JP5708074B2 - Image forming apparatus, post-processing apparatus, image forming system, and transport unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a post-processing apparatus , an image forming system, and a conveyance unit .

  Image forming apparatuses that perform copying and printing are generally widespread and have improved convenience. In addition, a post-processing device is connected to the image forming apparatus, and a booklet can be bound by performing post-processing such as punching, stapling, and folding on a sheet printed by the image forming apparatus.

  A transport unit may be provided between the image forming apparatus and the post-processing apparatus in order to collectively transport a plurality of sheets to the post-processing apparatus during bookbinding (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The transport unit sequentially stacks the printed sheets when they are carried from the image forming apparatus, and discharges them to the post-processing apparatus when a predetermined number of sheets are stacked.

  Generally, a conveyance guide is provided at a position where the sheet conveyance direction is switched between carry-in and sheet discharge, and this conveyance guide opens and closes the sheet conveyance path (for example, see Patent Document 2). The paper is guided by a transport guide and is transported while being switched to a carry-in or paper discharge direction.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-11050 JP 11-193159 A

  Conventionally, in order to reliably perform a guide during sheet conveyance and to improve reliability related to sheet conveyance, control is performed so that the conveyance guide in the sheet discharge direction continues the guide until the sheet completely passes. However, there is a case where scratches or stains occur on the printing surface of the paper even though they are minute due to contact with the conveyance guide. When the conveyance guide is disposed at a position in contact with the sheet immediately after the fixing process of the image forming apparatus, the print surface is particularly likely to be scratched.

  Along with the widespread use of image forming apparatuses, high image quality and high-speed printing processing are required, and high quality is required for the completion of printing. For this reason, even if the scratches and dirt caused by contact with the conveyance guide are minor, the user's request may not be satisfied.

  In order to reduce the contact with the guide, the distance between the paper and the guide can be designed to be large, but the guide may be insufficient depending on the paper to be conveyed. For example, in the case of thin paper, particularly high-quality thin paper, if the guide is not continued until the paper has completely passed, the trailing edge of the paper may be blurred, the corners may be broken, and wrinkles may occur.

  An object of the present invention is to protect a sheet while sufficiently guiding the conveyance of the sheet.

According to the invention of claim 1,
A printing section for printing an image on paper;
A transport unit for transporting paper on which an image is printed in the printing unit ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
The control unit is provided with an image forming apparatus that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of a paper type, a basis weight, or a printing mode of the paper.
According to invention of Claim 2,
A storage unit that stores a table that determines a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position with respect to at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or print mode of the paper;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a timing for moving the conveyance guide from the closed position to the open position based on the table stored in the storage unit.

According to invention of Claim 3 ,
Wherein the control unit, the paper type of the sheet by at least one basis weight or printing mode, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 to vary the closed position is provided.
According to invention of Claim 4,
The transport unit further includes a stacking unit that stacks the transported paper,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance guide guides a sheet discharged from the stacking unit .

According to the invention of claim 5 ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the stacking unit stacks sheets in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction.

According to the invention of claim 6 ,
The conveying guide is a plate-like member having a plurality of projections are provided on opposite surface to the paper, any one of claims 1 to 5 is a plurality of said projections are arranged in the width direction of the paper The image forming apparatus described in the item is provided.

According to the invention of claim 7 ,
A transport unit for transporting paper ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the paper;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
The control unit is provided with a post-processing device that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode of the paper.

According to the invention described in claim 8 ,
An image forming apparatus for printing an image on paper ;
A transport unit for transporting paper on which an image is printed in the image forming apparatus;
A post-processing device that performs post- processing on the paper transported by the transport unit ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
An image forming system is provided in which the control unit switches the timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode of the paper.
According to the invention of claim 9,
A transport unit for transporting paper,
A closed position for guiding the paper discharged from the transport unit and a guide force for the paper discharged from the transport unit are provided on a transport path in the paper discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit. A conveyance guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position, and
The control unit is provided with a transport unit that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to a paper type, basis weight, or printing mode of the paper.

  According to the present invention, the timing for moving the conveyance guide from the closed position to the open position, that is, the contact time or the degree of contact between the sheet and the conveyance guide is adjusted by at least one of the paper type, basis weight, and printing mode of the sheet. be able to. The contact time necessary and sufficient for the guide can be adjusted according to the paper type, basis weight, and printing mode of the paper, and the paper can be sufficiently guided and the paper can be protected.

1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming system according to an exemplary embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming system. It is a figure which shows the example of a control table used for the movement control of a conveyance guide. It is a figure which shows a conveyance unit. It is a figure which shows the conveyance guide of a carrying-in direction. It is a figure which shows the conveyance guide of a paper discharge direction. It is a front view of a conveyance guide. It is a side view of a conveyance guide. It is a figure which shows the alignment part of the width direction of a paper.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment.
The image forming system 1 includes an image forming apparatus G and a post-processing apparatus 4. The image forming apparatus G prints an image on paper, and the post-processing device 4 performs post-processing on the printed paper.

  The image forming apparatus G includes a main body unit 2 and a transport unit 3. The main unit 2 includes a touch panel 221, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 261, a scanner 262, a printing unit 27, and a paper feeding unit 28. The ADF 261 conveys the set document to the scanner 262, and the scanner 262 scans the document. The printing unit 27 includes an image forming unit 271 and a fixing unit 272. During the printing process, the image forming unit 271 forms an image with toner, and the toner image is transferred onto the sheet conveyed from the paper supply unit 28. The fixing unit 272 performs fixing processing on the sheet on which the toner image is transferred. After the fixing process, the sheet is conveyed to the conveyance unit 3.

  The transport unit 3 is provided between the main unit 2 and the post-processing device 4. The transport unit 3 can transport the paper printed by the main unit 2 to the post-processing device 4 as it is, or can stack the paper and transport the paper to the post-processing device 4 in units of a plurality of sheets.

  The post-processing device 4 includes a post-processing unit 44. The post-processing unit 44 performs post-processing on the paper transported from the transport unit 3. Examples of post-processing include stapling, punching, folding, and gluing bookbinding. The post-processed paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 5. The post-processing device 4 is provided with a transport path that reaches the paper discharge tray 5 without going through the post-processing section 44. By passing the paper that is carried from the transport unit 3 through this transport path, the post-processing apparatus 4 discharges the paper without performing post-processing. It can also be paper.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming system 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the main unit 2 of the image forming apparatus G includes a control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, a communication unit 24, a storage unit 25, a reading unit 26, and a printing unit 27.

The control unit 21 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The control unit 21 performs various calculations in cooperation with various processing programs stored in the storage unit 25 and centrally controls each unit of the main unit 2.
The control unit 21 creates job information for printing and post-processing. The job information is control information including instructions for printing conditions, post-processing conditions, and paper conveyance conditions according to these conditions.

The operation unit 22 includes a touch panel 221 and operation keys. The operation unit 22 generates an operation signal corresponding to the input operation by the user and outputs the operation signal to the control unit 21.
The display unit 23 displays an operation screen and a processing result on the touch panel 221 under the control of the control unit 21.

  The communication unit 24 includes a communication interface and communicates with the transport unit 3 and the post-processing device 4. For example, the communication unit 24 transmits job information to the transport unit 3 and the post-processing device 4.

  The storage unit 25 stores various processing programs, parameters necessary for processing, setting data, and the like. The storage unit 25 stores image data. As the storage unit 25, a hard disk or a DRAM (Dynamic RAM) can be used.

The reading unit 26 optically scans the document conveyed by the ADF 261 with the scanner 262 to generate image data.
The printing process by the printing unit 27 is as described above.

The transport unit 3 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a storage unit 33.
The control unit 31 has the same configuration as the control unit 21 of the main unit 2 and centrally controls each unit of the transport unit 3.
The control unit 31 analyzes the job information transmitted from the main unit 2 and reads the paper transport conditions. The control unit 31 controls the conveyance of the paper carried in from the main unit 2 according to the read conveyance conditions. For example, the control unit 31 moves the transport guide in the transport unit 3 to switch the paper transport path.

  The communication unit 32 communicates with the main unit 2 and the post-processing device 4. For example, job information is received from the main unit 2.

  The storage unit 33 stores data such as programs used by the control unit 31. For example, the storage unit 33 stores a control table used for movement control of the conveyance guide described later. FIG. 3 shows a control table T as an example. In the control table T, as shown in FIG. 3, the movement amount and movement timing of the conveyance guide to be controlled are determined for the paper type, basis weight, and print mode (image quality, color / monochrome) of the paper to be conveyed. .

The post-processing device 4 includes a control unit 41, a communication unit 42, a storage unit 43, and a post-processing unit 44.
The control unit 41 has the same configuration as the control unit 21 of the main unit 2 and centrally controls each unit of the post-processing device 4. The control unit 41 analyzes the job information transmitted from the main unit 2 and reads the instructed post-processing condition. The control unit 41 causes the post-processing unit 44 to perform post-processing based on the read post-processing conditions.

The communication unit 42 communicates with the main body unit 2 and the transport unit 3.
The storage unit 43 stores data such as programs used by the control unit 41.
The post-processing unit 44 is as described above.

FIG. 4 shows a main part of the transport unit 3.
As shown in FIG. 4, the transport unit 3 includes a stacking unit 34 that stacks a plurality of sheets in the vertical direction.
The transport unit 3 has paper transport paths X and Y. The transport path X advances the paper in the horizontal direction and reaches the post-processing device 4 without going through the stacking unit 34. The conveyance path Y advances the sheet in a diagonally downward direction to reach the stacking unit 34 and advances from the stacking unit 34 in the diagonally upward direction to reach the post-processing device 4. The front and back of the paper that has passed through the transport path Y are reversed.

  A conveyance guide A is provided at a branch point between the two conveyance paths X and Y. The conveyance guide A is rotated by a solenoid (not shown), and opens and closes the entrance of the conveyance path Y by rotation. The transport guide A moves to the open position indicated by the solid line when transporting the paper to the transport path Y, and moves to the closed position indicated by the dotted line when transporting the paper to the transport path X, and switches the transport path for transporting the paper. The movement of the conveyance guide A is controlled by the control unit 31.

  The transport unit 3 includes transport rollers R1 to R4 made of a pair of rollers. The transport roller R1 is provided near the paper carry-in port, and the transport roller R4 is provided near the paper discharge port. A transport roller R2 is provided on the carry-in side path of the transport path Y, and R3 is provided on the paper discharge side path. The sheet is nipped between the conveyance rollers R1 to R4 and conveyed.

  The conveyance guide B is provided below the conveyance roller R2 on the conveyance path Y, and guides the paper that has entered the conveyance path Y in the carry-in direction or the paper discharge direction. The conveyance guide B is displaced between the open position indicated by the solid line and the closed position indicated by the dotted line by driving the motor Bs, and opens and closes the conveyance path in the carry-in direction to the stacking unit 34. In the open position, the guide force for the paper discharged from the stacking unit 34 is smaller than that in the closed position. The movement of the conveyance guide B is controlled by the control unit 31.

When the conveyance guide B works as a guide in the carry-in direction, the conveyance guide B moves to the open position side as shown in FIG. The sheet that has passed the transport roller R2 is guided by the transport guide B and transported to the stacking unit 34.
On the other hand, when the transport guide B functions as a guide in the paper discharge direction, the transport guide B moves to the closed position side, that is, the paper side as shown in FIG. A counter guide C is provided on the opposite side of the transport guide B, and the sheet pushed vertically upward from the stacking unit 34 is guided by the transport guide B and the counter guide C and transported in the paper discharge direction. The conveyance guide B serves as a valve to prevent the sheet from flowing backward in the loading direction. Here, the distance between the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C is represented by d. Although the conveyance guide B is not parallel to the opposing guide C and may be slightly inclined, the minimum distance between the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C is a distance d.

7 is a front view of the conveyance guide B, and FIG. 8 is a side view.
The conveyance guide B is a plate-like member as shown in FIGS. It is preferable to provide a plurality of protrusions Bv on the surface of the conveyance guide B facing the sheet. At the time of guiding, the protrusion Bv is brought into contact with the paper, thereby reducing the contact area with the paper without impairing the guide function, thereby protecting the paper. A plurality of protrusions Bv are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the sheet. Here, the width direction means a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. Further, the protrusion Bv has a length corresponding to the length in the sheet conveyance direction. That is, the length of the protrusion Bv in the transport direction is substantially the same as the length of the sheet in the transport direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the alignment units 35 and 36 are provided adjacent to the stacking unit 34, and align the end portions of a plurality of sheets stacked on the stacking unit 34. The aligning portion 35 aligns the end portions in the sheet conveyance direction, and the aligning portion 36 aligns the end portions in the width direction.

  The alignment unit 35 includes a stopper 351. The stopper 351 forms the bottom of the stacking unit 34, stops the conveyance of the paper that has entered the stacking unit 34, and supports the lower end of the paper. The stopper 351 is attached to the support part 352 and moves up and down along the height direction of the support part 352 by driving a motor 353 attached to the support part 352 or a belt (not shown). The side surface of the support unit 352 constitutes a sheet support surface of the stacking unit 34. A counter guide C is provided on the upper portion of the support portion 352.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the alignment unit 36 includes a pair of left and right arm-shaped alignment members 361 and 362. The left alignment member 361 is fixed to the pin 363, the right alignment member 362 is fixed to the pin 364, and the pins 363 and 364 are fixed to one rotating surface and the other rotating surface of the rotating belt 365, respectively. . As the belt 365 is rotated by driving the motor 366, the left and right alignment members 361 and 362 move in the opposite directions. That is, by repeatedly moving the two alignment members 361 and 362 away from each other, the edge of the sheet S in the width direction is pressed a plurality of times to align the ends of the sheet in the width direction.

With reference to FIG. 4, a series of operations in which the transport unit 3 collects and discharges a plurality of sheets will be described.
Before the conveyance of the sheet, the stopper 351 of the aligning unit 35 is at the initial position V0.
When the first sheet is carried in from the main unit 2, the conveyance guide A moves to the open position under the control of the control unit 31. At this time, the conveyance guide B is located at the open position. The sheet is conveyed by conveyance rollers R1 and R2, and is guided by conveyance guides A and B as shown in FIG. The lower end of the sheet that has advanced to the stacking unit 34 comes into contact with the stopper 351 and stops progressing. When the loading of the first sheet is completed, the conveyance guide B moves to the closed position.

  When the paper reaches the stopper 351, the stopper 351 moves up and moves from the initial position V0 to the position V1. Due to the guide in the carry-in direction, when the transport guide B moves to the open position, the second sheet is carried from the main unit 2. Similar to the first sheet, the second sheet is also guided by the conveyance guides A and B and conveyed to the stacking unit 34. As the stopper 351 rises, the upper end of the first sheet is higher than the lower end of the pair of transport rollers R2 shown in FIG. As a result, the leading edge of the second sheet advances to the stacking unit 34 without colliding with the upper end of the first sheet, and is stacked so as to be positioned on the back side of the first sheet.

  When the second sheet reaches the stopper 351, the stopper 351 moves down and moves from the position V1 to the initial position V0. The above operation is repeated for the number of sheets to be stacked, and sheets are stacked on the stacking unit 34. When all the sheets are stacked on the stacking unit 34, the conveyance guide B moves to the closed position because it is a guide in the sheet discharge direction.

  When the sheets stacked in the stacking unit 34 are discharged together, the stopper 351 moves up and moves from the initial position V0 to the position V2. The position V2 is a position where the distance between the position V2 and the transport roller R3 is equal to or shorter than the length in the paper transport direction. As the stopper 351 rises, the lower end of the accumulated paper is pushed up, and the paper advances vertically upward as shown in FIG. While traveling, the sheet is guided by the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C.

When the upper end of the sheet guided by the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C reaches the conveyance roller R4, the conveyance roller R4 rotates in the opposite direction to that during normal conveyance, and aligns the upper end of the plurality of sheets in the sheet discharge direction. To do. Thereafter, when the transport roller R4 rotates back in the normal rotation direction, the sheets whose edges are aligned are collectively transported in the paper discharge direction.
On the other hand, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the paper discharge from the stacking unit 34 is started, the conveyance guide B finishes the guide, moves to the open position, and returns to the position before the guide in the paper discharge direction.

  During the conveyance in the paper discharge direction described above, the movement timing of the conveyance guide B from the closed position to the open position is switched according to at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or print mode. Further, the amount of movement of the transport guide B to the closed position is switched. That is, the closed position of the conveyance guide B differs depending on at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode.

  When transporting paper that is intended to protect the printing surface with high image quality, such as when handling coated paper, printing color, or photo, the contact between the transport guide B and the paper should be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, the amount of movement to the closed position is made smaller than usual by the control of the control unit 31 and the distance d to the opposing guide C is made large so as not to overstress the paper. In addition, the movement timing of the conveyance guide B from the closed position to the open position is made earlier than usual to reduce the contact time with the paper.

  On the other hand, when transporting a sheet that is weak, such as thin paper, and tends to be wrinkled or folded, it is desirable to ensure the guide by the transport guide B. Therefore, the amount of movement to the closed position is increased more than usual by the control of the control unit 31 so that the conveyance guide B is sufficiently brought into contact with the sheet, and the distance d to the opposing guide C is decreased. Further, the movement timing of the conveyance guide B from the closed position to the open position is delayed from the normal time so that the guide is surely performed until the paper has passed.

  The control table T shown in FIG. 3 stored in the storage unit 33 of the transport unit 3 is used to determine the movement amount and the movement timing of the transport guide B. The control table T represents the amount of movement of the conveyance guide B as a distance d between the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C. In addition, the control table T indicates the timing of movement of the conveyance guide B when A4 size paper is used, from the start of paper discharge from the stacking unit 34 to the end of the guide and movement of the conveyance guide B to the open position. Expressed in time. Based on the setting content set via the operation unit 22 of the main unit 2 or the setting content set by an external device such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus G, the control unit 31 determines that the sheet to be conveyed is a control table. It is determined which condition (paper type, basis weight, printing mode) is set for T, and the control unit 31 reads the movement amount and movement timing corresponding to the condition of the paper from the control table T. Then, when discharging the paper from the stacking unit 34, the control unit 31 moves the distance d between the conveyance guide B and the opposing guide C to a position where the read movement amount is the distance. The control unit 31 moves the conveyance guide B to the open position when the read movement timing has elapsed after the paper discharge from the stacking unit 34 has started.

  For example, in the control table T, as a combination of a sheet and a printing mode that are generally used, the sheet type is plain paper, the basis weight of the sheet is 40 to 71 g, the image quality is character or ordinary, color / The conditions for monochrome are determined. When the sheet to be conveyed matches this condition, the control unit 31 performs normal control according to the control table T, and starts to move the conveyance guide B to the closed position 100 ms after the sheet discharge from the stacking unit 34 is started. Then, the conveyance guide B is moved to a position where the distance d between the conveyance guide B and the opposite guide C is 2 mm.

  In the control table T, as a combination of a paper and a printing mode in which scratches and stains are particularly desired to be avoided, the paper type is color paper, the basis weight is 217 to 300 g, the image quality is photograph or high definition, and color / monochrome is color. The conditions are defined. When the sheet to be conveyed matches this condition, the control unit 31 reads the control 1 of the control table T, sets the movement timing of the conveyance guide B to 20 ms after the discharge of the sheet from the stacking unit 34 is started, and the conveyance guide B and its The conveyance guide B is moved to the closed position where the distance d between the opposing guides C is 8 mm.

  As described above, according to the image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus G, the post-processing apparatus 4, the paper stacking unit 34, and the paper discharge direction of the paper stacked in the stacking unit 34. A transport guide B that is provided on the transport path Y and moves to the paper side during the guide and returns to the position before the guide when the guide is completed; and a control unit 31 that controls the movement of the transport guide B. The unit 31 switches the timing of moving to the position before the conveyance guide B in accordance with at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode.

  Thereby, the timing at which the transport guide B moves from the closed position to the open position, that is, the contact time between the paper and the transport guide B can be adjusted according to the paper type, basis weight, and print mode of the paper. If the paper type, the basis weight, and the print mode are required to have high image quality, the contact timing between the paper and the conveyance guide B can be shortened by moving the movement timing earlier than usual. On the other hand, if the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode for which the guide is to be ensured are used, the contact timing between the paper and the conveyance guide B can be lengthened by making the movement timing slower than usual. Thus, the contact time necessary and sufficient for the guide can be adjusted according to the paper type, basis weight, and printing mode of the paper. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently guide the conveyance of the paper, protect the paper, and improve the image quality. Note that the control table T in FIG. 3 shows the movement timing of the conveyance guide B when A4 size paper is used, but the control table related to the movement control of the conveyance guide B when paper of a size other than A4 size is used. Are prepared in advance.

Further, the control unit 31 can adjust the closed position by switching the movement amount of the conveyance guide B to the sheet side according to at least one of the sheet type, basis weight, or printing mode of the sheet.
Thereby, the distance between the conveyance guide B and the sheet at the time of guiding can be adjusted. If the paper type or printing mode requires high image quality, the amount of movement of the conveyance guide B can be reduced more than usual, and the pressure of the conveyance guide B on the paper can be reduced. On the other hand, if the paper type, basis weight, or printing mode for which the guide is to be ensured are used, the movement amount can be increased more than usual, and the pressure of the conveyance guide B on the paper can be increased.

The conveyance guide B is a plate-like member provided with a plurality of protrusions Bv on the surface facing the sheet, and the plurality of protrusions Bv are arranged in parallel in the sheet width direction.
The contact area can be reduced and the sheet can be protected by setting the contact portion as the protrusion Bv instead of the entire sheet.

  Since the protrusion Bv has a length corresponding to the length in the sheet conveyance direction, a sufficient guide function can be ensured even if the contact portion is only the protrusion Bv.

The image forming system 1 according to the present embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the conveyance guide B is opened and closed by turning, and the example of the structure in which the conveyance path is switched between the carry-in direction and the paper discharge direction is shown. However, if the conveyance guide is provided for the paper conveyed in the paper discharge direction, The invention can be applied. Also, the present invention can be applied to a structure that moves horizontally instead of rotating.

  Further, although the example in which the stacking unit 34 stacks sheets in the vertical direction is shown, a configuration in which sheets are stacked in the horizontal direction may be used. The configuration of the transport unit 3 is basically the same only by changing the stacking direction. If the degree of contact with the paper changes due to the change in the direction of gravity, the movement amount and movement timing of the transport guide B may be switched in accordance with the degree. For example, in the case where contact with the paper is increased by adopting a configuration that accumulates in the horizontal direction, the amount of movement of the conveyance guide B to the closed position is reduced, and the timing of movement from the closed position to the open position is further advanced.

  The transport unit 3 may be provided not only in the image forming apparatus G but also in the post-processing apparatus 4. For example, the transport unit 3 is disposed between a unit that performs folding processing and a unit that performs stapling processing. The transport unit 3 collects the folded sheets and transports them together to a stapling unit.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to any conveyance guide B that moves the position and guides conveyance without being limited to the conveyance unit 3. For example, if the transport guide B is provided in the transport path in the main unit 2, the control unit 21 determines the paper type, basis weight, or print mode of the paper from the job information, and at least one of these, What is necessary is just to perform control which switches the movement timing and movement amount of a conveyance guide. Similarly, if the conveyance guide B is provided in the conveyance path in the post-processing device 4, the control unit 41 may perform the same switching control.

Further, as a computer-readable medium for a program related to the movement control of the conveyance guide, a non-volatile memory such as a ROM and a flash memory, and a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM can be applied.
Further, a carrier wave (carrier wave) is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing program data related to movement control of the conveyance guide via a communication line.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming system G Image forming apparatus 2 Main body unit 21 Control part 27 Printing part 3 Conveyance unit 31 Control part 34 Stacking part 35, 36 Alignment part B Conveyance guide C Opposite guide R1-R4 Conveyance roller X, Y Conveyance path 4 Post-processing Device 41 Control unit 44 Post-processing unit

Claims (9)

A printing section for printing an image on paper;
A transport unit for transporting paper on which an image is printed in the printing unit ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
The control unit is an image forming apparatus that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of a paper type, a basis weight, or a printing mode of the paper. A storage unit that stores a table that determines a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position with respect to at least one of the paper type, basis weight, or print mode of the paper;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position based on the table stored in the storage unit. Wherein the control unit, the paper type of the sheet by at least one basis weight or printing mode, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 varied the closed position. The transport unit further includes a stacking unit that stacks the transported paper,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance guide guides a sheet discharged from the stacking unit . The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the stacking unit stacks sheets in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. The conveying guide is a plate-like member having a plurality of projections are provided on opposite surface to the paper, any one of claims 1 to 5 is a plurality of said projections are arranged in the width direction of the paper The image forming apparatus described in the item. A transport unit for transporting paper ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the paper;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
The control unit is a post-processing device that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of a paper type, a basis weight, or a printing mode of the paper. An image forming apparatus for printing an image on paper ;
A transport unit for transporting paper on which an image is printed in the image forming apparatus;
A post-processing device that performs post- processing on the paper transported by the transport unit ;
Provided on the transport path of the sheet discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit, and a closed position for guiding the sheet ejected from the conveyor unit, guide force for sheets to be discharged from the transport unit the A transport guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position;
A control unit for controlling the movement of the transport guide,
The control unit is an image forming system that switches a timing for moving the transport guide from the closed position to the open position according to at least one of a paper type, a basis weight, or a printing mode of the paper. A transport unit for transporting paper,
A closed position for guiding the paper discharged from the transport unit and a guide force for the paper discharged from the transport unit are provided on a transport path in the paper discharge direction of the paper carried into the transport unit. A conveyance guide movable between an open position smaller than the closed position, and
The said control part is a conveyance unit which switches the timing which moves the said conveyance guide from the said closed position to the said open position by the paper type, basic weight, or printing mode of the said paper.

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