JP5565213B2 - Sheet stacking apparatus, sheet folding apparatus, and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a sheet stacking apparatus for stacking sheet-like members (hereinafter simply referred to as “sheets”) such as conveyed paper, transfer paper, and film-like members. The present invention relates to a sheet folding apparatus that performs processing, and an image forming system including at least the sheet folding apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art A sheet processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing such as punching, alignment, binding, folding, and bookbinding on an image-formed sheet is known. Among these, sheet folding apparatuses having a folding processing function are increasingly equipped with various folding functions. Examples of the various folding functions include bi-folding, tri-folding, kannon folding, and Z-folding. The sheet folding apparatus automatically performs such folding processing on an image-formed sheet. Since it is executed, nowadays it is spreading to users who require such folding processing.

  As such sheet folding apparatuses become widespread, a small apparatus is desired for users who are sufficient for processing a small number of sheets or a small user, and the number of small apparatuses is increasing. For example, in a normal sheet post-processing apparatus, a paper discharge tray is attached to the outside of the apparatus main body. However, in a small-sized apparatus, it is also referred to as in-body paper discharge, and sheets are stacked in the sheet post-processing apparatus. It has become. In such an apparatus, for example, when a user manually picks up a sheet discharged on a tray installed between the image forming apparatus main body and an image reading apparatus installed on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body (inside the cylinder). It is the structure that I said. Alternatively, a stacker is provided in the apparatus, and the sheets stacked on the stacker are taken out.

  The invention described in Patent Document 1 is known as such a device. Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-292226) is an example of the former. Since the present invention is small in size, considering the usability of the user, when the user removes the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray, the bundle pressing member that presses on the sheet does not get in the way. The bundle pressing member is retracted to a position where it does not come into contact with the sheet after the job is completed. Specifically, in the bundle pressing control in the finisher, the bundle pressing member at least stops the sheet bundle stacked on the stack tray by pressing and a second stop position that does not contact the already stacked sheets. Control means for controlling the sheet bundle pressing and driving means so as to be able to move to the stop position is provided.

  Further, as an example in which a stacker is provided in the apparatus, an invention described in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-211501) is also known. However, the present invention uses a carriage as a stacker by arranging a carriage in the apparatus. The sheet loaded on the carriage is taken out for each carriage. Therefore, although it cannot be said that it is small, since the stacker is installed in the apparatus and is stacked within the installation area of the apparatus, an increase in size due to the provision of the stacker outside the apparatus is not invited.

  However, with regard to the stack mechanism of the conventional small sheet folding apparatus, the stacker is often a drawer type, and when the user pulls out the stacker, there is a problem that the sheet bundle may collapse due to the pulling out force. It was.

  Further, when a bundle pressing member is used as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the bundle pressing member is configured to hold the sheet bundle near the sheet discharge port, but the sheet is rounded in the fixing process. In this case, the end of the sheet bundle is curled, so that it is difficult to securely press the end of all the sheets near the sheet discharge port, and in an extreme case, there is a problem that the sheet bundle may collapse.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the stackability of sheets or sheet bundles in a small apparatus. In addition, the sheet bundle is prevented from collapsing.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first means includes a lifting tray for stacking sheets, a support column that supports the lifting tray so as to be lifted and aligns the end on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the stacked sheets, Column driving means for inclining the alignment columns to a predetermined angle, tray driving means for driving the lifting tray up and down, and detection means for detecting that the deviation of the sheet bundle stacked on the lifting tray is larger than a predetermined amount. And when the detecting means detects that the deviation is larger than a predetermined amount, the control means drives the support driving means to incline the alignment support to the angle, aligns the sheet bundle, and returns to the sheet receiving position. And a sheet stacking apparatus comprising the means.

  The second means includes a sheet pressing means which is located above the lifting tray and is pressed against the sheet bundle by the lifting operation of the lifting tray and presses the sheet bundle in the first means. It is characterized by.

  The third means is the second means in which the sheet pressing means is installed in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, and the abutting is pivotally supported with respect to the abutting shaft. It consists of parts.

The fourth means includes a driving means for moving the abutting shaft in the sheet conveying direction in the third means, and the control means is configured such that the abutting shaft is at the uppermost position when the sheet pressing means holds the sheet bundle. The drive means is controlled so as to abut on the central portion of the sheet.

  The fifth means further comprises detection means for detecting that the abutting portion has rotated to a predetermined angle in the third or fourth means, and the control means discharges the final sheet to the lifting tray. When the paper is raised, the lifting tray is raised, and the sheet bundle is abutted against the sheet pressing means, the detecting means stops the raising operation of the elevation tray based on a detection signal that detects the abutting portion. Features.

  A sixth means is any one of the second to fifth means, wherein the control means executes a sheet pressing operation by the sheet pressing means when a jam occurs.

  A seventh means is characterized in that, in the first to sixth means, the sheet is a sheet subjected to folding processing.

  The eighth means is characterized in that the sheet sheet folding apparatus includes the sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects.

  A ninth means is the eighth means, wherein the sheet stacking apparatus is installed in a casing of the sheet folding apparatus, and stacks sheets to be discharged into the casing.

  A tenth means is characterized by an image forming system including a sheet folding apparatus according to any of the eighth and ninth means, and an image forming apparatus for carrying out a sheet on which an image has been formed to the sheet folding apparatus. .

  In the embodiment described later, the sheet is denoted by P, the lifting tray is denoted by numeral 501, the alignment column is denoted by numeral 510, the column driving means is the rotation driving unit 511, the rotation driving source 512, the timing belt 512a, and the tray driving means. Is a drive motor (not shown), detecting means for detecting that the deviation of the sheet bundle is larger than a predetermined amount, the sheet oblique sensor 520, the control means to the CPU 100a, and the sheet pressing means to the butting shaft 503 and the butting portion 502. Further, the abutting shaft is affixed to reference numeral 503, the driving means for moving the abutting shaft in the sheet conveying direction is affixed to the fixing member 515, the belt 516, and the moving motor 514, and the uppermost sheet is abutted to the signs, Pu and Pu ′. The detecting means for detecting that the section has rotated to a predetermined angle is provided in the abutting sensor 524, and the sheet stacking apparatus is provided in the stacker section 500. The image forming apparatus in PR, corresponding.

  According to the present invention, since the alignment struts can be inclined in the apparatus to align the end portions of the sheets or the sheet bundle, the stackability of the sheets or the sheet bundle can be improved even in a small apparatus. At that time, if the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle stacked by the sheet pressing member is pressed, the collapse of the sheet bundle can be surely prevented.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system including a sheet folding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement of Z folding in a sheet folding apparatus, and shows a series of operation | movement with FIG. 2B. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of Z folding in a sheet folding apparatus, and shows a series of operation | movement with FIG. 2A. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement of folding in the sheet folding apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement of the outer trifold in a sheet folding apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement of the inner trifold in a sheet folding apparatus. FIG. 3 is a front view of a main part when the stacker is viewed from the sheet take-out direction. It is a principal part side view of a stacker part. FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 7. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming system in the present embodiment. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure in the stacker part after discharge. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and illustrates a state in which a sheet folded in three is being conveyed on a lifting tray. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation during a paper discharge process of the stacker unit, and shows a state before the sheet is discharged and abutted against the abutting unit and the abutting shaft. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and shows a state when a sheet is pressed by an abutting shaft. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and shows a state when the sheet is lowered to a position where the next sheet can be received after abutting. FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and shows a state immediately after paper discharge is completed and a sheet is taken out. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and shows a state where paper discharge is completed and a sheet is being taken out. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit, and illustrates a state when a sheet is completely taken out. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a sheet discharge processing operation. It is a figure which shows the position of an abutting shaft when an alignment support | pillar is vertical, and the state of an abutting part. It is a figure which shows the state of a butting shaft and a butting part when an alignment support | pillar inclines. It is the perspective view which looked at the stacker part of the sheet folding device from the back side. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the movement operation | movement of a butting shaft. It is a figure which shows the movement amount from a home position by the sheet size according to inner tri-fold and outer tri-fold.

  In the present invention, when stacking of sheets, particularly folded sheets, is deteriorated, the stack portion is inclined obliquely, and the end portion of the sheet or sheet bundle is applied to a member positioned obliquely below. The stacking property of sheets or sheet bundles is improved by bringing them into contact with each other and then returning them to their original positions. At that time, regardless of the sheet size, the stackability of the sheet bundle is further improved by pressing the center position of the upper surface of the sheet or sheet bundle.

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

<overall structure>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system including a sheet folding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the sheet folding apparatus 100 is disposed as one element of the image forming system, and the front-stage image forming apparatus PR is positioned between the rear-stage finisher FR.

  The sheet folding apparatus 100 includes first to seventh seven conveying paths 101 to 107, first to sixth folding rollers 201 to 206, first to third three stoppers 301 to 303, first to sixth. It basically includes the third three bending assisting members 401 to 403 and the stacker unit 500.

  The first conveyance path 101 is a sheet-through conveyance path at the upper part of the main body of the sheet folding apparatus 100. The inlet conveyance roller 111 is disposed on the most upstream side, and the discharge conveyance roller 112 is disposed on the most downstream side. The upstream-side image forming apparatus PR is connected to the paper discharge port, and the most downstream side is connected to the carry-in port of the subsequent-stage finisher FR.

  The second conveyance path 102 branches from the first conveyance path 101 immediately after the downstream side of the entrance conveyance roller 111 in the sheet conveyance direction, and an inlet switching claw 400 is disposed at the branch point. A first folding roller 201 and a first driven roller 201a driven by the first folding roller 201 are disposed on the downstream side of the inlet switching claw 400 of the second conveying path 102, and the first driven roller 201a is disposed downstream of the first driven roller 201a. One bending assisting member 401 is provided. The second conveying path 102 is curved in an arc shape in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the sheet carry-in direction in the drawing on the downstream side of the first bending assist member 401, and the support shaft 301a of the first stopper 301 is located at the center of the curvature of the curved portion. Is installed, and the first stopper 301 is arranged to be movable by rotation along the curved portion of the second conveyance path 102. Further, a nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202 is located opposite to the position where the first bending assisting member 401 is installed, and the third conveyance path 103 extends from the nip. The first deflection assisting member 401 faces the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202 when the sheet end is abutted against the first stopper 301 and the sheets are folded by the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. It has a function of rotating and projecting to a position and guiding a portion that becomes a fold of the sheet to the nip.

  The third conveyance path 103 extends from the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202 to the nip between the third folding roller 203 and the second driven roller 203 a driven by the third folding roller 203.

  The third folding roller 203 nips with the fourth folding roller 204 in addition to the second driven roller 203a, the nip portion between the third folding roller 203 and the second driven roller 203a, and the third folding roller 203 and the fourth folding roller 204. Is positioned on the uppermost stream side of the fourth transport path 104.

  The fourth conveyance path 104 is curved in a circular arc shape in the clockwise direction when viewed from the sheet carrying-in direction in the drawing from both the nip portions, and like the second conveyance path 102, the second stopper 302 is provided at the central portion of the curvature of the curved portion. A support shaft 302a is installed, and the second stopper 302 is disposed so as to be movable along the curved portion of the fourth transport path 104 by rotation.

  On the downstream side of the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204, the fifth conveyance path 105 extends to the nip of the fifth folding roller 205 and the third driven roller 205a that is driven by the fifth folding roller 205. The fifth folding roller 205 is also nipped with the sixth folding roller 206, and the nip between the fifth folding roller 205 and the third driven roller 205a and the nip portion between the fifth and sixth folding rollers 205 and 206 are on the most upstream side. The sixth transport path 106 extends to the nip of the paper discharge transport roller 112 and joins the first transport path 101. The sixth conveyance path 106 is curved in an arc shape in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the sheet carry-in side, and the support shaft 303a of the third stopper 303 is installed at the central portion of the curvature of the curved portion as in the second conveyance path 102. A third stopper 303 is arranged along the curved portion of the sixth transport path 106 so as to be movable by rotation.

  A seventh conveyance path 107 is provided on the opposite side of the nip between the fifth and sixth folding rollers 205 and 206 to the sixth conveyance path 106, and the most downstream of the seventh conveyance path 107 is disposed immediately before the stacker unit 500. It extends to the stacker discharge conveyance roller 113. A paper discharge sensor 523 is provided on the seventh conveyance path 107 side on the fifth folding roller 205 side of the stacker paper discharge conveyance roller 113.

  A second bending assisting member 402 having the same function as that of the first bending assisting member 401 is located at a position facing the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 and the fifth and sixth folding rollers 205 and 206. And the 3rd bending assistance member 403 is each arrange | positioned.

  The stacker unit 500 includes an elevating tray 501, an abutting portion 502 including an alignment column 510 and an abutting shaft 503, and the elevating tray 501 moves up and down along the alignment column 510 with a configuration described later. The abutting shaft 503 is disposed on the stacker portion 500, and one end of the abutting portion 502 is pivotally supported by the abutting shaft 503 so as to be swingable. The free end side of the abutting portion 502 is in contact with a support member 513 fixed to the alignment column 510, and the rotational position is restricted.

  Further, in the vicinity of the stacker unit 500 and the stacker unit 500, as a detection means for a member driven by the stacker unit 500, a sheet inclination sensor 520, an abutment sensor 524, a column inclination sensor 526, a sheet detection sensor 522, and a stack sensor 527. A lift tray home position sensor 525, a full sensor 521, and the like are provided. The sheet inclination sensor 520 and the abutment sensor 524 are located above the stacker unit 500, the column inclination sensor 524 is located on the side of the stacker unit 500, the sheet detection sensor 522 is disposed on the lower surface of the lifting tray 510, and the stacking sensor 527 is disposed on the lifting tray 510. On the lower upper surface of the inclined surface, the lift tray home position sensor 525 is disposed at the home position position of the lift tray 501 of the alignment column 510, and the full sensor 521 is disposed at the lowest position when the lift tray 501 is lowered.

<Folding action>
Hereinafter, each folding operation processed by the sheet folding apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

<< Z-fold >>
2A and 2B are operation explanatory views showing the Z-folding operation, and FIGS. 2A to 2F show the respective steps of the Z-folding.
FIG. 2A (a) shows a state when the sheet P is carried into the sheet folding apparatus. The sheet P carried from the main body of the image forming apparatus PR is rotated by the inlet switching claw 400 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing, the first conveyance path 101 side is closed, and the second conveyance path 102 side is opened. Guided to the transport path 102. The first stopper 301 in the second conveyance path 102 rotates around the support shaft 301a and stands by until the first fold of the Z-fold reaches the nip position of the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. . The sheet P is conveyed to the second conveyance path 102 by the inlet conveyance roller pair 111, the first folding roller 201, and the first driven roller 201a, and the leading edge of the sheet P comes into contact with the first stopper 301. This state is the state of FIG. 2A (a).

  The sheet P is further conveyed from the state of FIG. 2A (a), and at the same time, the first bending assisting member 401 is rotated clockwise. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2A (b), the first folding portion P1 of the sheet P is bent toward the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. In this state, the sheet P is further conveyed, the first folding portion P1 is sandwiched between the nips of the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202, and the first folding is performed on the sheet P by the first folding. The rollers 201 and 202 are transported along the third transport path 103 with the first folding portion P1 as the head.

  The sheet P subjected to the first folding is nipped by the third folding roller 203 and the second driven roller 203 a and is conveyed to the fourth conveying path 104. In the fourth conveyance path 104, the second stopper 302 rotates around the support shaft 302a at a position where the second folding portion P2 is folded at the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 in order to perform the second folding. As shown in FIG. 2A (c), the first folding portion P1 comes into contact with the second stopper 302, and further conveyance is prevented. Since the sheet P is conveyed regardless of the conveyance inhibition of the first folding part P1, the sheet P bends toward the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the second bending assisting member 402 rotates counterclockwise to restrict the bending direction so that the second folding portion P2 faces the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204.

  Since the sheet P is further conveyed from this state, the sheet P is nipped by the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 and guided to the fifth conveyance path 105. In the fifth conveyance path 105, as shown in FIG. 2B (e), the fifth folding roller 205 and the third driven roller 205a lead the sixth conveyance path 106 to the discharge conveyance roller 112 from the sixth conveyance path 106. Guided and discharged.

  In the Z-folding mode, the third stopper 303 is not used, so that it rotates to the position retracted from the sixth transport path 106 and does not function.

《Fold in half》
FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram showing the folding operation. 3 (a) to 3 (c) show each procedure of folding in half.
As shown in FIG. 3A, when a sheet is carried in from the main body of the image forming apparatus PR, the entrance switching claw 400 is switched in a direction to receive the sheet P in the second conveyance path 102, and the first bending assist member 401 is The leading end of the sheet P is rotated in a direction to guide it to the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. Thus, the sheet P carried into the sheet folding apparatus 100 is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 through the third conveyance path 103 without entering the second conveyance path 102. At this time, the second bending assisting member 402 is in the state shown in the figure, and the second stopper 302 is located at a position where the folded portion P3 is guided to the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204. ing. This state is the state of FIG.

  When the sheet P is further transported from the state of FIG. 3A, the folding portion P3 is sandwiched between the nips of the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 and passes through the fifth transport path 105, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the paper is guided to the sixth transport path 106 and discharged from the sixth transport path 106 via the paper discharge transport roller 112. The conveyance and paper discharge operations are as described with reference to FIGS. 2B (e) and 2 (f).

  Also in this case, since the third stopper 303 is not used, the third stopper 303 is in a position retracted from the sixth transport path 106.

《Outer Tri-Fold》
FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an outer trifold operation. 4 (a) to 4 (c) show each procedure of outer trifold.
As shown in FIG. 4A, when a sheet is carried in from the main body of the image forming apparatus PR, the entrance switching claw 400 is switched in a direction to receive the sheet P in the second conveyance path 102, and the first deflection assisting member 401 is The leading end of the sheet P is rotated in a direction to guide it to the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. Thus, the sheet P carried into the sheet folding apparatus 100 is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 through the third conveyance path 103 without entering the second conveyance path 102. At this time, the second bending assisting member 402 is in the state shown in the figure, and the second stopper 302 is positioned at a position where the trifold first folding portion P4 is guided to the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204. positioned. This state is the state of FIG. The first folding part P4 is set at a position in the first half of the sheet P (about 1/3 from the leading edge).

  The sheet P having the leading end abutted against the second stopper 302 in the fourth conveyance path 104 is guided to the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 by the second bending assisting member 402 and is folded for the first time. Thus, the first folding is completed in the fifth conveyance path 105. After completion of the first folding, the sheet is conveyed to the sixth conveyance path 106, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip is abutted against the third stopper 303 in the sixth conveyance path 106, and the second folding portion P5 is bent. Guided to the nip of the fifth and sixth folding rollers 205 and 206, the second folding is performed, and guided to the seventh transport path 107 to complete the outer trifold. After the folding is completed, as shown in FIG. 4C, the paper is stored in the stacker unit 500 by the stacker paper discharge transport roller 113 in the seventh transport path 107.

  The abutting position of the third stopper 303 is set according to the folding position of the second folding part P5.

《Inner Tri-Fold》
FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view showing the inner folding operation. FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c) show the inner folding process.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when a sheet is carried from the main body of the image forming apparatus PR, the entrance switching claw 400 is switched in a direction to receive the sheet P in the second conveyance path 102, and the first bending assist member 401 is The leading end of the sheet P is rotated in a direction to guide it to the nip between the first and second folding rollers 201 and 202. Thus, the sheet P carried into the sheet folding apparatus 100 is guided to the fourth conveyance path 104 through the third conveyance path 103 without entering the second conveyance path 102. At this time, the second bending assisting member 402 is in the state shown in the figure, and the second stopper 302 is in a position where the trifold first folding portion P5 is guided to the nip of the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204. positioned. This state is the state of FIG. The first folding part P5 is set at a position in the latter half of the sheet P (about 1/3 from the rear end).

  The sheet P having the leading end abutted against the second stopper 302 in the fourth conveyance path 104 is guided to the nip between the third and fourth folding rollers 203 and 204 by the second bending assisting member 402 and is folded for the first time. Thus, the first folding is completed in the fifth conveyance path 105. After completion of the first folding, the sheet is transported to the sixth transport path 106, the tip is abutted against the third stopper 303 in the sixth transport path 106 as shown in FIG. 5B, and the second folding portion P6 is bent. Guided to the nip of the fifth and sixth folding rollers 205 and 206, the second folding is performed, and guided to the seventh transport path 107 to complete the inner trifold. After completion of the folding, as shown in FIG. 5C, the paper is stored in the stacker unit 500 by the stacker discharge conveyance roller 113 in the seventh conveyance path 107.

  The abutting position of the third stopper 303 is set according to the folding position of the second folding part P6. Further, although the sheet conveying operation is the same as the outer three-fold for the inner three-fold, two types of folding are possible by changing the contact position of the second stopper 302 to the sheet P.

<Configuration of stacker unit>
The sheet folding apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has various folding functions such as Z-folding, bi-folding, outer tri-folding, and inner tri-folding. The sheet P folded in Z and folded into two is conveyed from the paper discharge conveying roller 112 to the downstream machine, but the sheet P folded in three outer and inner folds is conveyed to a stacker unit 500 mounted on the sheet folding apparatus 100. The

  The stacker unit 500 is configured as shown in FIG. 1, and further details are shown in FIGS. 6 is a front view of the main part of the stacker viewed from the sheet take-out direction, FIG. 7 is a side view of the main part of the stacker, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG.

  6 to 8, the stacker unit 500 basically includes an elevating tray 501, an alignment column 510, a rotation drive unit 511, and a rotation drive source 512. The elevating tray 501 is attached to the aligning column 510 so that the lower part of the tilting column 510 can be moved up and down, and the aligning column 510 is provided with a rotation driving unit provided at approximately half the height in the height direction as shown in FIG. Oscillates by a predetermined angle about 511. The swing driving is performed by transmitting the rotational driving force of the rotational driving source 512 by, for example, the timing belt 512a. Therefore, for example, a stepping motor is used as the rotational drive source 512. As described above, the sheet inclination sensor 520, the sheet detection sensor 522, the column inclination sensor 526, and the sheet stacking sensor 527 are provided in the vicinity of the lifting tray 501 and the alignment column 510. The sheet inclination sensor 520 is a sensor that detects the state of inclination when the sheets are stacked, and is installed at a predetermined position suitable for detecting the inclination of the sheet S. The sheet detection sensor 522 is configured to detect the sheet on the lifting tray 501. It is a sensor that detects the presence or absence, and is installed on the bottom surface of the elevating tray 501. A column inclination sensor 526 is a sensor that detects the inclination of the alignment column 501, and is installed at a position where the inclination of the alignment column 501 can be detected. A sensor 527 detects the stacking height of the sheets on the lifting tray 501 and is installed at a predetermined height from the tray surface of the lifting tray 501 of the alignment column 510.

  In the present embodiment, in the case of the outer tri-fold and the inner tri-fold, the sheet P is discharged from the stacker discharge transport roller 113 from the seventh transport path 107 and stacked on the stacker unit 500. The tray 501 is moved up and down, and the height from the sheet discharge port is appropriately changed to improve the stackability of the sheets P. Alignment columns 510 are provided on the side surfaces of the lifting tray 501 so as to align the end surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the conveyed sheets.

The alignment column 510 and the lifting tray 501 operate under control. As a basic operation, when the folded sheet P is discharged from the stacker discharge conveyance roller 113 to the stacker unit 500, the folded sheet P is transferred to the lifting tray 501 of the stacker unit 500 and gradually stacked. In the elevating tray 501, the stacking sensor 527 provided in the vicinity of the alignment column 510 confirms the stacked state of the sheets P on the elevating tray 501, and moves (lifts) in the vertical direction each time the sheet P is conveyed.

  In the case of the outer tri-fold and the inner tri-fold, the sheet P has a rounded shape at the center of the sheet. Therefore, as the number of stacked sheets increases, the stackability of the sheet bundle is impaired, and the sheet bundle is likely to collapse. For this reason, there is a limit if the lifting tray 501 is moved up and down in order to maintain the stackability of the sheet bundle. Therefore, the alignment column 510 and the lifting tray 501 are driven in conjunction with each other. Here, the alignment column 510 is rotated in the direction of arrow A by the rotation drive source 512 around the rotation drive unit 511 (FIG. 6B), and the leading edge of the sheet P is forcibly abutted against the alignment column 510, and the arrow B It is made to return to a direction (FIG.6 (c)). As a result, the sheets P are aligned on the basis of the alignment column 510, so that the stackability of the sheet bundle is improved.

  Specifically, for example, when the sheet P strikes and bounces on the alignment column 510 at the moment when the sheet P is conveyed or discharged, the sheet bundle gradually shifts to the side opposite to the alignment column 510 side. If the misalignment becomes severe, the stacked sheet bundle may fall down. Therefore, when the sheet oblique sensor 520 at the position shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 detects the sheet, the state shown in FIG. The alignment column 510 is controlled to rotate about the rotation drive unit 511 and tilt as shown in FIG. At this time, although not shown here, the abutting shaft 503 is tilted in a state where the sheet bundle is pressed in synchronization with the rotation of the aligning column 510 so that the sheet P is not displaced when tilted. Thereafter, when the stacking property of the sheet bundle is adjusted, the alignment column 510 returns to the original position (FIG. 6C), and the sheet conveyance is repeated.

  Such swinging operation improves the stackability of the sheet bundle.

<Control configuration>
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming system in the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the image forming system according to the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatus PR, a sheet folding apparatus 100, and a finisher FR. The sheet folding apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus PR are connected by a communication interface 100-1, and paper information The post-processing mode, abnormality information, etc. are notified. The finisher FR is connected by a communication interface 100-2 and is used for bidirectional notification of paper information, post-processing mode, abnormality information, and the like, and control information from the image forming apparatus PR is also notified.

  The sheet folding apparatus 100 includes a CPU 100a that controls the entire sheet processing apparatus and each unit, and an I / O unit 100b that controls input and output between the CPU 100a and a driver that drives each sensor, solenoid, motor, and the like. The CPU 100a develops a program code stored in a ROM (not shown) in a RAM (not shown), executes control according to the program defined by the program code while using the RAM as a work area and a data buffer, Operate each part through.

<Operation of stacking column support column>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in the stacker unit after paper discharge executed by the CPU 100a.
The sheets discharged from the stacker discharge conveyance roller 113 are stacked on the lifting tray 501. At that time, the CPU 100a checks whether or not a jam has occurred (step S101). If a jam occurs (step S101-no), a paper discharge processing operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. When a jam occurs, the stacking of sheets ends in the middle, so the sheet bundle remains on the lift tray 501 and the same operation as the paper discharge processing operation so that the sheet bundle does not collapse when the jam processing is performed. By performing the above, jam processing can be performed smoothly.

  If a jam has not occurred (step S101-yes), the sheet discharge sensor 523 located near the upstream side of the stacker sheet discharge conveyance roller 113 in the sheet conveyance direction detects the sheet P. (Step S102), and if sheet discharge is detected, the lifting tray 501 is lowered by a predetermined amount (step S103), and then the stack sensor 527 detects the uppermost position of the sheet S. Increase (steps S104, S105). That is, every time the sheet P is discharged, the lifting tray 501 moves up and down, and the stack sensor 105 detects whether the uppermost sheet of the sheet P is at the intended position, and stops the lifting tray 501 at that position. Thus, the sheet S is received at an optimal position.

  Thereafter, a signal indicating whether or not the paper discharge is completed is obtained from the image forming apparatus PR main body, and the completion of the paper discharge is checked (step S106). When a signal indicating completion of paper discharge is received, a paper discharge processing operation is performed. When a signal indicating completion of paper discharge is not received, that is, when paper discharge is not completed, the full sensor 521 at the lower limit position of the lifting tray 501. Checks whether the lifting tray 501 has been detected (step S107). When a full sheet is detected, a paper discharge processing operation is performed as in the case of paper discharge completion detection.

  By processing in this way, even if a jam occurs, the butting shaft 503 holds the sheet bundle, so that the stacked sheet bundle is not broken even during the jam processing.

  If the full sensor 521 does not detect the lift tray 501, the sheet oblique sensor 520 checks whether the sheets folded on the lift tray 501 are normally stacked (step S108). If the sheet skew sensor 520 does not detect the sheet bundle and the stackability of the sheet bundle can be maintained as it is, the process returns to step S101 to repeat the paper discharge. On the other hand, when the sheet oblique sensor 520 detects the sheet bundle, the alignment column 510 is tilted with the rotation drive unit 511 as the center (step S109). Next, whether or not the alignment column 510 has reached the movable limit is determined based on the detection state of the column inclination sensor 526 (step S110), and the inclination of the alignment column 510 is increased until the alignment column 510 is detected by the column inclination sensor 526 (step S110). (S109, S110), when detected, the alignment column 510 is moved in the reverse direction, and the inclination is returned to the initial state. Thereby, the stackability of the sheet bundle on the lifting tray 510 can be improved.

《Operation of stacking unit's lifting tray and butting unit》
FIG. 11 to FIG. 17 are operation explanatory views showing operations at the time of paper discharge processing of the stacker unit. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the abutting shaft 503 is arranged on the upper portion of the stacker unit 500, and the plate-like abutting portion 502 is pivotally supported by the abutting shaft 503. . Further, as described above, the support column 501 is provided with the support member 513, and the free end side of the abutting portion 502 is in contact with the support member 513 in the initial state (no load), and the rotation position on the alignment column 510 side. Is regulated. Further, the lifting tray 510 is raised, the lifting tray 501 or the uppermost sheet bundle comes into contact with the abutting portion 502, and the abutting sensor 524 is positioned at a position where the abutting portion 502 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. It arrange | positions and the rotation position when the abutting part 502 is abutted is detected.

  Since the lifting mechanism of the lifting tray 501 is a known configuration, although not shown here, the lifting mechanism includes, for example, a drive motor composed of a stepping motor, drive timing pulleys disposed at the lower end and the upper end of the side surface of the alignment column 510. A timing belt stretched between the driven timing pulley and a connecting portion of the elevating tray 501 connected to the timing belt; the timing driving pulley is driven by a driving motor; and the timing belt is rotated forward and backward. The elevator tray 501 is raised and lowered. The drive motor is controlled by the CPU 100a of the sheet folding apparatus 100, and ascends and descends the elevating tray 501 as shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 11 shows a state where the internally folded sheet P is conveyed on the lifting tray 501. In this state, the sheet P is discharged and stacked on the uppermost sheet Pu from the gap between the uppermost sheet Pu stacked on the lifting tray 501 and the abutting portion 502. Then, the elevating tray 501 rises, and the sheet P discharged in FIG. 11 becomes the uppermost sheet Pu ′ and is abutted against the abutting portion 502 and the abutting shaft 503 as shown in FIG. When the elevating tray 501 further rises, as shown in FIG. 13, the sheet Pu ′ is pressed by the butting shaft 503 and the butting portion 502 is pushed up in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. Then, when the abutting portion 502 is detected by the abutting sensor 524, it is lowered to a position where the next sheet P can be received as shown in FIG. This is repeated until the conveyance of the sheet P is completed. Thus, when the sheets P are stacked, the sheets are pressed from above, so that the stackability of the sheets is improved.

  When a full detection signal is detected by the full detection sensor 521, when a jam detection signal is detected by the image forming apparatus PR or the sheet folding apparatus 100, or sent from the image forming apparatus PR by the paper discharge sensor 523 When the discharge completion signal for one job is detected, the lifting tray 501 performs a discharge processing operation. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show a state when the paper discharge is completed and the sheet P is taken out. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the sheet discharge processing operation.

  In the paper discharge processing operation, when the paper discharge is completed, the elevating tray 501 is raised (step S201), and when the abutting sensor 524 detects the abutting portion 502 (step S202-yes), the elevating tray 501 is raised. Stop (step S203). In this state, the sheet bundle is regulated by the abutting shaft 503 and is in a state of being pushed a little. Therefore, the user can take out the sheet bundle from the lifting tray 501 without breaking the sheet bundle. When the sheet detection sensor 522 detects that the sheet bundle has been taken out (step S204—yes), as shown in FIG. 17, the elevating tray 501 moves to a position detected by the home position sensor 525 (step S205). To return to the home position in preparation for the conveyance of the sheet (step S206). At that time, the butting shaft 503 also moves to the alignment column 510 side.

  In the present embodiment, since such paper discharge process control is executed, the abutting shaft 503 holds the sheet bundle even if a jam occurs. As a result, the stacked sheet bundle is not broken even during the jam processing, and the jam processing performance can be improved.

《Abutting shaft movement configuration and operation》
The abutting shaft 503 moves in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. Although this movement may occur when the sheet is received, the movement is performed so that the sheet bundle can be pressed at an optimum position according to the sheet size and the inclination of the alignment column 510.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the position of the abutting shaft 503 and the state of the abutting portion 502 when the alignment column 510 is vertical, and FIG. 20 is a diagram of the abutting shaft 503 and the abutting portion 502 when the alignment column is tilted. It is a figure which shows a state. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the abutting shaft 503 is displaced from the position before the tilting shaft 503 is in contact with the sheet bundle by tilting the alignment column 510 obliquely (c / 2 → c ′ / 2). If the contact position of the sheet bundle with the abutting shaft 503 is shifted, there may be a situation in which the sheet bundle cannot be extremely pressed. In this case, the user may collapse when taking out the sheet bundle. There is. In addition, when the abutting shaft 503 is close to the aligning strut 510 side, there is no mechanism for supporting the sheet bundle on the side opposite to the aligning strut 510 of the abutting shaft 503 when there is a large amount of stacked sheets. If pressed, the balance may be lost and the sheet bundle may be destroyed. Considering this, the abutting shaft 503 needs to hold the sheet bundle at or near the center position of the sheet bundle. By doing so, the sheet bundle can be pressed by raising the elevating tray 501, and the sheet bundle can be supported by the alignment column 510. As a result, the sheet bundle is stably pressed, and there is no possibility of collapsing on the lifting tray 501.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the abutting shaft 503 is configured to move in parallel with the paper transport direction.

  FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the stacker unit 500 of the sheet folding apparatus 100 as viewed from the rear side. The abutting shaft 503 protrudes from the guide groove 531 of the side plate 530, and a fixing member 515 protruding along the axial direction is fixed to a belt 516 driven by the moving motor 514. The rotation direction of the belt 516 and the guide groove 531 are set in parallel, and when the butting movement motor 514 rotates, the butting shaft 503 reciprocates along the guide groove 531 in the arrow C direction. The driving mechanism including the fixing member 515, the belt 516, the moving motor 514, and the abutting shaft 503 are tilted in conjunction with the tilting of the alignment column 510 by a mechanism (not shown). A driven mechanism that performs the same operation is also provided at the end of the abutting shaft 503 (not shown), and both ends of the abutting shaft 503 are moved integrally by the drive mechanism and the driven mechanism.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the movement operation of the butting shaft. The butting shaft 503 before being transported is at the home position, and sheet size information is transmitted from the image forming apparatus PR main body when transport is started. The CPU 100a of the sheet folding apparatus 100 receives the transmitted sheet size information (step S301), and when the sheet P is conveyed (step S302-yes), only the movement amount determined based on the received sheet size information. Move (step S303).

  When it moves to a predetermined position, the abutting shaft 503 stops (step S304), and the sheet bundle is pressed by raising the elevating tray 501. When the sheet detection sensor 522 installed in the lift tray 501 detects that the sheet has been removed (step S305-yes), the butting shaft 503 returns to the original position, and the butting shaft home position sensor 528. Until it is detected by (step S306, S307). By moving in this way, the abutting shaft 503 moves to a position set in advance according to the size of the sheet P without hindering the conveyance of the sheet P. The sheet P can be abutted against the sheet.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the amount of movement from the home position depending on the sheet size of the inner trifold and the outer trifold. As shown in the figure, the amount of movement of the butting shaft 503 is determined in advance according to the sheet size. In the present embodiment, for example, in A3, the size of the sheet in the longitudinal direction is 420 mm, and the sheet conveyed to the elevating tray 501 is the inner and outer folds, which is 140 mm (420 mm / trifold). Therefore, the position of the butting shaft 503 is 70 mm (140 mm / 2) because it is the center position of the folded sheet bundle. Similarly, the amount of movement is determined for each size, such as 49.5 mm for the A4 size, 35 mm for the A5 size, and so on. The amount of movement is stored in the RAM as a table, and the CPU 100a refers to this table to control the amount of movement when the butting shaft 503 is moved. Thus, the movement amount is set in advance for all the sheet sizes of the sheet P processed by the sheet folding apparatus 100, and the abutting shaft 503 is moved based on the set movement amount. Thereby, the butting shaft 503 can be pressed at the center position of the sheet P regardless of the sheet size, and the collapse of the sheet bundle can be surely prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention, and all technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are included. The subject of the present invention. The above examples show preferred embodiments, but those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification. And are within the scope defined by the appended claims.

113 Stacker paper discharge conveyance roller 500 Stacker unit 501 Lifting tray 502 Abutting unit 503 Abutting shaft 510 Alignment column 511 Rotation driving unit 512 Rotation driving source 512a Timing belt 513 Support member 514 Moving motor 515 Fixing member 516 Belt 520 Sheet oblique sensor 521 Full sensor 522 Sheet detection sensor 524 Abutting sensor 525 Lifting tray home position sensor 526 Post column tilt sensor 527 Stacking sensor 528 Abutting axis home position sensor FR Finisher P Sheet Pu, Pu ′ Top sheet PR Image forming apparatus

JP 2003-292226 A JP 2009-215051

Claims (10)

A lifting tray for stacking sheets;
An alignment column that supports the lifting tray so as to be movable up and down, and aligns the downstream end of the stacked sheets in the conveyance direction;
Column driving means for inclining the alignment column to a predetermined angle;
Tray drive means for raising and lowering the elevating tray;
Detecting means for detecting that the deviation of the sheet bundle stacked on the elevating tray is larger than a predetermined amount;
A control unit that drives the column driving unit to tilt the alignment column to the angle and align the sheet bundle to return to the sheet receiving position when the detection unit detects that the deviation is larger than a predetermined amount; ,
Sheet stacking device with The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A sheet stacking apparatus, comprising: a sheet pressing unit that is positioned above the lifting tray and that hits the sheet bundle on the lifting tray by a lifting operation of the lifting tray and presses the sheet bundle. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
A sheet stacking apparatus, wherein the sheet pressing unit includes an abutting shaft installed in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction, and an abutting portion pivotally supported by the abutting shaft. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
Drive means for moving the butting shaft in the sheet conveying direction;
When the sheet pressing unit presses the sheet bundle, the control unit controls the driving unit so that the abutting shaft comes into contact with a central portion of the uppermost sheet. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
It further comprises detection means for detecting that the abutting portion has been rotated to a predetermined angle,
The control means discharges the final sheet to the lifting tray, raises the lifting tray, and when the sheet bundle is abutted against the sheet pressing means, the detection means detects the abutting portion. A sheet stacking apparatus that stops the lifting operation of the lift tray based on the sheet stacking apparatus. The sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the jam occurs, the control unit causes the sheet pressing unit to execute a sheet pressing operation. The sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A sheet stacking apparatus, wherein the sheet is a folded sheet.   A sheet folding device comprising the sheet stacking device according to claim 1. The sheet folding apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
The sheet stacking apparatus is installed in a casing of the sheet folding apparatus and stacks sheets to be discharged into the casing. A sheet folding device according to claim 8 or 9,
An image forming apparatus for carrying out an image-formed sheet to the sheet folding apparatus;
An image forming system comprising:

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