JPH01267263A - Recording paper processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To straighten a curl or the like of recording paper and mount it orderly by attaching one end of a flexible film member tight to an incline of a projection piece projected upward from both sides of an intermediate stacker, and making the other end contact with a recording paper holding surface of the intermediate stacker. CONSTITUTION:In case of a stapling mode or the like, recording paper out of a copying machine body is once discharged onto a tilting plate 43a of a tilted intermediate stacker 43 from a pair of conveyor rollers 44a, 44b, slipped down once and the ends are trued up by a stopper 43c, and if paper sheets come to the specified number of pages, the stopper 43c goes down and thus they stapled by a processing unit 45. A pair of side plates 43b are being attached adjustably crosswise to an incline 43a of this intermediate stacker 43, while one end of a flexible film member 43e is tightly attached to a tilting part of a projection piece 43d at the upper part, and the other end being tilted in the paper discharging direction is made slightly contact with the top of the incline 43a, whereby the paper sheets are smoothly guided as straightening a curl or the like of the recording paper to be discharged. Thus, stapling failure or the like due to recording paper unevenness can be prevented from occurring.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a recording paper processing device suitable for use in combination with a recording device such as a copying machine.

[Background of the invention]

When creating conference materials, distribution materials, etc. from materials recorded by a recording device such as a copying device, it is necessary to align, fold, punch, or bind the materials after recording, and these processes can be automated. The idea is to improve the efficiency of total copying work by doing this. To achieve this purpose, processing devices have been proposed that have functions such as sorters for sorting copies, automatic punching devices, automatic paper folding machines, automatic T-combiners, and combinations of these functions (for example, special JP-A No. 61-94180, JP-A-61-84662, Journal of the Electrophotographic Society Vol. 24, No. 3 (1985), pp. 188-194). By the way, a series of recorded materials is usually used and stored in a stable manner or bound in a file.
Conventionally, no processing device has been proposed that can simultaneously perform hole punching and stapling for processing recorded materials. Therefore, the present inventors proposed a recording paper processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-12201, which includes an intermediate holding section that stacks and holds sets of recording sheets supplied one by one from the outside in the order in which they are supplied; a processing unit for selectively punching or binding a set of recorded paper at its holding position;
A storage unit that stores processed recording paper, a first conveyance unit that conveys unprocessed recording paper to the intermediate holding unit, and a second conveyance unit that conveys processed recording paper to the storage unit. We have proposed a recording paper processing device. If this processing device is used in combination with a recording device such as an electrophotographic copying device, -
Since the set of records is automatically punched and stapled, it is convenient for creating materials for conferences, materials for distribution, etc.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, a set of recording sheets supplied one by one from the outside must be temporarily held in an intermediate stacker until -000 sheets are collected. The recording sheets that are sequentially fed one by one are aligned with their side edges and front and back edges and treated as one sheet for the next binding and/or punching process. Therefore, the side edges and front and rear edges of the recording sheets are aligned on this intermediate stacker. However, the recording paper supplied from the outside is not necessarily conveyed in a uniformly flat and orderly manner. These include those that are curled and curved, and those that are bent in the direction of travel. Then, at the time of the next binding and/or punching process, the above-mentioned defects are not corrected, so that after the binding and/or punching process, the recording paper may be discharged as a defective product due to misalignment.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the present invention has been made to correct the curved state and bending state of recording paper supplied from the outside, and perform binding and/or binding processing.
Alternatively, punch processing is performed to prevent defects due to misaligned recording sheets. The above object is to provide a recording paper processing device that stacks and holds a set of recording papers fed one by one from the outside on an intermediate stacker in the order in which they are supplied, performs punching and/or binding processing, and then discharges the sheets. One end of a flexible thin film member is fixed to the inclined surface of a projecting piece formed above the intermediate stacker to project from the side, and the other end of the flexible thin film member is attached to the intermediate stacker on the downstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction. This is achieved by a recording paper processing device characterized in that the recording paper processing device is arranged at an angle so as to come into contact with the recording paper holding surface of the printer.

【Example】

The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings. The processing device exemplified below is a copy paper processing device used in combination with a copying device, and as shown in FIG. . Before explaining the copy paper processing apparatus 1, which is the object of the present invention, the copying apparatus 2 will be briefly explained. A copy paper processing device to which the present invention is applicable is a copy manuscript consisting of a plurality of sheets (for example, five sheets from page 1 to page 5 of a book).
Because it is used to copy at least one copy of a document, punch it, and bind it, the copying device has the function of repeatedly copying multiple copies of a document in sequence. It is necessary to do this, and a circulating automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as an RDH device) is used as a device for this purpose. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the copying apparatus 2 is equipped with an RDH device 3 on the top, and is configured to copy originals fed one by one by the RDH device 3 using a normal electrophotographic process. There is. Copying device 2 and RDH device 3
Since the general structure and function of is already known, it will be briefly explained. The RDH device 3 is installed on a platen glass 10 provided on the top surface of the copying device 2. A plurality of originals to be copied are stacked face up on the original placing plate 11 in the order of the first page, second page, . . . from the top. The document placement sensor R5 indicates that the document is placed on the document placement plate 11.
, detected by. When the copy button provided on the operation panel of the copying device 2 is pressed, the rear end regulating plate 12 of the RDH device 3 moves forward, pushing the entire document tray forward (to the right in the figure) and pushing it up the front path. Gate 13 will rise. When the document passes through the gate 13 and advances a little, the document leading edge detection sensor R32 detects the leading edge of the document, the trailing edge regulating plate 12 stops, the gate 13 descends, and the trailing edge regulating plate 12 retreats. Here, when the copying device 2 outputs a document feed signal at a predetermined timing, the half-moon-shaped feed roller 14 rotates once, and the double-feed prevention roller 15 rotates to feed only the lowest document. It will be done. The sent document is placed on guide plate 1
6, is sent by the feed roller 17, the tip is detected by the timing sensor R3, and the conveyor belt 18
, and moves over the platen glass 10 of the copying device 2 at a predetermined speed. An optical system 19 consisting of a lamp for illuminating the original, a reflecting mirror, etc. is provided below the platen glass 10, and the original is exposed while being moved by the optical system 19. When the document leading edge detection signal from the timing sensor R53 is sent to the copying device 2, feeding of the transfer paper starts within the copying device 2. The exposed document is detected by a paper discharge sensor R3, and is conveyed by another conveyance belt 20, and placed on top of the remaining documents placed on the document placement plate 11. The final discharge of the document is detected by the circulation discharge sensor R3. A jam during document feeding can be detected by the detection timing of the timing sensor RS and the paper discharge sensor RS. Feeding of the second document starts when the rear end of the yK product of the first document is detected by the timing sensor R3. In the same manner, when the exposure by the optical system of the copying device is completed for all original documents, such as the third, fourth, etc., the document leading edge detection sensor R32 confirms that the number of original documents is 0,
In this way, the feeding of the original for one set of copies is completed. If a plurality of copies (for example, five copies) of the same copy are to be made, the document is automatically fed again sequentially from the last page, and exposure is performed sequentially up to the first page. This document feeding operation is repeated for the required number of copies. In synchronization with the above operation of the RDH device 3, the following electrophotographic process is performed within the copying device 2. When a document passing at a constant speed over the platen glass 10 of the copying device 2 is exposed to light by the optical system 19, light reflected from the document is projected onto a photoreceptor 23 via a mirror 20, a lens 21, and a mirror 22. The surface of the photoreceptor 23 is charged with a charging device 24
Since the surface is uniformly charged, an electrostatic latent image is formed when reflected light from the document is projected onto the surface. The electrostatic latent image is developed into a visible image by the developing device 25, and transferred from one of the paper feeders 26, 27, and 28 in synchronization with the automatic document feeding operation. Paper F. The image is transferred onto the image by the transfer device 29. The transfer paper on which the visible image has been transferred is transferred to the photoreceptor 2 by a separating device.
3, is conveyed by a conveyor belt 30, is fixed by a fixing device 31, and is discharged from the apparatus by a discharge roller 32. A cleaning device 33 removes toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 23 after the transfer paper is separated. Although the most basic type of copying device that performs one-sided copying from a one-sided original is shown as an example, the recording paper processing device of the present invention is not limited to this type of copying device. Of course, it is also possible to use it in combination with a type of copying apparatus that performs single-sided copying or double-sided copying. In order to make these types of copies, it is necessary to reverse the original and the transfer paper, and the copying device 2 and R
The DH device 3 requires a mechanism for this purpose, but since these mechanisms are already known and are not the gist of the present invention, their explanation will be omitted here. As shown in FIG. 1, the copy paper processing bag 5ti according to the present invention is a copy paper processing bag 5ti, in which a copy F copied by a copying device 2 and discharged from the same device is not punched or bound, but placed on a paper discharge tray 40 as it is. A conveying roller 44 conveys the copy F1 to an intermediate tray 43 called a stacker by switching the path switching gate 42 for punching or binding, and a conveying roller 44 that conveys the copy F1 to an intermediate tray 43 called a stacker for punching or binding. A processing unit 45 that punches a hole in a copy F1 equivalent to a copy or staples it together, and conveyance rollers 47 and 48 that conveys the punched, stapled, etc. copies F to a discharge conveyance means 49. and a paper discharge tray 46 on which the recording sheets conveyed by the paper discharge conveying means 49 are sequentially stacked. −The dotted line indicates the intermediate stacker of recording paper−
Shows the transport route up to. The processing unit 45 consists of one punch machine and two staplers (so-called staplers) placed on both sides of the punch machine. It can be pulled out perpendicularly to the front of the page). This is to facilitate the disposal of punch residue used as a result of punch processing by a punch machine, the loading or replenishment of staples (so-called stable) in a binding machine, or the removal of jammed staples. The processed copies F placed on the paper discharge tray 46 are removed after a predetermined number of copies have been made. Next, the structure of the copy paper processing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained in detail. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the main parts of the copy paper processing device.
The rollers 41a, 41b, 41c, and 41d constitute the conveyance roller 41 together with other rollers (not shown).The path switching gate 42 is driven by a solenoid SD, and when the solenoid SD is not energized, the copy is transferred to the paper discharge tray 40. Take the first position to transport the solenoid SD. When is energized, it assumes a second position for transporting copies to the stacker 43. The rollers 44a and 44b are the conveyance rollers 4
4. The stacker 43 includes an inclined plate 43a, a pair of side plates 43b1 and 43b2 that are slidably provided on the upper surface of the inclined plate 43a so that the mutual interval can be adjusted, and a stopper 43c that is provided directly below the inclined plate 43H so as to be movable back and forth. It consists of The inclined plate 43a has a plurality of openings 431a, 431b, and 431c formed near the front end, and a plurality of openings 431c near the center, as shown in FIG. Two slots 432a and 432b are formed to extend laterally, and a ventilation hole 43 is provided near the rear.
3 is formed. On the back side of the inclined plate 43a, a motor M,
is installed, and this motor (side plate spacing adjustment motor) M
A gear 435 is fixed to the rotating shaft of 4. - On the other hand, this gear 435 has two sliding members 43 with gears on one side.
6a and 436b are meshed and arranged in parallel, and each sliding member is fixed to the side plates 43b+ and 43b2 on the front side of the inclined plate 43a by metal fittings 437 and 438, respectively. A protrusion is formed in the direction, and each protrusion is a slot 432a. 432b. One slot 432a
Near the ends of are the reference positions of the side plates 43b, , 43b2 (
An optical sensor (side plate home position sensor) ps is provided to detect the home position, and detects the home position by detecting light shielding by the rising piece 437a of the metal fitting 437. With such a configuration, when the side plate interval adjustment motor M4 rotates forward or reverse by various amounts, the sliding members 436a, 43 rotate accordingly.
6b moves by a predetermined length in the direction of the solid line arrow or the broken line arrow, and as a result, the side plates 43b1 and 43b move away from each other to widen the gap between the side plates, or move closer to each other to narrow the gap between the side plates. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a motor M for driving a ventilation fan and a duct 439 are attached near the ventilation hole 433 on the back side of the inclined plate 43a. Next, the stopper 43c will be explained. As shown in FIG. 4, the stopper 43c includes a plurality of protrusions 440 extending forward like fingers, two protrusions 441 whose tips are bent upward to form an upright piece 441a, and a wide protrusion 442 in the center. It consists of a plate material 443 having a shape, and bins 444 extend on both left and right sides of this plate material 443. This bottle 444 is a groove 4 provided on the side surface of a resin guide 445 (only the left guide is shown) that is fixed to the frame of the device on both the left and right sides of the plate 443.
45a. Further, a drive rod 446 extending rearward is attached to the center of the plate 443, and teeth 446a formed on one side in the longitudinal direction of the drive rod 446 mesh with a pinion 447. The binion 447 is rotated forward or reverse by a motor (stopper drive motor) M7.
Accordingly, the drive rod 446 moves between the rollers 448 and the guide rod 44.
When the plate 44 moves straight in the direction of the arrow while being guided by the plate 44
3, the bins 444 on both sides are in the groove 445a of the guide 445.
You will be guided back and forth in the direction of the white arrow. The stopper 43C is formed by projecting pieces 440, 44 of the plate material 443.
1° 442 is the opening 431a, 431b of the inclined plate 43a,
431c, and the plate material 44
3 moves forward, each opening 431a, 431b, 431c
It is arranged in a positional relationship such that it passes through and projects above the inclined plate 43a. In the forward position of the plate 443, two of the plurality of protrusions 441 protrude from the openings 431b onto the inclined plate 43a, and the upright pieces 44
1a has a stopper function to stop a copy that slides down on the inclined plate 43a at a certain position. Next, the flexible thin film members 43e1 and 43e2 according to the present invention will be explained. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inclined plate 43a viewed from the surface;
As shown in the figure, the flexible thin film members 43e+ and 43e2 are formed by bending the upper parts of a pair of side plates 43b1 and 43b2, which are slidably provided on the inclined plate 43a so that the mutual interval can be adjusted. Projecting piece 43d l
. It is fixed to the bottom of 43d2. The flexible thin film members 43e7 and 43e are formed of flexible thin plates, such as polyethylene terephthalate thin plates. In this example, the plate thickness is 0.1++u
++ polyethylene terephthalate is used. One ends of the flexible thin film members 43e1 and 43e2 are fixed to the bottoms of the protrusions 43d+ and 43a2 by adhesive or the like. The other end of the flexible thin film member is a side plate 43b+ on the downstream side in the recording paper traveling direction (indicated by an arrow). 43b, each recording paper holding surface 43fl, 43f2
It is arranged with an inclination so that it comes into contact with the Recording paper is supplied from the outside one by one, and this flexible thin film member 43e
1,43ez and recording paper holding surfaces 43ft, 43fz. As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 45 has a frame 45b that can be pulled out by a guide rail 45a (in the direction indicated by the white arrow in the figure), and has a punch machine and two staplers on both sides of the frame 45b. The main parts are shown in the 6th section.
As shown in the figure. As can be seen from FIG. 6, a punching machine 50 is fixed to the center of the frame 45b, and two binding machines are movably provided on both sides of the punching machine 50, but only one of them is shown in the figure. 60, it is shown in a state where it is removed from the frame 45b. The punch machine 50 includes a worm gear 51 that can be reciprocated by a motor (punch drive motor) MS, and a gear 53 that is supported by a holder 52 and rotates in mesh with the worm gear 51.The punch machine 50 has a rotation axis of 56 degrees on both sides of the gear 53. Three eccentric blocks 54a, 54b, 54c fixed in a positional relationship shifted by an angle of
Swing piece 5 rotatably coupled to 4b and 54c, respectively.
5a, 55b, and 55c, and the swinging piece 55a
, 55b, 55c extending from the lower ends of the punch bins 56a, 56b, 56c are received by pin guides 52a, 52b, 52c integrated with the holder 52,
Due to the rotation of motor M6, ohm gear 51, gear 53,
Punch bin 5 via eccentric blocks 54a, 54b, 54c and swing pieces 55a, 55b, 55c
6a, 56b, 56c are moved up and down and fitted into dies 55e, 55f, 55g which are integrated with the horizontal stand 55c, thereby forming the horizontal stand 55c which is a part of the holder 52.
Punch a piece of paper (multiple copies) on the paper. The punch bins 56a, 56b, and 56c are positioned slightly lower than the uppermost position, and the tips of the three bins are connected to the pin guide 5.
2a, 52b. 52c so that the punched paper pieces will surely come out of the bottle. Punch faint horizontal stand 55
It is stored in a case that is removably attached to the bottom of c. On the other hand, on the frame 45b of the processing unit 45, two sliding members 57 and 58 having teeth formed on their opposing longitudinal side edges are provided in parallel.
．． A gear (not shown) that meshes with 58 teeth is provided, and this gear is rotated forward or reverse by a motor (stitcher drive motor) M. Near the ends of the sliding members 57 and 58 are fixed plates 59a for attaching a binding machine. 59b is fixed, and when the sliding members 57 and 58 move in the direction of the arrow due to the rotation of the motor M, the fixed plate 59a
. 59b is also guided by a guide rail 453 provided on the frame 45b and moves from side to side, and the stapler 60 fixed thereto moves laterally. As shown in FIG. 6, the stitching machine 60 transmits the rotation of the motor (stitching machine drive motor) MS to an eccentric crank (not shown) via gears 61 and 62, and rotates the lever 63 slowly in a straight line. Change to reciprocating motion. When the lever 63 reciprocates, the V-shaped lever 64 rotates around the fulcrum A, causing the lever 65 to rotate. When the lever 65 is lowered, the spring 66 is compressed via the U-shaped push-down piece 67, thereby pushing the thin plate 68 down along the guide 69. As a result, one of the binding metals filled in the cartridge 70 is separated by the thin plate 68, and is further pressed to staple the pieces of paper (a plurality of copies) placed on the binding table 71. Such a binding machine 60 is installed on the frame 45b by fixing the mounting plate 72 attached to the bottom surface to the fixing plates 59a and 59b. Specifically, the processing unit 45 has a punching machine 50 in the center and binding machines 60 on both sides thereof arranged on the same frame 45b, and the entire unit can be moved forward in the direction indicated by the white arrow by a handle 454 (see Fig. 2). It can be pulled out. If punch residue accumulates in the case 55d or the binding of the binding machine 60 is jammed, use the handle 4.
54 and pull out the processing unit 45 toward you, processing can be performed quickly. The main parts of the copy paper processing apparatus of the present invention are constructed as described above, and the operation of this copy paper processing apparatus will now be described. The copy paper processing apparatus in this embodiment operates in the following three processing modes. (B) Stack mode A mode in which the original is simply copied like a normal copying device and is ejected to the paper output tray 40 without punching or binding. (B) Binding mode A mode in which copies consisting of multiple sheets are printed using a binding button. Bind it with . In this mode, use the binding position designation button to set the binding position only to corner a of the copy as shown in Figure 7, or
Either just the other corner or both corners a. b. (c) Punch/stitch mode A copy consisting of a plurality of sheets is punched and bound with a binding metal. In this case, the punch designation button is pressed to specify the punch position, and the binding position can be selected from only a, only b, or both a and b, as in the binding mode described above. Below is an example of A
A case will be described in which a manuscript consisting of three 4-size sheets is copied to create two copies. To operate the copy paper processing device in any processing mode, first turn on the power switch of the copying device 2 and turn on the RDH.
Three originals are stacked and placed on the original placing plate 11 of the device 3 in the order of the first page, second page, . . . from the top. The case where the punch/stitch mode is selected will be explained. The mode selection button on the operation panel is operated to select the punch/stitch mode, and the size selection button is operated to select copy paper size A4. Also, press the punch designation button to support [Punch required]. When the copy button is turned on, the RDH device 3 sends out the original one sheet at a time, the copying device 2 copies the document using an electrophotographic process, and the document is ejected from the main body of the device 2. The ejection of the first copy paper F II+F 121F ls is detected by the paper ejection microswitch MS, and the number of ejected copy papers is counted based on the output of the microswitch MS. When the number of copy sheets ejected from the copying device 2 (3 in this embodiment) matches the count value (3 in this embodiment) based on the output of the circulation paper discharge sensor RS of the RDH device 3, the short period of time is Afterwards, the last paper signal is output. Simultaneously with this last paper signal, the binding start timer starts counting. Copy sheets F1. . The F 121 F rs is conveyed by a conveyance roll 44 in the processing direction through a path switching gate 42 and is discharged to an intermediate stacker 43 . The conveyance route to the stacker 43 is shown in FIG. 1 by a dashed line. Above copy paper F
++, F+□+ F l When the sheets of copy paper 3 are placed one by one on the intermediate stamper 43, they proceed along the above-mentioned transport path, but are guided by the flexible thin film members 43e, 43e, so that copy paper, especially Even if the copy paper that has been copied on both sides is curled or bent in the direction of travel, these conditions will cause the flexible thin film members 43e, 43e to
- It is now possible to align both side ends and the front and back ends by correcting. After that, the copies Fl l + Fl □ + Fl 3
is processed by the stapling and punching mechanism described above. After processing, the - coarse copy sheets (F+□, F1□, F13) are conveyed by the paper discharge conveying means 49 and placed on the paper discharge tray 46 according to the paper discharge procedure. Next, the punching and binding processes for the second copy sheet are performed in the same manner as for the first copy. In this way, after the two copies F2□+F22+F23 have been punched and stapled by the stapler, they are discharged onto the paper discharge tray 46 in the same manner as the first copy. In the embodiment described above, a flexible thin film member is fixed to the inclined surface of a protruding piece formed by bending the upper part of a movable side plate that regulates the width of the recording paper. It is also preferable to use a protruding piece formed to protrude above. In this case, since the side plate moves in accordance with the size of the recording paper, the flexible thin film member is fixed at a position where it does not interfere with this movement.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, in the present invention, a set of recording sheets fed one by one from the outside is stacked and held on an intermediate stacker in the order in which they are supplied, and the second set of recording sheets is punched or bound at the holding position. In a recording paper processing apparatus configured to eject paper after stopping the intermediate stacker, one end of a flexible thin film member is fixed to the inclined surface of a projecting piece formed above the intermediate stacker and projecting from the side, and the other end is fixed to the inclined surface of a protrusion formed above the intermediate stacker. The recording paper is guided in contact with the stacker surface to correct curling of the recording paper, especially curls and bends during double-sided copying, so the recording paper is placed on the intermediate stacker in an orderly manner according to the order of paper ejection. This makes it possible to provide a recording paper processing device that can prevent defects caused by misalignment of recording paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a copying machine equipped with a recording paper processing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts of the recording paper processing device, and FIG.
The figure is a back view of the inclined plate of the recording paper processing device, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the drive mechanism of the stopper, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the front surface of the inclined plate of the recording paper processing device, and FIG. 6 is the recording paper processing FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the processing unit of the apparatus with the ripple holder removed, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the copy paper processing position according to the present invention. l... Copy paper (recording paper) processing device

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A recording paper processing device that stacks and holds a set of recording papers fed one by one from the outside on an intermediate stacker in the order of supply, performs punching and/or binding processing, and then discharges the sheets. One end of a flexible thin film member is fixed to a protrusion formed above the intermediate stacker to protrude from the side, and the other end of the flexible thin film member is held on the downstream side in the recording paper transport direction to hold the recording paper of the intermediate stacker. A recording paper processing device characterized in that the recording paper processing device is arranged in an inclined manner so as to come into contact with a surface. (2) The recording paper processing device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting piece is provided on a movable side plate that regulates the width of the recording paper.