JP5482153B2 - Sheet folding apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet-like recording medium, for example, a sheet folding apparatus having a function capable of diffracting a plurality of sheets, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet folding apparatus and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a digital multifunction peripheral. About the system.

  In general, in a copying machine that copies a large-size original such as a drawing original, the image is often copied onto a large-size copy sheet such as A0, A1, or A2. If these large-sized copy sheets are stored as they are or are handled in a large size, the storage space becomes large or the handling is inconvenient, so that they are usually folded and stored.

  However, when this large size copy sheet is folded by hand, generally it takes a considerable amount of time, and the time required for folding the sheet is several times longer than the time required for copying. There is. For this reason, for example, a sheet folding machine having a function of folding an A0 size copy sheet into an A4 size is arranged and used in the discharge path of the copying machine.

  Such a sheet folding machine has, for example, two folding roller pairs for folding a sheet, a conveying roller pair for feeding the sheet to any one of the roller pairs, and a direction for folding the sheet with respect to any one of the folding rollers. And a deflecting means for switching, and the folding direction with respect to the sheet is alternately switched to enable continuous diffraction.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional sheet folding apparatus employing such a folding method. In the figure, a sheet folding device 6 includes a conveying roller pair 1 (1a, 1b), a first folding roller pair 3 and a second folding roller pair 4 that are disposed opposite to the left and right sides thereof, and a conveying roller pair 1. The sheet guide member 2 that selectively guides the sheet 8 conveyed from the sheet to the pair of folding rollers and the sheet lower surface guide 5 that guides the lower surface of the sheet.

  The sheet 8 is fed to the sheet guide member 2 by the conveying roller pair 1 from the preceding conveying roller pair 7a, 7b, and the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 by the swinging operation of the sheet guide member 2. Is guided selectively. Then, the sheet 8 slides on the upper surface of the sheet lower surface guide 5 by swinging the sheet guide member 2 to the left and right in accordance with repeated forward and reverse rotations of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4. However, the operation of feeding between the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 is repeated. It is folded a predetermined number of times by repeating this operation.

  In this sheet folding apparatus, the pressure roller 3a is moved to the folding roller 3b side by a pressure mechanism (not shown) so as to obtain a constant nip pressure between the pressure roller 3a and the folding roller 3b constituting the pair of folding rollers 3. It is pressed. Therefore, a gap changes between the pressure roller 3a and the folding roller 3b according to the folding thickness when the sheet 8 is folded. The folding roller pair 4 similarly changes between the pressure roller 4a and the folding roller 4b.

  However, in this sheet folding apparatus, when the sheet 8 is fed out from the nip of the second folding roller pair 4 as shown in FIG. 14, the end surface 8a of the sheet 8 is set to the front end side in the forward direction, and the first folding roller pair. 3, the end face 8 a of the sheet 8 does not go to the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 but hits the outer peripheral surface of the pressure roller 3 a to pass through the first folding roller pair 3. The leading end portion of the rear sheet 8 is curled and torn.

  For this reason, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-227741), as shown in FIG. 15, a structure that can form a constant interval at one end of the pair of folding rollers (FIG. 15 (a) -side view). Therefore, a sheet folding device has been proposed in which the front end of the paper is not curled or torn even if it passes with the paper end face facing forward (FIG. 15 (a) -front view). That is, in this Patent Document 1, there are first and second folding roller pairs each composed of a driving roller and an idler roller driven by the driving roller, and the first folding roller pair or the second folding roller pair. A sheet guide means for selectively guiding the sheet with respect to the sheet, and a folding means for discharging the folded sheet from the second folding roller pair; a driving roller and an idler roller for at least the second folding roller pair; A nip pressure control means for changing the nip pressure between the nip pressure and the idler roller provided with the nip pressure control means so as not to substantially affect the nip pressure. There is described a sheet folding apparatus provided with a gap forming means for applying a biasing force and forming a fixed gap between one end of the idler roller and the driving roller.

  The schematic configuration of this type of apparatus is also disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-15785). The present invention provides a pair of folding rollers for folding a sheet, a pair of conveying rollers for feeding the sheet to the pair of folding rollers, a deflection unit for switching the direction in which the sheet is folded by the pair of folding rollers and folding the sheet, and the folding roller. Tension applying means for applying tension to the sheet folded between the pair and the conveying roller pair is provided.

  However, in the sheet folding apparatus described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 16, the thickness of the sheet bundle increases as the sheets are folded by normal rotation and reverse rotation of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4. The distance from the sheet guide member 2 is reduced. For this reason, when the sheet guide member 2 is passed through the end surface 8a of the sheet 8 in front, the sheet guide member 2 has a problem that the end surface 8a is rubbed to cause damage.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, since a constant interval is formed only at one end of the pair of folding rollers, the nip entry property differs at the position in the width direction of the sheet when the end surface 8a enters the nip. As a result, there is a problem that wrinkles occur in the sheet 8. That is, the approachability on the side where the gap is formed in the first folding roller pair 3 is good, but the approachability on the side where no gap is formed is the same as before the improvement, and the same problem remains.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 17, when the sheet is folded, the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 and the position of the loop 8 b of the folding unit of the sheet 8 change as the sheet thickness increases. As a result, there is a problem that the foldability of the folding portion of the loop 8b changes into the nip, the folding position is shifted, and wrinkles are generated.

  That is, even if a fixed interval is formed at one end of the folding roller pair as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG.

  Note that the invention described in Patent Document 2 exhibits a folding function with high folding accuracy and a smaller folding position variation between thick paper and thin paper, and smaller folding position variation in single folding and multiple folding. The purpose of this is to make it possible to solve this problem.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that when the sheet folding thickness is increased without causing the leading edge of the folded sheet to bend or break regardless of the size, folding method, and thickness of the sheet. However, it is to prevent the occurrence of misalignment of the folding width and the generation of wrinkles, and to enable high-precision folding processing.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a first and second folding roller pair for folding a sheet-like member, a conveying roller pair for feeding the sheet-like member to the folding roller pair, and the conveying roller pair. A sheet folding apparatus comprising: a deflection unit that switches a folding direction of the sheet-like member being conveyed; and a guide unit that guides the sheet-like member guided by the deflection unit to the first or second pair of folding rollers. The height of the guide means is changed according to the number of times the sheet is folded, with respect to the interval between the first or second folding roller pair and the position where the sheet-like member enters the folding roller pair. An adjusting means for adjusting is provided.

In the embodiment described later, the first folding roller pair is denoted by reference numeral 3, the second folding roller pair is denoted by numeral 4, the conveying roller pair is denoted by numeral 1, the deflecting means is denoted by the sheet guide member 2, and the guiding means is denoted by the seat bottom surface guide 5, the adjustment means height adjustment mechanism 10, the sheet over preparative folding device the code 100, the image forming apparatus to the code 200, the corresponding.

According to the present invention, regardless of the number folding sheet over preparative, and prevent the occurrence of wrinkles of the deviation and the folding portion of the in fold width, it is possible to folding precision.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system in which a paper folding device is connected to a copying machine as an image forming device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet folding unit of the sheet folding apparatus according to the first embodiment when viewed from the front side. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the penetration of a sheet into the first and second folding roller pairs when the sheet thickness is large in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the sheet folding apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating a main part of a paper folding unit of a sheet folding apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating a main part of an operation of a paper folding unit of a sheet folding apparatus according to a second embodiment. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of a sheet folding device according to Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration including a folding roller position change amount measuring unit that measures a change amount of a position of a folding roller shaft of a pressure roller in Embodiment 4. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of a sheet folding apparatus according to Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of a sheet folding device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating the operation of the paper folding unit of the sheet folding apparatus according to Embodiment 6. It is a figure which shows the height adjustment mechanism in Example 7. FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the conventional sheet folding apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the conventional sheet folding apparatus in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the prior art example made into the structure which can form a fixed space | interval in the end of a folding roller pair. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional problem when sheet | seat thickness increases as a sheet | seat is folded. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional problem by the change of the invasion property of the sheet | seat of a folding implementation part by sheet thickness increasing. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the prior art example shown in FIG.

  The present invention has two folding roller pairs for folding a sheet, a conveying roller pair for feeding the sheet to any one of the roller pairs, and a deflecting means for switching a direction in which the sheet is folded with respect to any one of the folding rollers. However, when the folding direction is alternately switched and diffracted multiple times in succession, the folded thickness of the sheet can be reduced without causing the leading edge of the folded sheet to bend or torn regardless of the size, folding method, and thickness of the sheet. Even when the thickness is increased, the folding process can be performed without causing a deviation of the folding width and wrinkling of the folded portion.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in the above-described conventional example so that the comparison with the conventional example becomes clear.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system in which a paper folding apparatus is connected to a copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the image forming system according to the present embodiment mainly includes a copying machine main body 200 and a sheet folding device 100. A folding device 100 that folds the end surface of the sheet and folds the sheet into a bellows shape is connected to the back surface of the copying machine main body 200. The sheet folding apparatus 100 includes a connecting portion with a main body (not shown), an end surface folding portion 120 that folds the end surface of the sheet front end, a plurality of folding portions 130 that fold the sheet in a bellows shape in the conveyance direction, and a tray that discharges and stacks the folded sheets. 140.

  An image reading device 205 is disposed in the copying machine main body 200, and a manual sheet feeding table 208 is disposed below the image reading device 205. The sheet set on the manual sheet feeding table 208 or the sheet fed from the lower sheet feeding unit is temporarily stopped by the registration roll 207 and supplied to the image forming unit 206 at a timing. The image forming unit 206 forms a latent image corresponding to the image data on a photosensitive member (not shown), develops the latent image with toner, transfers the toner to a sheet, and fixes the image on the fixing device 210. . The recorded sheet on which the toner is fixed by the fixing device 210 is discharged by the recorded sheet discharge roll 211 to the sheet folding device 100 when folding is performed. When folding is not performed, the sheet is discharged into the main body by the upper discharge roller 209 by a switching claw (not shown).

  When the sheet is folded, the sheet is sent from the recorded sheet discharge roll 211 to the sheet folding apparatus 100, and the sheet is fed by the pair of entrance conveyance rollers 106 and 107. Is folded. After the end surface of the sheet is folded by the end surface folding unit 120, the sheet is folded in a bellows shape in the conveyance direction by the plurality of folding units 130, and the folded sheets are stacked on the tray 140.

  In FIG. 1, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is illustrated as the image forming apparatus. However, any image forming apparatus equipped with a known image forming engine may be used as long as it is a droplet discharge type image forming apparatus. Well, the image forming method of the image forming apparatus is not limited.

  Hereinafter, the details of the multiple folding unit 130 of the sheet folding apparatus 100 will be described for each example.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the sheet folding unit of the sheet folding apparatus according to Example 1 of the present embodiment as viewed from the front side.
In FIG. 2, the multiple folding unit 130 includes a conveyance roller pair 1 that conveys a sheet carried from the copying machine main body 200 side, and a first folding roller that is disposed opposite to the left and right in the lower part of the conveyance roller pair 1. A pair 3 and a second folding roller pair 4, and a sheet guide member 2 for selectively guiding the sheet 8 conveyed from the conveying roller pair 1 in either the first or second folding roller pair 3, 4 direction; And a sheet lower surface guide 5 for guiding the lower surface of the sheet.

  The sheet 8 is fed into the sheet guide member 2 by the conveying roller pair 1 and is selectively guided to the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 by the swinging of the sheet guide member 2. The sheet 8 is slid on the upper surface of the sheet lower surface guide 5 by sliding the sheet guide member 2 to the left and right in accordance with repeated forward and reverse rotations of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4. Is fed into the nip of the folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 and folded a predetermined number of times. The forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4 are repeated by detecting the leading edge of the sheet by the sheet leading edge detection sensor 9, transporting a certain distance, and then switching the conveying direction. The conveyance distance after detection differs depending on the designated sheet folding size.

  The sheet lower surface guide 5, the pressure roller 3 a of the first folding roller pair 3, and the pressure roller 4 a of the second folding roller pair 4 are connected by a connecting member 13, and the height of the connecting member 13 is increased by a height adjusting mechanism 10. Can be set up and down. The height adjusting mechanism 10 is composed of a rack gear 12 and a gear 11 that meshes with the rack gear 12. The gear 11 is rotationally driven by a driving device (not shown), and the rack gear 12 is moved up and down by the rotation of the gear 11 to be connected. The height of the member 13, in other words, the sheet lower surface guide 5, the pressure roller 3a of the first folding roller pair 3, and the height of the pressure roller 4a of the second folding roller pair 4 with respect to the folding rollers 3b and 4b are adjusted. .

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the entrance property of the sheet into the first and second folding roller pairs when the thickness of the sheet is large. The sheet lower surface guide 5, the pressure roller 3 a of the first folding roller pair 3, and the pressure roller 4 a of the second folding roller pair 4 are connected by a connecting member 13, and the height adjustment mechanism 10 causes the sheet of FIG. This represents a state in which the sheet is adjusted to a height at which an entry property equivalent to the entry property to the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 when the thickness is small is obtained.

  One of the rollers of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 is a driving roller and the other is a driven roller. In the first embodiment, the folding rollers 3b and 4b are set on the side of the driving roller that is driven by obtaining a driving force from a driving source (not shown), and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a are set on the side of the driven roller.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 is configured by a CPU (central processing unit) 30, and the folding size designation unit 33 and the folding method designation unit 31 indicate the folding size and folding method. Processing unit 30 is performed. The CPU 30 receives these information and determines the swing direction of the sheet guide member 2, the rotation direction of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4, the conveyance distance after the sheet leading edge detection sensor 9 detects the sheet leading edge, and the like. The electronic component control unit 34 that determines and drives and controls a motor, a solenoid, and the like is instructed, and the electric component control unit 34 controls the electric component according to the instruction. At the same time, the CPU (central processing unit) 30 controls the sheet entry state adjusting means 32 so as to adjust the sheet entry state to the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4 in accordance with the sheet state. The height of the height adjustment mechanism 10 is adjusted. The fold size designation section 33 and the fold style designation section 31 designate the fold size or fold style to the CPU 30 by each input of fold size designation and fold style designation from an operation panel (not shown).

  The CPU 30 includes a ROM and a RAM (not shown). The ROM stores program codes executed by the CPU 30. The CPU 30 expands the program codes read from the ROM into the RAM, and uses the RAM as a work area and a data buffer. Perform the control defined in the program code.

 As described above, according to the first exemplary embodiment, the sheet lower surface guide 5, the pressure roller 3 a of the first folding roller pair 3, and the folding roller 3 b of the pressure roller 4 a of the second folding roller pair 4 according to the thickness of the sheet. , 4b is adjusted, the sheet 8 can be properly entered into the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 as intended. As a result, the folded width of the folded sheet 8 and the occurrence of wrinkles at the folded portion can be prevented.

  The sheet lower surface guide 5, the pressure roller 3 a of the first folding roller pair 3, and the pressure roller 4 a of the second folding roller pair 4 are connected by a connecting member 13, and the height adjusting mechanism 10 Since the height can be set up and down from the lower side, the first and second folding rollers 3 and 4, the sheet 8, and the sheet lower surface guide 5 at the time of entering the sheet are influenced by the sheet thickness and the number of folding. The predetermined positional relationship is maintained without any problem. As a result, the sheet 8 can be properly entered into the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 as designed. As a result, the folded width of the folded sheet 8 and the occurrence of wrinkles at the folded portion can be prevented.

 Further, the pressure rollers 3a and 4a of the first and second folding rollers 3 and 4 move up and down while being connected to the sheet lower surface guide 5, so that the position of the sheet lower surface at the time of entering the sheet and the first and second The nip position of the folding rollers 3 and 4 is stable without being affected by the thickness of the sheet and the number of folding. As a result, the sheet 8 can be properly entered into the nip position of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 as designed. As a result, the folded width of the folded sheet 8 and the occurrence of wrinkles at the folded portion can be prevented.

  In the second embodiment, the sheet lower surface guide 5 in the first embodiment is movable (swingable) in the moving direction of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4. Other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to equivalent parts, and overlapping descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating a main part of the paper folding unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the outline of the folding device 100 itself is the same as that in FIG. 2, but the pressure rollers 3a and 4a of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 are respectively shown in FIGS. The folding members 3b and 4b are always elastically biased by an elastic member 15, here a pressure spring. On the other hand, elongated holes 3d and 4d are formed in the support portions of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a of the connecting member 13 to allow the roller shafts 3c and 4c of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a to move relative to each other in the drawing. Thus, the separation distance between the pressure rollers 3a and 4a and the folding rollers 3b and 4b can be adjusted. That is, the connecting structure of the sheet lower surface guide 5, the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 to the connecting member 13 of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a is such that the pressure roller 3a is in the direction of the folding roller 3b with respect to the connecting member 13. The pressure roller 4a is configured to be movable in the direction of the folding roller 4b.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation at the time of sheet entry in the sheet folding apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4A shows a state before the sheet enters, and FIG. 5B shows a state after the sheet enters. In these drawings, the pressure roller shaft 4c of the pressure roller 4a before entering the sheet is at the upper end of the long hole 4d of the connecting member 13, and the pressure roller 4a is pushed down by the sheet entering, and the pressure roller shaft 4c is connected. The member 13 has moved to the center of the long hole 4d. By this operation, a necessary pressing force is applied to the sheet from the elastic member 15.

  In the first embodiment, the driving sides of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 are set to the folding roller sides 3b and 4b, but the driving source (not shown) is also provided on the pressure rollers 3a and 4a side. It is also possible to apply a driving force from the two and perform the folding process by sandwiching both of them.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the second embodiment, since the pressure rollers 3a and 4a and the sheet lower surface guide 5 are movably connected in the pressure roller pressing direction, the pair of folding rollers 3 and 4, the sheet 8, and the sheet when entering the sheet Since the lower surface guide 5 maintains a predetermined positional relationship without being affected by the thickness of the sheet and the number of folding times, and the pressure applied during sheet conveyance and sheet folding is also stable, the first and second folding The sheet 8 can be properly entered into the nip between the roller pair 3 and 4 as intended, and a desired pressure treatment can be performed. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent the deviation of the folding width of the folded sheet 8 and the generation of wrinkles in the folded portion, and to suppress the folding thickness.

  Further, in the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4, in addition to the folding rollers 3b and 4b, a driving force is also applied to the pressure rollers 3a and 4a, and the respective rollers 3a and 4a of the roller pairs 3 and 4 are applied. If the rotation rollers 3b and 4a, 4b are rotated, the pressure rollers 3a, 4a and the folding rollers even when there are gaps between the pressure rollers 3a, 4a and the folding rollers 3b, 4b of the pair of folding rollers 3, 4, respectively. Since both 3b and 4b are rotationally driven, the sheet conveyance and the sheet folding operation are performed accurately and reliably, and the deviation of the folded width of the folded sheet and the generation of wrinkles of the folded portion can be prevented.

  In this third embodiment, the sheet entry state adjusting means in the first embodiment is a mechanism that adjusts the sheet lower surface guide height and the folding roller pair interval according to the number of folding times of the sheet. It is equivalent. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to equivalent parts, and overlapping descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

  The apparatus configuration of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 2 in the first embodiment, but for controlling the forward and reverse rotations of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4. The sheet tip detection sensor 9 is used as a sensor, the sheet thickness is calculated by counting the number of folding times of the sheet, and the height adjustment mechanism 10 adjusts the height of the sheet lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a. Different from the first embodiment.

  Since the relationship between the sheet thickness and the number of sheet folds varies depending on the sheet characteristics, the pressing force of the rollers of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4, etc., the above relationship is obtained in advance by experiment, It is also possible to determine the thickness. Needless to say, the elastic members 15 may be provided on the pressure rollers 3a and 4a, and the long holes 3d and 4d for movably supporting the connecting member 13 may be provided as in the second embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment. This control unit is obtained by adding a folding count unit 36 and a sheet thickness calculation unit 38 to the control unit in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In this control unit, the folding number information counted by the folding counting unit 36 is sent to the sheet thickness calculating unit 38, the sheet thickness is calculated, and the calculated sheet thickness information is sent to the CPU 30. Based on this information, the CPU 30 controls the sheet entry state adjusting means 32 to adjust the height of the sheet lower surface guide 5 to a height corresponding to the sheet thickness.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the third embodiment, the sheet entry state adjusting means 32 in the first embodiment controls the height adjusting mechanism 10 in the second embodiment in accordance with the number of sheet folding, and the pressure rollers of the pair of folding rollers 3 and 4 are used. By changing the height of 3a, 4a and the sheet lower surface guide 5 and adjusting the sheet entering state to the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller 4 pair, the first folding roller 3a and 4a are always adjusted regardless of the number of times the sheet is folded. The sheet can be properly entered into the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 as designed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the folded width of the folded sheet and the generation of wrinkles at the folded portion.

  In the fourth embodiment, the sheet entry state adjusting means in the first embodiment is a mechanism that adjusts the sheet lower surface guide height and the folding roller pair interval according to the pressure roller position of the folding roller pair during sheet clamping. The other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to equivalent parts, and overlapping descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

  The apparatus configuration of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 2 which is the apparatus configuration of the first embodiment, but the amount of change in the position of the folding roller shaft 4c of the pressure roller 4a as shown in FIG. The folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 that measures the above is provided in the apparatus. The folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 measures the folding roller position change amount A, and a folding roller pair interval measuring unit 39 (to be described later) calculates the interval B of the folding roller pair 4 based on the change amount A. Then, the height adjustment mechanism 10 adjusts the height of the sheet lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a according to an instruction from the CPU 30 based on the calculated distance B between the roller pair 4. Although not shown, the first folding roller pair 3 is also provided with a folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 in the same manner as the second folding roller pair 4, and the sheet is adjusted by the height adjusting mechanism 10 as described above. The height of the lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a is adjusted.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the fourth embodiment. This control unit is obtained by adding a folding roller interval measurement unit 39 to the control unit in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The folding roller interval measuring unit 39 calculates the interval between the folding roller pairs 3 and 4 from the position change amount of the folding rollers 3a and 4a measured by the folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 shown in FIG. Information on the calculated interval B is sent to the CPU 30, and the CPU 30 controls the sheet entry state adjusting means 32 based on the interval information, and the sheet enters the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4. Adjust the condition.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the sheet entering state adjusting unit 32 is measured by the folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 and calculated by the folding roller pair interval measuring unit 39, that is, the folding roller pair at the time of holding the sheet. The heights of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a and the sheet lower surface guide 5 of the pair of folding rollers 3 and 4 are changed on the basis of the sheet thickness calculated from the position of the folding rollers 3 and 4 held by the pair of folding rollers. Then, the sheet entering state to the first and / or second folding roller pair 3 and 4 is adjusted. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately measure the sheet thickness with a simple configuration, and the first and / or second folding roller pairs 3 are always set regardless of the number of folding times, the sheet thickness, the stiffness, the curl state, and the use environment. The sheet can be properly entered into the nip 4 as designed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the folded width of the folded sheet and the generation of wrinkles at the folded portion.

  In the fifth embodiment, the sheet entering state adjusting means in the first embodiment is calculated by the sheet thickness calculation unit that calculates the sheet thickness when the roller is not nipped from the interval between the pair of folding rollers when the sheet is nipped. This is a mechanism for adjusting the sheet lower surface guide height and the folding roller pair interval according to the sheet thickness, and other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are assigned to the equivalent parts, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  The apparatus configuration of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the fifth embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 2 which is the apparatus configuration in the first embodiment, but the folding roller shaft of the pressure roller 4a is the same as in the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. The folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 for measuring the change amount of the position 4c is provided in the apparatus. The folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 measures the folding roller position change amount A, and a folding roller pair interval measuring unit 39 (to be described later) calculates the interval B of the folding roller pair 4 based on the change amount A. Next, based on the calculated distance B between the roller pair 4, the nip between the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 is not sandwiched between the folding roller pair 4 at the time of measurement, but in the next operation. The sheet thickness C of the portion to enter is calculated, and the height adjustment mechanism 10 adjusts the height of the sheet lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a from this calculated value. Similarly to the fourth embodiment, the first folding roller pair 3 is also provided with the folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 similarly to the second folding roller pair 4 and is adjusted by the height adjusting mechanism 10 as described above. The height adjustment of the sheet lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a is performed.

  Further, the interval B between the folding roller pair 4 and the sheet thickness C of the portion that is not sandwiched between the folding roller pair 4 but should enter the nip of the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 in the next operation. Since the relationship varies depending on the sheet characteristics, the roller pressing force of the first folding roller pair 3 and the second folding roller pair 4, etc., these relationships are obtained by experiments, and the distance B between the second roller pair 4 and the second It is also possible to obtain the sheet thickness C of the portion not sandwiched between the pair of rollers 4.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the fifth embodiment. This control unit is obtained by adding a folding roller interval measurement unit 39 and a non-roller sheet thickness calculation unit 40 to the control unit in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the fifth embodiment, the calculated value information of the folding roller pair interval calculated by the folding roller pair interval measuring unit 39 from the amount of change of the folding roller position measured by the folding roller position change amount measuring unit 14 is the roller non-nip portion sheet thickness. The roller non-nip portion sheet thickness calculator 40 calculates the roller non-nip portion sheet thickness. This calculated value information is sent to the CPU 30, and the CPU 30 controls the sheet entering state adjusting means 32 based on this information, and adjusts the sheet entering state to the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4. .

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the fifth embodiment, the sheet entering state adjusting unit 32 calculates the sheet thickness of the portion that is not sandwiched between the folding roller pair but should be entered into the nip of the folding roller pair in the next operation, and according to the thickness. The height of the pressure rollers 3a and 4a and the sheet lower surface guide 5 of the pair of folding rollers 3 and 4 can be changed to adjust the sheet entering state to the first and / or second pair of folding rollers 3 and 4. . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the folded width of the folded sheet and the generation of wrinkles at the folded portion.

  In the sixth embodiment, when the sheet entry state adjusting means in the first embodiment is discharged after the end of the sheet folding, the pressure roller of the pair of folding rollers according to the sheet end surface state when the sheet end surface is the front end side in the conveyance direction The sheet lower surface guide plate height is changed to adjust the sheet entering state to the first folding roller pair or the second folding roller pair, and other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are assigned to the equivalent parts, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  The apparatus configuration of the sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the sixth embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 2 which is the apparatus configuration in the first embodiment. However, when the sheet is discharged after the sheet folding is finished as shown in FIG. The height adjusting mechanism 10 adjusts the height of the sheet lower surface guide 5 and the pressure rollers 3a and 4a according to the sheet conveyance state when the end surface 8a is the leading end side in the conveyance direction (the nip entry side to the pair of folding rollers). Make adjustments.

  In this case, the control unit of the sheet folding apparatus 100 is the same as the control unit of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, but the CPU 30 folds the sheet end surface 8 when the sheet end surface 8 is discharged after the sheet folding is finished. The sheet entry state adjusting means 32 is controlled in accordance with the sheet end surface state so that the sheet can enter the nip of the pair of folding rollers 3a and 3b without causing bending. The interval between the pair of folding rollers 3a and 3b at this time is, for example, a predetermined interval corresponding to a predetermined interval according to the sheet thickness and the number of folded sheets, and a final portion with respect to the interval between the pair of folding rollers 3a and 3b immediately before the end of sheet folding. Is set based on the set deflection amount (a deflection amount statistically processed by taking data beforehand in a laboratory or the like). Then, the state of the nip when the sheet enters the first folding roller pair 3 or the second folding roller pair 4 determined in this way is adjusted.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the sixth embodiment, the height of the pressure roller and the sheet lower surface guide plate of the pair of folding rollers is changed according to the state (height position) of the sheet end surface at the time of discharge, and the first pair of folding rollers or the second pair. Since the sheet entrance state of the sheet end surface to the pair of folding rollers is adjusted, the folded width of the folded sheet and the generation of wrinkles can be prevented regardless of the nip state of the pair of folding rollers 3 and 4. Can do.

  In the seventh embodiment, the heights of the pressure roller of the first folding roller pair and the pressure roller of the second folding roller pair of the sheet entering state adjusting means in the first embodiment can be changed independently. The other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are assigned to the equivalent parts, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing a height adjusting mechanism in the seventh embodiment. The apparatus configuration of the sheet folding apparatus 130 according to the seventh embodiment is obtained by replacing the height adjustment mechanism 10 of the apparatus configuration in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 with the height adjustment mechanism 10 shown in FIG.

  In the height adjusting mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 12, the first height adjusting mechanism 10 a is replaced with the pressure roller 4 a of the second folding roller pair 4 with respect to the pressure roller 3 a of the first folding roller pair 3. In contrast, the second height adjusting mechanism 10b is provided so as to be independently adjustable. The first height adjusting mechanism 10a includes a first folding roller pair height adjusting rack gear 12a and a first folding roller pair height adjusting gear 11a, and the second folding roller pair height adjusting mechanism 10b is a second folding roller pair height adjusting gear 11a. The folding roller pair height adjusting rack gear 12b and the second folding roller pair height adjusting gear 11b are configured. The first folding roller pair height adjusting gear 11a and the second folding roller pair height adjusting gear 11b are respectively provided. The pressure rollers 3a and 4a are driven to rotate by an independent drive device (not shown), and the first folding roller pair height adjusting rack gear 12a and the second folding roller pair height adjusting rack gear 12b are moved up and down by this rotation. The height can be adjusted independently.

  Other parts that are not particularly described are configured in the same manner as the outline of the above-described embodiment and in Example 1, and function in the same manner.

  According to the seventh embodiment, the heights of the pressure roller 3a of the first folding roller pair 3 and the pressure roller 4a of the second folding roller pair 4 of the height adjusting mechanism 10 can be changed independently. Therefore, the sheet entry state adjusting means 32 can apply the necessary pressure for sheet conveyance and sheet folding for the sheet clamping side folding roller pair, and the proper sheet entering state for the sheet non-nipping side folding roller pair, The distance between the opposing rollers 3a, 3b, 4a and 4b of the first and second folding roller pairs 3 and 4 can be set without being affected by the conditions required for the roller pair. As a result, the folded width of the folded sheet and the occurrence of wrinkles at the folded portion can be prevented, and the folding thickness can be suppressed.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and all technical matters included in the technical idea of the invention described in the scope of claims are the subject of the present invention. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying roller pair 2 Sheet guide member 3 1st folding roller pair 3a, 4a Pressure roller 3a, 4a Pressure roller 4 2nd folding roller pair 5 Sheet lower surface guide 8 Sheet 10 Height adjustment mechanism 15 Elastic member 30 CPU
31 Folding designation unit 32 Sheet entry state adjusting means 33 Folding size designation unit 34 Electrical component control unit 36 Folding count counting unit 38 Sheet thickness calculation unit 39 Folding roller pair interval measurement unit 40 Roller non-nip portion Sheet thickness calculation unit 100 Sheet folding Device 130 Multiple Folding Section 200 Image Forming Device

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-227741 JP 2007-15785 A

Claims (11)

A first and second pair of folding rollers for folding the sheet-like member;
A pair of conveying rollers for feeding the sheet-like member to the pair of folding rollers;
Deflecting means for switching a folding direction of the sheet-like member conveyed by the conveying roller pair;
Guiding means for guiding the sheet-like member guided by the deflection means to the first or second pair of folding rollers;
A sheet folding apparatus comprising:
Adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the first or second folding roller pair and the entry position of the sheet-like member into the folding roller pair by changing the height of the guiding means according to the number of sheet folding. A sheet folding apparatus comprising: The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1,
The first and second folding roller pairs include a stationary folding roller and a movable pressure roller,
The sheet folding apparatus, wherein the adjusting unit adjusts the position of the guide unit integrally with the pressure roller of the first or second pair of folding rollers. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 2,
The sheet folding apparatus, wherein the pressure roller is connected to the guide means. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 3,
The sheet folding device, wherein the pressure roller is movably connected in a vertical direction relative to the guide means. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 4,
A sheet folding apparatus comprising: an elastic urging means for urging the pressure roller in the direction of the folding roller at all times. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1,
The adjusting means adjusts the distance between the first or second folding roller pair and the height of the guiding means according to the pressure roller position of the folding roller pair during sheet clamping. apparatus. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1 ,
A sheet thickness calculating means for calculating a sheet thickness when the folding roller pair is not nipped based on an interval between the folding roller pairs when the sheet is nipped;
The sheet folding apparatus, wherein the adjusting unit adjusts the height of the guiding unit and the interval between the pair of folding rollers according to the sheet thickness at the time of the non-clamping calculated by the sheet thickness calculating unit . The sheet folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ,
Before SL adjusting means, when discharging the sheet after folding ends end surfaces of the sheet final section as the distal end side in the transport direction, to adjust the height and the folding roller pair spacing of the guide means according to the sheet state of the sheet end face A sheet folding apparatus. The sheet folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ,
A sheet folding apparatus, comprising: a driving unit that rotationally drives the pressure roller and the folding roller of each of the first and second folding roller pairs . The sheet folding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 ,
The sheet folding apparatus , wherein the adjusting unit independently changes the heights of the pressure roller of the first folding roller pair and the pressure roller of the second folding roller pair . A sheet folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 ,
An image forming apparatus for forming a visible image on a sheet;
Image forming system, characterized in that it comprises a.

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