JP5817867B2 - Post-processing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the post-processing apparatus, and more specifically, an image discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a printing machine, and a multifunction machine having at least two functions. The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus that performs predetermined post-processing, such as punching, sorting, stacking, and the like, on an already formed sheet (hereinafter, represented by “paper”), and an image forming apparatus including the post-processing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Post-processing apparatuses that are arranged on the downstream side of image forming (output) devices such as copying machines and printers and that perform both shift processing and punch processing of output and discharged paper (sheets) are widely known. There is a problem that the alignment accuracy of the shift process and the punch hole position accuracy are not good because the paper position in the direction (lateral registration) perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus varies. Therefore, a technique for detecting the end face of the paper and adjusting the shift amount according to the detected position, or a technique for adjusting the horizontal registration (hereinafter also referred to as “horizontal registration”) by moving the punch unit is already known. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In Patent Document 1, paper is simply discharged to a paper discharge tray without any post-processing. However, when a plurality of papers conveyed from the image forming apparatus are stacked on the paper discharge tray as they are, Since deviation occurs in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction (sheet conveyance direction) (hereinafter also referred to as “sheet width direction” and “shift direction” for convenience), the accuracy of the stacking position relative to the discharge tray is prevented from deteriorating. In order to load well, the following techniques are disclosed. In other words, based on the information detected by the paper end face detection means for detecting the position of the end face of the paper, the transport roller that can move in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction (sheet width direction) is the transport direction by the amount of deviation from the reference position. And a technique for moving the punch unit in a direction (sheet width direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction by the amount of deviation from the reference position.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a sheet shift movement mechanism (a movement mechanism that moves the conveyance roller in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction) and an end surface detection unit that detects the position of the end surface of the sheet are moved in the sheet width direction. 3 movement mechanisms, namely, a paper end surface detecting means moving mechanism and a punch unit moving mechanism for moving according to the position of the end surface of the paper are required, so that the configuration and control are complicated, and an alignment accuracy error occurs. There is a problem of becoming larger.

  As described above, in the conventional post-processing apparatus, the paper position adjusting mechanism at the time of shifting and the paper position adjusting mechanism for punch processing are separate mechanisms. The variation in the lateral registration of the paper is measured, and in the punching process, both the paper end surface detecting means and the punch unit (punch device) are driven to move, and the punch device is moved in accordance with the lateral registration variation of the paper. Therefore, since both drive mechanisms are required, there is a problem that the configuration is complicated and expensive, and the control is complicated. Further, since the movement operation of the sheet end face detection means and the movement operation of the punch unit are performed, there is a problem that the accumulated error due to these increases.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, eliminates the lateral registration adjustment mechanism of the punch unit (punch device / punching device), simplifies the configuration and control of the punch device, Punching) A post-processing device capable of realizing various post-processing by increasing the position accuracy more than ever and changing the punch hole position by arbitrarily changing the shift amount for each sheet, and an image equipped with the post-processing device The main object is to provide a forming apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to each claim employs the following characteristic means / invention-specific matters (hereinafter referred to as “configuration”).
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a conveying unit that conveys a sheet received from the image forming apparatus, an end surface detecting unit that detects an end surface of the conveyed sheet, and one side in a sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. A reference position in the sheet width direction of a sheet received from the image forming apparatus in a post-processing apparatus comprising a moving means for shifting and moving the sheet and a post-processing means including a punching means for punching the sheet as post-processing. from the center position and center, before Symbol seat width direction of the seat position located in said one side at a position at a distance of more than the range of the maximum variation in, together with placing the end face detection means, the center position the one wherein the side distance shifted to place the perforating means, is detected by the end surface of the conveyed sheet is the end face detecting means from the That the sheet to test known position conveys shifted to the one side by the moving means, and performing the punching process.

Invention 請 Motomeko 2 wherein, in the post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 Symbol placement has an end face detecting moving means for moving said end face detection means to the sheet width direction, through the end face detecting moving means, said The end face detection means is moved to the detection position.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said changing the moving position of the end face detection means in accordance with the sheet size.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a plurality of the end surface detection means are provided according to the detection positions of the end surfaces of the plurality of sheets.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the post-processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 4, wherein said that the detection position or in shift the conveyed sheet.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus according to the second or fourth aspect , the conveyed sheet is shifted from the detection position to a position moved an arbitrary distance in the sheet width direction. .

According to a seventh aspect, in the post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage means for storing moving sheets moving distance by the moving means at the detection position 置Ma of the conveyed sheet, the on the basis of the sheet travel distance in such information from the storage means, characterized by shifting in the detection position 置Ma sheet.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the shift is performed a plurality of times in accordance with a post-processing mode for executing various post-processing on the sheet.

請 Motomeko 9 the described invention, the post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the post-processing mode for executing various post-processing on sheets, each sheet sheet or sheets plurality The shift amount is changed every time.
The invention of claim 10, wherein, in the post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, you wherein changing the shift amount according to the size of the sheet.

The invention according to claim 11 is the post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein when the punching process mode for executing the punching process is selected as the post-processing, the sheet width direction is selected. It is characterized by changing the drilling position.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the punching position in the sheet width direction by the punching means is changed according to the size of the sheet. .
A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus comprising the post-processing device according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects.
As used herein, “an image forming apparatus including a post-processing device” includes a form in which the image forming device includes a post-processing device, as well as a post-processing device that can receive a sheet discharged from the image forming device. This means that the processing apparatus includes a form connected to or connected to the image forming apparatus.

According to the present invention, the configuration described above eliminates the need for the horizontal registration adjusting mechanism of the punching means (punch device), simplifies the configuration and control of the punching means, and does not require measuring the amount of variation in the horizontal registration. Ru can be transported in a position to adjust the lateral registration shift the end face of the sheet in a fixed position in one sheet shifting operation.

1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a system configuration of a post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a paper stack state in a paper discharge tray when paper is sorted by a shift roller shift operation. It is a perspective view of the principal part which shows the structure of a moving means. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a lateral registration adjustment operation for a large-size sheet when performing punch processing. It is a side view which shows the structure of the end surface detection moving means which moves an end surface detection sensor. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a lateral registration adjustment operation for a large-size sheet when performing punch processing. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a lateral registration adjustment operation for a large-size sheet when performing punch processing. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a lateral registration adjustment operation for a small-size sheet when performing punch processing. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part for explaining a lateral registration adjustment operation for a small-size sheet when performing punch processing. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state of stacking sheets on a discharge tray when sheets of the same size are sorted for each sheet bundle according to a post-processing mode. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part showing a paper stack / partition state to a paper discharge tray when paper is sorted according to a post-processing mode. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state of stacking sheets on a sheet discharge tray when sheets of different sizes are sorted for each sheet bundle according to a post-processing mode. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state of paper stacking on a paper discharge tray when paper of the same size is sorted into paper bundles according to a punching processing mode. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state of paper stacking on a paper discharge tray when paper of the same size is sorted into paper bundles according to a punching processing mode. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part showing a paper stack state on a paper discharge tray when papers having different sizes according to a punching processing mode are sorted for each paper bundle. 1 is a block diagram showing a system control configuration of a post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention including examples will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments and the like, components (members and components) having the same function and shape are denoted by the same reference signs unless there is a possibility of confusion.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a post-processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. Examples of the image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a printer, an ink jet recording apparatus, a printing machine including a stencil printing machine, and a multifunction machine having at least two functions. The main feature of the present invention is post-processing. Since it is on the apparatus side, detailed configuration and operation on the image forming apparatus side are omitted.

  Before describing the post-processing apparatus in detail, an outline of the feature points of the present embodiment will be described. That is, in the present embodiment, the position of the end face of the paper when performing punching is determined by the size of each paper and the position of each punch hole. Since the end face of the paper transported from the image forming apparatus varies, the end face detection means is moved in advance to a position spaced from the end face of the transported paper to transport the transported paper. While the paper is shifted to the detection position detected by the edge detection means, the punch processing is performed at the position where the edge detection is to be performed. Therefore, it is possible to control to change to an arbitrary position, and various post-processing modes can be implemented.

  The presence or absence of sheet binding, punching, shifting, and alignment of the post-processing apparatus can be arbitrarily selected from the image forming apparatus side, and the conveyance path is switched depending on whether or not each post-processing is performed. Based on FIG. 1 to FIG. 9, the operation regarding the paper shift and punch punching control according to the present embodiment will be described below together with the operation by taking as an example the case of discharging in the straight mode. In the present embodiment, a case where a sheet or a transfer sheet is used as an example of a sheet-like recording medium (hereinafter also simply referred to as “sheet”) will be described.

  The post-processing apparatus 200 includes an entrance conveyance path 219 as a first sheet conveyance path, a shift conveyance path 220 as a second sheet conveyance path, an upper conveyance path 221 as a third sheet conveyance path, and a fourth sheet. A lower conveyance path 222 is provided as a conveyance path. The entrance conveyance path 219 is provided with a punching device 502 as a punching means, a first branching claw 230, and a second branching claw 231. The first branch claw 230 branches from the entrance conveyance path 219 to the lower conveyance path 222 or the shift conveyance path 220, and the second branch claw 231 leads from the entrance conveyance path 219 to the upper conveyance path 221 or the shift conveyance path 220. Used for branching. The upper conveyance path 221 is for discharging the sheet to the proof tray (upper tray) 214, and discharges the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 side as it is. Therefore, the upper conveyance path 221 is provided with a conveyance roller 206 and a paper discharge roller 207. The first branch claw 230 (swings clockwise from the position in the figure) and the second branch claw 231 (in the figure). The paper guided to the upper transport path 221 side by swinging clockwise from the position) is transported as it is, and discharged to the proof tray 214.

The lower conveyance path 222 is a path that is guided when the binding process is performed on the paper, and includes a known binding device 400 on the most downstream side of the path. The sheet guided to the lower conveyance path 222 by the first branch claw 230 occupying the position shown in the figure from the entrance conveyance path 219 is conveyed to the conveyance roller 208 and further to the conveyance path 222a or 222a by the third branch claw 232. After being branched, the paper is transported to the tray discharge roller 211 by the transport rollers 209 and 210 or the transport rollers 212 and 210, and discharged from the tray discharge roller 211 onto the staple tray 405. The discharged paper is returned to the rear end fence 403 provided at the lower end of the staple tray 405 by the hitting roller 213, and the rear end of the paper is aligned. Furthermore, the jogger fence 401 aligns both side surfaces parallel to the sheet conveying direction. When binding is performed, the end surface of the sheet is bound by the end surface binding stapler 404. The bound sheet bundle is pushed up by a discharge claw 406 a attached to the discharge belt 406, and is discharged onto a discharge tray 218 by a discharge roller 205.
The paper discharge tray 218 functions as a stacking unit that stacks sheets received from the image forming apparatus 100.

  The shift transport path 220 is formed following the extension of the entrance transport path 219. When the first branch claw 230 swings clockwise from the position shown in the drawing and the shift transport path 220 is opened, the sheet is Guided to the shift transport path 220. That is, a sheet discharged from a sheet discharge roller 101 disposed at the exit of the image forming apparatus 100 (usually a sheet on which an image has been formed (hereinafter also simply referred to as “sheet”). In some cases, the slip sheet is not inserted) passes through the inlet guide plate 201 of the post-processing apparatus 200, and is carried into the post-processing apparatus 200 by a transport roller 204, also referred to as an inlet roller. The sheet passes through the shift rollers 203 and 202 and is discharged to an external discharge tray 218 by a discharge roller 205. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet discharge tray 218 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction Xa as necessary (hereinafter referred to as “sheet width direction” for the sake of convenience) by a moving means, which will be described later. , Also referred to as “shift direction”), it is configured such that a predetermined number of sheet bundles Sa can be stacked in a sorted state in which the positions are shifted. Further, the discharge tray 218 is configured to be controlled to be raised and lowered in the up-down direction Z by a known lifting mechanism so that the height of the topmost stacked sheet always maintains a constant height as the number of stacked sheets increases. Has been.

  For example, a stepping motor driven by a pulse input drives the conveyance of the sheet so that the conveyance distance per pulse can be known for control. The position of the sheet can be accurately managed, conveyed, and stopped. It is configured to be able to. In this embodiment, the gear ratio is set so that the transport distance can be managed and controlled with a resolution of about 0.1 mm per pulse. Various transport motors including these stepping motors are generally shown in FIG. 16, but the transport motors 622 and 623 are representatively exemplified as transport means for rotationally driving the shift rollers 202 and 203 shown in FIG.

With reference to FIG. 3, a mechanism for performing sorting by shifting the paper itself when the paper shift mode is selected will be described.
First, a moving unit that shifts and moves a sheet in the sheet width direction (shift direction) Y orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction will be described. In this embodiment, a case where two moving means 624 and 625 arranged on the shift conveyance path 220 in FIG. 1 are described. As shown in FIG. 3, the moving units 624 and 625 have the same configuration. Therefore, the moving unit 624 includes a shift roller 202 as a first shift member disposed on the downstream side of the shift conveyance path 220. The description on the moving means 625 side provided with the shift roller 203 or the like as the second shift member disposed on the upstream side will be given as a representative, and the description will be replaced by the parentheses shown in FIG. I will do it.

The moving means 624 mainly includes a pair of left and right shift rollers 202 as a first shift member that moves a sheet in the sheet width direction Y, and a drive mechanism that moves the pair of shift rollers 202 in the shift direction (sheet width direction) Y. It is configured. The moving means 624 is similar to the structure of the shift roller disclosed in FIG. 7 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-137530, for example.
A pair of driven rollers 601 slidable in the shift direction Y are pressed against the pair of shift rollers 202 by being elastically biased by a compression spring. Each driven roller 601 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 602, and is elastically biased toward the center of the support shaft 602 by a spring (compression spring) 630 wound around the support shaft 602. After moving in the shift direction Y, the self-return to the original position is configured.
For example, if the shift roller 202 is shifted / moved to the right in the drawing in the shift direction Y, the driven roller 601 and the shift roller 202 are elastically pressed against each other, so that the sheet is sandwiched between the driven roller 601 and the shift roller 202. The driven roller 601 is shifted / moved in the same direction together with the paper even in the conveying state. Each of the shift rollers 202 and (203) has a function of a transport unit that transports a sheet as well as the function of the shift member.

The driving mechanism of the moving means 624 includes a first roller shift motor 620 (see FIG. 16, hereinafter also referred to as “shift motor 620”) as a driving means for moving the shaft 612 in the shift direction Y together with the pair of shift rollers 202. It is mainly composed of a conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the shift motor 620 into a reciprocating linear motion corresponding to the shift direction Y.
The shift roller 202 is fixed to a shaft 612, and a conveying force is obtained by the rotation of the shaft 612. Reference numeral 613 denotes a driving pulley that transmits a rotational driving force for rotating the pair of shift rollers 202 via a shaft 612. A driving belt 614 indicated by a two-dot chain line is stretched between the driving pulley 613 and a motor pulley fixed to the output shaft of the conveying motor 622 which is simply shown. The drive pulley 613 is rotatably fixed at a predetermined position in the shift direction Y. The cross section of the bearing portion of the drive pulley 613 and the shaft 612 has a D-shaped connection shape, transmits the rotational driving force of the transport motor 622, and enables the shaft 612 to move in the shift direction Y.
The shift motor 620 is connected to one end portion of the shaft 612 via a gear portion 610 and a link portion 611. When the shift motor 620 rotates by a certain amount, the shift roller 202 is moved in the shift direction Y from the center position to one side, for example, 10 mm. It can be moved 20 mm on both sides. This shift movement amount can be changed to an arbitrary shift amount by making the shift motor 620 a motor whose movement amount can be controlled by a pulse input such as a stepping motor. The shift motor 620 is attached and fixed to a motor bracket fixed on the apparatus main body side of the post-processing apparatus 200. When the paper size is long and the size spans both the shift rollers 202 and 203 during conveyance, it is necessary to shift the shift rollers 202 and 203 in synchronization with each other. However, during the paper shift, the paper moves to both the shift rollers 202 and 203. In the case of a size that does not straddle, only the shift roller 202 is operated and shifted.

  The amount of movement of each shift roller 202, 203 needs to be set to an amount that allows the sheet (discharged) bundle to be distinguished when the sheet is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 218 shown in FIG. Further, during the paper shift, the upper discharge roller 205b shown in FIG. 1 is moved to the lower side together with the opening / closing guide plate 233 being opened upward by the driving of the opening / closing guide plate drive motor 234 shown in FIG. The shift roller 202 can be operated without damaging the paper in the middle of conveyance because it is configured to be released from the paper discharge roller 205a and to release its conveyance force.

Similarly, when the paper shift and the binding process are performed on the paper, as described above, the paper is transported to the lower transport path 222 side in FIG. 1. At this time, the transport roller 208 is transported by the transport roller shown in FIG. The driven roller 208a can be moved away from the driving roller 208b on the driving side by driving the driving release motor 215 or a solenoid (not shown), so that the shift roller 203 can be moved without damaging the sheet in the middle of conveyance. It can be operated.
When binding is performed on the sheet, the sheet is shifted by the shift roller 203, and the sheet size extends between the shift roller 203 and the conveyance roller 208, the driven conveyance roller 208a is moved to the driving side when the shift is performed. After separation and release from the conveyance roller 208b, the conveyance roller 208a is returned to the original pressure contact position state after the shift, and control is performed so that conveyance driving is transmitted to the sheet.

Next, the end face detection moving unit and the punch device 502 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a view of the shift conveyance path 220 as viewed from above, and the paper S is shown in a watermarked state for easy viewing of the drawing (the same applies to FIGS. 6 to 9 described later). In FIG. 4, reference numeral 503 denotes an end face detection sensor as end face detection means for detecting the end face of the conveyed paper S. Reference numeral 500 denotes an end face detection moving means for moving the end face detection sensor 503 in the shift direction Y. The end face detection sensor 503 is configured to be movable in the shift direction Y via the end face detection moving means 500 (claim 2 ).
In the block diagram of FIG. 16 to be described later, the end face detection sensor 503 is described as “first end face detection sensor 503” for the sake of convenience in order to distinguish it from another example.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the end face detection moving means 500 when the arrangement portion of the end face detection sensor 503 in the post-processing apparatus 200 is viewed from the right side face. The end surface detection moving unit 500 includes a stepping motor 505 serving as a driving unit and a conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the stepping motor 505 into a reciprocating linear motion in the shift direction Y.
The conversion mechanism of the end face detection moving means 500 is fixed to the timing belt 507 and the timing belt 507, which is stretched between a driving pulley 506a and a driven pulley 506b fixed to the output shaft of the stepping motor 505. It mainly comprises a sensor bracket 508 to which a detection sensor 503 is attached and fixed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lateral registration adjustment is performed by moving the end face detection sensor 503 to a position that matches the punch hole position in order to perform punching (piercing) at a target position (sheet width direction Y). Therefore, the shift amount of the sheet for printing can be reduced, and the shift time of the sheet is also reduced, so that productivity can be improved. Further, the number of end face detection sensors can be reduced, and the punch hole position can be arbitrarily changed in the sheet width direction Y.

In the vicinity of the home position of the end face detection sensor 503 on the main body side of the post-processing device 200, a home position sensor 504 that detects the home position of the end face detection sensor 503 is disposed. The home position sensor 504 includes a light transmission type photosensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the home position sensor 504 detects one end portion (light shielding piece) of the sensor bracket 508 that protrudes to the back side of the paper surface. The home position of the end face detection sensor 503 and the distance from the home position can be understood from the number of control pulses applied to the stepping motor 505 or the number of output steps. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the position of the end surface detection sensor 503 to move as indicated by a broken line in the figure so that determine the shift end position of the sheet by the sheet size (claim 3).

According to the above-described example of the third aspect , when it is desired to always make the punch hole at the center of the sheet, the end face detection position of the sheet differs depending on the sheet (sheet) size. By moving the edge detection sensor 503 in accordance with the paper size, the horizontal registration adjustment amount and control can be made the same for any size, and the paper shift amount for the horizontal registration adjustment can be reduced. Can be improved. Further, the number of end face detection sensors can be reduced, and the punch hole position can be arbitrarily changed in the sheet width direction Y.

The paper size without moving the position of the end surface detection sensor 503, the end face detection sensors plurality fixedly provided (claim 4) that is, it is also possible to eliminate the mechanism for moving the end face detection sensor according to the paper size. By providing a plurality of end face detection sensors and further moving the end face detection sensors, it is possible to reduce the movement distance corresponding to each paper size of the end face detection sensors.
In the block diagram of FIG. 16 to be described later, as an example in which a plurality of end face detection sensors are provided in accordance with the paper size, two first end face detections surrounded by a broken line are distinguished from the movable end face detection sensor 503. Examples thereof include a sensor 503a and a second end face detection sensor 503b.

According to the above-described example of the fourth aspect, the end face detection position of the paper differs depending on the paper size, for example, when the punch hole is always to be opened at the center of the paper. By providing multiple edge detection sensors according to the paper size, etc., it is possible to change the edge detection sensor used for each paper size and reduce the amount of paper shift for horizontal registration adjustment, improving productivity. it can. Further, the moving mechanism of the end face detection sensor can be eliminated, and the configuration and control can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 4, the punching device 502 is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side of the conveying roller 204, which is also called an inlet roller. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a rotary punch method is used in which punching and punching are performed while transporting the paper, but a press punch method in which punching and punching is performed after the paper is temporarily stopped may be used. Examples of the rotary punch include those described in Japanese Patent No. 3581790, and examples of the press punch method include those described in Japanese Patent No. 3865581 and Japanese Patent No. 4071446.
In the block diagram of FIG. 16 to be described later, the driving means when the rotary punch method is adopted is shown as a punch motor 502M.

Control of punch punching processing will be described. First, a case will be described in which the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 is punched, shifted, sorted into the sheet discharge tray 218, and discharged.
In FIG. 1, signals including various post-processing mode signals and paper size information generated by operating an operation unit such as an operation panel (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus 100 are transmitted to the post-processing device 200. As a result, various types of post-processing are performed on the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 and conveyed. As an example, the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 is conveyed to the post-processing apparatus 200 on the basis of the center, but is orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction X by the sheet feeding position of the image forming apparatus 100 or the sheet reversal control. There may be a variation of several millimeters between sheets at the transport position (lateral registration) in the sheet width direction Y to be performed. If punch processing is performed with the position of the conveyed paper as it is, the punch hole position between the papers varies by several millimeters.

For example, as an example, assuming that the lateral registration variation range of the paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 is within ± 2 mm, the punch device 502 is arranged at a position shifted by 2 mm or more in the sheet width direction Y from the paper receiving center position. doing. In this way, if the position where the punch device 502 is shifted from the paper receiving center position is disposed at a distance that is greater than or equal to the maximum lateral registration variation of the system, the end face of the paper can be kept constant without measuring the amount of lateral registration variation of the paper. Can be conveyed at a position where the lateral register is adjusted by shifting to the position (Claim 1 ).

According to the example of the first aspect described above, the amount of variation in the lateral registration is measured by arranging and laying the punching device 502 at a position shifted from the center position of the reference position of the paper received from the image forming apparatus 100. Even if this is not the case, the sheet can be conveyed at a position where the lateral registration is adjusted by shifting the end face of the sheet to a certain position by one sheet shift operation.

As another example, the lateral registration can be adjusted by changing the paper shift control even if the punch device 502 is shifted from the paper receiving center position at a distance that is not more than the maximum lateral registration variation of the system. In this case, for example, if the punching device 502 is shifted and arranged in the 1 mm sheet width direction Y, if the end surface detection sensor 503 does not detect the end surface of the sheet conveyed before the lateral registration adjustment, the sheet is detected as the end surface detection sensor 503. Shift in the direction until the end face of the paper is detected. If the end face of the conveyed paper has been transported to a detection position detected by the end face detection sensor 503 before the lateral registration adjustment, the paper end face detection sensor 503 moves backward to a position where the end face of the paper is no longer detected. What is necessary is just to shift. In this way, Ru can be reduced than when the shift movement distance for horizontal registration adjustment of the sheet shifted 2 mm.

According to the example described above, more shift amount of Me other horizontal registration adjustment of the paper when performing horizontal registration adjustment of the sheet as small as possible can enhance the productivity. Since it is unclear to which side the variation in the lateral registration of the paper is shifted in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, the edge detection means is detected after the end detection means is moved or arranged outside the lateral registration variation range. If the sheet is shifted to the position, the lateral registration position can be adjusted to a fixed position, but the lateral registration adjustment distance is increased. When the end face detection means is arranged near the center of the variation distribution of the end face of the paper and the end face detection means detects the end face of the paper conveyed in the lateral registration variation direction, the end face detection means is turned off (OFF). Shift to a position where the end face detection means is turned off in the direction of turning off. If the end face detection means does not detect the end face of the conveyed paper, the side face of the paper can be shifted with a small shift amount by shifting the end face detection means to the position where the end face detection means is turned on. The registration can be adjusted and productivity can be improved, and the lateral registration can be adjusted by one shift operation.

4 and 6 to 9, punch holes 509 indicated by solid lines represent a case where the punch device 502 is disposed at a position centered on the reference position of the sheet received from the image forming apparatus 100 and punched at two locations. A punch hole 509 indicated by a broken line represents a case where the punch device 502 is disposed at a position shifted from the center position of the sheet received from the image forming apparatus 100 (Claim 1 ) and punched at two locations.
4, 6, and 7 show the center of the sheet S in a large-sized sheet in which the sheet straddles both the shift rollers 202 and 203 when the trailing end of the sheet S passes through the nip of the conveyance (entrance) roller 204. The operation when punching is performed as a reference is shown.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the sheet S is conveyed from the image forming apparatus and the rear end of the sheet S passes through the nip of the conveying roller 204 (FIG. 6), the shift rollers 202 and 203 are synchronously shifted. Then, the sheet S is moved to a position detected by the end face detection sensor 503 indicated by a solid line. When the shift of the paper S is completed, the paper S is transported as it is, and punching and punching are performed at the position where the paper comes to the punch punching position (FIG. 7).

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate punch punching based on the center of the paper S in a small-size paper in which the paper does not straddle both the shift rollers 202 and 203 when the trailing edge of the paper S passes through the nip of the conveyance roller 204. It shows the operation when you do.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the sheet S is conveyed from the image forming apparatus and the rear end of the sheet S is removed from the nip of the conveying roller 204 (FIG. 9), only the shift roller 203 is shifted and the end surface detection sensor 503 is moved. The paper S is moved to the place where it is detected by. When the shift of the paper S is completed, the paper S is conveyed as it is, and although not shown, punching and punching are performed at the position where the paper has reached the punch punching position as in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the paper S has an A4 vertical size, which is an example of a small size, a predetermined number of pulses is given to the stepping motor 504 of the end face detection moving means 500 shown in FIG. As shown by, the end face detection sensor 503 is moved to the A4 vertical reference position A. The reference position A is a position where the end face detection sensor 503 detects the end face of the paper S, or a position shifted by an arbitrary distance from the position where the end face detection sensor 503 detects the end face of the paper S, and the end face of the paper S is moved to the reference position A. Is punched and punched by the punching device 502 at the position where has reached.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the sheet S is A4 vertical size is an example of a small-sized, the punch unit 502 as the side edge of the punched hole in position with an adjusted lateral registration comes to the target position It is arranged and laid out (Claim 1 ). If the punch device 502 is shifted from the sheet receiving center position to the shift (sheet width direction) Y in this way, the lateral registration is adjusted by shifting / moving the sheet S by one shift operation by the shift roller 203, and is left as it is. There is an advantage that punching can be performed at the horizontal registration position. As described above, for example, when the sheet size in the sheet conveyance direction X is long (large size sheet) and extends over both of the shift rollers 203 and 202, as shown in FIGS. The shift operation is performed in synchronization with 202.

In FIG. 1, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 passes through the inlet guide plate 201 of the post-processing apparatus 200 and is carried into the post-processing apparatus 200 by the transport roller 204. If the trailing edge of the sheet has passed through the conveyance roller 204, that is, an OFF signal from the inlet sensor 501 disposed in the vicinity of the upstream of the conveyance roller 204, the number of steps of the conveyance motor including the stepping motor that drives the conveyance roller 204 If the passage of the trailing edge of the sheet is determined by the control means described later (or the number of pulses), the shift roller 203 is moved in the shift direction (sheet width direction) Y while conveying the sheet, and the edge surface of the sheet is detected as the edge surface. At the position where the detection position detected by the sensor 503 is reached, the shift motor 621 composed of a stepping motor that is driven to shift the shift roller 203 is stopped (claim 5 ). When the shift motor 621 is immediately stopped at the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503, the stop control of the shift motor 621 is performed from the detection position in order to prevent the motor stop position from varying, and the shift motor 621 is stopped at a position slightly shifted from the detection position. It is good also as control to perform (Claim 6 ). The paper shift amount for sorting the paper is generally several tens of millimeters, but the paper shift amount for adjusting the lateral registration of the paper is about several millimeters, so that the shift time can be performed in a short time, and production It can be done without affecting the sex.

According to the example of the sixth aspect, when the lateral registration adjustment of the sheet (sheet) is performed, the shift motors 620 and 621 (drives) of the moving units 624 and 625 are detected at the detection position where the end surface detection sensor 503 detects the end surface of the sheet. When the drive is stopped immediately, the paper stop position may vary due to overrun or the like. Therefore, by performing the control to decelerate and stop from the detection position where the end surface of the sheet is detected by the end surface detection sensor 503, variation at the time of stopping the paper shift due to overrun or the like can be reduced, and the lateral registration adjustment position accuracy can be improved. Can do.

Next, the mode of opening by shifting the punch holes is described for each one or a plurality sheets (claim 11). When it is desired to open the punch holes 509 by shifting each arbitrary page or sheet bundle Sa, after detecting the end surface of the sheet S by the end surface detection sensor 503 as described above, the shift amount is increased by the amount of shifting the punch hole 509. Good. By controlling in this way, as shown in FIG. 13, paper of the same size is sorted for each sheet bundle Sa, punch holes are opened, and the sheet bundle Sa is shifted in a state where the punch hole positions are aligned. Functions such as separation and index creation can be provided to the paper discharge tray.
Further, as shown in FIG. 14, since the same size paper is sorted for each sheet bundle Sa, punch holes are formed, and the punch holes are shifted, the file can be created with the above-mentioned separators created, tab sheets, Identification is possible without using special paper such as index paper.

According to the example of claim 11 described above, partition pages, landmarks, and the like for sorting paper in various forms are created by changing the paper shift amount according to the paper post-processing mode and punching with the punching means. You can also create files with partitions and separators.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, if the punch hole position is shifted depending on the paper size, it is possible to file by aligning one end face of a different size (claim 12 ). In the figure, Sa represents a sheet bundle of the same size, and Sa ′ represents a sheet bundle of a different size (the same applies to FIG. 12 described later).
According to the above-described example of the twelfth aspect , by performing punching while changing the shift amount of the sheet depending on the sheet size, for example, the file can be filed in a state in which the lateral register end face positions of the sheets when different sizes are mixed are aligned.

In the lateral registration adjustment control described above, the punch device 502 may be disposed at a position centered on the sheet receiving center position. In other words, but it may also be arranged a punch apparatus 502 a reference position of the sheet received from the image forming apparatus 100 to position the center.
As described above, when the lateral registration adjustment of the paper is performed, the productivity can be improved when the shift amount for the lateral registration adjustment of the paper is as small as possible. It is unclear to which side in the sheet width direction (shift direction) Y the variation in the lateral registration of the sheet shifts.
Therefore, as in the above-described example, when the punch device 502 is disposed at a position shifted from the center position of the paper received from the image forming apparatus 100, that is, when the layout is out of the lateral registration variation range, the lateral registration adjustment is performed. The distance will increase. If the punch device 502 is arranged as in this example , the sheet lateral registration can be adjusted with a small shift amount as in the first aspect, and the productivity can be improved.
By performing the control of claim 5 in addition to the above control, the lateral registration adjustment can be performed by one shift operation, so that the lateral registration adjustment moving mechanism of the punching device 502 can be eliminated, and the configuration of the related art is achieved.・ The structure can be simplified.

Supplementary the control. The same control is performed until the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 is received, the shift roller 203 performs a shift operation, and the sheet is stopped at the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503. At this time, the detection position at which the end face of the paper is detected by the end face detection sensor 503, or the number of steps or the number of pulses (movement distance) of the shift motor 621 up to the stop position is stored in the RAM of the control means, so it can be lateral registration Baratsu-out amount control means of a CPU to recognize. After the paper shift is temporarily stopped, the paper is then shifted in the reverse direction by the shift roller 202 to correct the lateral registration variation amount of the paper, and the paper is moved to the center of the conveyance center position to stop the shift (invoice). Item 7 ). With the above control, the shift operation for correcting the variation in the lateral registration adjustment of the sheet is completed, and then punching and punching processes are performed on the sheet. The punching / piercing position on the paper is determined by the number of pulses of a transport motor (drive means for transport roller 204) (not shown) from the position where the entrance sensor 501 detects the leading or trailing edge of the paper transported from the image forming apparatus 100. -The punch position in the conveying direction is controlled by taking the timing of punching.

According to the example of claim 7 described above, when performing horizontal registration adjustment of the paper, and stores the distance of moving the sheet to the detection position, what paper size by adjusting correcting a shift amount of lateral registration However, the paper lateral registration can be adjusted to an arbitrary position, and the punch hole position accuracy can be improved.

After the punching process of the sheet, when the sort mode of the sheet are simultaneously selected, so that it is possible to perform the sorting process by again shifting the Shifutokoro 202, 203 after completion of the punching (claim 8).
If the paper is sorted before punching and punching, punch holes cannot be formed at the same position. Therefore, by performing the shift a plurality of times as in the example of claim 8 , the horizontal registration adjustment and the paper sorting can be performed by one roller shift mechanism (moving means). Driving can be eliminated.
In the embodiment, the sheet can be shifted by any of the plurality of shift rollers 202 and 203. The shift rollers 202 and 203 may be synchronized with each other after the punching to shift the paper, or the control performed only by the shift roller 202 at the timing after the trailing edge of the paper leaves the upstream shift roller 203 is possible. When the paper is sized so as to straddle the shift roller 202 and the discharge roller 205 during the shift, the open / close guide plate 233 is opened upward to shift the paper with the shift roller 202, and the paper is shifted / moved with the shift roller 202. . When only shifting without punching the sheet, the sheet can be shifted by the same control as described above after the conveyance roller 204 is removed.

According to the above-described example of the eighth aspect , a shift for adjusting lateral registration of punch and perforation and a shift for sorting paper by using a roller shift mechanism as a moving means by a paper mode, for example, punching and sorting. By performing the shift operation in a plurality of times, the lateral registration adjusting and moving mechanism of the punching device 502 as in the prior art can be eliminated, and the configuration and structure can be simplified as compared with the prior art.

Next, a post-processing mode in which the shift amount for sorting is changed for each sheet or a plurality of sheets will be described (claim 9 ). As shown in FIG. 10, when it is desired to shift the shift amount for each arbitrary page or sheet bundle Sa of the same sheet size, the end surface detection sensor 503 detects the end surface of the sheet S as described above, and then shifts the shift amount. Just increase the amount. By controlling in this way, as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to change the shift amount of a sheet of the same size, for example, only one sheet (may be a plurality of sheets). As a result, pages can be separated and functions such as tab paper and index paper can be provided in the paper discharge tray 218, and partition pages, landmarks, etc. for sorting paper in various forms can be created. Can be identified without using special paper such as tab paper or index paper.
Further, as shown in FIG. 12, if the shift amount is changed depending on the paper size, when different size sheets are sorted for each sheet bundle Sa ′ and one end face is aligned, one end face of the different size is aligned. Therefore, the sheet discharge tray 218 can be provided with a function of aligning the lateral register end face positions of sheets when different sizes are mixed, for example (claim 10 ).

  When both punch processing and binding processing are performed on the paper, the paper may be transported to the lower transport path 222 side and the same control as the horizontal registration adjustment described above may be performed. In the embodiment, when the paper is sized so as to straddle the conveyance roller 208 of the binding processing conveyance path during the shift for adjusting the horizontal registration of the paper, in the embodiment, the nip of the conveyance roller 208 is released by a motor, a solenoid, or the like (not shown). The shift for adjusting the horizontal registration is not hindered, the nip is closed after the shift is completed, and the conveyance drive of the conveyance roller 208 is resumed.

Although the description will be omitted, the control configuration of the above-described embodiment will be described together with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 and a post-processing apparatus 200 also called a finisher.
In the figure, a CPU 110 of the image forming apparatus 100 is connected to a CPU 291 as a control unit of the post-processing apparatus 200 via an interface 300 of the post-processing apparatus 200. The CPU 291 includes a ROM 292 that stores programs and related data relating to various post-processing modes (relation data of the number of pulses or steps and the conveyance / movement distance of the paper and its calculation formula), calculation results of the CPU 291 and various data A RAM 293 that temporarily stores various data from sensors or the like is connected. The CPU 291 executes processing according to a program stored in the ROM 292 while using the RAM 293 as a work area. The CPU 291 receives detection output signals from the sensors 501, 504, the first end face detection sensor 503, the second end face detection sensor 503a, and the third end face detection sensor 503b, and the CPU 292 opens and closes based on the detection input signals. Guide plate drive motor 234, end face detection sensor drive motor 505, punch motor 502M, first roller shift motor 620, second roller shift motor 621, various transport motors 622, 623 composed of motors driven by pulse input, etc. The conveyance roller drive release motor 215 and a command signal for driving and controlling each motor are transmitted to each motor driver 320.

The CPU 291 as the control means has the following functions as described in the above-described embodiment.
(1) The CPU 291 shifts the sheet (sheet) conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 to a detection position detected by the edge detection sensor 503 and conveys the conveyance motors 622 and 623 of the conveyance units. And first shift control for controlling the shift motors 620 and 621 of the moving means 624 and 625 and controlling the post-processing means (punch motor 502M of the punch device 502) so as to perform post-processing including punching processing. It has the function as a control means of (claim 1).
(2) The CPU 291 controls the end surface detection sensor drive motor (stepping motor) 505 of the end surface detection moving means 500 so as to move the end surface detection sensor 503 to the detection position while referring to the output signal from the home position sensor 504. It has a function as the 2nd control means to do (claim 2 ).
(3) The CPU 291 refers to the output signal from the home position sensor 504, and drives the end face detection sensor drive motor (stepping motor) of the end face detection moving means 500 so as to change the movement position of the end face detection sensor 503 according to the paper size. ) It has a function as a second control means for controlling 505 (Claim 3 ).

(4) The CPU 291 shifts the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 to the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503 or to the position deviated from the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503. It has a function as the 1st control means which controls 620,621 (Claim 5 ).
(5) The CPU 291 shifts the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 from the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503 to a position moved by an arbitrary distance in the sheet width direction Y, and each conveyance motor 622 of each conveyance unit. 623 and the moving means 624, 625 function as a first control means for controlling the shift motors 620, 621 (claim 6 ).

(6) The CPU 291 stores sheet movement distance information / data stored in the RAM 293 as storage means (detects the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 100 to the detection position of the end surface detection sensor 503 or the end surface detection sensor 503. The number of steps or the number of pulses of the shift motors 620 and 621 related to the sheet movement distance data moved by the moving means 624 and 625 to the position deviating from the position, and the variation in the sheet in the sheet width direction Y is recognized. A shift correction amount in the sheet width direction Y of the paper is determined, and each transport motor 622 of each transport means is shifted and moved to a position moved by an arbitrary sheet movement distance from a detection position of the paper or a position outside the detection position. , 623 and the shift motors 620, 621 of the moving means 624, 625 are controlled in a first manner. It has a function as means (claim 7).
(7) The CPU 291 is a first control unit that performs the shift control a plurality of times in response to a signal related to a post-processing mode set by an operation unit (not shown) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. (Claim 8 ).

(8) The CPU 291 shifts the shift for each sheet or for a plurality of sheets in accordance with a signal relating to the post-processing mode set by an operation unit (not shown) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. functions as a first control means for controlling the shift motor 620, 621 of each conveying motor 622, 623 and moving means 624 and 625 of the conveying means so as to vary the amount (claim 9).
(9) The CPU 291 changes each of the shift amounts according to the paper size in accordance with a signal related to the post-processing mode set by the operation unit (not shown) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. It has a function as a first control means for controlling the transfer motors 622 and 623 of the transfer means and the shift motors 620 and 621 of the moving means 624 and 625 (claim 10 ).

(10) The CPU 291 sets the punching position in the sheet width direction Y based on the signal related to the punching processing mode as the post-processing mode set by the operation unit (not shown) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. It has a function as a first control means for controlling the transfer motors 622 and 623 of the transfer means, the shift motors 620 and 621 of the moving means 624 and 625, and the punch motor 502M so as to change (claim 11 ).
(11) The CPU 291 determines the sheet width based on the signal related to the punching processing mode as the post-processing mode and the signal related to the paper size set by the operation unit (not shown) transmitted from the image forming apparatus 100. It has a function as a first control means for controlling the transfer motors 622 and 623 of the transfer means, the shift motors 620 and 621 of the moving means 624 and 625 and the punch motor 502M so as to change the punching position in the direction Y (claim). Item 12 ).

  As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, but the technical scope disclosed by the present invention is not limited to those exemplified in the above-described embodiments and the like. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various embodiments, modifications, and examples can be configured within the scope of the present invention, depending on the necessity, purpose, and use, and the like. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus 200 Post-processing apparatus 202 Shift roller (shift member)
203 Shift roller (shift member)
204 Conveying roller (component of conveying means)
205 Paper discharge roller 218 Paper discharge tray (stacking means)
219 Entrance conveyance path (first sheet conveyance path)
220 Shift conveyance path (second sheet conveyance path)
221 Upper conveying path (third sheet conveying path)
222 Lower conveyance path (fourth sheet conveyance path)
500 End face detection moving means 502 Punch device (piercing means)
502M punch motor (driving means driving means)
503 End face detection sensor (end face detection means)
505 Stepping motor (driving means for end face detection moving means)
601 Follower roller (component of moving means)
602 Support shaft (component of moving means)
620, 621 Shift motor (driving means driving means)
622, 623 Conveyance motor (driving means driving means)
624, 625 Moving means X conveying direction (sheet conveying direction)
Xa Paper discharge direction (sheet discharge direction)
Y Shift direction, sheet width direction Z Vertical direction S Paper (sheet / sheet-like recording medium)

Japanese Patent No. 4063704 JP 2006-240790 A

Claims (13)

Conveying means for conveying a sheet received from the image forming apparatus;
End face detection means for detecting the end face of the conveyed sheet;
Moving means for shifting and moving the sheet to one side in the sheet width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction;
In a post-processing apparatus comprising post-processing means including punching means for punching a sheet as post-processing,
From the center position with the center of the reference position of the sheet width direction of the sheet received from the image forming apparatus, before Symbol said one side at a position at a distance of more than the range of the maximum variation in the sheet position in the sheet width direction In the position, the end surface detection means is arranged, and the perforation means is arranged by shifting the distance from the center position to the one side ,
Post-processing apparatus end surface of the conveyed sheet is conveyed shifted to the one side by the moving means the sheet to the sensed Ru detection known position by the end face detecting means, and performs the punching process . The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Having end face detection moving means for moving the end face detection means in the sheet width direction;
A post-processing apparatus that moves the end face detection means to the detection position via the end face detection moving means. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
A post-processing apparatus, wherein a moving position of the end face detecting means is changed according to a sheet size. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A post-processing apparatus comprising a plurality of end face detection means according to detection positions of end faces of a plurality of sheets. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 4,
A post-processing apparatus that shifts a conveyed sheet to the detection position. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 4,
A post-processing apparatus that shifts a conveyed sheet to a position moved from the detection position by an arbitrary distance in the sheet width direction. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Storage means for storing the sheet moving distance moved by the moving means to the detection position of the conveyed sheet;
A post-processing apparatus that shifts to the detection position of a sheet based on information relating to the sheet moving distance from the storage means. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A post-processing apparatus, wherein the shift is performed a plurality of times in accordance with a post-processing mode for executing various post-processing on the sheet. The post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A post-processing apparatus, wherein the shift amount is changed for each sheet or for a plurality of sheets according to a post-processing mode for executing various post-processing on the sheet. The post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A post-processing apparatus, wherein the shift amount is changed in accordance with a sheet size. The post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a punching processing mode for executing the punching process is selected as the post-processing, the punching position in the sheet width direction is changed. The post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
A post-processing apparatus, wherein a punching position in the sheet width direction by the punching means is changed according to a sheet size.   An image forming apparatus comprising the post-processing device according to claim 1.

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