JP5371612B2 - Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet processing device for achieving a smaller size while holding the binding angle of binding needles inclined to one side edges of sheets. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet processing device includes a sheet stacking part for stacking sheets, a needle cartridge for storing needle sheets to which the plurality of binding needles are connected, and a binding part for feeding the binding needles of the needle sheets stored in the needle cartridge to a predetermined binding position and driving them one by one at the binding position to bind the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking part. The direction of feeding the needle sheets to the binding position runs along one side edges of the stacked sheets, and the binding angle of the binding needles at the binding position is inclined to the direction of feeding the needle sheets. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including a stapler that performs binding processing on sheets.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a sheet processing apparatus capable of stapling a predetermined number of sheets, there is a stapler using a needle sheet in which a plurality of binding needles are connected in a line. The needle sheets are stacked and stored in a long needle cartridge. In a conventional sheet processing apparatus, stapling is performed obliquely with respect to one side edge of a sheet at a corner of a sheet on which a predetermined number of sheets are stacked. It was inclined and arranged (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-297709 A

  However, in the above-described conventional example, the stapler is disposed obliquely with respect to the sheet conveying direction outside the sheet stacking area of the sheet processing apparatus, so that a mounting space is required in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. For this reason, there is a problem that the sizes of the sheet processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus are increased.

  In order to reduce the size, the stapler is arranged along the sheet conveyance direction and stapled so that one side edge of the sheet and the longitudinal direction of the binding needle are parallel to the corner of the sheet. When parallel to the longitudinal direction, the sheet is easily torn. In particular, in a sheet bundle in which the orientation of image formation is mixed vertically and horizontally, the direction of turning the sheet according to the orientation of image formation coincides with the longitudinal direction of the binding needle. For this reason, it is desirable that the binding angle of the binding needle with respect to the sheet is oblique with respect to one side edge of the sheet.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the apparatus while making the binding angle of the binding needle oblique to the one side edge of the sheet.

In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration of the present invention includes a sheet stacking unit for stacking sheets, a needle cartridge for storing a needle sheet to which a plurality of binding needles are connected, and a needle stored in the needle cartridge. A binding unit that feeds the binding needles of the sheets to a predetermined binding position, drives the needles one by one at the binding position, and binds the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit, and sends the needle sheets to the binding position. The direction is a direction along one side edge of the stacked sheets , and the binding angle of the binding needle at the binding position is an angle inclined with respect to the feeding direction of the needle sheet.

  According to the above-described configuration, the apparatus can be downsized while the binding angle of the binding needle is inclined with respect to one side edge of the sheet.

The perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus of this embodiment. The side view of the sheet processing apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view of the sheet processing apparatus according to the embodiment. The perspective view of the stapler of this embodiment. The perspective view of the needle cartridge of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the staple in this embodiment. The side view and sectional drawing of the stapler of this embodiment. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments.

(Image forming device)
First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus to which this embodiment is applied. Specifically, it is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 to which the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming apparatus main body 200 and a finisher 300 (sheet processing apparatus). The image forming apparatus main body 200 includes an image reader 400 that reads a document image and a printer 500 (image forming unit). The image reader 400 is equipped with a document feeder 600.

  In the document feeder 600, the document to be fed is passed through the flow reading position on the platen glass 102. The document is scanned by the scanner unit 104 held at a position corresponding to the flow reading position. As a result, the document image is read by the image sensor 109 (document flow reading method). The document feeder 600 can also read the document by transporting the document onto the platen glass 102 and stopping it at a predetermined position, and scanning the scanner unit 104 from left to right in this state (documents). Fixed reading method).

  The exposure control unit 110 of the printer 500 first modulates and outputs a laser beam based on image information read by the image sensor 109. The laser light is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 111 (image carrier) while being scanned by the polygon mirror 110a. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the scanned laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 111.

  The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 111 is visualized as a developer image by the developer supplied from the developing device 113. In addition, at a timing synchronized with the start of laser light irradiation, the sheet is fed from each of the feeding cassettes 114 and 115, the manual feed portion 125, or the duplex conveyance path 124. This sheet is conveyed to a transfer nip portion between the photosensitive drum 111 and the transfer portion 116. The developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 111 is transferred onto the sheet fed to the transfer unit 116.

  The sheet on which the developer image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 117. In the fixing unit 117, the developer image is fixed on the sheet by heating and pressurizing the sheet. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 117 is discharged from the printer 500 toward the external device (finisher 300) through the flapper 121 (switching member) and the discharge roller pair 118.

  Here, when the sheet is discharged with its image forming surface facing down (face-down), the sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 117 is once guided into the reversing path 122 by the switching operation of the flapper 121. Then, after the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the flapper 121, the sheet is switched back and discharged from the printer 500 by the discharge roller pair 118 (reverse discharge). This reverse discharge is performed when forming an image sequentially from the first page, such as when forming an image read using the document feeder 600 or when forming an image output from a computer. Thus, the sheet order after discharge becomes the correct page order.

  In addition, when a hard sheet such as an OHP sheet is fed from the manual feeding unit 125 and an image is formed on the sheet, the image forming surface is faced up without leading the sheet to the reverse path 122 (face up). ), The sheet is discharged toward the external device by the discharge roller pair 118.

  Further, when double-sided recording for image formation is set on both sides of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed to the double-sided conveyance path 124 after being guided to the reverse path 122 by the switching operation of the flapper 121. The sheet guided to the duplex conveyance path 124 is fed again between the photosensitive drum 111 and the transfer unit 116 at the timing described above.

  The finisher 300 sequentially takes sheets discharged from the printer 500 and performs post-processing. As post-processing, there are processing for aligning a plurality of fetched sheets and binding them into one bundle, stapling processing for binding the trailing end of the bundle of bundles of sheets with a stapler, sorting processing, non-sorting processing, and the like.

  The finisher 300 has an entrance roller pair 301 for guiding the sheet discharged from the printer 500 to the inside. The sheet conveyed by the inlet roller pair 301 is guided to the finisher path 302. A switching flapper 303 as a switching member is disposed on the upstream side of the finisher path 302. A switching flapper 303 is a flapper for selectively guiding a sheet to the non-sort path 304 or the sort path 305.

  When performing non-sort processing, the switching flapper 303 is turned on, and the sheet is guided to the non-sort path 304. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged onto the sample tray 308 via a pair of conveying rollers 306 and 307 provided on the non-sort path 304.

  On the other hand, when stapling or sorting is performed, the switching flapper 303 is turned off and the sheet is guided to the sorting path 305. The sheets guided to the sort path 305 are stacked on the intermediate stacking unit 1 serving as a sheet stacking unit provided in the sheet conveyance path via the sort discharge roller pair 309.

  The sheets stacked in a bundle on the intermediate stacking unit 1 are subjected to alignment processing, stapling processing, and the like as necessary, and then discharged onto the stack tray 311 by the discharge roller pair 310. A stapler 9 (binding member) is used for stapling processing for binding sheets stacked in a bundle on the intermediate stacking unit 1. The stack tray 311 is configured to be capable of self-propelling in the vertical direction.

(Sheet processing equipment)
Next, the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view of the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment. Both are diagrams when a sheet is carried in. The sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment performs alignment processing, stapling processing, and the like on the sheets stacked on the intermediate stacking unit 1 as necessary.

  In FIG. 1, the intermediate stacking unit 1 temporarily stacks sheets for post-processing (binding processing, stapling processing, stapling). The in-roller pair 2 carries the sheet discharged by the printer 500 in the direction of the arrow 3 to the intermediate stacking unit 1. The lateral alignment slide guide 4 is configured to be able to reciprocate by an actuator (not shown) in the direction of the arrow 5. The vertical alignment paddle 6 is rotated in the direction of arrow 7 by an actuator (not shown). The small electric stapler that is the stapler 9 of the present embodiment performs the binding process on the vertically and horizontally aligned sheets.

  When the sheet processing apparatus is viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate stacking unit 1 is inclined about 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction a. Therefore, the sheet S1 discharged from the printer 500 and fed to the intermediate stacking unit 1 by the in-roller pair 2 falls to the upper surface of the intermediate stacking unit 1 by its own weight when the trailing end of the sheet passes through the in-roller pair 2. Then, it slides down on the slope of the intermediate stacking unit 1 until the rear end portion of the sheet S1 hits the vertical alignment reference wall 10.

  Meanwhile, the lateral alignment slide guide 4 moves in the direction of the arrow 5 described with reference to FIG. Thereby, the sheet on the intermediate stacking unit 1 is moved until the side surface of the sheet hits the lateral alignment reference wall 11.

  Thereafter, while the lateral alignment slide guide 4 returns to the original position shown in FIG. Then, the sheet S1 is sent in the direction opposite to the sheet conveyance direction, and the rear end portion thereof is aligned with the vertical alignment reference wall 10. As a result, the rear end of the sheet S1 in the vertical direction can be reliably aligned with the vertical alignment reference wall 10.

  The sheet S2 in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a sheet in a state where the operation is completed. Then, the succeeding sheet S1 is carried in, and the same operation is repeated every time for each sheet, thereby forming a aligned sheet bundle.

  Thereafter, staple binding is performed by the stapler 9. In the present embodiment, the binding position 12 of the binding needle to which the staple binding is performed is inclined at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to one side edge of the sheet at the corner position of the sheet bundle as shown in FIG. An angle in the longitudinal direction of the staple 31 with respect to one side edge of the sheet is referred to as a binding angle of the binding needle. In the present embodiment, the binding angle is set to 45 degrees, but the present invention is not limited to this. At least the binding angle of the binding needles may be oblique with respect to one side edge of the sheet or the feeding direction of the staple needle 31 described later.

  The stapler 9 performs staple binding by striking a needle perpendicularly from the back surface of the sheet toward the front surface and bending the leading end portion of the stitched needle by a receiving portion 23 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) as a bending portion. .

  In FIG. 3, in order to clearly illustrate the binding position 12 where the staple needle 31 (needle sheet) in which a plurality of binding needles are connected in a sheet shape is driven out, the receiving portion 23 is not shown, and the needle is viewed from above. I made it visible. In the state shown in the figure, since the subsequent sheet S1 is still being carried in, the needle should not be bound yet at that position. However, in order to clarify the sheet carry-in position and the needle position 12, It is shown.

  Thereafter, the bound sheet bundle is discharged from the intermediate stacking unit 1 by the discharge roller pair 310 (see FIG. 1), and the finisher 300 is in a state of waiting for the next job. This completes the description of the stapling process of the sheet processing apparatus.

(Stapler)
Next, the stapler 9 as a binding member will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the stapler according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the stapler 9 according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the needle cartridge according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating the needle cartridge 20 detached from the main body of the stapler 9, and FIG. 5B is a diagram in which staples are set on the needle cartridge 20. . FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views of the staple according to the present embodiment, where FIG. 6A is a cut-type staple, and FIG. 6B is a bar-type staple. 7A and 7B are a side view and a cross-sectional view of the stapler according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7A is a side view of the stapler 9, and FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the stapler 9 includes a needle cartridge 20 that can be attached to and detached from the stapler body. In the single needle cartridge 20 detached from the stapler main body shown in FIG. 5B, staple needles 31 connected in a sheet shape are stored in a storage portion in the needle cartridge 20. The staples 31 are connected to each other by shifting the tips of the plurality of binding needles by a predetermined amount so that the staples 31 have a parallelogram shape when formed into a needle sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the staples 31 are appropriately placed in the storage portion of the stapler 9 so that the sheet-like staples 31 cannot be turned upside down or can be clearly seen to be turned upside down. An installation protrusion 29 is provided for installation in a proper posture. Specifically, as in the present embodiment, protrusions and grooves are formed in accordance with the shape of the parallelogram when the staple needle 31 is normally installed. Thereby, the erroneous insertion of the staple 31 is prevented, and the staple 31 is accurately installed in the storage portion of the staple cartridge 20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the staple 31 stored in the staple cartridge 20 is in the form of a sheet in which a plurality of binding needles that are punched out one by one at the binding position 12 are glued in a band shape. By continuously gluing the binding needles in this way, when one binding needle of the staple needle 31 is driven out, the next binding needle is sent to the binding position 12. The feeding direction of the staple needle 31 is the direction of the arrow 32 shown in FIG. This direction is one side of a parallelogram formed by the tips of a plurality of binding needles connected in a shifted manner.

  The linear staples are driven out from the protruding portion 20a of the needle cartridge 20 shown in FIG. 4A by a driving member 27 shown in FIG. 7 by a mechanical mechanism (not shown) arranged below the protruding portion 20a. As a result, the staple 31 is driven out in a state of being formed in a U shape.

  Almost simultaneously with the firing of the staple needle 31, the receiving portion 23 descends in the direction of the arrow 25 around the fulcrum 24 shown in FIG. As a result, the staple needle passes through a sheet (not shown) placed on the protruding portion 20a, the leading end portion of the staple needle penetrating the sheet is bent, and staple binding is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the launching member 27 and the receiving portion 23 are substantially parallel, but an angular difference is generated by the rotation of the receiving portion 23. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7B, the launch member 27 is rotatable. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the staple binding failure by correcting the difference in load when the launching member 27 rotates and the staple needle 31 contacts the sheet. Thereafter, the receiving portion 23 returns to the original position, and a series of staple binding operations is completed.

  The striking member 27 is rotatably held by a shaft 28, and can correct a difference in rotation distance due to the rotation of the receiving portion 23 generated by arranging the staple needle 31 at an angle. As a result, even when the staple needle 31 is passed through the sheet, the right and left balance of the staple needle having a U-shape can be obtained, so that failure can be prevented. The rotation of the launch member 27 is set to the minimum necessary by the guides on both sides.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the receiving portion 23 moves toward the protruding portion 20a and performs the binding operation has been described. However, the receiving portion 23 is fixed, and the launching member strikes and bends the needle toward the receiving portion 23. This embodiment is also effective.

  In the present embodiment, the stapler has been described in which a staple-like staple is folded into a U-shape and then punched. However, even when a stapler to which a U-shaped needle is glued is used, the staple is used. This embodiment is effective if it is used by being glued obliquely.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the stapler 9 can be reduced in the apparatus width direction by arranging the stapler 9 substantially in parallel along one side edge of the stacked sheets. The feeding direction of the staple sheets to the binding position is along one side edge of the stacked sheets. Further, the binding angle of the binding needle is inclined with respect to one side edge of the sheet. For this reason, in the bound sheet bundle, the direction in which the sheets are turned over is not easily the same as the longitudinal direction of the binding needle, so there is no problem that the sheets are easily torn.

  S1 ... sheet, S2 ... sheet, 1 ... intermediate stacking unit, 9 ... stapler, 12 ... binding position, 20 ... needle cartridge, 27 ... launching member, 29 ... projection for installation, 31 ... staple needle, 100 ... image forming apparatus, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 ... Photosensitive drum, 200 ... Image forming apparatus main body, 300 ... Finisher, 500 ... Printer

Claims (5)

A sheet stacking unit for stacking sheets;
A needle cartridge for storing a needle sheet to which a plurality of binding needles are connected;
A binding unit that sends a binding needle of a needle sheet stored in the staple cartridge to a predetermined binding position, drives out the stitches one by one at the binding position, and binds the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit,
The feeding direction of the needle sheets to the binding position is a direction along one side edge of the stacked sheets,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a binding angle of the binding needle at the binding position is an angle inclined with respect to a feeding direction of the needle sheet. The binding portion has a launching member for launching the binding needle,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the punching member is configured to be rotatable with respect to a main body of the binding unit.   3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the binding needle storage portion of the cartridge includes an installation protrusion for storing the binding needle in a predetermined posture. 4.   The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the needle sheets are connected with a plurality of binding needles shifted from each other by a predetermined amount. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which binds an image-formed sheet bundle;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

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