JP5022876B2 - Sheet folding apparatus, sheet processing apparatus, sheet conveying apparatus, image forming apparatus, and sheet folding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet folding apparatus that performs a folding process on a sheet-like recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as “sheet” or “sheet member”), a sheet processing apparatus including the sheet folding apparatus, a sheet conveying apparatus, and an image. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus and a sheet folding method for performing a folding process on a sheet-like recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art A sheet folding apparatus that performs a folding process on a sheet or a sheet bundle is widely used by being attached to a subsequent stage of an image forming apparatus as part of sheet processing after an image is formed, or integrally provided in an image forming apparatus. As such a sheet folding apparatus or an apparatus including the sheet folding apparatus, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are known.

  Of these, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228867 describes that the fold-in roller does not hit the lower guide plate after the fold-in roller has been pressed while moving on the sheet bundle bending portion, so that a large noise is not generated. A folding roller that folds the paper while passing through the nip of the roller, and a folding roller that further folds the folded portion between the folded portion of the folded sheet bundle and the lower guide plate, In a paper processing apparatus that includes a guide member that moves a folding roller in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction and a pulse motor that moves the folding roller along the guide member, An invention is disclosed in which a buffer means, for example, an elastic material on the lower guide plate or a flange made of an elastic material on the side of the additional roller is provided at the contact portion between the guide plate and the additional roller. .

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that when a fold is added to a fold, it is reliably transmitted to the fold of the sheet bundle so that the fold of the sheet bundle can be sufficiently increased. In a paper processing apparatus having a folding roller for moving in a direction intersecting with the paper bundle conveying direction and re-pressurizing the folded portion of the paper bundle, the folding line of the paper bundle of the folding roller according to the number of paper bundles An invention provided with a control means for setting a pressurizing position for pressurizing the head is disclosed.

Further, in Patent Document 3, when the folding means rides on the bent portion of the recording body, the recording body does not shift in the driving direction of the folding means, and the entire folding portion of the recording body is added by the folding means. In order to enhance the uniform re-pressing force and form a beautiful bent part, the recording medium to be fed is aligned and formed after the recording image is formed, and the conveyed recording medium is guided. Guiding means, and folding means for moving in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the recording medium that is conveyed and placed by the guiding means, and re-pressurizing the bending portion of the recording medium to increase the folding amount, An invention is disclosed that includes a supporting member that supports a side surface of the recording medium when the folding means is folded and added to the bent portion of the recording medium that is transported and placed on the guide means.
JP 2004-59304 A JP 2005-89140 A JP 2005-162345 A

  In the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in order to re-press and fold the folded portion of the folded sheet bundle, the sheet is pressed while the folded portion is pressed by a folding roller along the folded portion of the sheet bundle. It is moved in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. At this time, there is a case where a moving load of the folding roller increases due to a strong pressing force for folding, a load on the driving system increases, or a problem such as a motor stepping out occurs. At this time, the pressurizing force increases as the thickness of the sheet bundle increases or the number of sheets increases, and as a result, the moving load increases according to the thickness or the number of copies of the sheet bundle.

  Similarly, the pressure increases as the thickness and number of sheets increase, and as a result, the moving load increases according to the thickness and number (number of copies) of the sheet bundle.

  Further, in order to re-press the fold portion of the recording medium on which the fold portion is formed and to fold it again, the folding means presses the fold portion along the fold portion of the recording body in a direction crossing the transport direction. I need to move. At this time, in order to direct the additional folding means in the same direction in both the forward path and the backward path, the additional folding means needs to rotate about the normal direction of the paper surface.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the operating force during the folding operation and to suppress the occurrence of troubles in the drive system.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a folding unit that performs a folding process on a sheet-like recording medium that has been carried in, and a folding line on the sheet-like recording medium in the sheet conveying direction after the folding process by the folding unit. the sheet folding apparatus comprising pressurized to move in a direction perpendicular against the folding means for additional folding, the said folding means comprises a guide member which is laid in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, wherein A moving member that moves along the guide member, a roller member that rolls and presses on the crease, and a surface that is perpendicular to the plane parallel to the moving direction of the moving member and that is parallel to the parallel surface When the crease is pressurized, the pressure point is located on the upstream side of the moving direction from the normal line lowered from the attachment portion to the moving member to the medium surface of the sheet-like recording medium. Yo A support member for supporting the roller member with the Do inclination angle, characterized in that said roller member comprises a resilient biasing means for resiliently urging the sheet-like recording medium direction.

  In the embodiment described later, the folding means is the folding roller 81 and the folding plate 74, the folding means is the folding portion 525, the guide member is the guide rod 526, the moving member is the slider 522, and the roller member is the folding roller 520. In addition, the support member is the lower housing 530 and the upper housing 532, the elastic biasing member is the compression spring 521, the sheet-like recording medium is the sheet bundle S, the sheet aligning device is the jogger 53 and the rear end fence 51, and the sheet processing device. Corresponds to the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, and the image forming apparatus corresponds to the code PR.

According to the present invention, it is possible to aim to reduce operating force at the time in fold increase operation, to suppress the occurrence of trouble of the drive system.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a system including a sheet post-processing apparatus PD as a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus PR according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing apparatus PD is attached to the side portion of the image forming apparatus PR, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus PR is guided to the sheet post-processing apparatus PD. The sheet has a conveyance path A having post-processing means for performing post-processing on one sheet (in this embodiment, a punch unit 100 as a punching means), and a conveyance path that leads to the upper tray 201 through the conveyance path A. B, the transfer path C leading to the shift tray 202, and the transfer path D leading to the processing tray F for performing alignment, stapling, and the like are configured to be distributed by the branch claw 15 and the branch claw 16, respectively.

  The image forming apparatus PR includes an image processing circuit that converts input image data into printable image data, although not shown, and an optical writing device that performs optical writing on a photoconductor based on an image signal output from the image processing circuit A developing device for developing the latent image formed on the photosensitive member by optical writing, a transfer device for transferring the toner image visualized by the developing device to the sheet, and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred on the sheet At least the sheet on which the toner image is fixed is sent to the sheet post-processing apparatus PD, and desired post-processing is performed by the sheet post-processing apparatus PD. Here, the image forming apparatus PR is of an electrophotographic system as described above, but any known image forming apparatus such as an ink jet system or a thermal transfer system can be used. In this embodiment, the image processing circuit, the optical writing device, the developing device, the transfer device, and the fixing device constitute image forming means.

  The sheet guided to the processing tray F (hereinafter referred to as a staple tray F) through the transport paths A and D, and aligned and stapled by the staple tray F is guided to the shift tray 202 by the guide member 44. A sheet which is configured to be distributed to a path C, a saddle stitching / folding processing tray G for performing folding or the like (hereinafter also simply referred to as a “saddle stitching processing tray”). It is guided to the lower tray 203 through the conveyance path H. Further, a branching claw 17 is disposed in the conveyance path D, and is held in the state shown in the figure by a low load spring (not shown). After the trailing edge of the sheet conveyed by the conveyance roller 7 passes through the branching claw 17. At least the conveying roller 9 among the conveying rollers 9 and 10 and the staple paper discharge roller (brush roller) 11 is reversely rotated to reverse the sheet along the turn guide 8. As a result, the sheet is guided from the rear end of the sheet to the sheet storage portion E to be retained (pre-stacked), and can be conveyed while being overlapped with the next sheet. By repeating this operation, two or more sheets can be stacked and conveyed.

  In the conveyance path A common to the upstream of the conveyance path B, the conveyance path C, and the conveyance path D, an inlet sensor 301 that detects a sheet received from the image forming apparatus PR, an inlet roller 1, a punch unit 100, The punch and waste hopper 101, the conveying roller 2, the branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 are sequentially arranged. The branching claws 15 and 16 are held in the state shown in FIG. 1 by a spring (not shown). When the solenoid (not shown) is turned on, the branching claws 15 and 16 are driven to change the combination of the two. The sheet is distributed to the path B, the conveyance path C, and the conveyance path D.

  When the sheet is guided to the conveyance path B, the solenoid is turned off in the state of FIG. 1, and when the sheet is guided to the conveyance path C, the branch claw 15 is moved upward by turning on the solenoid from the state of FIG. Each of the branching claws 16 is rotated downward, and discharges the sheet from the conveying roller 3 to the upper tray 201 via the paper discharge roller 4. When the sheet is guided to the conveyance path D, the branching claw 16 is in the state shown in FIG. 1 and the solenoid is turned off, and the branching claw 15 is turned upward from the state shown in FIG. The sheet is conveyed to the shift tray 202 side through the roller 5 and the discharge roller pair 6 (6a, 6b).

  In this sheet post-processing apparatus, punching (punch unit 100), sheet alignment + edge binding (jogger fence 53, end surface binding stapler S1), sheet alignment + saddle binding (saddle stitch upper jogger fence 250a, Each processing such as the saddle stitching lower jogger fence 250b, the saddle stitching stapler S2), the sheet sorting (shift tray 202), and the middle folding (folding plate 74, folding roller 81) can be performed. Further, a folding process (folding unit 525-see FIG. 12) for further folding the folds of the sheet bundle folded in the latter stage of the folding process is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the shift tray paper discharge unit located at the most downstream portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD includes the shift paper discharge roller pair 6 (6a, 6b), the return roller 13, and the paper surface detection sensor 330. And a shift tray 202, a shift mechanism that reciprocates the shift tray 202 in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, and a shift tray lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the shift tray 202.

  In FIG. 1, the return roller 13 is a sponge roller for contacting the sheet discharged from the shift discharge roller pair 6 and aligning the rear end of the sheet against the end fence. The return roller 13 is rotated by the rotational force of the shift paper discharge roller pair 6. A tray lift limit switch is provided in the vicinity of the return roller 13, and when the shift tray 202 is lifted to push up the return roller 13, the tray lift limit switch is turned on and the tray lift motor is stopped. Thereby, overrun of the shift tray 202 is prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper surface detection sensor 330 is provided in the vicinity of the return roller 13 as paper surface position detecting means for detecting the paper surface position of the sheet or sheet bundle discharged on the shift tray 202. When the paper surface detection sensor 330 detects that the sheet stacking amount has reached a predetermined height, the shift tray 202 is lowered by a predetermined amount by driving the tray lifting motor. Thereby, the paper surface position of the shift tray 202 is kept substantially constant.

  The shift paper discharge roller 6 has a drive roller 6a and a driven roller 6b. The driven roller 6b is supported on the free end portion of the open / close guide plate that is supported on the upstream side in the sheet discharge direction and is rotatable in the vertical direction. Has been. The driven roller contacts the driving roller 6a by its own weight or urging force, and the sheet is nipped between the rollers and discharged. When the bound sheet bundle is discharged, the open / close guide plate is rotated upward and returned at a predetermined timing. This timing is determined based on the detection signal of the shift paper discharge sensor 303. Is done. The stop position is determined based on a detection signal of a paper discharge guide plate opening / closing sensor (not shown), and is driven by a paper discharge guide plate opening / closing motor (not shown).

  The sheets guided to the staple tray F by the staple paper discharge roller 11 are sequentially stacked on the staple tray F. In this case, each sheet is returned in the vertical direction (sheet conveyance direction) by the return roller 12 and is brought into contact with the rear end fence 51 and aligned, and the jogger fence 53 is aligned in the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction-sheet width direction). (Also referred to as). The end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven by a staple signal from the control circuit 350, which will be described later, between the end of the job, that is, from the last sheet of the sheet bundle to the first sheet of the next sheet bundle, and the binding process is performed. Note that reference numeral 110 denotes a sheet presser that presses the sheet end surface when binding by the end surface binding stapler S1.

  The release claw 52 a is configured such that the home position is detected by a release belt HP sensor 311, and this release belt HP sensor 311 is turned on / off by a discharge claw 52 a provided on the discharge belt 52. Two discharge claws 52a are arranged at opposing positions on the outer periphery of the discharge belt 52, and the sheet bundle stored in the staple tray F is moved and conveyed alternately.

  The discharge belt 52 is positioned at the alignment center in the sheet width direction and is driven while being stretched between a driving pulley and a driven pulley. A plurality of discharge rollers 56 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the discharge belt 52, are provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the drive shaft, and function as driven rollers.

  The return roller 12 hits the fulcrum 12 a as a center and is given a pendulum motion by the SOL, and intermittently acts on the sheet fed to the staple tray F to abut the rear end of the sheet against the rear end fence 51. The return roller 12 rotates counterclockwise. A pair of jogger fences 53 are provided at the front and rear (ends in the width direction), and are driven by a jogger motor (not shown) capable of forward and reverse rotation via a timing belt to reciprocate in the sheet width direction. The end-face stitching stapler S1 is driven via a timing belt by a not-shown stapler moving motor (not shown), and moves in the sheet width direction to bind a predetermined position of the sheet edge.

  Here, the saddle stitching mechanism related to the folding process will be described. Since the present invention relates to the saddle stitching and folding mechanism, the end stitching mechanism is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the end-face stitching processing tray F and the saddle stitching processing tray G, and FIGS. 3 to 10 are explanatory diagrams of operations in the saddle stitching binding mode.
In FIG. 1, the sheet sorted by the branching claw 15 and the branching claw 16 from the conveyance path A is guided to the conveyance path D, and is end-faced by the conveyance roller 7, the conveyance roller 9, the conveyance roller 10, and the staple discharge roller 11. The paper is discharged to the binding processing tray F. In the end-face binding processing tray F, the sheets sequentially discharged by the discharge rollers 11 are aligned in the same manner as in the stipple mode, and the operation is performed in the same manner as in the stipple mode until just before the stipple (see FIG. 3—sheet bundle). S indicates a state in which the rear end fence 51 is aligned).

  After the sheet bundle S is temporarily aligned in the end face binding processing tray F, as shown in FIG. 4, the leading edge of the sheet bundle is pushed up by the discharge claw 52a, and the roller 36 and the driven roller are released to a distance that does not interfere with the leading edge of the sheet bundle. 42 passes through to a position where the inner surface of the guide member 44 and the outer peripheral surface of the discharge roller 56 face each other. Next, the roller 36 is closed by the motor M1 which is a swing driving mechanism and the cam 40, the leading end of the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the roller 36 and the driven roller 42 with a predetermined pressure, and the roller 36 obtains a driving force from the timing belt 38. Further, the sheet is conveyed downstream along the path guided to the saddle stitching processing tray G as shown in FIG. The discharge roller 56 is provided on the drive shaft of the discharge belt 52 and is driven in synchronization with the discharge belt 52.

  The sheet bundle S is conveyed from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 6. After entering the saddle stitching processing tray G, the sheet bundle S is conveyed by the upper bundle conveying roller 71 and the lower bundle conveying roller 72. At that time, the movable rear end fence 73 stands by at different stop positions according to the size of each sheet bundle S in the conveyance direction. When the leading edge of the sheet bundle comes into contact with the waiting movable rear end fence 73 and is stacked, the pressure under the bundle conveying roller 72 is released as shown in FIG. Tap the edge to make the final alignment in the transport direction. This is because there is a possibility that the sheet bundle S temporarily aligned in the end face binding processing tray F is stacked on the movable rear end fence 73, so that the final alignment is performed after the final alignment. This is because it is necessary to carry out with the end tapping claw 251.

  The position shown in FIG. 8 is the saddle stitching position, the movable rear end fence 73 stands by at the saddle stitching position, and final alignment in the width direction is performed by the saddle stitching upper jogger fence 250a and the saddle stitching lower jogger fence 250b. The center is bound by the saddle stitching stapler S2. Here, the movable rear end fence 73 is positioned by pulse control from the movable rear end fence HP sensor 322, and the rear end hitting claw 251 is positioned by pulse control from the rear end hitting claw HP sensor 326.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the saddle stitched sheet bundle S is a position where the middle folding position corresponds to the folding plate 74 with the movement of the movable rear end fence 73 while the pressure of the lower bundle conveying roller 72 is released. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the vicinity of the bound needle portion is pushed in a substantially right angle direction by the folding plate 74, and opposing folding rollers (pair) 81 arranged in the advancing direction of the folding plate 74. Led to the nip. The folding roller (pair) 81 that has been rotated in advance holds the pressed sheet bundle S, and folds the sheet bundle at the center by carrying it under pressure. When the saddle-stitched sheet bundle S is moved upward for folding processing, the sheet bundle S can be reliably conveyed only by moving the movable rear end fence 73.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the folded sheet bundle S is strengthened by the second folding roller 82, and is discharged to the lower tray 203 by the lower discharge roller 83. At this time, when the rear end of the sheet bundle is detected by the folding portion passage sensor 323, the folding plate 74 and the movable rear end fence 73 are returned to the home position, and the pressurization of the lower bundle conveying roller 72 is also restored, so that the next sheet is restored. Prepare for the import of. If the next job has the same sheet size and the same number of sheets, the movable rear end fence 73 may move again to the position of FIG. 2 and wait. Further, the paper discharge sensor 324 detects the rear end of the sheet bundle S, and detects the discharge state of the sheet bundle S to the lower tray 203.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the entire system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the control circuit 350 of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD is a microcomputer having a CPU 360, an I / O interface 370, and the like, each switch of the operation panel 380 of the image forming apparatus PR main body, and a paper surface detection sensor. A signal from each sensor such as 330 is input to the CPU 360 via the I / O interface 370. Based on the input signal, the CPU 360 moves a tray raising / lowering motor for the shift tray 202, a discharge guide plate opening / closing motor for opening / closing the opening / closing guide plate, a shift motor for moving the shift tray 202, and a return roller motor for driving the return roller 12. , Solenoids such as hitting SOL, a conveyance motor for driving each conveyance roller, a sheet discharge motor for driving each sheet discharge roller, a discharge motor for driving the discharge belt 52, a stapler moving motor for moving the end surface binding stapler S1, and end surface binding An oblique motor that rotates the stapler S1 obliquely, a jogger motor that moves the jogger fence 53, a bundle branching drive motor that rotates the guide member 44, a bundle conveyance motor that drives the conveyance roller 56 that conveys the sheet bundle S, and a movable rear end Rear end fence moving motor for moving the fence 73, folding plate Folding plate driving motor to move the 4 controls the drive such as the folding roller drive motor for driving the folding rollers 81. A pulse signal of a not-shown staple conveyance motor that drives the staple discharge roller is input to the CPU 360 and counted, and the hitting SOL 170 and the jogger motor 158 are controlled according to this count.

  The CPU 360 reads program code stored in a ROM (not shown), develops it in a RAM (not shown), and uses the RAM as a work area based on the program indicated by the program code. .

  12 to 14 are operation explanatory diagrams for explaining the folding operation. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a folding roller 520 is provided between the first folding roller 81 and the second folding roller 32. The folding roller 520 moves in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction and performs additional folding, like the folding roller in the inventions described in the above-mentioned cited documents 1 to 3.

  12 is a front view showing a state at the start of folding in two, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in FIG. However, the folding roller 520 is located at the maximum movement position. With reference to these two drawings, a mechanism related to the folding portion 525 will be described.

  The folding portion 525 includes a folding roller 520, a compression spring 521, and a slider 522. The slider 522 is a pair of guide rods provided between the front plate and the rear plate of the apparatus in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. It is supported so as to be movable along 526. Further, the folding roller 520 rolls in a state where a predetermined pressure is applied by the compression spring 521. That is, the middle folding processing unit includes a double folding unit including the first folding roller 81 and the folding plate 74, a folding unit 525 including a roller 520 for performing folding, and a second folding roller 83.

  The folding increase portion 525 is folded by a folding roller 520 that scans a fold portion of the sheet bundle S in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. This additional folding is performed by an elastic member, here, a compression spring 521, pressurizing the roller 520 and moving the slider 522 along the guide rod 526 over the fold of the sheet bundle S in the pressurized state. This is done by strengthening the folding by the pressing force of the spring 521. The folding roller 520 can press the sheet bundle S by sandwiching the sheet bundle S with the sheet receiving surface 528 provided on the downstream side of the first folding roller 81 in the sheet conveying direction. .

  Furthermore, a driving mechanism 501 is provided above the folding part 525 to drive the folding roller 520 and simultaneously perform the separating operation of the lower pair of bundle conveying rollers 72a and 72b. The drive mechanism 501 includes a pressure release motor 510, a pressure release gear 512, a folding roller driving gear 519, and a folding roller driving pulley 514 (a driving pulley 514a and a driven pulley 514b). The pressure release gear 512 obtains a driving force by a drive transmission belt 515 stretched between a pulley mounted on the rotation shaft of the pressure release motor 510 and the drive transmission gear 511, and the pressure release gear 512 via the relay gear 513. 512 is driven. Further, the roller drive gear 519 is engaged with the relay gear 513, and the roller release gear 512 and the roller drive gear 519 are rotationally driven by the drive of the pressure release motor 510.

  In the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the pressure release gear 512 in FIG. 12, one end swings to the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the driven shaft 403 of the bundle conveying roller lower 72b on the side where the first folding roller 81 of the bundle conveying roller 72 is disposed. The other end of the lever 527 that is pivotally supported is pivotally supported. As a result, as the pressure release gear 512 rotates, the driven shaft 403 performs a reciprocating linear motion with respect to the lower bundle conveyance roller 72a, and approaches the sheet bundle S carried into the saddle stitching processing tray G. Separation is possible. One end of the elastic means, here, the compression spring 401 is fixed to the fixing plate 402 in order to give the conveying force to the sheet bundle S sandwiched between the approaching / separating operation and the lower nip between the bundle conveying rollers 72a and 72b. The end elastically biases the driven shaft 403 toward the side where the lower bundle conveying rollers 72a and 72b are close to each other. In FIG. 15, since the compression spring 401 elastically biases both ends of the driven shaft 403, reference numerals 401a and 401b indicate compression springs, and reference numerals 402a and 402b indicate fixing plates.

  On the other hand, a fold-up roller drive belt 517 is stretched between the fold-up roller drive gear 519 and the fold-up roller drive pulley 514a to fold the driving force of the pressure release motor 510 and transmit it to the roller drive pulley 514a. The additional roller drive pulley 514a is further extended with a roller moving belt 516 between the additional roller driven pulley 514b and a slider 522 that supports the roller 520 is attached to the additional roller moving belt 516. ing. Therefore, the fold-up roller moving belt 516 is stretched so as to be parallel to the guide rod 526, and the fold-up roller moving pulley 514a is fold-up so as to be parallel, and the relative positions of the fold-up roller driving pulley 514a and the additional roller driven pulley 514b are defined. Has been.

  In the half-folding processing unit configured as described above, the lower bundle conveyance roller 72b is not shown in the figure, but moves close to and away from the bundle conveyance roller 72a, and the sheet bundle S is moved along the saddle stitching processing tray G. A pressure releasing operation is performed during conveyance, and the folding roller 520 performs an additional folding operation by moving in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. That is, during the period from FIG. 12 to FIG. 13, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the operation of separating the lower bundle conveying roller 72b from the lower bundle conveying roller 72a is performed, and the sheet bundle S between the lower bundle conveying rollers 72a and 72b. In the state where the restriction is released, the folding operation is performed by the folding plate 74 and the folding roller 81.

  As described above, the lower bundle conveying roller 72 b and the fold roller 520 are driven by the pressure release motor 510, and the drive is transmitted from the drive transmission belt 515 to the drive transmission gear 511. The transmitted driving force is transmitted from the relay gear 513 to the pressure release driving gear 512 and transmitted to the roller driving gear 519, and further increased via the additional roller driving transmission belt 517 to further transmit the driving force to the roller driving pulley 514. The folding roller moving belt 516 operates. Then, the fold-up roller 520 is finally driven by the fold-up roller moving belt 516.

  The positional relationship between the folding roller 520 and the lower bundle conveyance roller 72b is such that when the folding roller 520 is at the home position or the maximum movement position, the pressure of the lower bundle conveyance roller 72 is released. Yes. This is because when the folding operation is performed by the first folding roller 81 and the roller 520 is positioned in the conveyance range of the sheet bundle S, a sheet jam occurs.

  12 shows a state in which the sheet bundle S is conveyed downward in the saddle stitching processing tray G. FIG. 13 shows that the sheet is folded in the middle by the folding plate 74 and the first folding roller 81, and is folded by the folding roller 520. FIG. 14 shows a state after the additional processing is completed, and FIG. 14 shows a state immediately after folding and further folded by the second folding roller 82 and immediately before being discharged from the discharge roller 83 or sent to a subsequent machine such as a cutting device. .

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing details of the folding portion 525 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a compression spring 521 is attached to the sheet receiving surface 528 at an angle from the vertical direction. By doing so, the folding portion of the sheet bundle S is applied with a pressure in a direction having an angle θ1 from the vertical direction on the paper surface. Then, the opposite force is applied to the slider 522 by the reaction force. Therefore, the horizontal component Ftanθ1 of the reaction force is set to be parallel to the moving direction of the slider 522, and the moving direction is further increased to face the moving direction of the roller 520. Thus, the force of the horizontal component becomes an auxiliary driving force for moving the slider 522, and the load on the driving system can be reduced. As a result, the motor can be prevented from stepping out.

  In order to apply the force component in the horizontal direction as described above, in this embodiment, the folding roller 520 is rotatably supported by the shaft 531 with respect to the lower holder 530, and the lower holder 530 is pivoted with respect to the upper holder 532. It is configured to be swingably supported via 533. Further, the upper holder 532 is supported at a substantially central portion of the slider 522 so as to be rotatable about the axis with respect to the support shaft 534. As a result, the upper holder 532 rotates freely in parallel with a plane including the moving direction of the slider 522. The lower holder 530 and the upper holder 532 are connected to the axis 535 of the support shaft 534 by the shaft 533 at an angle θ1 formed by the axis 536 of the compression spring 521. The compression spring 521 elastically biases the lower holder 530 and the upper holder 532 so that they are separated from each other, and presses the fold portion of the sheet bundle S by this elastic biasing force.

  With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 17, when the thickness Y of the sheet bundle increases due to the thickness of the sheet and the number of sheets, the compression amount of the compression spring 521 of the folding roller 520 increases, and the axis of the compression spring 521 increases. An angle θ2 formed by 536 and the axis 535 of the support shaft 534 increases. As a result, the horizontal component Ftanθ2 of the reaction force increases. Accordingly, the horizontal component Ftanθ of the reaction force increases / decreases due to changes in the thickness of the sheet and the number of sheets, and the horizontal component Ftanθ of the reaction force increases as the sheet thickness and the number of sheets increase. Will contribute to the increase.

  16 and FIG. 17, a line in which the pressurization point (contact point) for the fold on the side of the additional roller 520 is lowered from the support shaft 534 perpendicularly to the paper surface (in the axis line 535) is mechanically configured. The axial line of the compression spring 521 that is located upstream of the corresponding movement direction and elastically biases the folded roller 520 is inclined with respect to the axial line 535 of the support shaft 534 by the θ1 or θ2.

  FIG. 16 shows a state where the folding roller 520 is positioned on the sheet receiving surface 528 before the sheet is rolled onto the sheet bundle S. From this state, the sheet moves in the direction indicated by the arrow X and rides on the folded portion of the sheet bundle S from the end surface of the sheet bundle S. At that time, as shown in FIG. 17, there is a step Y corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle S between the sheet receiving surface 528 and the upper surface of the sheet bundle S. The axis 533 rotates in the direction of the arrow Z by an amount corresponding to the height of the step Y, the pressing point moves to a position away from the axis 535 by Tr, and the angle between the axes 535 and 536 is θ1 to θ2. Become bigger. As a result, the horizontal component Ftanθ of the reaction force is increased, and the force required to ride up from the end face of the sheet bundle S can be reduced. As a result, the motor can be prevented from stepping out, and the occurrence of trouble can be suppressed.

  The additional folding roller 520 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 can be deformed as shown in FIG. The example shown in FIG. 18 does not have a configuration in which the angle θ can be changed by the compression amount of the roller 520 (the compression amount of the compression spring 521), but the angle φ is constant. In this example, the long hole 541 provided in the lower side of the holder 540 with the moving direction of the folding roller 520 is made to coincide with the angle φ, and the rotation shaft 520a of the folding roller 520 is loosely fitted into the long hole 541. It can move along the longitudinal direction of the long hole 541. However, the holder 540 is provided with a compression spring that elastically urges the rotating shaft 520a toward the paper surface side, and a pressure applied to the fold of the folding roller 520 is secured.

  In this example, the longitudinal axis of the holder 540 is attached at an angle φ with respect to the support shaft 534, so that the angle φ does not change as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, but it is increased as Ftanφ. A driving assist force is applied in the traveling direction of the roller 520. Note that the reaction force increases with respect to the compression amount Δx of the compression spring when moving on the fold line of the sheet bundle S, and as a result, a force is applied in the moving direction of the fold-up roller 520 as a horizontal component force Ftanφ. Is done. In this case, a reaction force proportional to the compression amount Δx of the compression spring is generated.

  Here, when the folding operation is performed in a reciprocating manner, both the forward path and the backward path should be folded and the driving assist force should be applied in the traveling direction of the roller 520. The additional roller 520 needs to face in the opposite direction. For this reason, the folding means needs to be freely rotatable about the normal direction of the paper surface, and the angle needs to be 180 degrees. In this case, the axis in the normal direction corresponds to the reference numeral 535, and the axis inclined by the angle φ corresponds to the reference numeral 536.

  In the example of FIGS. 16 and 18, the upper holder 532 is described as being supported so as to be rotatable about the axis with respect to the support shaft 534 at the substantially central portion of the slider 522. May be supported by the slider 522 so as to rotate in parallel to a plane including the moving direction of the slider 522 with respect to the slider 522. In any case, it is sufficient that the upper holder 532 can rotate in parallel to the plane with respect to the slider 522.

  FIG. 19 is an operation explanatory view showing a method of changing the direction at the folding portion of the additional roller, and FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the additional operation. In FIG. 19, the folding roller 520 is moved in the forward direction from the home position, and is moved over the fold of the sheet bundle S to start the folding operation (FIG. 19 (a) -step S101). When the roll 520 reaches the end of the sheet bundle S near the end of the sheet (FIG. 19B-step S102), the first folding roller 81 is rotated to feed the sheet in the paper discharge direction (FIG. 19C-step S103). ). At this time, the timing of rotating the first folding roller 81 is from the position where the folding roller 520 is switched to the end of the paper or the return path to the amount of the trailing roller 520 or more, that is, on the paper surface between the shaft 533 and the shaft 531 in FIG. It is preferable to start the rotation at a position before the projection distance Tr of (step S102). In other words, when L> Tr when the distance to the paper edge is L, the process of step S103 is executed.

  When the first folding roller 81 is rotated, the fold-up time 520 is changed in the conveying direction of the sheet bundle S as shown in FIGS. 19A to 19C by the auxiliary driving force. Subsequently, the driving of the folding roller 520 is stopped (step S104), the first folding roller 81 is reversed (steps S105 and S106), and the state shown in FIG. Then, when the folding roller 520 is moved in the backward direction and the first folding roller 81 is driven in the paper discharge direction (step S107), the folding roller 520 changes the direction by 180 degrees with respect to the forward path. It changes from 19 (e) to FIG. 19 (f).

  Next, the first folding roller 81 is driven in the direction opposite to the paper discharge direction, and the sheet bundle S is folded and driven until the roller 520 is positioned at the crease position (step S108). FIG. 19 (f) to FIG. 19 (h) show this state. Then, when the state of FIG. 19 (h) is reached, folding is increased along the folds of the stopped sheet bundle S, and the rollers 520 roll to the starting position to complete the folding operation (step S109).

  In this example, the operation of the folding roller 520 reciprocating once in the forward path and the backward path along the crease is described. However, the fold portion is divided into a plurality of sections, and the number of folds, the sheet size, the presence / absence of a succeeding machine, and the like. Accordingly, the folding can be executed by changing the number of foldings in each of the sections on the end side or the center side.

  In addition, after the folding roller 520 is further folded, the edge may be cut at a later stage. In such a case, a sheet cutter (not shown) is connected to the subsequent stage of the sheet processing apparatus PD, and the sheet bundle S folded by the folding roller 520 is transported to the cutter position of the sheet cutter and stopped at the position. Then, the cutter is lowered and the edge of the sheet bundle S is cut. The cutting waste is received by a hopper set below the cutting portion, and when a predetermined amount is collected, it is taken out and the cutting waste is discarded. In this case, the sheet post-processing apparatus PD including the saddle stitching portion also functions as a sheet conveying apparatus for the subsequent apparatus.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
1) When the fold roller is moved in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction while pressing the fold along the fold (fold) of the sheet bundle, a component force is applied in a direction parallel to the sheet surface with respect to the applied pressure. Since this component force is generated, this component force is increased and becomes an auxiliary force for roller driving, the load on the drive system is reduced, the movement is performed smoothly, and the occurrence of motor step-out can be prevented.
2) Since the angle θ from the normal to the paper surface in the pressure application direction changes depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle or the number of sheets, the component component of the pressure can be changed according to the thickness of the sheets or the number of sheets.
3) Since both the forward path and the return path are folded and the auxiliary force of the pressing force acts on the direction of roller movement, the load on the drive system is reduced, the movement is performed smoothly, and the occurrence of motor step-out is prevented. Can do.
There are effects such as.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a system including a sheet post-processing apparatus PD and an image forming apparatus PR according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows an end surface binding processing tray and a saddle stitching processing tray. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 1) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 2) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 3) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 4) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 5) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 6) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram (part 7) in the saddle stitch binding mode; FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view (No. 8) in the saddle stitch binding mode. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the whole system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a front view (the 1) which shows operation | movement of a folding roller. It is a front view (the 2) which shows operation | movement of a folding roller. It is a front view (the 3) which shows operation | movement of a folding roller. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement of a folding roller. It is a figure which shows the detail of the folding part which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating details of a folding portion that is on the sheet bundle from the state of FIG. 16 and that is performing a folding operation. It is a figure which shows the modification of the fold-in part shown in FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the method of the direction change of a folding roller. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of folding operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

74 Folding plate 81 First folding roller 360 CPU
520 Additional roll 521 Compression spring 522 Slider 525 Additional section 526 Guide rod 530 Lower housing 532 Upper housing PD Paper post-processing device PR Image forming device

Claims (15)

Folding means for performing a folding process on the sheet-like recording medium that has been carried in;
After the folding process by the folding means, folding means for moving and pressing on the fold line of the sheet-like recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction,
In a sheet folding apparatus comprising:
The folding means is
A guide member constructed in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction;
A moving member that moves along the guide member;
A roller member that rolls and pressurizes on the crease;
When the fold is pressed when it is perpendicular to the plane parallel to the moving direction of the moving member and is rotatable in parallel with the parallel plane, and the fold is pressed, A support member that supports the roller member with an inclination angle such that the pressing point is located on the upstream side in the movement direction with respect to the normal line lowered on the medium surface of the sheet-like recording medium;
Elastic urging means for elastically urging the roller member toward the sheet-like recording medium;
Sheet folding apparatus characterized in that it comprises. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The sheet folding apparatus , wherein the inclination angle is variable . In the sheet folding apparatus according to claim 2,
The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle changes according to a thickness of the sheet-like recording member bundle of the roller member . The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
The sheet folding apparatus , wherein the inclination angle is unchanged . In the sheet folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member changes a direction corresponding to a change in a conveyance direction of the sheet-like recording member . The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 5 ,
The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member rotates 180 degrees when switching from the forward path to the return path . A sheet processing apparatus comprising the sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1 . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 Symbol mounting,
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: a sheet aligning unit that aligns a sheet-like recording medium in front of the folding unit . A sheet conveying apparatus comprising the sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1 . An image forming apparatus characterized by comprising a sheet folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 . An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet conveying device according to claim 9 . A force is generated in the moving direction when the crease is pressed against the normal of the medium surface of the sheet-like recording medium after the folding process by the folding means for folding the sheet-like recording medium that has been carried in. In a sheet folding method in which the sheet is moved and pressed in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction on the fold line of the sheet-like recording medium by a folding means arranged to be inclined in the direction.
When the folding means moves in the forward direction on the fold to a predetermined position near the paper edge of the sheet-like recording medium in the stopped state, the sheet-like recording medium is conveyed in the paper discharge direction by the folding means. Turning the folding means by approximately 90 degrees by moving the sheet-like recording medium;
Thereafter, the sheet-like recording medium is conveyed in the counter-discharge direction, the sheet-like recording medium is conveyed again in the sheet-discharge direction, and the folding roller is further turned approximately 90 degrees in the same direction by the movement of the sheet-like recording medium. And position it on the fold line,
Next, the sheet folding method is characterized in that the sheet is moved in the backward direction to perform additional folding . The sheet folding method according to claim 13,
The folding means is
A guide member constructed in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction;
A moving member that moves along the guide member;
A roller member that rolls and pressurizes on the crease;
When the fold is pressed when it is perpendicular to the plane parallel to the moving direction of the moving member and is rotatable in parallel with the parallel plane, and the fold is pressed, A support member that supports the roller member with an inclination angle such that the pressing point is located on the upstream side in the movement direction with respect to the normal line lowered on the medium surface of the sheet-like recording medium;
Elastic urging means for elastically urging the roller member toward the sheet-like recording medium;
Sheet folding method is characterized in that it comprises a. The sheet folding method according to claim 13 or 14,
Features and to Resid over preparative folding method that predetermined position close to the sheet edge is the end of the preset interval.

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