JP5435097B2 - Stapler and driving method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a stapler that staples staples with a screwdriver and bends staples with a clincher arranged to face the driver to bind the sheets to be bound.

  Among staplers, for example, there is a type in which a driver is reciprocated by a reversible electric motor. In this electric type stapler, it is necessary to detect the completion of forward rotation in order to perform forward / reverse control of the motor. In this case, when the position is detected on the driver side, the stroke for raising and lowering the driver varies depending on the thickness of the bound sheets (synonymous with “number of sheets to be bound”), so that the driver driving completion position also varies. Therefore, a mechanism for detecting this amount of fluctuation is required.

Conventional staplers disclose a technique for controlling a motor by detecting a current value of the motor when the driver cannot move above or below a predetermined position (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, in the conventional stapler, a technique for absorbing the above-described fluctuation amount by providing a paper thickness adjusting mechanism (including a paper thickness adjusting spring) is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-517938 gazette (see paragraphs “0017” and “0020”) JP 2004-181560 A (see paragraphs “0029” and “0030”)

  By the way, when the motor according to Patent Document 1 is in a stalled state where a considerably high current is generated, a signal indicating inversion of the motor or a signal to stop the motor is generated, and the motor is inverted or stopped. Therefore, in the motor, the stalled state continues for a plurality of times, so that a load is repeatedly applied to the motor. That is, in the technique according to Patent Document 1, the life of the motor is shortened and also causes failure.

  In addition, since the paper thickness adjusting spring is arranged in the paper thickness adjusting mechanism according to Patent Document 2, it is necessary to use a large motor because a large torque is required to absorb the spring pressure at the time of actual hitting. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a stapler and a driving method thereof that can reduce the load on the motor and can cope with fluctuations in the paper thickness that is bound with a simple configuration.

  A stapler according to the present invention is a stapler that staples staples with a driver disposed in a driver unit, and bends the staple leg by folding the leg portions of the staples with a clincher unit clincher disposed opposite to the driver. A difference between the maximum thickness and the minimum number of sheets; a driving unit that drives at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit; a detection unit that detects a clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets; Setting means for setting a reference delay time, and the drive means is driven until the detection means detects a clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets, and then the delay time set by the setting means is set. It is characterized by continuing driving in the same direction over a period of time.

  The drive means may be controlled by a drive signal generated at least one of the control means in the stapler or the control means in the electronic device on which the stapler is mounted. Here, the electronic device includes a copy device or a fax device. Further, the control means or the detection means may be provided in only one or both of the stapler and the electronic device.

  The table-type electric stapler includes a drive unit that operates at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit, and the maximum number of sheets among the minimum and maximum number of sheets to be bound. , The setting means for setting a delay time for continuously driving the driving means in the same rotation direction by the difference from the minimum number of sheets, and the maximum number of sheets in at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit. When it is determined that at least one of the detection unit for detecting a clinching completion position as a reference and the driver unit or the clincher unit is at the clinching completion position, the above-mentioned delay time set by the setting unit is used for the delay time. Same driving method Subsequently the control unit to be driven, or as comprising the.

  The stapler driving method according to the present invention is a stapler that staples staples with a driver arranged in a driver unit, and folds the leg portions of the staples with a clincher of a clincher unit arranged to face the driver, thereby binding the staple paper. , A delay time based on a difference in paper thickness between the maximum number of sheets and the minimum number of sheets is set in advance, and at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit is set to a clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets. After driving until detection, the driving is continued in the same direction over the delay time.

  According to the stapler and the driving method thereof according to the present invention, a delay time based on a difference in paper thickness between the maximum binding number and the minimum binding number is set in advance, and at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit is After driving until the clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets to be detected is detected, the driving is continued in the same direction over the delay time. Can respond to fluctuations. That is, according to the stapler and the driving method thereof according to the present invention, the paper thickness adjusting spring as in the prior art can be made unnecessary and the load at the time of actual hitting can be reduced, so that the number of parts can be reduced, the motor can be downsized, and An inexpensive configuration.

  Further, according to the stapler according to the present invention, the drive unit continues to drive in the same direction for the delay time set by the setting unit after the detection unit is driven until the detection unit detects the clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets. Since it is configured to drive, it is possible to reduce the load on the motor and cope with variations in the paper thickness to be bound with a simple configuration. That is, in the stapler according to the present invention, at least one of the driver unit and the clincher unit is continuously driven in the same direction over the delay time, so that the load applied to the motor is reduced compared to the conventional case, and the life of the motor is reduced. Becomes longer and there are fewer failures.

  A stapler and a driving method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a stapler will be described as an electric type, and an example of a type in which staples wound in a roll shape are stored in a staple cartridge will be described. This electric stapler (hereinafter also simply referred to as “stapler”) will be described as a desktop type. The stapler can be applied to a device that is built in a device such as a copy device or a fax device and automatically binds a predetermined number of sheets for receiving a copy or a fax.

  Further, the stapler is configured such that the staple cartridge is detachable. 1 is an overall perspective view of the stapler according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of the stapler shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a staple cartridge removed from the stapler body shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the magazine driving mechanism shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram related to the sensor shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the sensor shown in FIG. FIGS. 10 to 17 are schematic views showing each operation state of the stapler.

(Schematic configuration of electric stapler)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the stapler 10 includes a stapler body 11 constituting a frame or the like. The stapler 10 includes a reversible electric motor (hereinafter simply referred to as “motor”) 12, a driver link (synonymous with “driver unit”) 20, a driver 21 and a forming plate 22 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. A table 30 and a magazine 40 are provided.

  The magazine 40 is mounted with a staple cartridge 80 and is held at a predetermined distance from the driver link 20 via a spring 23 (see FIG. 10). The magazine 40 and the driver link 20 are reciprocated in the vertical direction by the motor 12 that is a drive source (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). The motor 12 is fixed to the stapler body 11.

  A driver 21 and a forming plate 22 are fixed to the driver link 20 shown in FIG. The forming plate 22 is a plate for forming a bar-shaped staple (not shown) before forming into a U-shape (that is, forming a leg portion of the staple). The driver 21 is a plate for ejecting staples positioned at the foremost end (synonymous with the ejection path) onto the stitched paper P (see FIG. 11).

  The table 30 is always biased toward the magazine 40 via a spring (not shown). A clincher 31 is arranged on the table 30 so as to face the driver 21 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The clincher 31 is a cradle that bends the leg portion of the staple ejected by the driver 21. The table 30 constitutes a so-called clincher unit.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the staple cartridge 80 is provided with a knob 88, and the planar shape is formed in a substantially U shape so that the staple cartridge 80 can be gripped when attached to or detached from the magazine 40. Further, the staple cartridge 80 is integrally formed with a pair of locking pieces 89 on the knob 88 side. The locking piece 89 is locked to a stopper 41 (see FIG. 3) formed on the magazine 40, and the staple cartridge 80 is mounted on the magazine 40.

(Schematic configuration of magazine drive mechanism)
Based on FIG.4 and FIG.5, the drive mechanism of the magazine 40 is outlined. The driver link 20 is formed with a pair of racks 20A along the ascending / descending direction (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, a drive shaft 13 is rotatably supported on the stapler body 11, and a drive gear (synonymous with pinion) 14 as shown in FIG. 4 is arranged on the drive shaft 13 so as to correspond to the rack 20A. Has been. The drive gear 14 is transmitted with a rotational force from the motor 12 shown in FIG. 4 via a rotation transmission mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the driver link 20 is provided with an away flag 24 for detecting the clinch completion position. Here, the clinch completion position is the position of the driver link 20 where the leg portion of the staple is clinched by the clincher 31 on the basis of the maximum number of sheets to be stapled (in this embodiment, 20 sheets can be changed arbitrarily). is there. On the other hand, the magazine 40 is provided with a home flag 42 for detecting that the driver link 20 (including the magazine 40) is located at the home position (synonymous with the standby position).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sensor substrate 15 fixed to the stapler main body 11 is provided with a part of the detection means so as to correspond to the away flag 24 and the home flag 42 that constitute a part of the detection means. A constituent sensor 16 is arranged. The sensor 16 is a photosensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and outputs a detection signal when each flag 24 or 42 is positioned between the light emitting element and the light receiving element.

(Configuration related to the stapler control system)
As shown in FIG. 7, the stapler 10 includes a CPU 50 that also has a timekeeping function, a memory 52, a paper detection sensor 54, a sensor 16, and a motor 12. The CPU 50, which is a control means or setting means, controls the overall operation of the stapler 10. For example, when a paper binding signal is input from the paper detection sensor 54 described later to the CPU 50, paper binding processing is performed based on the paper binding signal. Further, as described above, the CPU 50 includes the clock counter 51 for measuring time.

  A memory 52 serving as a recording unit records programs for controlling various processes in the stapler 10. For example, the delay time described later is recorded in the memory 52. A motor driver 53 is disposed between the CPU 50 and the motor 12, and the motor 12 is driven based on a drive signal from the CPU 50. Further, the paper detection sensor 54 described above is a sensor that detects whether or not there is a binding paper P between the table 30 and the magazine 40, as shown in FIG.

(Operation of this embodiment)
Based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, processing related to paper binding processing (synonymous with the binding mode) will be described based on the above-described paper binding signal. Here, the processing in the stapler 10 shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the CPU 50 and is represented by the flowchart of FIG. This program is stored in advance in the program area of the memory 52 (see FIG. 7) of the stapler 10.

(Spelling mode)
In the spelling mode, the following process is started after detecting that the magazine 40 is located at the home position in the initial state (that is, the position where the home flag 42 faces the sensor 16 shown in FIG. 5). When the magazine 40 is not located at the home position, the CPU 50 outputs a warning signal to warning means (not shown) such as a buzzer and waits for the magazine 40 to be in an initial state. The following processes are repeated every time the above-described paper binding signal is input.

  Hereinafter, the spelling mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 100, the motor 12 is driven to rotate forward, and in step 102, it is determined whether or not it is a clinch position. Whether or not the clinch position is reached is determined by the CPU 50 when the away flag 24 shown in FIG. 5 faces the sensor 16 and the detection signal of the sensor 16 is input to the CPU 50.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the clinch completion position and the like vary depending on the maximum number of sheets to be printed 20 to the minimum number of sheets to be printed (2 sheets in this embodiment). That is, as the number of sheets to be bound P increases, the timing at which the table 30 and the driver clamp the bound sheets P becomes faster (specifically, the stroke amount of the driver link 20 becomes shorter).

  The clinch completion position in step 102 is set in advance with reference to the maximum number of sheets 20 as described above (see FIG. 9). In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis indicates the stroke (expressed in mm) of the driver link 20, and the vertical axis indicates the number of sheets. Further, “needle launching start” in FIG. 9 is to start ejecting the staples in the staple cartridge 80 by the driver 21.

  Returning to FIG. 8, if step 102 is affirmative, that is, if it is the clinch completion position, in step 104, counting of the delay time is started. Here, the set time of the delay time is a difference time between the maximum number of sheets to be printed 20 (that is, when the paper thickness is the fastest to clamp) and the minimum number of sheets 2 to be printed (which may be 0). That is, with respect to the delay time, the motor 12 is continuously driven in the same rotational direction by a difference from the minimum binding number of 2 sheets with the maximum binding number of 20 sheets as a reference. This is a grace period during which staples can be clinched even with the sheets P to be bound in the range of the maximum number of sheets 20 to the minimum number of sheets 2.

  Accordingly, the delay time is, for example, an extension time for further raising the magazine 40 and completing clinching (that is, folding of the leg portions of the staples) even in the case of the binding sheets P in the range of 19 to 2 sheets. (That is, the time for adjusting the stroke difference of the driver unit due to the paper thickness difference). Note that the paper thickness may vary slightly depending on the type of paper P to be bound, but in general, the thickness of one sheet is 0.1 mm.

  In setting the delay time, the driving time of the motor 12 is calculated based on a paper thickness difference of 1.8 mm (this value is the stroke amount of the driver link 20) when the difference in the number of sheets P to be bound is 18. To do. In this case, the one with severe conditions such as the crossing of the motor 12 or the power supply voltage (specifically, the one having a longer delay time, for example, the one having a lower rotational speed of the motor 12) is employed. As an experimental value, the delay time is, for example, 50 to 100 msec. If step 102 is negative, the process waits for the clinch completion position.

  In step 106, it is determined whether or not the delay time has been counted. If step 106 is positive, that is, if the delay time is over, the motor 12 is stopped in step 108. That is, the CPU 50 continues to rotate the motor 12 in the same rotational direction until the delay time elapses even when the clinch completion detection signal is input from the sensor 16, and outputs the motor stop signal to the motor driver 53 after the delay time ends. Output to. If step 106 is negative, the process waits for the delay time to end.

  In step 110, the motor 12 is driven in reverse rotation, and in step 112, it is determined whether or not it is the home position. If step 112 is positive, that is, if it is the home position, in step 114, the motor 12 is stopped. Here, the home position is determined by the CPU 50 when the home flag 42 shown in FIG. 5 faces the sensor 16 (the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) and the detection signal of the sensor 16 is input to the CPU 50. . If step 112 is negative, the process waits for the home position.

  Here, based on FIGS. 10 to 17, the movement process of each mechanism (driver 21, magazine 40 and the like) related to the driver link 20 will be described in association with the sensor 16. That is, a process in which the driver link 20 reciprocates once from the home position (state shown in FIG. 10) to the home position (state shown in FIG. 10) through the clinch completion position (state shown in FIG. 14) will be described.

  At the home position (the state shown in FIGS. 5 and 10), as described above, the sensor 16 corresponds to the home flag 42, and its detection signal (that is, a signal indicating that the light emission has been cut off) is the CPU 50 shown in FIG. The CPU 50 determines that the driver link 20 (including the magazine 40 shown in FIG. 1) is at the home position.

  In step 100 of FIG. 8, when the motor 12 is driven to rotate forward, the driver link 20 is raised by the rack 20A (see FIG. 5) that meshes with the drive gear 14. At this time, the magazine 40 (including the staple cartridge 80) held by the driver link 20 via the spring 23 with a predetermined distance is also lifted together, and as shown in FIG. The to-be-sealed paper P is clamped (synonymous with clamping) by the table 30 and the magazine 40.

  Therefore, the magazine 40 stops rising by the clamp, but the driver link 20 and the driver 21 further rise against the urging force of the spring 23 as shown in FIG. That is, the driver 21 starts ejecting the staple S (see FIG. 13) in the staple cartridge 80 (see FIG. 1) (that is, driving into the staple paper P).

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the driver link 20 (including the driver 21) further rises to a predetermined position, the lock mechanism (not shown) of the table 30 is released as in a general manual stapler, and the table 30 is shown in the figure. It rises against the urging force of the spring that does not start and starts clinching.

  That is, when the driver 21 causes the leg of the staple S to pass through the binding paper P and the driver 21 further presses the binding paper P, the leg of the staple S protruding from the binding paper P is bent by the clincher 31. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the clinching is completed.

  Next, the motor 12 (including the drive gear 14) starts reverse rotation driving, and the driver link 20 starts to descend as shown in FIG. 15, so that the driver 21 is removed from the staple cartridge 80 shown in FIG. 40 (including driver link 20) also begins to descend together. When the driver link 20 returns to the home position shown in FIG. 10 and stops, as described above, the sensor 16 corresponds to the home flag 42 and the CPU 50 determines that the driver link 20 is at the home position.

  Here, as described above, since the delay time is set in advance with the detection timing of the clinch completion position being 20 sheets of paper P (synonymous with 2 mm of paper thickness), the away flag 24 faces the sensor 16. As shown in FIG. 16, the timing is a position where the clinching is completed and the driver 21 stops. Then, after the drive gear 14 continues to rotate normally for the delay time, the drive gear 14 starts to reverse. That is, although the motor 12 is in an overload locked state over the delay time, since the overload state of the motor 12 is only during the delay time, the overload time of the motor 12 is minimized. .

  On the other hand, for example, when there are two sheets of paper P to be bound (synonymous with 0.2 mm paper thickness), the clinch is still clinched when the sensor 16 detects the clinch completion position (that is, the position where the sensor 16 faces the away flag 24). Is not completed, it is necessary for the drive gear 14 to continue normal rotation for the delay time. In other words, the remaining stroke (synonymous with shortage) until completion of clinching drives the drive gear 14 in the forward direction for the delay time, and ensures a sufficient stroke for completion of clinching. In this case, the motor 12 shown in FIG. 1 is not in an overload locked state.

  According to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the driver link 20 is in the clinch completion position, the motor 12 is continuously driven in the same rotational direction over the delay time, so that the load on the motor 12 is reduced and simplified. It is possible to cope with variations in paper thickness spelled by the configuration. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the motor 12 is continuously driven in the same rotation direction over the delay time, the load applied to the motor 12 is reduced compared to the conventional case, the life of the motor 12 is prolonged, and the failure is caused. Less.

  According to the present embodiment, for example, even when the detection position of the sensor 16 or the like changes, the sensor detection timing can be made constant by the delay time, so that the amount of change can be absorbed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the mounting error of the sensor 16 can be absorbed by the delay time that is set and adjusted based on the characteristics of each stapler 10, so that high component accuracy is not required and the cost is reduced.

  In the present invention, a driving time of a motor for reciprocating at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit from the home position to the home position through the clinch completion position is set in advance, and the motor is driven over this driving time. You may make it let it. For example, only the sensor 16 shown in FIG. 5 and the home flag 42 corresponding thereto are arranged, and the motor 12 is driven to rotate forward and reverse from the home position over a predetermined time to return to the home position. Further, on the assumption that the driver unit is located at the home position, the motor may be driven only by a timer without detecting the home position by a sensor. In this case, it is possible to reduce the load on the motor and cope with fluctuations in the paper thickness to be bound with a simple configuration. That is, the conventional paper thickness adjusting spring can be eliminated and the load at the time of actual hitting can be reduced. Therefore, the number of parts such as sensors can be reduced and the motor can be miniaturized, resulting in a simple and inexpensive configuration.

  In the present embodiment, only the driver unit is reciprocated once, but the present invention may drive the clincher unit (including a case where only the clincher is driven) or both units. In this embodiment, the delay time is counted by the CPU 50 having a timer function. However, in the present invention, the detection time of the sensor output signal may be forcibly delayed by a hard timer or the like to generate the delay time. The processing flow of the program described in the above embodiment (see FIG. 8) is an example, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present embodiment.

  As described above, the stapler 10 may be incorporated in a copying apparatus or the like. In this case, the CPU 50, memory 52, and paper detection sensor 54 shown in FIG. 7 are provided in the copying apparatus itself, and the CPU 50, memory 52, and paper detection sensor 54 in the stapler 10 are omitted. That is, when the drive signal from the copying apparatus is input to the motor driver 53 shown in FIG. 7, the stapler 10 executes the above-described paper binding process. Further, the means relating to the control of the delay time is not limited to the CPU 50 and the memory 52, but may be a combination of a CR timer and a sensor.

1 is an overall perspective view of a stapler according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the stapler shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a staple cartridge is removed from the stapler body shown in FIG. 1. It is the schematic of the magazine drive mechanism shown in FIG. It is the schematic regarding the sensor shown in FIG. It is the schematic of the sensor shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the stapler shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure of the staple mode of spelling shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the stroke difference by the paper thickness difference in the paper binding process of the stapler shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the state of the home position of the stapler shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the clamp state of the stapler shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a staple staple ejection state illustrated in FIG. 11. It is the schematic which shows the clinch start state of the stapler shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the clinch completion state of the stapler shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows the state which the driver link of the stapler shown in FIG. 14 returns to a home position. It is the schematic which shows the clinch completion position in the stapler shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between a clinching completion position and a sensor when two sheets are bound in the stapler illustrated in FIG. 14.

10 Electric stapler 12 Motor (drive means)
14 Drive gear (drive means)
16 sensor (detection means)
20 Driver link (driver unit)
21 Driver 24 Away flag (detection means)
30 tables (clincher unit)
31 Clincher 42 Home flag (detection means)
50 CPU (control means or setting means)
51 Clock counter P Paper binding paper S Staple

Claims (3)

A stapler that staples staples with a driver disposed in a driver unit, and bends the leg portions of the staples with a clincher of a clincher unit that is disposed to face the driver, thereby binding the staple paper.
Driving means for driving at least one of the driver unit or the clincher unit;
Detecting means for detecting a clinch completion position based on the maximum number of spellings;
A setting means for setting a delay time based on a difference in paper thickness between the maximum number of sheets and the minimum number of sheets;
With
The drive means is driven until the detection means detects a clinch completion position based on the maximum number of sheets to be spelled, and then continues to drive in the same direction over the delay time set by the setting means. .   The stapler according to claim 1, wherein the driving means is controlled by a drive signal generated at least one of the control means in the stapler and the control means in an electronic device on which the stapler is mounted. In a stapler that staples staples with a driver arranged in a driver unit, and folds the leg portions of the staples with a clincher of a clincher unit arranged to face the driver, thereby binding the staple paper.
Set a delay time based on the difference in paper thickness between the maximum number of staples and the minimum number of staples,
The stapler is characterized in that at least one of the driver unit and the clincher unit is driven until a clinching completion position based on the maximum number of sheets is detected and then continuously driven in the same direction over the delay time. Driving method.

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