JP6433738B2 - Sheet processing apparatus, image forming apparatus including the same, and sheet bonding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus that bonds sheets transported from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer into a bundle and folds the bundle at a predetermined folding position as necessary. The present invention relates to an apparatus capable of processing a sheet.

  2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a processing apparatus that aligns sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus and folds them into a staple or booklet is widely known. These processing apparatuses are provided with a plurality of sheet stacking means for post-processing the sheets, and generate a booklet by performing a folding process after bonding the sheets together.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet bundle obtained by applying a heat-sensitive adhesive to sheets and bonding the sheets together. In this apparatus, an application unit for applying an adhesive is provided at the entrance of the sheet processing apparatus upstream of the sheet processing apparatus for stacking sheets. Then, an adhesive is applied to a portion where the sheet is folded on one side or both sides of the sheet carried by the application unit, and a relatively long conveyance path to the stacker unit for stacking the sheets and several stages of conveyance rollers are provided in the conveyance path. It is provided and transported. A sheet bundle is generated by pressurizing the position where the adhesive is applied by a pressure roller after discharging to the stacker unit. The sheet bundle is folded into a sheet folding roller with a folding blade and is subjected to folding processing.

  The apparatus shown in Patent Document 2 shows an apparatus that can alternatively be mounted with a needle binding unit or a glue binding unit in a binding unit storage section. When the glue binding unit is mounted, the glue is transferred to the sheet by pressing the sheet surface conveyed one by one against the tape to which glue is attached. A sheet bundle in which the transferred sheets are accumulated and bonded together is generated and folded.

JP 2013-112527 A Japanese Patent No. 5168474

The above-described apparatus for applying and bonding an adhesive such as glue has the following problems.
First, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since a relatively long transport path and a plurality of transport rollers are provided in the transport path to the stacker unit for stacking sheets, an adhesive is applied at the entrance of the apparatus. Since the sheet is conveyed to the stack portion through a relatively long path via a number of conveying rollers, the adhesive may adhere to the periphery of the conveying path and cause sheet jamming.
Further, it cannot be said that the stacked sheets are always prepared when the sheets to which the adhesive is applied are stacked and bonded in the stack portion, and it is assumed that the sheets are folded in a bent state. The pressure-sensitive tape as the adhesive must be selected so that it does not adhere unless it is pressed down with a considerable pressure, and requires careful selection of the adhesive and a fairly special pressure mechanism.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, the paste is applied and accumulated without going through a long conveyance path, but the next sheet is conveyed and stacked on the preceding sheet on which the accumulated glue is applied to the sheet surface. ing. For this reason, when the leading edge of the next sheet is curled or bent, the leading edge of the next sheet is caught at the place where the glue is applied to the preceding sheet. Even if there is no curl or the like, depending on the weight of the sheet and the speed of the conveying roller, the next sheet is conveyed while rubbing the surface of the preceding sheet, and glue adheres to a position other than the laminating position, for example, the leading edge of the next sheet. There was a fear that it could not be generated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the sheet bundle is generated by bonding, the application position of the adhesive of the preceding sheet is moved to the retracted position and the leading edge of the preceding sheet is prevented from contacting, In addition, the movement of the sheet coated with the adhesive is relatively reduced, and it is intended to reduce the adhesion of the adhesive other than the sheet in the conveyance path and the stack portion. In addition, the partition guide is also moved in accordance with the conveyance of the sheet, so that the adhesive can be applied to the preceding sheet in the stack portion and can be bonded to the sheet to which the adhesive is applied in a short time. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus using the same, and a sheet processing method for bonding.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
The invention of claim 1 is a sheet processing apparatus for applying an adhesive to a sheet and then folding the sheet, a carry-in path for carrying the sheet in a predetermined carry-in direction, a stacker unit for collecting the sheets from the carry-in path, a regulating member for regulating the sheet to be stacked on the stacker section, and at least a portion of the carrying direction of the sheet which is integrated into the stacker unit and branched retracted route from the loading path for saving in the opposite direction, and the retraction path and the conveyance path Are located between the carry-in path and the retreat path, the adhesive unit for applying the adhesive and bonding the sheets together, the folding unit for folding the sheets bonded by the adhesive unit, And a release position that allows the rear end of the sheet to move to the retreat path upstream of the carry-in path in the carry-in direction. To extend to a position close to put et adhesive unit, the adhesive of the preceding sheet to which the adhesive is applied by gluing unit according to conveyance of the sheet between the extended position to prevent from adhering to the leading edge of the following sheet The sheet processing apparatus is configured to be movable.
According to the present invention, the partition guide that divides the transport path and the retract path extends from the release position to the position close to the bonding unit from the release position that allows the rear end of the sheet to move to the retract path. Since it is movable between the positions, the application position of the adhesive on the preceding sheet can be covered at the extended position, and the distance that the sheet moves by being overlapped at the position where the sheet trailing edge is merged can be set. It can be done in a short time.

The invention according to claim 2 is the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carry-in route and the retreat route are arranged so as to overlap in a fan shape with the confluence position as a center.
According to this, the division of the sheet by the division guide can be performed effectively.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the adhesive unit includes a tape stamper for transferring and applying an adhesive of an adhesive tape having an adhesive to a tape base material on a sheet, and a plurality of the tape stampers are arranged in the sheet width direction. Item 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to Item 2 .
According to this, the apparatus which can handle the adhesive easily and can be easily applied to the sheet can be provided.

A fourth aspect of the present invention, transfer of the adhesive to the sheet of the adhesive tape, with the adhesive tape is applied by being pressed into a sheet, according to claim 3 for also adhesion between the sheets by the pressing A sheet processing apparatus.
According to this, the apparatus which can perform the transfer sticking of the adhesive tape to a sheet | seat, and a sheet | seat crimping | compression-bonding simultaneously by the press of an adhesive tape can be provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the folding processing unit includes a folding roller and a folding blade that moves the sheet to the folding roller, and the folding operation is performed by the leading edge of the preceding sheet and the next sheet coated with the adhesive. Move to the bonding position where the adhesive is applied while regulating with the regulating member, apply the adhesive to the next sheet, and then move to the folding position where the sheet is folded and the position where the adhesive is applied to the sheet with the folding blade The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein folding processing is performed while pressing.
According to this, the adhesive is also pressed by the movement of the folding blade, and the adhesion between the sheets can be strengthened.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a deflection guide for moving the rear end of the sheet conveyed from the carry-in path to the retreat path side is provided at a branch position between the carry-in path and the retreat path. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the sheet processing apparatus is disposed at a plurality of positions in the sheet width direction avoiding the position.
According to this, it is possible to surely move the preceding sheet to the retraction path, and it is possible to reduce the adhesion of the adhesive to the deflection gate or the like.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carry-in route for carrying a sheet in a predetermined carry-in direction, a stacker unit for collecting sheets from the carry-in route, a regulating member for regulating sheets accumulated in the stacker unit, and the stacker unit The retraction path that is branched from the carry-in path for switching back and retreating at least a part of the sheets accumulated in the reverse direction to the carry-in direction and overlapping the carry-in path, and the merge of the carry-in path and the retreat path An adhesive unit that applies an adhesive to a sheet disposed at a position and bonds the sheets together; a folding roller that folds the sheet bonded by the adhesive unit; and a folding processing unit that includes a folding blade that presses the sheet against the folding roller; the provided, further, located between the conveyance path and a retracted path has a compartment guide for partitioning these pathways, the partition guide carrying direction A release position to permit movement of the retraction path of the sheet rear end upstream of the conveyance path, the adhesive of the preceding sheet which has moved to extend to retreat path at a position close to the bonding unit from the release position is applied in The sheet processing apparatus is configured to be movable between an extended position that covers the above-mentioned position, and when the adhesive is applied to the preceding sheet and the next sheet is carried in, the partition guide is positioned at the extended position.
According to this, the division guide that divides the conveyance path and the retraction path allows the movement of the rear end of the sheet to the retraction path, and the extended position that extends from the release position to a position close to the bonding unit. Since it is possible to move between the sheet and the application position of the adhesive on the preceding sheet at the extended position, the distance the sheet moves by being overlapped at the position where the sheet trailing edge is merged is short. It can be done in a short time.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit that sequentially forms images on a sheet and a sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the sheet from the image forming unit are provided. An image forming apparatus having the configuration described in any one of the above items.
According to this, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having the effects described in the above items.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carry-in path for carrying in sheets, a stacker unit for collecting sheets from the carry-in path, a regulating member for regulating sheets accumulated in the stacker part, and a sheet accumulated in the stacker part. A retraction path branched from a carry-in path that retreats at least a part in a direction opposite to the carry-in direction; an adhesive unit that is arranged at a joining position of the carry-in path and the retreat path and that is coated with an adhesive and bonded; and the carry-in path Between the release position that allows movement of the rear end of the sheet to the retract path upstream of the carry-in path and the extended position that extends from the release position to a position close to the bonding unit. A sheet guide method in which an adhesive is applied to the sheet and pasted together, and the rear end of the preceding sheet conveyed through the carry-in path is the release position of the section guide A step of conveying the until after passing the steps of applying an adhesive by the adhesive unit to the preceding sheet,
The step of moving the partition guide to the extended position as the next sheet is transported to the transport path, the step of retracting the position where the adhesive is applied to the preceding sheet to the position covered by the partition guide, and the retract path The preceding sheet and the next sheet are moved together to the position where the adhesive is applied, the section guide is moved to the release position so that the trailing edge of the next sheet can be moved to the retract path, and the adhesive is applied. And a step of applying an adhesive to the next sheet while adhering the preceding sheet and the next sheet.
According to this method, when the sheet bundle is generated by bonding, the application position of the adhesive on the preceding sheet is moved to the retracted position so that the leading edge of the preceding sheet is prevented from being contacted. It is intended to reduce the movement of the adhesive and reduce the adhesion of the adhesive other than the sheet in the conveyance path and the stack portion. In addition, the partition guide is also moved in accordance with the conveyance of the sheet, so that the adhesive can be applied to the preceding sheet in the stack portion and can be bonded to the sheet to which the adhesive is applied in a short time.

The present invention provides the following effects by having the above-described solving means.
When generating a bundle of sheets by pasting together, the adhesive application position of the preceding sheet is moved to the retracted position to prevent the leading edge of the preceding sheet from contacting, and the movement of the sheet coated with the adhesive is relatively reduced. Thus, it is intended to reduce the adhesion of the adhesive other than the sheet in the conveyance path and the stack portion. In addition, the range in which the sheet is conveyed can be shortened by moving the partition guide in accordance with the conveyance of the sheet, and the productivity of application and bonding of the adhesive can be improved.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration in which an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention are combined. FIG. 1 is an overall explanatory view of a sheet processing apparatus including an adhesive unit for applying an adhesive according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the periphery mechanism of the adhesion | attachment unit of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of the bonding unit of FIG. 2. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the bonding unit of FIG. 4, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is an engagement state with a cam member that moves a stamper hodder, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the adhesive tape stamper which apply | coats an adhesive agent, (a) is an external view, (b) is the figure which has wound the adhesive tape around a reel, (c) is a gear state figure before an adhesive tape stamper press (d) ) Is a state diagram of a gear pressed by an adhesive tape stamper. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a stamper holder that applies an adhesive to a sheet, where (a) is a diagram in which two stamper holders are in a raised position, and (b) is a diagram in which one stamper holder starts to descend; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation state in which the sheet presser suppresses the sheet. FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the operation state of the stamp holder following FIG. 7, in which FIG. 7A is a diagram in which the second stamp holder also starts to descend, and FIG. (C) is a diagram in which both of the adhesive tape stampers of the two stamp holders press and apply the adhesive to the sheet. FIG. 9A is an explanatory view of a stopper portion and a gripper that move up and down in the stacker portion, and FIG. 9B is an explanatory view of a plane of the stopper portion and the gripper. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of the folding roller mechanism in the apparatus of FIG. 2, in which FIG. 10A shows a state in which the sheet bundle is accumulated, FIG. 10B shows a state in which the sheet bundle is inserted into the folding roller by the folding blade, and FIG. Is an initial state of folding with a folding roller, and (d) is a state of folding a sheet bundle with a folding roller. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the carry-in route and the retreat route of FIG. 3 and is an explanatory diagram of the movement state of the partition guide. FIG. 12 is a perspective view in which a partition guide unit for moving the partition guide is attached to the adhesive unit. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a partition guide moving mechanism when the partition guide unit of FIG. 12 is viewed from the back side. FIG. 6 is a sheet flow chart for bonding sheets into a bundle by the sheet processing apparatus, where (a) shows a state where the first sheet is carried and moved to the retreat path side, and (b) shows a state where the first sheet moves along the retreat path. It is a figure which shows the state which started the movement to the extended position while the division | segmentation guide rose. (C) is a figure which shows the state which apply | coated the adhesive tape to the 1st sheet | seat. FIG. 15A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 14, and (a) shows a state where the application position of the adhesive tape AT of the first sheet is moved under the section guide. (B) is a figure which shows the state which is carrying in the 2nd sheet | seat. (C) is a diagram illustrating a state in which the rear end of the sheet is aligned with the first sheet on the retract path and the second sheet on the carry-in path. 15A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 15. FIG. 15A shows a state in which the alignment of the first sheet and the second sheet is completed, and FIG. 15B shows a state where the partition guide is raised and the rear end of the second sheet is used as a retract path. It is a figure which shows the state which is moving. (C) is a figure which shows the state which apply | coats an adhesive tape to the 2nd sheet | seat in the raising process of a sheet | seat. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 16, in which (a) shows a state where the partition guide is moved to the extended position together with the application of the adhesive tape, and (b) shows the application position of the adhesive tape on the second sheet. It is a figure which shows the state which moved under the division guide. (C) is a figure which shows carrying-in of the 3rd last sheet | seat. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the sheet subsequent to FIG. 17, in which the rear end side of the sheet is aligned with the second sheet on the retract path and the third sheet on the carry-in path, and (b) is the post-alignment sheet. It is a figure which shows the state which moved the center of the conveyance direction to the folding process position. (C) It is a figure which shows the state which is the other Example added as a springing operation | movement, and once moved the sheet | seat rear end to the extended position, and then descend | falls and moves to a folding position. It is explanatory drawing of the control structure in the whole structure of FIG.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration combining an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. Therefore, the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing apparatus B. The sheet processing apparatus B includes an adhesive unit 50 that applies an adhesive at the center in the sheet conveying direction.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
The image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 sends a sheet from the paper feeding unit 1 to the image forming unit 2, prints the sheet on the image forming unit 2, and then carries the sheet out from the main body discharge port 3. The sheet feeding unit 1 stores sheets of a plurality of sizes in sheet feeding cassettes 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c, and separates designated sheets one by one and feeds them to the image forming unit 2. The image forming unit 2 includes, for example, an electrostatic drum 4, a print head (laser light emitting device) 5 and a developing device 6 arranged around the electrostatic drum 4, a transfer charger 7, and a fixing device 8. An electrostatic latent image is formed by the light emitting device 5, toner is adhered to the developing device 6, an image is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer charger 7, and heat fixing is performed by the fixing device 8. The sheets on which images are formed in this way are sequentially carried out from the main body discharge port 3. 9 shown in the figure is a circulation path. After the sheet printed on the front side from the fixing device 8 is reversed through the main body switchback path 10, the sheet is fed again to the image forming unit 2 and printed on the back side of the sheet. This is the path for duplex printing. The sheet printed on both sides in this way is turned upside down by the main body switchback path 10 and then carried out from the main body discharge port 3.

  11 shown in the figure is an image reading apparatus, which scans an original sheet set on an original platen 12 by a scanning unit 13 and electrically reads it by a photoelectric conversion element 14 through a reflection mirror and a condenser lens. This image data is digitally processed by the image processing unit, for example, and then transferred to the data storage unit 17 to send an image signal to the laser emitter 5. Reference numeral 15 denotes a document feeder, which is a feeder device that feeds document sheets stored in the stacker 16 to the document platen 12.

  The image forming apparatus A having the above configuration is provided with a control unit (controller), and image forming conditions such as sheet size designation, color / monochrome printing designation, number of copies designation, single-sided / double-sided printing designation, enlargement / reduction from the control panel 18. Printout conditions such as print designation are set. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus A, image data read by the scan unit 13 or image data transferred from an external network is stored in the data storage unit 17, and the image data is transferred from the data storage unit to the buffer memory 19. The data signal is sequentially transferred from the buffer memory 19 to the laser emitter 5.

  From the control panel 18, sheet processing conditions are also input and specified simultaneously with image forming conditions. As the sheet processing condition, for example, “print-out mode”, “staple binding mode”, “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode”, or the like is designated. The image forming apparatus A forms an image on the sheet according to the image forming condition and the sheet processing condition.

[Configuration of sheet processing apparatus]
The sheet processing apparatus B connected to the image forming apparatus A receives a sheet on which an image has been formed from the main body discharge port 3 of the image forming apparatus A. 1. Whether the sheet is stored in the first paper discharge tray 21 (the aforementioned “print-out mode”); 2. Sheets from the main body discharge port 3 are aligned in a bundle and stapled, and then stored in the first discharge tray 21 (the above-described “staple binding mode”). The middles in the transport direction of the sheets discharged from the main body discharge port 3 are laminated one by one and then bundled, folded into a booklet, and stored in the second discharge tray 22 (the aforementioned “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode”). ) Is configured to.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet processing apparatus A includes the first discharge tray 21 and the second discharge tray 22 in the casing 20, and a sheet carry-in path P <b> 1 having a carry-in port 23 connected to the main body discharge port 3. Is provided. The sheet carry-in path P <b> 1 is configured by a substantially horizontal straight path in the casing 20. A first switchback conveyance path SP1 and a second switchback conveyance path SP2 that branch from the sheet carry-in path P1 and transfer the sheet in the reverse direction are arranged. The first switchback conveying path SP1 is branched from the sheet downstream path and the second switchback conveying path SP2 is branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 on the upstream side, and the both conveying paths are spaced apart from each other.

  In such a path configuration, the carry-in roller 24 and the paper discharge roller 25 are disposed in the sheet carry-in path P1, and these rollers are connected to a drive motor (M1) capable of forward and reverse rotation. The paper discharge roller 25 is also connected to a paper discharge roller nip separation motor M5 so as to move up and down on the processing tray 29. In addition, a path switching piece 27 for guiding the sheet to the second switchback transport path SP2 is disposed in the sheet carry-in path P1, and is connected to an operating means such as a solenoid. A punch unit 28 having a punch punching motor M4 for processing punch holes in the sheet from the carry-in entrance 23 is provided on the downstream side of the carry-in roller 24 in the sheet carry-in path P1. The illustrated punch unit 28 is arranged on the upstream side of the carry-in roller 24 at the carry-in entrance 23 so that it can be attached to and detached from the casing 20 according to the specifications of the apparatus. A punch waste box 26 for storing punch waste after punching is detachably mounted from the casing 20 below the punch unit 28.

[Configuration of the first switchback transport path SP1]
The first switchback conveyance path SP1 arranged on the downstream side (rear end portion of the apparatus) of the sheet carry-in path P1 in FIG. 2 is configured as follows. A discharge roller 25 and a discharge port 25a are provided at the exit end of the sheet carry-in path P1, and a first processing tray (hereinafter referred to as “processing tray 29”) is provided below the discharge port 25a with a step difference. Is provided. The processing tray 29 is a tray that stacks and supports sheets from the sheet discharge outlet 25a. A forward / reverse roller 30 is provided above the processing tray 29. A forward / reverse motor M1 is connected to the forward / reverse roller 30 and rotates clockwise when a sheet enters the processing tray 29, and rotates counterclockwise after the trailing edge of the sheet enters the tray. To be controlled. The forward / reverse roller 30 is provided with an elevating roller 31 that is connected to the caterpillar belt and moves to a position in contact with the tray and a position away from the tray. Accordingly, a first switchback transport path SP1 is formed on the first processing tray 29.

  A first paper discharge tray 21 is disposed on the downstream side of the first switchback conveyance path SP1, and the first paper discharge tray 21 is guided to the first switchback conveyance path SP1 and the second switchback conveyance path SP2. It is comprised so that the front end side of a sheet | seat may be supported.

  With the above configuration, the sheet from the paper discharge outlet 25a enters the processing tray 29 and is transferred toward the first paper discharge tray 21 by the forward / reverse rotation roller 30, and the rear end of the sheet is transferred from the paper discharge outlet 25a to the processing tray 29. After entering, the sheet on the processing tray 29 is transferred in the direction opposite to the sheet discharge direction when the forward / reverse roller 30 is rotated in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in the figure). At this time, the up-and-down roller 31 connected to the caterpillar belt cooperates with the forward / reverse rotation roller 30 at a position in contact with the tray to switch back the sheet along the processing tray 29.

  At the rear end of the first processing tray 29 in the paper discharge direction, a rear end regulating member 33 for regulating the position of the rear end of the sheet and an end surface binding stapler 35 are disposed. The illustrated end-face binding stapler 35 is configured to be driven by an end-face binding staple motor M14, and staples the staple to one or a plurality of places on the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the tray. Further, the trailing edge regulating member 33 carries out the stapled sheet bundle to the first paper discharge tray 21 disposed on the downstream side of the processing tray 29. Therefore, the rear end regulating member 33 is configured to reciprocate along the processing tray 29 in the paper discharge direction by the bundle paper discharge motor M7. The first paper discharge tray 21 is raised and lowered by a first paper discharge tray lifting / lowering motor M8 according to the amount of sheets stored.

  Further, the processing tray 29 is provided with a side aligning plate 36 for aligning the width direction of the sheets stacked on the tray. ) It is composed of a pair of alignment plates, is configured to approach and separate from the center of the sheet, and is connected to a side alignment plate motor M6 (not shown).

  The first switchback conveying path SP1 configured as described above aligns the sheets from the sheet discharge outlet 25a on the processing tray 29 in the “staple binding mode”, and this sheet bundle is rear-bound by the end surface binding stapler 35. One or more edges are stapled. Further, in the “print-out mode”, the sheet fed along the processing tray 29 is carried out to the first paper discharge tray 21 by the forward / reverse rotation roller 30 without switching back the sheet from the paper discharge outlet 25a. As shown in the figure, the apparatus is compactly configured by supporting the sheets to be stapled by the processing tray 29 and the first paper discharge tray 21 in a bridge manner.

[Configuration of Second Switchback Transport Path SP2]
The configuration of the second switchback conveyance path SP2 branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the second switchback transport path SP2 is disposed in a substantially vertical direction in the casing 20, and a path carry-in roller 45 is disposed at the path entrance and a transport roller 46 is disposed at the path exit. The conveying roller 46 is configured to be separable between a position where it is nipped with respect to the sheet and a position where it is separated from the sheet. Although this configuration is not particularly illustrated, the pinch roller that is in pressure contact with the conveying roller 46 is driven by a pinch roller separation motor M3 connected to an arm so as to be separated. This separation is performed when the sheets being conveyed are aligned by an alignment member 48 described later.

  The path carry-in roller 45 disposed at the path entrance of the second switchback transport path SP2 is configured to be capable of forward and reverse rotation, and a sheet carried into the first switchback transport path SP1 on the downstream side is temporarily transferred to the second switch. It is held (stayed) in the back transport path SP2. The preceding sheets are stacked on the processing tray 29, stapled by a job end signal, and then sent to the sheet carry-in path P1 from the image forming apparatus A while the sheet bundle is carried out to the first paper discharge tray 21. This is for temporarily holding the sheet in the second switchback conveyance path SP2 and conveying the standby sheet from the first switchback conveyance path SP1 onto the processing tray 29 after the processing of the preceding sheet is completed.

Further, a stacker that constitutes a second processing tray that aligns and temporarily stacks sheets sent from the transport path downstream of the transport path 41 that is the second switchback transport path SP2 and is also a sheet transport path. A portion 40 is provided. The illustrated stacker unit 40 is composed of a conveyance guide for transferring a sheet. This conveyance guide is formed of a stacker upper guide 40a and a stacker lower guide 40b, and is configured to stack and store sheets in this guide. The illustrated stacker unit 40 is connected to the carry-in path 41 and is arranged in a substantially vertical direction at the left and right center of the casing 20. As a result, the apparatus is made compact and compact. The stacker unit 40 is formed in a length shape that accommodates the maximum size sheet therein. In the stacker unit 40, an adhesive unit 50 as an adhesive application unit for applying an adhesive to the sheet, and a folding processing unit 80 including a folding blade 86 and a folding roller 81 for folding the sheet are arranged.

[Description of Evacuation Path (Third Switchback Path SP3)]
On the rear end side in the transport direction of the stacker unit 40, the second switchback transport path SP2 is branched from a transport path 41 for transporting sheets to the stacker section 40, and overlaps with the transport path exit end to overlap the sheet. Is connected to a retreat path 47 which is a third switchback path SP3 that enables switchback conveyance. The retraction path 47 is composed of a switchback guide 42 made of a plate material as shown in FIGS. The switchback guide 42 has ribs protruding on the surface along the sheet conveying direction to facilitate sheet conveyance. Further, the switchback guide 42 is configured so as to be able to be rotated and rotated clockwise around the guide release shaft 43 when a sheet bundle jam or the like occurs in the retraction path.

In the switchback conveyance to the retreat path 47, when the rear end of the sheet carried into the stacker unit 40 from the carry-in path 41 passes through a position branched from the carry-in path 41, the stopper part 90 serving as a regulating member comes into contact with the sheet. Therefore, the rear end side of the sheet is switched back and conveyed to the retreat path 47 together with the sheet bundle in the stacker unit 40.

A branching portion deflection guide 44 urged by a guide tension spring 44 a is provided on the switchback guide 42 side of the retraction path 47 at the joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retraction path 47. Further, an adhesive unit 50 for applying an adhesive to the sheet is disposed immediately after the branching portion deflection guide 44 at the junction. The adhesive unit 50 includes a plurality of adhesive tape stampers 51 as adhesive members arranged in the sheet width direction (three in the left and right in this embodiment). The structure of the adhesive unit 50 will be described later. After the adhesive tape is applied (transferred) to the preceding sheet by the adhesive tape stamper 51 of this apparatus, when the next sheet is carried in from that position through the carry-in path 41, the leading edge of the next sheet is The adhesive cannot be applied to the central portion in the conveying direction constituting the sheet bundle because it is adhered to the application portion of the preceding sheet. Therefore, the next sheet is conveyed to the adhesive tape stamper 51 after being switched back and conveyed to the retreat path 47 so that the adhesive application portion of the preceding sheet does not hinder the carry-in of the sheet. Accordingly, the retreat path 47 also functions as a path for retreating the sheet coated with the adhesive.

By the way, in the above description, the configuration has been described in which the upper guide 41 a constituting the carry-in path 41 and the lower guide opposed thereto are set as fixed guides up to the joining position of the bonding unit 50.
However, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower guide that opposes the upper guide 41 a constituting the carry-in path 41 can be moved between the merging position and the transport roller 46 that is the upstream position of the carry-in path 41. The guide 83 is configured to release the retreat path 47. With this configuration, the sheet can be moved to the retreat path 47 at a position upstream of the carry-in path 41 even if the rear end of the conveyed sheet does not reach the joining position immediately before the bonding unit. By adopting a configuration in which both the sheet and the partition guide 83 can be moved in this manner, the sheet conveyance range can be reduced, and the overall processing speed can be increased. The configuration and operation of the partition guide 83 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[Outline from retraction path to stopper]
Here, based on FIG.2 and FIG.3, the outline | summary of a structure from the retraction path | route 47 branched from the carrying-in path | route 41 to the stopper part 90 is demonstrated. The drawing here shows an extended position EP (solid line in FIG. 3) in which the upper guide 41a constituting the carry-in path 41 and the partition guide 83 serving as the lower guide extend to the carry-in path outlet 144 at the joining position of the bonding unit 50. Show. The partition guide 83 is movable between a release position OP (a broken line in FIG. 3) at the unit path entrance 143 upstream of the carry-in path 41, which is a position for releasing the retreat path. The partition guide 83 will be further described with reference to FIG.
A branching portion deflection guide 44 is provided at the junction of the carry-in route 41 and the retreat route 47. In addition, at the release position OP of the partition guide 83, a proximal end deflection guide 85 that urges the sheet toward the retreat path 47 is provided. Although these will also be described with reference to FIG. 11, the base end deflection guide 85 as the first deflection guide and the branch as the second deflection guide at the two positions before and after the release position OP and the extended position EP of the partition guide 83. Since the part deflection guide 44 urges the sheet toward the retreat path 47, the sheet reliably moves to the retreat path 47.

Incidentally, an adhesive unit 50 for applying an adhesive to a sheet is disposed in the stacker unit 40 at the junction of the carry-in route 41 and the retreat route 47 as well shown in FIG. A sheet presser 65 is attached to the bonding unit 50 so as to be movable up and down toward the stopper portion 90 so as not to move the sheet stopped at the bonding position for bonding.
At the front end side of the sheet presser 65, a sheet presser slider 71 is provided that presses the sheet up and down and feeds the adhesive tape AT as an adhesive. A transfer head 72 for backing up the adhesive tape AT fed out from the reel is provided above the sheet pressing slider 71. The transfer head 72 also presses the sheet to apply the adhesive tape AT to the sheet and is separated from the sheet. Then, the sheet moves to a separation position that allows the conveyance and movement of the sheet. Therefore, the X shown in FIG. 3 is the adhesive application position. Moreover, Z shown in the figure is a sheet pressing position for pressing the sheet without applying an adhesive.
In addition, application | coating in this invention shall also include what is called transfer which transfers an adhesive agent from a tape, pressing a sheet | seat. Moreover, the thing which sprays an adhesive agent, pressing a sheet | seat, or the thing which applies a paste member is also included.

  An alignment member 48 that moves in the sheet width direction and presses the sheet side edge in the stacker unit 40 is disposed on the downstream side of the bonding unit 50. The alignment member 48 has a substantially U-shape, and folding rollers 81a and 81b as folding processing portions and a folding blade 86 that presses the sheet against the folding roller are pressed and separated from the sheet. It is possible to move to. The alignment member 48 reciprocates in the sheet width direction by a side edge alignment member motor M12 described later.

Immediately after the alignment member 48, a pressure roller 49 is provided so as to be separated from and in contact with the stacker lower guide 40b which is one guide constituting the stacker unit 40. The pressure roller 49 is separated until the front end of the sheet passes the roller position. When the front end of the sheet passes, the pressure roller 49 rotates while pressing the sheet so as to press the sheet against the stacker lower guide 40b. The pressure roller 49 is also separated from the sheet during the alignment operation of the alignment member 48 and when the sheet is moved in the upper milk direction. This operation is performed by driving the pressure roller driving nip separation motor M9.

  On the lower end side of the stacker unit 40, a stopper unit 90 that restricts the leading end of the sheet in the carry-in direction is arranged. The stopper portion 90 is supported by a guide rail or the like of the apparatus frame so as to be movable along the stacker portion 40, and can be moved up and down by a lifting belt 93 stretched between an upper pulley 94a and a lower pulley 94b positioned in the vertical direction. ing. The elevating belt 93 is moved by moving these pulleys 94 with the stopper moving motor M10. The elevating belt 93 is stopped and moved to each position of Sh0, Sh1, Sh2, Sh3, and Sh4 as described below.

  First, Sh0 at the lowermost position is the home position of the stopper 90, and this position is detected by a sensor (not shown) to set the initial position. Sh1 is a receiving position of the sheet passing the release position (OP) where the section guide 83 can move the sheet to the retreat path 47 at the unit path entrance 143, and the rear end of the sequentially stacked sheets is formed by the base end deflection guide 85. This position is biased toward the switchback guide 42 side of the retreat path 47. Sh2 is a position where the bundled sheets are folded at a half position in the sheet conveying direction. Sh3 is a position where the adhesive tape AT is applied (transferred) to the sheet by the adhesive unit 50 in the sheet width direction at approximately a half position in the sheet conveyance direction. Sh4 is a position where the application position where the adhesive is applied to the sheet is moved to the retreat path 47. This position prevents the next sheet from coming into contact with the adhesive application position of the preceding sheet when the next sheet is carried into the stacker unit 40 from the carry-in path 41, and prevents the adhesive from adhering to a paper jam or an unplanned position. In addition, the application position of the preceding sheet can be retreated to a position (application retreat position 100) where the application position is hidden away from the next sheet carry-in path. When there is a sheet at the application retreat position 100, the partition guide 83 is positioned at the extended position (EP) in the vicinity of the carry-in path outlet 144 (the retreat path entrance 145) and the leading end of the next sheet is loaded. The adhesive tape AT applied with the preceding sheet is isolated.

  In FIG. 2, an alternate long and short dash line drawing position Sh01 is shown, but the rear end of the sheet changes its direction to the retreat path 47 when the partition guide 83 does not move and is always in the extended position (EP). Shows the position to move to. Therefore, by moving the partition guide 83 according to the position of the sheet, the moving range of the sheet can be reduced and the moving time associated therewith can be omitted, so that the processing speed of the apparatus can be improved.

    As described above, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the sheet is carried in, the adhesive is applied to the sheet or the binding is performed, the application position is moved to the retreat path 47, the partition guide 83 is also moved, the next sheet is carried in, and the partition guide 83 Is returned to the unit path entrance 143, and the application of adhesive to the next sheet is repeated to form a bundle while adhering the sheets together with an adhesive. This bundle formation will be described later in order.

  After the sheet bundle is formed, the sheet is folded in half by the folding processing unit 80, and the folded sheet bundle is discharged onto the second discharge tray 22 by the bundle discharge roller 95 provided with the bundle kicking piece 95a. The discharged sheet bundle is stacked on the second sheet discharge tray 22 by a bundle presser guide 96 that prevents the bundle from being opened and the stacking range from being reduced, and a bundle presser 97 that is positioned on the downstream side.

[Description of adhesive unit]
Next, an adhesive unit 50 for applying an adhesive will be described with reference to FIGS. A range surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the bonding unit 50 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bonding unit 50, and the apparatus range is attached to the sheet processing apparatus B as a unit. 5A and 5B are explanatory views of the main parts of the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b as adhesive portions. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the cam member 57 and the like, and FIG. 5B shows an engaged state of the cam member 57 and the stamper holder 52. A front view, (c) the upper part is an explanatory view of the cam member 57 moved to a position where the adhesive tape stamper 51 is separated from the sheet, and the lower part is in contact with the sheet and moved to the position where the stamper holder 52 is pressed to the platen 79 side. . 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of the adhesive tape stamper 51, where FIG. 6A is a perspective view, FIG. 6B is an internal mechanism diagram, and FIGS. 6C and 6D are driving explanatory views for winding the adhesive tape AT by a stamping operation. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of applying and transferring the adhesive tape AT to the sheet by the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b supporting a plurality of adhesive tape stampers 51. FIG.

3, an adhesive tape stamper 51 constituting the adhesive unit 50, a stamper holder 52 that groups the adhesive tape stampers 51 and supports them in parallel, and the stamper holder 52 is brought close to the platen 79 so that the adhesive tape stamper 51 A cam member 57 that moves up and down between a position where the adhesive is applied to the sheet and a position separated from the platen 79, and an adhesive that moves the cam member 57 in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction. A tape unit (cam member) moving motor (hereinafter referred to as cam moving motor 60) (M13) is disposed. In addition, the plurality of adhesive tape units 50a and 50b can be mounted as a unitized adhesive unit 50 on the sheet processing apparatus B, more specifically, at a position upstream of the stacker unit 40. Further, the adhesive unit 50 is provided with a part of the carry-in path 41 (more specifically, the unit path entrance shown in FIG. 3) so that the sheet does not shift when carrying the sheet into the stacker unit 40 or when switching back to the retreat path 47. 143 to the carry-in route outlet 144), the branching portion deflection guide 44, a part of the branched retreat route 47 (more specifically, the retreat route inlet 145), and the platen 79 are also installed in the apparatus as this unit. These are the adhesive units 50 in a range surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3, and are shown in a perspective view in FIG.
A broken line portion located below the bonding unit is a partition guide unit 82 that moves a partition guide 83 described later.

As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment unit 50 is attached to the sheet processing apparatus B through a fixing portion (not shown) of the sheet processing apparatus B and a set screw hole 50cb provided in the frame of the adhesion unit 50 with the illustrated screws. Made by fixing. It should be noted that this screw may be changed so that a rail is provided in each of the sheet processing apparatus B and the bonding unit 50 so that the sheet can be pulled out.
By unitizing as described above, each positional relationship is more accurate than individually attaching to the sheet processing apparatus B, and in particular, in a portion where the adhesive is not originally desired to be attached due to movement of the sheet after applying the adhesive. The adhesion of the adhesive due to the shift is reduced.

  The adhesive unit 50 includes a left and right coating device frame 50c, a central support frame 63 that couples the left and right coating device frames 50c at the center, a rear support frame 64a that is coupled at the rear, and a lower support frame 64b that is coupled below the platen 79. Constitutes one housing. A cam movement motor 60 (M13) is attached to the one coating device frame 50c. The drive of the cam moving motor 60 (M13) is transmitted to the moving belt 58 via the gear train 59. The moving belt 58 is coupled to a cam member 57 slidable in the sheet width direction on two cam guide rods 57a between the left and right applicator frames 50c. Therefore, when the cam movement motor 60 (M13) is driven, the cam member 57 moves to the left and right according to the rotation direction.

  The cam member 57 is formed with a cam groove 61 as shown in FIGS. As shown in the figure, the cam groove 61 is provided with an upper horizontal groove cam 61a provided on the upper side of the cam member 57, a lower horizontal groove cam 61c provided on the lower side, and an inclined cam groove 61b communicating these. These cam grooves 61 are formed on the left and right as shown in the figure, but their phases are slightly different. In this cam groove 61, a roller 56 as a cam follower is fitted to a moving block 54 for raising and lowering the stamper holder 52.

The roller 56 engaged with the cam groove 61 is fixed to the moving block 54 via a shaft. 7A, the moving block 54 is provided in a stamper holder 52 that supports the adhesive tape stamper 51 (although this figure is an explanatory view seen from the back side of the cam member 57 shown in FIG. 4). Of the four guide rods 53 extending vertically, the two guide rods 53 on the inner side are slidably supported.
Therefore, a plurality of the adhesive tape stampers 51 that support the adhesive tape AT are arranged at intervals in the sheet width direction.
On the other hand, each of the two outer guide rods 53 is slidably supported by a support block 55 fixed to a central support frame 63 that joins the left and right coating device frames 50c. Accordingly, the stamper holder 52 that supports the adhesive tape stamper 51 is supported by the support block 55 on which the outer guide rod 53 slides.

On the other hand, a moving block 54 is slidably attached to two guide rods 53 at the center of the stamper holder 52, and this moving block 54 is fixed to a roller 56 that engages with the cam groove 61 as a cam follower. It is. A pressure spring 62 is wound around a central guide rod 53 around the bottom surface of the moving block 54 and the back surface 52 c of the bottom surface 52 b of the stamper holder 52. The pressurizing spring 62 constantly urges the moving block 54 in a direction in which the moving block 54 is pressed against the upper portion of the stamper holder 52. Accordingly, when the cam member 57 moves and the roller 56 engaged with the cam groove 61 descends, a transfer head 72 of an adhesive tape stamper 51 described later contacts the sheet and the stamper holder 52 stops descending. Then, the pressure spring 62 is compressed between the bottom surface of the moving block 54 and the back surface 52 c of the bottom surface 52 b of the stamper holder 52. Accordingly, the transfer head 72 is more strongly pressed against the sheet by the compression force of the moving block 54 and the elastic force of the pressure spring 62, and the adhesive on the adhesive tape AT can be reliably applied (transferred) to the sheet.

Further, the left and right cam grooves 61 into which the rollers 56 engaged with the cam grooves 61 are fitted have different phases as shown in FIG. 5C and the initial positions of the cam grooves 61 of the rollers 56 are also different. . For this reason, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing starts to descend quickly, and the roller on the right side reaches the lower horizontal cam groove 61c with a delay. For this reason, the lower horizontal cam groove 61c on the left side is set longer than the right side. This is because the left adhesive tape unit 50a having the adhesive tape stamper 51 presses the sheet earlier than the right adhesive tape unit 50b, and then the right adhesive tape unit 50a presses the sheet later. This requires a considerable pressing force for each adhesive tape unit 50a, 50b to press against the sheet at a time. Therefore, a larger drive motor must be used to move the cam member 57. Can be reduced in size and weight of the frame.

[Description of adhesive tape stamper]
Here, the adhesive tape stamper 51 that can be attached to and detached from the stamper holder 52 constituting the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 6 (a) shows an appearance, a stamper cover 70, a transfer tape (hereinafter referred to as an adhesive tape AT) coated with an adhesive that has an adhesive on a tape base material and is successively applied, A transfer head 72 is wound around the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape AT and backs up to press the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape AT against the sheet, and retracts to the same position of the transfer head 72 that is located next to the transfer head 72 and protrudes from the transfer head 72. A sheet presser slider 71 that can be moved up and down between the positions is displayed. The sheet presser slider 71 presses the sheet under the sheet presser slider 71 when the transfer head 72 is lowered to apply and transfer the adhesive tape AT to the sheet. The transfer surface is rolled up, and this is backed up by the transfer head 72 to apply and transfer the adhesive onto the sheet.

Next, a configuration for feeding the adhesive tape AT by extending and contracting the sheet pressing slider 71 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6B, in the stamper cover 70, a supply reel 74 that is rotatable around a supply reel shaft 74a around which an unused adhesive tape AT is wound, and the supply reel 74 is fed out and transferred. A rotatable take-up reel 75 is disposed on a take-up reel shaft 75a that is wound around the head 72 and takes up the adhesive tape AT. FIG. 6C shows a state before the adhesive tape AT is fed from the supply reel 74. A slider rack 77 is formed of a resin above the sheet pressing slider 71 that expands and contracts in the stamper cover. ing. The slider rack 77 is engaged with a gear that rotates integrally with the take-up reel 75. The gear of the take-up reel 75 is engaged with a gear that rotates integrally with the supply reel 74 via a reel-to-reel gear 76.

Further, a slider spring 73 is provided in the sheet presser slider 71, and always urges the sheet presser slider 71 outward (lower side in FIG. 6). Therefore, when the adhesive tape stamper 51 in the state of FIG. 6D is pushed down from the state in which the slider spring 73 of FIG. 6C is extended, the slider spring 73 is compressed. At the same time, the slider rack 77 engages with the take-up reel gear 75b of the take-up reel 75 and rotates the take-up reel 75 in the clockwise direction in the drawing. The take-up reel gear 75b meshes with the inter-reel gear 76, and the other of the inter-reel gear 76 meshes with the supply reel gear 74b. Accordingly, when the take-up reel 75 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing, the supply reel 74 also rotates, and the adhesive tape AT is taken up by the take-up reel while being fed out from the supply reel, and a new adhesive surface is positioned on the transfer head 72.

Next, when the adhesive tape stamper 51 is raised from the state of FIG. 6D, the slider spring 73 is elastically restored, and the sheet pressing slider 71 is pushed downward. At this time, since the take-up reel gear 75b meshes with the slider rack 77, it rotates counterclockwise, but a ratchet mechanism that transmits only in one direction is interposed between the take-up reel 75 and the take-up reel gear 75b. The take-up reel 75 does not rotate. Further, the reel-to-reel gear 76 and the supply reel gear 74b that mesh with the take-up reel gear 75b also rotate counterclockwise, but a ratchet mechanism that transmits only in one direction is interposed between the reel reel 76 and the supply reel 74b. Therefore, the supply reel 74 does not rotate. From such a mechanism, only when the sheet pressing slider 71 is pushed down, the supply reel 74 and the take-up reel 75 rotate and the new adhesive surface of the adhesive tape AT is fed out to the transfer head 72 and positioned. In this embodiment, the ratchet mechanism is not particularly shown, but a one-way clutch that transmits rotation only in one direction between each reel gear and the reel may be adopted.

In this embodiment, the movement from FIG. 6C to FIG. 6D is performed by the cam member 57 moving the stamper holder 52 that supports a plurality of adhesive tape stampers 51 in the sheet width direction. This mechanism is as described above. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, a cushion material 52a made of foaming resin or the like for buffering the impact of the lifting operation is interposed between the stamper holder 52 and the adhesive tape stamper 51 and supported. Thereby, application | coating (transfer) of the adhesive agent from adhesive tape AT to a sheet | seat improves.
The pressure-sensitive adhesive tape AT in the embodiment has an adhesive on a tape base material, and is configured such that the adhesive is transferred to the sheet by pressing the adhesive on the sheet.

[Explanation about the sheet bundle presser adjacent to the stamper holder]
Next, before the sheet pressing slider 71 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 described with reference to FIG. 6 presses the sheet against the platen 79 which is the bonding position, the sheet pressing 65 for restricting the movement and flapping of the sheet will be described with reference to FIGS. In particular, a description will be given with reference to FIG.
As already described, the sheet presser 65 that is pressed toward the platen 79 to regulate the sheet stopped at the bonding position for bonding is attached to the bonding unit 50 so as to be movable up and down. As shown in FIG. 7A, a sheet presser support block 67 for slidingly supporting a sheet presser guide rod 68 having a sheet presser 65 is provided on both sides of two stamper holders 52 that support the adhesive tape stamper 51. Yes. In the sheet pressing support block 67, the illustrated round hole is fixed to the central support frame 63 by screws or the like. Further, presser pressure springs 65 c wound around the sheet presser guide rod 68 are arranged on both side ends of the sheet presser support block 67 and the side edge presser 65 a of the sheet presser 65.

Further, the sheet bundle presser 65 is always urged in the direction in which the sheet is pressed, but one (left side in FIG. 7) of the stamper holder 52 and the sheet presser 65 are engaged by the engaging portion 69, The sheet presser 65 is locked at a position spaced from the other sheet. Therefore, when the stamper holder 52 does not move down due to the movement of the cam member 57, the sheet presser 65 also stops at a position away from the sheet and allows the conveyance of the sheet. When the stamper holder 52 starts to descend toward the sheet by the movement of the cam member 57, as shown in FIG. 7C, the engagement portion of the stamper holder 52 and the engagement portion 69 of the sheet presser 65 is lowered, and the sheet presser is moved. 65 is lowered so that sheet displacement and flapping on the platen 79 do not occur. Due to this restriction, the stamper holder 52 is further lowered and the sheet pressing slider 71 presses the sheet, and also when the transfer head 72 that is further lowered and supports the adhesive tape AT and presses the sheet presses the sheet. Misalignment and flapping can be suppressed.

When the application (transfer) of the adhesive tape AT to the adhesive tape stamper 51 is completed in the sheet width direction by the lowering of the two stamper holders 52, the sheet presser is now returned when the cam member returns to the original FIG. 7B. The engaging portion 65 engages with the stamper holder 52 and ascends from the seat when the stamper holder 52 rises. As described above, the sheet presser 65 according to the present embodiment presses the sheet ahead of other members in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the stamper holder 52. This sheet presser is moved downward by the solenoid or the like. You may move it ahead of time. Further, the side edge presser 65a and the center presser 65b are provided so as to press over the entire sheet width. However, only the side edge presser 65a or only the center presser 65b may be provided if necessary, and the application of the adhesive is essential. It is sufficient to prevent the sheet from moving in front.

[Explanation of adhesive unit operation]
Here, the operation of applying (transferring) the adhesive to the sheet by the adhesive unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are explanatory views as seen from the back side of the cam member 57 on the side opposite to the adhesive tape stamper 51 of FIG.
7A, the cam member 57 is in the initial position, and the stamper holder 52 in which the adhesive tape stamper 51 is mounted in the cam groove 61 of the cam member 57 is moved along the guide rod 53 on the inner side. The moving block 54 and the roller 56 that slide are engaged with each other. As described above, the pressure spring 62 is interposed between the moving block 54 and the stamper holder 52, and the moving block 54 is pressed by the moving block 54 so as to contact the back surface 52c of the stamper holder 52 as shown in FIG. Yes. Further, the stamper holder 52 is configured to slide on the outer guide rod 53 so as to be movable up and down on support blocks 55 fixed to a central support frame 63 that connects the coating device frame 50c at the center.

In FIG. 7A, the stamper holder 52 and the sheet presser 65 locked to the stamper holder 52 are also separated from the platen 79 to maintain a gap in which the sheet can move. In this state, the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 are located farthest from the sheet. The other stamper holder 52 is also in the same position.

Next, in FIG. 7B, the sheet is located at the adhesion position, and the cam movement motor 60 (M13) is driven by the signal for applying the adhesive tape AT, so that the cam member 57 moves in the right direction in the figure. Then, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing starts to move downward along the inclined cam groove 61b. By this movement, the left stamper holder 52 is also lowered by the guide rod 53 sliding on the support block 55. When the stamper holder 52 is lowered, the engaging portion 69 locked to the stamper holder 52 is also lowered, and pressing of the sheet on the platen 79 is started. On the other hand, the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 are also lowered but are not in contact with the sheet. The stamper holder 52 on the right side of the drawing is not moved down because the roller 56 has only moved the upper horizontal cam groove 61a of the cam groove 61.

Further, when the cam member 57 moves, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing further descends the inclined cam groove as shown in FIG. 7C. By this lowering, the engagement of the engaging portion 69 between the sheet presser 65 and the right stamper holder 52 is released. When this locking is released, the sheet presser 65 more reliably presses the sheet and restricts the position by a presser pressure spring 65c interposed between the sheet presser support block 67 and the sheet presser support block 67. On the other hand, the sheet pressing slider 71 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 starts contact with the sheet, and by this contact, the adhesive tape AT also moves as shown in FIGS. 6C to 6D to expose a new adhesive surface. It becomes like this. Even at this position, the transfer head 72 is not yet in contact with the sheet. Also, the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure is not moved down because the roller 56 has only moved the upper horizontal cam groove 61a of the cam groove 61.

Subsequently, when the cam member 57 moves to the right side as shown in FIG. 8A, the stamper holder 52 on the left side in the figure descends, and the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 come into contact with the sheet. At this time, when the transfer head 72 abuts on the sheet, the stamper holder 52 is prevented from further descending, but the moving block 54 moves in the inclined cam groove 61b so as to further descend. As a result, compression of the pressure spring 62 is started by this movement, and this elastic force acts as a pressing force of the transfer head 72 via the stamper holder 52, and the adhesive tape AT is pressed more strongly against the sheet. As a result, the adhesive can be reliably applied and transferred to the sheet.
On the other hand, the roller 56 of the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure also starts to descend the inclined cam groove 61b, and the sheet pressing slider 71 of the right adhesive tape stamper 51 starts to press the sheet.

Further, when the cam member 57 moves and enters the state shown in FIG. 8B, the stamper holder 52 on the left side in the drawing maintains the pressurized state by the elastic force of the pressure spring 62. On the other hand, the roller 56 of the right stamper holder 52 shown in the drawing also reaches the end point of the downward movement of the inclined cam groove 61b, so that the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the right adhesive tape stamper 51 also press the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 8C, when the cam member 57 is positioned on the rightmost side, the stamper holder 52 on the left side in the drawing is in a state of further maintaining the pressurized state by the elastic force of the pressure spring 62. On the other hand, the roller 56 of the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the drawing also reaches the lower horizontal cam groove 61c, whereby the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the left adhesive tape stamper 51 press the sheet, and the pressure spring 62 is further compressed. This elastic force acts as a pressing force of the transfer head 72 via the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure, and presses the adhesive tape AT more strongly against the sheet. As a result, the adhesive can be reliably applied (transferred) to the sheet. Further, when there is a preceding sheet to which an adhesive is applied, adhesion between the sheets is also strengthened.

When the respective transfer heads 72 complete the application of the adhesive to the sheet by the lowering of the left and right stamper holders 52, the cam member 57 moves to the left side in the figure and raises the stamper holder 52 in the reverse order of the lowering. When (b) is reached, the left stamper holder 52 engages with the engaging portion 69 of the sheet presser 65 and moves the sheet presser 65 to a position away from the sheet, and further returns to the state of FIG. In preparation for application of adhesive to the next sheet.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 pre-presses the sheet with the sheet presser 65 before applying the adhesive to the sheet, the sheet position shift It can be applied at a predetermined position on the sheet without fluttering. Further, since the stamper holder 52 that supports the transfer head 72 is pressed by the pressure spring 62 even after the transfer head 72 abuts against the sheet, the transfer head 72 can be strongly pressed by the sheet. The adhesive on the tape AT can be reliably transferred to the sheet.
Further, as described in the explanation of the operation of the bonding unit, the left and right stamper holders 52 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 do not press the transfer head 72 against the sheet simultaneously on both the left and right sides. Is pressed against the sheet, and while maintaining this state with the cam member 57, the timing of sequential pressing is shifted so that the right transfer head 72 group is pressed against the sheet. The force can be reduced, and the cam moving motor 60 (M13) can be reduced in size, and the apparatus can be configured even if the apparatus frame is somewhat fragile, and the weight can be reduced.

  Next, the stopper portion 90 as an end regulating member at the leading end of the sheet carried into the stacker portion 40 and the gripper 91 provided on the stopper portion 90 and capable of gripping a sheet will be sequentially described.

[Explanation of the stopper gripper opening and closing mechanism]
With reference to FIG. 9, a closed state in which the gripper 91 located at the tip of the stopper 90 is gripped and an open state in which the grip is released will be described. In addition, since raising / lowering of the stopper part 90 was already demonstrated, description here is abbreviate | omitted.
FIG. 9A shows the entire movement range of the gripper 91, and the upper and lower positions are indicated by virtual lines. FIG. 9B is a plan view of the gripper 91 together with the stopper portion 90 as viewed from above. The gripper 91 is disposed at the tip of the stopper portion 90, and is configured such that the moving piece 91 b is separated from the fixed piece 91 a of the stopper portion 90. The gripper connecting portion 152 of the moving piece 91b is disposed so as to be able to advance and retract under the stopper portion 90 and the stopper connecting portion 151. A closing spring 91c is provided below the moving piece 91b to constantly urge the moving piece 91b in the closing direction.

By the way, the gripper connecting portion 152 has a connecting arm 153 having an opening hole protruding backward from the stopper portion 90. A rotation bracket 154 that penetrates the opening hole of the connecting arm 153 and supports the rotation bar 156 up and down is provided. As shown in FIG. 9B, the pivot bracket 154 pivots in the direction indicated by the arrow as shown in FIG. 9B with the pivot fulcrum 155 as a fulcrum. This rotation bracket 154 has a rotation cam 157 and a bracket pressing surface 158. The rotating cam 157 is rotated by a gripper opening / closing motor 160 (M11). When the bracket pressing surface 158 presses the rotation bracket 154 by this rotation, the bracket pressing surface 158 swings about the rotation fulcrum 155. By this swinging, the rotating bar 156 supported by the rotating bracket 154 is moved forward and backward. Since the rotation bar 156 passes through the opening hole of the connecting arm 153, the moving piece 91 b at the tip of the connecting arm 153 comes in contact with the fixed piece 91 a of the stopper portion 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), even if the stopper 90 is moved up and down, the connecting arm 153 has the rotating bar 156 located in this lift range, so that the gripper 91 can be moved at any lift position. It becomes possible to move the moving piece 91b which constitutes forward and backward. Accordingly, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 turns the gripper opening / closing motor 160 into a closed state in which the gripper 91 grips the sheet and an open state in which the gripper is released. Since the stacker unit 40 is arranged in an inclined state as shown in the figure, the rotating bracket 154 is always in contact with the rotating cam 157. Note that the rotating bracket may be urged toward the rotating cam 157 by a spring or the like to contact the rotating cam 157. The gripper 91 may be opened and closed by directly connecting a solenoid.

[Explanation of folding mechanism and operation]
Next, a configuration of the folding processing unit 80 in which the front end of the bonded sheet bundle is moved to the adhesive bundle folding position Sh2 and the half position of the sheet is folded will be described. At the folding position Y arranged on the downstream side of the bonding unit 50, a folding roller 81 for folding the bonded sheet bundle and a sheet bundle are inserted at the nip position of the folding roller 81 as shown in FIG. A folding blade 86 is provided. The folding roller 81 is composed of rollers 81a and 81b that are in pressure contact with each other, and each roller is formed to have a substantially maximum sheet width. The rollers 81a and 81b constituting the folding roller 81 are fitted with the long shafts of the apparatus frame (not shown) so that the rotary shafts 81ax and 81bx are joined in pressure contact with each other, and are urged in the pressure contact direction by the compression springs 81aS and 81bS. Yes. Note that at least one of the rollers may be supported by a shaft so as to be movable in the press-contact direction, and a biasing spring may be wound around one of the rollers.

  The pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b are formed of a material having a relatively large friction coefficient such as a rubber roller. This is because the sheet is bent and transferred by a soft material such as rubber, and may be formed by lining the rubber material.

  Next, the operation of folding the sheet by the folding roller 81 will be described with reference to FIGS. The pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b is positioned above the stacker unit 40 and below the bonding unit 50, and has a knife blade 86 at a position facing the sandwiched sheet bundle supported by the stacker unit 40. Is provided. The folding blade 86 is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be capable of reciprocating between the standby position in FIG. 10A and the nip position in FIG.

  Therefore, the sheet bundle supported by the stacker unit 40 in the form of a bundle is locked to the stopper portion 90 at the tip in the state shown in FIG. 5A, and the fold position is the position where the adhesive is applied by the adhesive tape stamper 51. Positioned as a folding position. Upon obtaining this sheet bundle setting end signal, the drive control means (“sheet folding process control unit 202” for controlling a discharge roller drive motor M15 described later; the same applies hereinafter) turns off the clutch means.

  Therefore, the sheet bundle folding processing control unit 202 moves the folding blade 86 from the standby position toward the nip position at a predetermined speed. Therefore, in the state of FIG. 10B, the sheet bundle is bent at the fold position by the folding blade 86 and inserted between the rollers. At this time, the pair of folding rollers 81 are driven and rotated continuously with the sheet moved by the folding blade 86. Then, after the expected time for the sheet bundle to reach a predetermined nip position, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 stops the discharge roller driving motor (M15) connected to the blade, and moves the folding blade 86 to the position shown in FIG. Stop with. Before and after this, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 switches the clutch means (not shown) to the ON state to drive and rotate the folding roller 81. Then, the sheet bundle is sent out in the feeding direction (left side in the figure). Thereafter, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 moves and returns the folding blade 86 located at the nip position toward the standby position in parallel with the feeding of the sheet bundle by the folding roller 81 in the state shown in FIG.

  When the sheet bundle thus folded is first engulfed between the pair of folding rollers 81, the sheet contacting the roller surface is not drawn between the rollers by the rotating roller. That is, the folding roller 81 follows (follows) and rotates with the inserted (pushed) sheet, so that only the sheet in contact with the roller is not first wound. Further, since the roller follows and rotates following the inserted sheet, the roller surface and the sheet in contact therewith are not rubbed, and the image is not rubbed.

Returning to FIG. 2, a sheet transfer path (hereinafter referred to as “transfer path”) that guides the folded sheet to the second sheet discharge tray 22 that stores the booklet as a folded sheet bundle on the downstream side of the folding roller 81 described above. , And a bundle sheet discharge roller 95 having a kick-out piece provided at the outlet of the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle folded in two by the folding roller 81 is carried out to the second sheet discharge tray 22. The conveyed sheet bundle is collected in a well-aligned manner by a bundle retainer guide 96 and a bundle retainer 97 that prevents the sheet bundle from being folded in half.

[Composition and operation explanation of partition guide]
Here, the partition guide 83 which forms the main part of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 shows the movement between the release position (OP) at which the section guide 83 can move the rear end of the sheet to the retreat path 47 at the unit path inlet 143 and the extended position (EP) of the carry-in path outlet 144. It is explanatory drawing to which a part of was expanded. FIG. 12 is a view in which the partition guide unit 82 is attached to the adhesive unit 50. FIG. 13 is a view showing a moving mechanism of the partition guide 83. This will be sequentially described below.

  As already described in the description of FIG. 3, when the middle of the sheet from the image forming apparatus A is used as a laminated booklet, the sheet is supplied with the second switchback path SP2, the path carry-in roller 45, the carry-in path. 41, the middle part of the sheet is carried through the conveying roller 46 to the adhesive unit 50 near the entrance of the stacker unit 40. Further, immediately before the bonding unit 50, there is provided a retreat path 47 that branches off from the carry-in path 41 and switches back and conveys the sheet in a direction opposite to the carrying direction of the carry-in path 41. In this retracting path 47, after the adhesive is applied to the preceding sheet, this application position is moved to the application retracting position 100 of the retracting path 47 so that the leading edge of the next sheet does not touch the application position of the preceding sheet. Then, after the next sheet is conveyed on the preceding sheet and coincides with the substantially center of the conveying direction, the preceding sheet / next sheet is pulled into the stacker unit. In this way, the adhesive application position on the preceding sheet is under the guide that constitutes the retraction path, so that the adhesive does not adhere to an excessive position on the next sheet.

As described above, in order to transfer each sheet to the stacker unit 40 and switchback transport to the retreat path 47, the rear end of the sheet to be transported is once downstream of the end of the transport path 41 (the transport path exit 144 in FIG. 11). Need to move to the side. In this case, the carry-in path 41 has been provided so far. Specifically, if the carry-in path 41 is fixed from the carry roller 46 at the unit path entrance 143 in FIG. 11 to the merge position of the carry-in path 41 at the carry-in path exit 144 and the retreat path 47, the carry is carried from the carry-in path 41. If the trailing end of the coming sheet does not reach the merging position downstream of the carry-in path outlet 144, the sheet cannot be directed to the retreat path 47 and switched back. For this reason, when many sheets are installed, the downstream side indicated by the broken line in FIG. 11 must be exceeded, and this transport takes time.

In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 11, a partition guide 83 that opposes the upper guide 41 a constituting the carry-in route 41 and divides the retreat route 47 is provided between the unit route inlet 143 and the carry-in route outlet 144. Try to move. With this configuration, the sheet trailing edge moves to the retreat path 47 at the unit path inlet 143 (release position OP shown) without the sheet trailing edge being conveyed to the carry-in path outlet 144 (extended position EP shown). can do. In other words, when it is necessary to switch back to the sheet withdrawal path 47, the partition guide 83 is set to the release position OP, and when the adhesive application position of the preceding sheet is avoided from contacting the next sheet, the partition guide 83 is extended. By moving to the position EP, the pasting operation can be performed without increasing the movement of the sheet.

Further, a range surrounded by the upper guide 41 a to which the partition guide 83 moves and the switchback guide 42 constituting the bottom surface of the retreat path 47 is formed in a fan shape centering on the joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47. Therefore, when the section guide 83 moves to the extended position EP, the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 are overlapped with each other in a fan shape. With this shape, the rear end of the sheet can be easily moved to the retreat path 47 so as to draw an arc centering on the front end side.

The above point will be described with reference to FIG. 11. The carry-in route 41 is provided with an upper guide 41a and a partition guide 83 that moves opposite to the upper guide 41a. The partition guide 83 can move to a release position OP at which the sheet shown by the solid line in FIG. 11 can be released to the retreat path 47 and an extended position indication EP that extends to the joining position by covering the adhesive of the sheet shown by the broken line in FIG. (Both directions shown in the figure). The partition guide 83 is provided with a protruding guide 106 whose tip is bent, and as shown in FIG. 11, the protruding guide 106 is shaped to cover the application position of the preceding sheet.

Further, at the release position OP, a base end deflection guide 85 provided at the base end of the partition guide 83 that urges the rear end of the sheet toward the retreat path 47 is disposed. The base end deflection guide 85 includes a pivotable shaft support 85b, a base end guide 85c in contact with the sheet, a bent portion 85d bent toward the retracting path 47, and a tip guide 85e extending therefrom. In addition, a tension spring 85a that constantly urges the base end deflection guide 85 toward the retracting path 47 is provided on the shaft support 85b. Accordingly, when the partition guide 83 is located at the release position (OP in the drawing), the trailing end of the sheet conveyed along the carry-in route 41 moves to the retreat route 47 as shown in the drawing. Further, the base end deflection guide 85 is arranged at intervals in a comb-like shape while avoiding the position of the adhesive tape AT applied to the sheet. This arrangement prevents the adhesive tape from coming into contact with the base end deflection guide 85.
Although not particularly illustrated, appropriate openings are provided in the partition guide 83 and the upper guide 41a so that the base end deflection guide 85 can be moved up and down even when the partition guide 83 is at the extended position EP shown in the broken line in the drawing. Yes. The base end deflection guide 85 is urged toward the retracting path 47 by a tension spring 85a. However, the base end deflection guide 85 may be connected to a solenoid and controlled according to the movement of the sheet.

On the other hand, at the extended position (EP) of the partition guide 83, a branch portion deflection in which a spring is stretched so as to press the sheet to be loaded toward the switchback guide 42 side of the retreat path 47 as already described with reference to FIG. A guide 44 is provided. The shape of the branching portion deflection guide 44 is substantially the same as that of the base end portion deflection guide 85 described above, and has a bent portion 103. Further, the branching portion deflection guide 44 is set to a comb tooth that avoids the application position of the adhesive (adhesive tape AT) to the sheet. Therefore, even if the sheet coated with the adhesive passes under the branching portion deflection guide 44, the adhesive does not adhere to the conveyance path. Further, the branching portion deflection guide 44 urges the conveyed sheet together with the base end portion deflection guide 85 toward the switchback guide 42 side of the retreat path 47 when the partition guide 83 is in the release position OP. Yes. As a result, the sheet urges the sheet before and after the leading end side and near the center in the conveyance direction, so that the posture change to the retracting path 47 of the sheet is performed relatively quickly and reliably.
The branching portion deflection guide 44 may also be connected to a solenoid for control.

[Division guide moving mechanism]
Next, the movement mechanism of the partition guide 83 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view in which the partition guide 83 is attached to the adhesive unit 50 having the stamper holder 52 as a partition guide unit 82 that moves up and down. That is, the lifting guide 147 supported on both sides (the front side and the back side in the figure) of the partition guide 83 is fixed to the bonding unit 50. The elevating guide 147 is formed with a first slit 161 that allows the elevating gear 148 attached to the partition guide 83 to move, and a second slit 162 that allows the elevating pin 167 protruded from the side of the partition guide 83 to move. Yes. These mechanisms are the same on the back side of the partition guide 83, and can move up and down between the lifting guides 147 without the partition guide 83 tilting. As shown in this figure, the position where the partition guide 83 is raised is a release position OP that allows the trailing edge of the sheet to move to the retreat path 47, and the lowered position is an extended position that covers the adhesive tape AT applied to the preceding sheet. EP.

FIG. 13 shows a view of FIG. 12 as viewed from the rear side in order to explain the moving mechanism of the partition guide 83 including the drive system.
According to this, the raising / lowering guide 147 is provided in the adhesion | attachment unit 50, and the division guide moving motor GM is attached to this. The partition guide moving motor GM is driven to move a movable belt 108 stretched between upper and lower pulleys via a transmission gear 107. A fixed block 146 fixed to the partition guide 83 is attached to the movable belt 108. Therefore, when the partition guide moving motor GM is driven to move the movable belt 108, the partition guide 83 moves up and down according to the driving direction. Further, in order to synchronize this lifting movement on both sides of the partition guide 83, a lifting gear 148 provided integrally with the partition guide 83 meshes with a rack guide 147a provided on the lifting guide 147. Further, the lifting pins 167 also protrude from the partition guide 83 so as to move without tilting, and are moved to engage with the second slits 162 provided in the lifting guide 147. The partition guide 83 is arranged on one side. Since it is guided at four locations on both sides at two locations, both sides can move up and down synchronously without tilting.
As will be described later, the partition guide moving motor GM is controlled by a sheet conveyance control unit 195 that manages sheet movement.

[Explanation of pasting and binding operations]
Next, as shown in FIGS. 14 to 18, the adhesive is applied to the three sheets conveyed from the image forming apparatus A by the adhesive unit 50 in the stacker unit 40 (the adhesive tape AT is transferred), and the sheets are separated from each other. The generation operation of the sheet bundle to be bonded is sequentially described while the partition guide 83 is moved.
First, in the image forming apparatus A, an instruction is given for an “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode” in which the sheets from the main body discharge port 3 are bonded one by one, folded into a bundle, and folded into a booklet to be stored in the second discharge tray 22. To do.

  FIG. 14A is a diagram in which the first preceding sheet from the image forming apparatus A is carried into the stacker unit 40 along the carry-in route 41 through the second switchback route SP2 from the sheet carry-in route P1. is there. Prior to the loading of the sheet, the section guide 83 is moved by driving the section guide moving motor GM to the release position OP where the retreat path 47 is released. Further, as shown in the figure, the seat is pulled down toward Sh1. The pressure roller 49 also presses the sheet and conveys it downstream. First, the sheet is urged toward the retracting path 47 by the base end deflection guide 85, and the leading end side of the sheet is also urged toward the retracting path 47 by the branching section deflection guide 44. Accordingly, the sheet is urged toward the retreat path 47 at a plurality of positions in the sheet width direction at two positions upstream and downstream of the release position OP and the partition guide extension position EP. As a result, when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the conveying roller 46 and passes through the release position OP as shown in the drawing, the range surrounded by the upper guide 41a and the switchback guide 42 has a fan shape. It is urged by the partial deflection guide 85 and moves toward the retreat path 47 while drawing an arc.

FIG. 14B is a diagram in which, after the rear end moves to the retreat path 47, the stopper unit 90 moves upward to the adhesive tape transfer position Sh3 in order to apply the adhesive by the adhesive unit 50 to the center in the sheet conveyance direction. It is. Along with this movement, the section guide moving motor GM is reversed, and the section guide 83 starts to move to the section guide extension position EP that is the joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47. Accordingly, the sheet moves in the upward direction, and the partition guide 83 moves down and moves in the opposite direction.

FIG. 14C is a diagram in which the adhesive tape AT is applied to the sheet surface. That is, in the process in which the first sheet is moved up to the retraction path 47, the conveyance of the sheet is temporarily stopped when the half position, which is the center in the conveyance direction, reaches below the bonding unit 50. To do. After this stop, the adhesive tape stamper 51 of the adhesive unit 50 is lowered to complete the application of the adhesive tape AT to the sheet surface. Further, the partition guide 83 is moved to the extended position EP that becomes the joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 in the process of applying the adhesive tape AT. At the time of this movement, the branching portion deflection guide 44 is formed in a comb-teeth shape and is fitted to the section guide folding portion 84. The branching portion deflection guide 44 is positioned between the strips of the adhesive tape AT and guides the sheet toward the lower side of the partition guide 83.

FIG. 15A is a diagram in which the adhesive tape AT applied to the sheet is positioned below the partition guide folding portion 84. The section guide folding portion 84 of the section guide 83 is in the extended position EP. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the position of the adhesive tape AT applied to the sheet is in an application retreat position 100 where the adhesive tape AT is hidden so as not to contact the tip of the second sheet.
FIG. 15B is a diagram in which the second sheet is conveyed to the stopper unit 90. In the process of carrying in the second sheet, as already described, the adhesive tape AT of the first sheet is retracted under the partition guide 83 and hidden. Therefore, the leading edge of the second sheet is conveyed to the stopper portion 90 without contacting the adhesive tape AT.
In FIG. 15C, after the second sheet is conveyed to the stopper unit 90, the alignment member 48 is operated to align the first sheet and the second sheet coated with the adhesive tape AT. At this time, the gripping of the gripper 91 of the stopper portion 90 is released and the pinch roller that is in pressure contact with the conveying roller 46 is also separated. Therefore, the aligning member 48 is reciprocated and aligned with the upstream side of the first sheet in the retreat path 47 and the upstream side of the second sheet in a bifurcated state in the carry-in path 41.

FIG. 16A is a diagram in which the end of the two sheets is gripped by the gripper 91 of the stopper portion after the alignment by the alignment member 48 is completed. Further, the pinch roller is also pressed against the conveying roller 46 so that the second sheet can be conveyed.
FIG. 16B is a diagram in which the stopper 90 is moved downstream with the gripper 91 gripping the sheet, and the partition guide 83 starts to move upward from the extended position EP to the release position OP. . By moving the partition guide 83 to the release position OP, the trailing edge of the sheet can be moved to the retreat path 47 side without being conveyed to the extended position EP, so that the switchback conveyance of the sheet can be accelerated.
FIG. 16C is a view in which the stopper portion 90 is raised so that the rear end of the sheet is switched back in the retreat path 47, and the position in the sheet conveyance direction ½ is located in the adhesive unit 50. In this state, the partition guide 83 is in the release position OP.

FIG. 17A is a diagram in which the adhesive tape stamper 51 is pressed against the sheet and the adhesive tape AT is applied to the surface of the second sheet when the sheet conveying direction 1/2 reaches the position of the adhesive unit 50. is there. By pressing the adhesive tape AT to the sheet by the adhesive tape stamper 51, the application of the AT of the adhesive tape to the second sheet and the bonding of the first sheet and the second sheet can be performed more simultaneously. Further, when applying the adhesive tape AT, the partition guide 83 is moved from the release position OP toward the extended position EP in the direction of the arrow shown.
FIG. 17B is a view in which the sheet positioned on the retreat path 47 is raised below the partition guide 83 moved to the extended position EP. As a result, the adhesive tape AT reaches the application retreat position 100 of the partition guide 83 at the extended position EP and waits for the third sheet to be carried.
FIG. 17C is a diagram in which the last third sheet is carried into the stacker unit 40. As in the case of the second sheet, the adhesive tape AT applied to the sheet is located below the partition guide 83, so that the third sheet to be carried in smoothly does not contact the adhesive tape AT. Can be brought in.

In FIG. 18A, as in FIG. 15C, after the third sheet is transported to the stopper portion 90, the alignment member 48 is operated and the first and second sheets coated with the adhesive tape AT are moved. The sheet is aligned with the third sheet to be applied. At this time, the gripper 91 of the stopper 90 is released and the pinch roller that is in pressure contact with the transport roller 46 is separated. Accordingly, the upstream side of the first sheet and the second sheet is in the retracted path 47, and the upstream side of the third sheet is in the forked path 41, and the alignment member 48 is reciprocated in the sheet width direction. Move and align.
FIG. 18B is a diagram in which three sheets are gripped by the gripper 91 and the stopper portion 90 is moved to the adhesive bundle folding position Sh2. At this position, the folding blade is moved to the left in the figure and the folding roller 81 is rotated to fold the three sheets in half. The folded sheet is discharged to the second discharge tray 22 via the bundle discharge roller 95, and a folded sheet of three sheets is generated.
FIG. 18 (c) shows another embodiment in which the adhesion between sheets is improved. In this figure, in the state of FIG. 18B, the folding blade 86 and the folding roller 81 are not operated, and the trailing edge of the three sheets is transported so that it once passes through the extending position EP. The stopper 90 is raised toward the retraction path 47 by the branching deflection guide 44 so that the folding process is performed at a position where a half position of the sheet reaches the folding blade 86. According to this, since the sheet is pressed by the pressure roller 49 or the like in the sheet conveyance process, the pressure contact force between the sheets is increased. Further, the section guide may be moved to the release position OP during the sheet conveyance process to prepare for the generation of the next sheet bundle. Further, the portion where the adhesive tape AT of the sheet is applied may be pressed by the spring folding blade 86.

As described above, the apparatus according to the present embodiment moves the partition guide 83 between the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 in accordance with the movement of the sheet. The sheet trailing edge can be guided to the retracting path 47 without moving the sheet trailing edge to the merging position of the path 47, and the sheet moving range can be reduced, so that the sticking process for each sheet can be accelerated.
Further, when the retreat path 47 moves, the sheet is urged toward the retreat path 47 by both the branching section deflection guide 44 on the downstream merging position side and the base end section deflection guide 85 at the release position OP of the partition guide 83. As a result, the sheet can be moved to the retreat path 47 side quickly and surely for switchback conveyance.

[Description of control configuration]
The system control configuration of the above-described image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The system of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing control unit 191 of the sheet processing apparatus B. The image forming apparatus control unit 180 includes an image formation control unit 181, a paper feed control unit 186, and an input unit 183. Then, an “image forming mode” and a “sheet processing mode” are set from the control panel 18 provided in the input unit 183. As described above, the image forming mode sets the number of printouts, sheet size, color / monochrome printing, enlargement / reduction printing, duplex / single-sided printing, and other image formation conditions.
Then, the image forming apparatus control unit 180 controls the image forming control unit and the paper feed control unit in accordance with the set image forming conditions, forms an image on a predetermined sheet, and then sequentially carries out the sheet from the main body discharge port 3. To do.

  At the same time, the sheet processing mode is set by input from the control panel 18. The processing mode is set to, for example, “print-out mode”, “staple binding finishing mode”, “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode”, or the like. Therefore, the image forming apparatus control unit 180 causes the sheet processing control unit 191 to perform a sheet processing finishing mode, the number of sheets, information on the number of copies, a staple binding mode (one-position binding or two or more bindings) mode, or an adhesion mode for bonding one sheet at a time. That information.

  The sheet processing control unit 191 includes a control CPU 192 that operates the sheet processing apparatus B according to a designated finishing mode, a ROM 193 that stores an operation program, and a RAM 194 that stores control data. The control CPU 192 includes a sheet conveyance control unit 195 that performs conveyance of the sheet sent to the carry-in entrance 23, a sheet punching control unit 196 that performs punching processing on the sheet by the punch unit 28, and stacking of sheets by the processing tray 29. The processing tray stacking operation control unit 197 that performs the operation, the processing tray discharge operation control unit 198 that discharges the bundled sheets from the processing tray 29, and the sheets and sheet bundles discharged from the processing tray 29 are accumulated. Accordingly, a first paper discharge tray stacking operation control unit 199 that moves up and down the first paper discharge tray 21 is provided.

Further, in order to control when stacking and stacking sheets while stacking sheets on the stacker unit 40, a stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200, a sheet binding / bonding processing operation control unit 201 for instructing operations for bonding sheets, A sheet folding processing control unit 202 that folds the sheet bundle bonded with the adhesive into two is provided. Note that the sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 also controls an end-face binding stapler 35 that performs binding processing of sheets stacked on the processing tray 29 with a staple needle. Although not particularly illustrated, each control unit receives a position signal from a sensor that detects the sheet conveyance path and the position of each member.

Subsequently, the sheet conveyance control unit 195, which describes the connection between each control unit and each motor unit with reference to FIG. 19, controls the drive motor M <b> 1 to control the driving of the carry-in roller 24 that receives and conveys the sheet from the image forming apparatus A. It is connected to. Further, when the sheet conveyance control unit 195 carries the sheet into the processing tray 29, the sheet is temporarily switched back to the second switchback path SP2 and discharged to the processing tray 29 together with the next sheet. This is to enable processing without stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus A, but a drive motor M2 capable of forward / reverse conveyance of the path carry-in roller 45 in the carry-in path 41 so that this switchback conveyance can be performed. Is controlling. Further, the separation motor M3 that controls the separation of the pinch roller from the driving roller 120 when the sheets are aligned by positioning the leading end side of the stacker unit 40 and the trailing end side of the stacking unit 40 is also controlled. . Further, the sheet conveyance control unit 195 also controls a division guide moving motor GM that moves a division guide 83 located between the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 in accordance with sheet conveyance. Therefore, the rear end of the sheet can be guided to the retreat path 47 side at an early stage.

Next, the sheet punching control unit 196 is connected to a control circuit of a punch punching motor M4 for punching punch holes in the sheet by the punch unit 28.
The processing tray stacking operation control unit 197 is connected to a nip separation motor M5 that nips or separates the paper discharge roller 25 to carry the sheet into the processing tray 29 and the first paper discharge tray 21 and carry out the sheet bundle from the processing tray 29 via a control circuit. Connected. Further, in order to align the sheets on the processing tray 29, a side alignment plate motor M6 that reciprocates the side alignment plate 36 in the sheet width direction is connected via a control circuit.

The processing tray discharge operation control unit 198 directs the trailing edge regulating member 33 toward the paper discharge port 25a in order to discharge the sheet bundle whose ends are bound by the end surface binding stapler 35 in the processing tray 29 to the first paper discharge tray 21. Is connected to a bundle delivery motor M7 that moves through a control circuit. The first tray lifting / lowering motor M8 that moves up and down in accordance with the amount of sheets that store the first paper discharge tray 21 is connected to the first paper discharge tray stacking operation control unit 199 via the control circuit and controlled.

Next, a description will be given of a control unit that applies an adhesive at a position 1/2 of the sheet conveyance direction to bond sheets together and folds the sheet at the adhesive application position.
First, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 is located in the middle of the stacker unit 40, and moves the pressing roller 49 to the pressing position that presses the sheet carried into the stacker unit 40 and conveys it downstream. A pressure roller nip separation motor M9 that separates the sheet from the sheet by rotating and rotating in reverse is connected via a control circuit for control.

Here, with reference to FIG. 2 as well, the position of the sheet entering the stacker unit 40 is controlled by the movement of the stopper unit 90 that abuts and regulates the leading end of the sheet. First, the initial home position is Sh0. Sh1 is a receiving position of the sheet that has passed through the release position (OP) where the partition guide 83 can move the sheet to the retreat path 47 at the unit path entrance, and the rear end of the sequentially stacked sheets is retreated by the base end deflection guide 85. This position is biased toward the switchback guide 42 side of the path 47. The adhesive bundle folding position for folding the bonded sheet bundle in half is Sh2. The adhesive tape transfer position at which the adhesive tape AT is applied to the center of the sheet is Sh3, and the retracting path 47 is used to prevent the adhesive application position of the preceding sheet from sticking when the next sheet is carried into the stacker unit 40 from the carry-in path 41. The adhesive tape concealment position that switches back to the standby state at the application retreat position 100 is Sh4. This is performed by connecting the stopper unit moving motor M10 for moving positioning to the stacker unit integrated operation control unit 200 via the control circuit. The relationship such as the sheet flow at each position is as described in detail with reference to FIGS.
If necessary, as shown in FIG. 18 (c), the rear end of the sheet indicates the branching position between the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 when the section guide 83 is at the extended position EP. Sh01 may be set as a position where the end passes.

The stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 is a control circuit for the gripper opening / closing motor 160 (M11) that performs an opening / closing operation so as to grasp the leading end of the sheet with the leading end of the stopper unit 90 or to disclose the grasping. Also connected and controlled. Since the timing of gripping the gripper has already been described, the description thereof will be omitted.
Further, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 has an alignment member 48 that can be aligned even if the leading end of the sheet is positioned in the stacker unit 40 and the trailing end is positioned over the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47. Is also connected to the control circuit of the side edge alignment member motor M12 that reciprocates in the sheet width direction.

The sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 is a cam movement motor that reciprocates a cam member 57 that moves between a position where the adhesive tape stamper 51 of the adhesive unit 50 is pressed against the sheet and the adhesive is applied and a position away from the sheet. 60 (M13) is connected to the control circuit. The sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 is also connected to the end surface binding staple motor M14 of the end surface binding stapler 35 of the processing tray 29 via a control circuit.

  Finally, as described above, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 is configured to rotationally drive or reciprocate the folding blade 86, the folding rollers 81a and 81b, and the bundle discharge roller 95 with a common motor. The paper roller drive motor M15 is also connected to a drive circuit so as to control it.

The control unit configured as described above causes the sheet processing apparatus to execute the next processing operation.
"Printout mode"
In this mode, sheets formed by the image forming apparatus A are accommodated in the first paper discharge tray 21 via the sheet carry-in path P1 of the sheet processing apparatus B. For example, in the face-down posture, the pages are sequentially ordered from page 1 to page n. It is loaded and stored upward.

"Staple binding finish mode"
In this mode, the image forming apparatus A forms an image of a series of documents from the first page to the nth page in the same manner as in the above-described mode, and carries it out from the main body discharge port 3 in a face-down state. Therefore, after being sent to the sheet carry-in path P1, it is switched back and conveyed onto the processing tray 29 along the first switchback conveyance path SP1. By repeating this sheet conveyance, a series of sheets are accumulated in a bundle in a face-down state on the first processing tray 29. After the stacking, the end face binding stapler 35 is operated to bind the trailing edge of the sheet stack stacked on the tray. The stapled sheet bundle is carried out and stored on the first paper discharge tray 21. As a result, a series of sheets formed by the image forming apparatus A are stapled and stored in the first paper discharge tray 21.

"Adhesive sheet bundle folding mode"
In this mode, the image forming apparatus A applies the adhesive by the sheet processing apparatus B, bonds the sheets, and finishes in a booklet shape. Therefore, the sheet processing apparatus B guides the sheet sent to the sheet carry-in path P1 to the second switchback transport path SP2, and is guided to the stacker unit 40 by being guided by the path carry-in roller 45 and the transport roller 46 arranged in this path. Is done.
The subsequent flow of the sheet, the operation of bonding the sheets, the relationship between the preceding sheet and the next sheet, and the like have already been described with reference to FIGS.
As described in the above embodiment, the partition guide 83 is controlled to move to the release position OP where the retreat path 47 is released and the extended position EP close to the branch position corresponding to the conveyance of the sheet. The conveyance range of the sheet stacker unit 40 can be shortened, and as a result, the processing speed for bonding the sheet can be improved.
Also, since the base end deflection guide 85 provided near the release position OP and the branching portion deflection guide 44 provided near the extension position EP respectively urge the sheet toward the retreat path 47, the retreat path 47 side. Is surely moved.

A Image forming apparatus B Sheet processing apparatus X Adhesive application position Y Folding position AT Adhesive tape EP (Partition guide) Extension position OP (Partition guide) Release position GM Section guide moving motor 29 Processing tray 40 Stacker unit 40a Stacker upper guide 40b Stacker lower guide 41 Loading path 41a Upper guide 44 Branching portion deflection guide 44a Guide tension spring 46 Conveying roller 47 Retraction path 48 Alignment member 49 Pressure roller 50 Adhesion unit 51 Adhesive tape stamper 52 Stamper holder 53 Guide rod 54 Moving block 55 Support block 56 Roller 57 Cam member 60 Cam moving motor (M13)
61 Cam groove 62 Pressure spring 63 Center support frame 65 Sheet presser 71 Sheet presser slider 72 Transfer head 79 Platen 80 Folding processing part 81 Folding roller 82 Compartment guide unit 83 Compartment guide 84 Compartment guide folding part 85 Base end deflection guide 85a Tensile Spring 86 Folding blade 90 Stopper (regulating member)
91 Gripper 100 Application Retreat Position 191 Sheet Processing Control Unit 195 Sheet Conveyance Control Unit 201 Sheet Binding / Adhesion Processing Operation Control Unit

Claims (9)

A sheet processing apparatus that folds after applying an adhesive to a sheet,
A carry-in route for carrying the sheet in a predetermined carry-in direction ;
A stacker unit for stacking the sheets from the conveyance path,
A regulating member for regulating the sheet to be stacked in the stacker,
And retreat path at least a part of the sheet which is integrated into the stacker unit is branched from the conveyance path to retract in the direction opposite to the carrying direction,
Wherein arranged conveyance path and the merging position with the retraction path, the adhesive unit for bonding the sheet by applying an adhesive,
A folding unit that folds the sheets bonded by the adhesive unit ;
Located between the retracted path and the conveyance path, and a partition guide partitioning the said retraction path and the conveyance path, wherein the sheet trailing edge upstream of the conveyance path wherein the partition guide in the direction of delivery a release position to permit movement of the retraction path, and extended to a position close to the bonding unit from the release position, attachment adhesive preceding sheet to which the adhesive is applied by the adhesive unit to the leading edge of the following sheet A sheet processing apparatus, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is configured to be movable according to the conveyance of the sheet between the extended position and the extended position. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance path and the retracted path, characterized in that it is arranged overlapping like a fan around the said joining position. The adhesive unit includes a tape stamper that transfers and applies an adhesive of an adhesive tape having an adhesive to a tape base material to a sheet, and a plurality of the tape stampers are arranged in the sheet width direction intersecting the carrying-in direction on the sheet surface. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is arranged. 4. The sheet according to claim 3 , wherein the adhesive is transferred to the sheet of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape when the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is pressed against the sheet, and the sheet is also bonded by the pressure. Processing equipment. The folding unit is folded consists folding blade moves the sheet to the folding rollers and the roller, the following sheet by moving the adhesive position where the adhesive is coated with the adhesive and the preceding sheet and the next sheet coated sheet according to claim 4, after the adhesive is applied, the adhesive on the sheet by moving the folding position fold the sheet and performs a folding process while pressing a blade folding said position applied to Processing equipment. The deflection guide for biasing the sheet trailing edge, which is carried in from the carry-path branch position between the retracted path and the conveyance path to the retreat path provided, the deflection guide application position of the adhesive by the adhesive unit 6. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the sheet processing apparatus is disposed at a plurality of locations in the sheet width direction that are avoided. A carry-in route for carrying the sheet in a predetermined carry-in direction ;
A stacker unit for stacking the sheets from the conveyance path,
A regulating member for regulating the sheet to be stacked in the stacker,
A retraction path is disposed to overlap the conveyance path while branching at least a part of the sheet which is integrated into the stacker from the conveyance path for saving and switchback transport in the direction opposite to the carrying direction,
Wherein arranged conveyance path and the merging position with the retraction path, the adhesive unit for bonding the sheet by applying an adhesive,
A folding roller that folds the sheet bonded by the bonding unit, and a folding processing unit that includes a folding blade that presses the sheet against the folding roller;
Furthermore, located between the retracted path and the conveyance path has a compartment guide partitioning the said retraction path and the conveyance path, the sheet trailing edge upstream of the conveyance path wherein the partition guide in the direction of delivery wherein a release position to permit movement of the retraction path, extending to cover the position where the adhesive has been applied in the preceding sheet which has moved to the retracted path and extends in a position close to the bonding unit from the released position of the configured to be movable between a position, the sheet processing apparatus, characterized in that when the next sheet adhesive is applied to the preceding sheet is conveyed is obtained by positioning the partition guide to the extended position. An image forming unit that sequentially forms an image on a sheet;
A sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the sheet from the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . A carry-in route for carrying the sheet in a predetermined carry-in direction ;
A stacker unit for stacking the sheets from the conveyance path,
A regulating member for regulating the sheet to be stacked in the stacker,
And retreat path at least a part of the sheet which is integrated into the stacker unit is branched from the conveyance path to retract in the direction opposite to the carrying direction,
Wherein arranged conveyance path and the merging position of the retreat path, and bonding unit for bonding the adhesive to a sheet coated,
Located between the retracted path and the conveyance path, and a release position to permit movement to the retraction path of the sheet rear end upstream of the conveyance path in the carry direction, close to the adhesive unit from the release position A partition guide that extends to the extended position and is movable between the extended position that prevents the adhesive of the preceding sheet to which the adhesive is applied by the adhesive unit from adhering to the leading edge of the next sheet , A sheet laminating method in which an adhesive is applied to a sheet and bonded,
A step of the trailing edge of the preceding sheet conveyed to the carry path is conveyed to pass through the releasing position of the partition guides,
Applying an adhesive by the adhesive unit to the preceding sheet,
And moving the partition guide to the extended position with the loading of the next sheet to the conveyance path,
A step for saving the retraction path application position of the adhesive to the preceding sheet to a position where the partition guide covers,
And moving to the application position of the adhesive by combining the preceding sheet and the next sheet of the retreat path,
And moving the partition guide to the release position to the next trailing edge of the sheet can be moved to the retracted path
A sheet bonding method comprising the steps of: bonding a preceding sheet to which the adhesive is applied and a next sheet; and applying an adhesive to the next sheet.

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