing unit 8 is heated under pressure, whereby the toner image is fixed on the sheet S and discharged toward the bookbinding apparatus B.

  When image formation is performed on both sides of the sheet S, the sheet S sent from the fixing unit 8 is guided downward by the conveyance path switching unit 7D, the front / back reversing process is performed by the reverse conveyance unit 7E, and the transfer unit again. The image is formed and fixed, and sent to the bookbinding apparatus B.

  Note that the toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier 1 after the transfer of the toner image is removed by the cleaning means 6 and used for the next image formation.

  The bookbinding apparatus B is a bookbinding apparatus that creates a booklet from the paper S sent from the image forming apparatus A, and includes a paper transport unit 10, a paper discharge unit 20, a cover paper supply unit 30, an alignment unit 40, and a paper bundle transport unit 50. , Glue applying means 60, cover paper sticking means 70, cover paper folding means 80, booklet discharging means 90, and the like.

  Further, the bookbinding apparatus B can be used alone.

  The sheet conveying unit 10 is a unit that conveys the sheet S sent from the image forming apparatus A and the cover sheet sent from the cover sheet supply unit 30 to a predetermined position by a plurality of rollers and guide members.

  The paper discharge means 20 is a tray for storing the paper S that is not subjected to bookbinding, and is a means for sequentially stacking the paper S on which images have been formed by the image forming apparatus A.

  The cover sheet supply unit 30 is a unit that sequentially feeds the cover sheet placed on the sheet feed tray to the sheet transport unit 10.

  The aligning means 40 sequentially stacks on the sheet placing table 42 while restricting the stop position of the sheet end of the fed sheet S by the first aligning member 43, aligns for each preset number of sheets, and bundles the sheets. Means for forming Sa.

  The sheet bundle conveying means 50 grips the sheet bundle Sa formed by the aligning means 40 and conveyed obliquely downward by the gripping means 51, and rotates the sheet bundle Sa so that the back of the grasped sheet bundle Sa becomes the lower surface. This means moves to a predetermined position above the cloth means 60 and holds the sheet bundle Sa at that position.

  The glue applying means 60 moves the glue in the melting tank 63 to the back of the sheet bundle Sa by the application roller 61 while moving in the longitudinal direction of the back of the sheet bundle Sa held by the sheet bundle conveying means 50. It is the application means which apply | coats with.

  The cover sticking means 70 is supplied from the cover paper supply means 30 and placed on the cover placement belts 71 and 72 on the back of the sheet bundle Sa held by the paper bundle conveying means 50 on which the glue is applied. The cover sheet is a unit that presses and attaches the placed cover sheet by the press contact member 73.

  The cover sheet folding means 80 is provided on the upper part of the cover pasting means 70, and the cover sheet adhered to the back of the sheet bundle Sa by the operation of a pair of folding members 81 that move vertically and horizontally. It is a means for bending the back side edge and applying a front cover and a back cover to the sheet bundle Sa.

  The booklet discharge means 90 is means for carrying out the booklet Sb that has been subjected to the binding process and provided with the front cover and the back cover by the belts 91 and 92 and discharges it outside the apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus A and the bookbinding apparatus B are each provided with an operation display unit J and an operation display unit K, which are known input / output units.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control relationship of the bookbinding apparatus B. As shown in FIG.

  The control means C is a computer system having a CPU, a memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, and various other circuits. Each control is performed by executing a predetermined program stored in the memory.

  In the drawing, description of blocks that are not directly related to the description of the embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the alignment unit 40 and the sheet bundle conveying unit 50.

  The stop positions of the sheets S sequentially stacked on the inclined sheet mounting table 42 are regulated by the first alignment member 43 on the end surface of the sheet bundle Sa. Further, the position of the upper surface serving as the top and the lower surface serving as the ground of the sheet bundle Sa is regulated by the second alignment member 44.

  The first alignment member 43 is a plate-like member whose surface for regulating the position of the sheet edge is a flat surface, can rotate around a fulcrum 430, and a connected motor (not shown) is controlled. Thus, the rotation amount and the stop position are controlled.

  The second alignment member 44 is a known member that aligns the top and bottom of the sheet bundle Sa while swinging.

  The sheets S are sequentially stacked and aligned with their stop positions regulated by the first and second alignment members to form a sheet bundle Sa.

  The formed sheet bundle Sa is sent obliquely downward by an unillustrated pushing means, is grasped by the grasping means 51 of the sheet bundle conveying means 50, is turned so that the back faces downward, and is shown by a solid line in the figure. Stop standing upright.

  The sheet bundle conveying means 50 may be provided with a sheet bundle thickness detecting means 500 for detecting the sheet bundle from the movement amount when the grasping means 51 grasps the sheet bundle Sa.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the glue application unit 60.

  The glue applying means 60 first transfers the solid glue PT from the hopper 650 serving as a storage part to the melting tank 63. The melting tank 63 having a heater melts the received solid paste PT and maintains it at a predetermined temperature.

  The melted glue is applied to the back of the sheet bundle Sa by the application roller 61 that moves along the longitudinal direction of the back of the sheet bundle Sa while rotating.

  Such a coating means is a known means as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-168265.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the solid paste supplying means 600.

  The solid paste supply unit 600 is a transfer unit that arranges the solid paste PT put in the hopper 650 that is a storage unit for storing the solid paste PT in series and puts the solid paste PT into the melting tank 63 of the coating unit 60.

  The solid paste supply means 600 that is a transfer means includes a conveyance belt 601, a conveyance guide plate 602, a plurality of rollers, and the like, and the conveyance operation is controlled by the control means C.

  The conveyor belt 601 is a timing belt having a tooth surface on the outside, and rotates in the direction of the arrow x.

  The control means C controls the driving and stopping of the conveyor belt 601 by controlling the motor M1 that drives the driving roller 610.

  The solid paste PT put in the hopper 650 is drawn from the lower part of the hopper 650 in the direction of arrow z between the conveyor belt 601 and the conveyor guide plate by the rotating conveyor belt 601.

  The solid glue PT positioned at the lower part of the hopper 650 is arranged and advanced so as not to overlap in the depth direction of the figure by a guide (not shown) that regulates the width direction of the solid glue PT that is the depth direction of the figure.

  In the present embodiment, the belt 601 is swung by a swinging roller 603 that periodically swings in the y direction in the figure, and facilitates the downward progress of the solid glue PT located at the lower part of the hopper.

  The solid paste PT arranged in series moves while sliding on the conveyance guide plate 602 by the rotating conveyance belt 601 and is introduced into the input guide 604.

  The solid glue SP traveling between the conveyance belt 601 and the conveyance guide plate 602 is completely overlapped by pressing the conveyance belt 601 in the direction of the conveyance guide plate 602 by a plurality of regulating rollers 605. It is not transported as is.

  A transmission type having an optical axis 631 in the depth direction of the drawing is provided in the conveyance outlet 620 where the conveyance belt 601 and the conveyance guide plate 602 are greatly separated and the solid glue PT falls downward or in the conveyance path upstream of the conveyance path outlet. The solid glue detection sensor PS, which is an optical sensor, is provided to detect the solid glue PT passing through the optical axis 631.

  Control of rotation and stop of the conveyor belt 601 is performed by drive control of the motor M1 based on a detection signal from the solid paste detection sensor PS by the control means C.

  The dropped solid paste is put into the melting tank 63 and heated and melted by a heater (not shown) controlled by the control means C. The heater is controlled so that the melted paste maintains a predetermined temperature set in advance.

  The melting tank 63 is provided with a remaining amount detecting means TS for detecting the remaining amount of glue. Based on a replenishment signal from the remaining amount detecting means TS, a predetermined number of pieces are supplied by the solid glue supplying means 600 as a transferring means. Solid paste is replenished.

  For the remaining amount detection means TS, for example, a known technique using an optical sensor and a temperature sensor as disclosed in JP-A-2004-209746 can be employed.

  The amount of glue applied to the sheet bundle Sa varies depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa, assuming that the size of the sheet S is constant. That is, the thicker the sheet bundle Sa, the larger the amount of glue consumed by one application.

  The number of solid paste PT to be replenished is determined by determining the number of solid paste PT to be replenished according to the amount of paste consumed at one application, that is, the consumption speed of the paste. It is desirable for the desire to minimize fluctuations and temperature fluctuations.

  For this reason, in the embodiment of the present invention, the number of solid paste PT to be replenished is determined in accordance with the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa to be applied.

  The thickness of the sheet bundle Sa is calculated in advance from the information on the sheet S and the information on the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle Sa input from the operation display unit J of the image forming apparatus A or the operation display unit K of the bookbinding apparatus B. However, the information of the sheet bundle thickness detecting unit 500 that detects the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa gripped on the basis of the amount of movement from the reference position of the gripping unit 51 of the sheet bundle transporting unit 50 can also be adopted.

  The relationship between the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa and the number of solid paste PT to be replenished is obtained in advance by experiment and is stored in the memory M in the form of a table or an expression.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detection signal of the solid paste detection sensor PS.

  FIG. 7A shows a detection signal in the case where there is a gap between the three solid pastes PT proceeding in series.

  When the solid paste PT passes through the optical axis of the solid paste detection sensor PS, a pulse-shaped detection signal as shown in the figure is output from the solid paste detection sensor PS.

  In this example, the detection signal is at the L level when the optical axis is blocked by the solid paste PT. The pulse width T1, which is the time width of the detection signal, is determined by the size of the solid paste PT in the traveling direction, and the pulse intervals W1, W2 are determined by the interval of the solid paste PT that travels.

  When such a signal is obtained, the number of pulses is the number of solid pastes that have passed.

  On the other hand, FIG. 7B shows a detection signal in the case where there is no gap between the three solid pastes PT proceeding side by side, that is, each of them proceeds with overlapping at the end.

  In this case, the pulse width T2, which is the time width of the detection signal, is determined by the number of solid paste PT overlapping at the end and the size of the overlap. In the present embodiment, since the two solid pastes do not advance completely overlapping, the relationship between the pulse widths T1 and T2 is 2 × T1 <T2 ≦ 3 × T1.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the number of solid glues when the pulse width of the detection signal is wider than the pulse width corresponding to the detection of one solid glue.

  When the pulse width T2 is measured, the maximum value of the integer N satisfying T2 <N × T1 is obtained, and the obtained N is set as the detected number.

  Note that the calculation of the number N is performed by execution of a number calculation means that is a program.

  As described above, the number of solid pastes can be counted correctly even if the solid pastes transferred are connected to each other.

  The present invention realizes a bookbinding apparatus that correctly counts the number of solid paste PT to be replenished in this way and performs replenishment control corresponding to the remaining amount of glue in the tank of the coating apparatus and the consumption speed of glue. is there.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the solid paste replenishment control 100.

  When a signal (replenishment signal) notifying that the uppermost surface of the glue in the melting tank 63 has become lower than a preset position (replenishment signal) is output from the remaining amount detection means TS (step S1: Y), image formation is performed in advance. The information on the sheet S and the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle Sa input from the operation display means J of the apparatus A or the operation display means K of the bookbinding apparatus B are acquired (step S2), and the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa is obtained. Is calculated (step S3).

  As already described, instead of calculating the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa, information on the sheet bundle thickness detecting means 500 that detects the thickness of the sheet bundle Sa gripped based on the amount of movement of the gripping means 51 from the reference position. You may get

  When the sheet bundle thickness is determined, the replenishment number determination table NTB in which the number of solid pastes to be replenished in correspondence with the sheet bundle thickness is referred to determine the number (NN) to be replenished (step S4).

  When the number (NN) to be replenished is determined, the operation of the solid paste supplying means 600 that is a transfer means is started, and the replenishment of the solid paste PT is started (step S5).

  The number of the solid paste PT transferred by the solid paste supply means 600 is calculated by the calculation means 200 of the control means C based on the detection signal sent from the solid paste detection sensor PS (step S6).

  Replenishment is continued until the calculated number N reaches the number NN to be replenished (step S7: N). If the number N to be replenished is reached (step S7: Y), the replenishment is stopped. (Step S8), the routine is exited.

It is a figure which shows the example of a bookbinding system. It is a conceptual diagram of a bookbinding apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control relationship of a bookbinding apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an alignment unit and a sheet bundle conveyance unit. It is a conceptual diagram of a paste application means. It is a conceptual diagram of a solid paste supply means. It is a figure which shows the example of the detection signal of a solid glue detection sensor. It is a figure explaining the calculation method of the number of solid glue. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of solid paste replenishment control.

Explanation of symbols

60 glue application means 63 melting tank 600 solid glue supply means (transfer means)
601 Conveying belt 650 Hopper (reservoir)
A image forming apparatus B bookbinding apparatus C control means K operation display means PS solid glue detection sensor PT solid glue S paper Sa paper bundle Sb booklet TS remaining amount detection means

Claims (5)

A binding apparatus that applies a melted solid paste to the back of a sheet bundle and performs a binding process,
A storage section for storing solid paste;
A melting tank for melting and storing the solid paste;
Transfer means for transferring the solid paste from the reservoir to the melting tank;
A solid paste detection sensor for detecting the solid paste being transferred by the transfer means;
A bookbinding apparatus comprising: a control unit that calculates the number of solid pastes transferred based on a time width of a detection signal sent from the solid paste detection sensor. The transfer means includes
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the solid glue is means for arranging the solid glues in series and transporting them by a belt. The control means includes
The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit is controlled based on the calculated number of solid pastes. A remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of glue melted and stored in the melting tank;
4. The bookbinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the transfer unit based on a signal sent from the remaining amount detection unit. The control means includes
The thickness of the sheet bundle is calculated from the information on the thickness of the sheet and the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle, and the number of solid glues to be transferred is determined based on the calculated thickness. Item 5. The bookbinding apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 4.

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