JPH012974A - sheet folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a sheet folding device for folding sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more specifically, for folding sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. Regarding folding devices.

(B) Prior Art Conventionally, a sheet folding apparatus has performed folding processing such as 74-fold or Z-fold on a sheet on which an image has been formed and outputted from an image forming apparatus using a folding means.

t/→ Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the above-mentioned sheet folding device, 1.1, since the folding process is performed only on the image ((the sheet discharged from the forming device), there is a There is a need for a sheet folding device capable of folding sheets.Problems and Means for Solving the ProblemsThe present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems. 'iiW L, a detection means for detecting the first filter manual feed sheet inserted from the insertion opening;
, W is received, the manual sheet inserted from the insertion slot is folded by the folding means. The sheet discharged from the paper discharge port is conveyed from the inlet of the folding device to the folding means, and is folded into two or Z-folded by the folding means. Further, when the operator inserts a manual sheet from the insertion slot, the manual sheet is detected by the detection means, and is folded into two or two folds by the folding means which receives a detection signal from the detection means.

←→ Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

When the copying machine 1 is connected to a folding device 2 and a finishing device 3, the folding device 2 is installed between the copying machine 1 and the finishing device 3, as shown in FIG. The sheet ejection port 5 of the folding device 2 is aligned with the sheet inlet 6 of the finisher device 3, and the sheet ejection lower of the copying machine 1 is aligned with the sheet inlet 9 of the folding device 2. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the finisher M3 is equipped with a stacker tray 11nO on the upper left side of the main body 10, and a stacker section 11 that can be moved vertically and reciprocally by a driving means such as a motor. Further, a stipple section 12 including a stipple L tray 12a is disposed below the stacker section 11,
The tray 12a is attached to the lower end of the stipple plate f12a.
See above! , S is movably disposed to support one end of the stopper 13. Further, a housing 1/15 is arranged below the stay gol portion 12, and the stopper 1
3, the sheet S on the stipple tray 12a is dropped and stored in the storage tray 15.

In addition, at the front of the device main body 10 of the finisher device 3,
The sheet carry-in port 6 is provided, and a demon roller pair 16 is disposed in the sheet carry-in port 6. Further, an inlet deflector 17 constituting a switching means is disposed on the downstream side of the pair of carry-in rollers 16 so as to be able to switch in two directions, and directs the sheets S sent from the sheet carry-in port 6 to the stacker section conveyance path. 19 or a stipple section conveyance path 20. Further, a pair of transport rollers 21 is disposed in the stipple portion unfeed path 20, and the pair of rollers 21
A pair of stipple discharge rollers 22 is disposed downstream of the discharge roller pair 22, and a portion of the belt 22b, the lower end of which is in contact with the stipple tray 12a, is wound around the lower roller 22a of the discharge roller pair 22. and the belt 22b
rotates together with the lower roller 22a, and the stigol tray 1
It is configured so that the longitudinal direction (rear end in the direction of extraction) of the sheet S taken out onto the sheet S 2a is aligned along the brim 13. The stopper 13 is connected to a solenoid (not shown), and when the solenoid is turned on, the stopper 13 is retracted from the tray surface of the stacker tray 12a. Furthermore, stipple 1
- A stapler 23 is installed above the base end side of the lay 12a, and staples! - It is configured to stipple the sheet S on the lay 12a. and,
A manual button 25 is arranged on the stapling tray 12a, and the manual button 25 is connected to the staple section 1.
2 from automatic stapling mode to manual mode.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the folding device 2 is provided with the sheet inlet 9 at the top of the folding device main body 26, and a deflector 27 is provided facing the public 9. Furthermore, an insertion port 29 is branched off from the deflector 27 and is used to insert a manual sheet S, and a sensor S1 for detecting the sheet S is disposed in the insertion port 29. A pair of carry-in rollers 30 is disposed downstream of the deflector 27, and on the downstream side of the pair of carry-in rollers 30, the sheet S sent from the sheet carry-in port 9 passes through [killing path 31 or An inlet deflector 33 that can be switched in two directions is provided to guide the sheet to the sheet folding conveyance 93g. Further, a pair of discharge rollers 35 is arranged at the downstream end of the passage conveyance path 31,
The sheet discharge port 5 is provided downstream of the pair of discharge rollers 35.

Further, a sensor S2 for detecting the sheet size and members constituting a sheet folding means A are arranged in the folding conveyance path 32, and a first folding roller 36 is arranged in the folding means A. Furthermore, a second roller adjacent to the roller 36 is provided.
A folding edge 37 is arranged. Further, on the downstream side of the first folding roller 36, the sheets +-S conveyed from the folding conveyance path 32 are transferred to the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39, or the first and second folding rollers 36 A bidirectionally switchable first deflector 40 is provided which guides the first stage pair of folding rollers (36, 37) consisting of .37 mm. Further, on the downstream side of the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39, there is a fixed stopper member 41, and a movable stopper member 42 configured to protrude into the center of the conveyance path 39 when the solenoid is energized. is installed. Further, on the downstream side of the pair of folding rollers (36, 37) in the first stage, the sheet S conveyed from the pair of folding rollers (36, 37) in the first stage is transferred to a second folding position regulating conveyor. #143, or the second stage folding roller pair (37
, 45), a second deflector 46 which can be switched in two directions is provided. A fixed stopper member 47 is provided on the downstream side of the second folding position regulating conveyance path 43.
is installed. In addition, the second stage folding roller pair (3
7°45), there is a pair of second-stage folding rollers (3
7, 45) to the third folding position regulation conveyance path 49, or a third stage consisting of the third folding roller 45 and the fourth folding roller 50 adjacent to the roller 45. A third deflector 51 that can be switched in two directions is provided to guide the pair of folding rollers (45, 50). A stopper member 52 is disposed on the third folding position regulating conveyance path 49. Further, on the downstream side of the pair of folding rollers (45, 50) at the third stage, a folding end conveyance path 5 is provided.
3 is formed, and the conveyance path 53 merges with the passage conveyance path 31 and communicates with the discharge roller pair 35.

The folding device 2 also has a through-pass mode in which the sheet S is conveyed to the passing conveyance path 31, or a close-in mode (al, (bl, and C) shown in FIG. Each of the above conveyance paths 31, 32, 39°43
．． 49 and 53 (see FIG. 1).

Since this embodiment has the above-described configuration, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge lower of the copying machine 1 is delivered to the folding device 2.
The sheet mass 9 is conveyed to the entrance deflector 33 by the rotation of the pair of carry-in rollers 30, the sheet size detection means detects the full-size sheet, and then, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet is folded in two (a).

When either the Z-fold fbl or back Z-fold tel sheet folding mode is selected, the entrance deflector 3
3 is switched to the folding conveyance path 32 side by a signal from the control unit C,
The sheet S is conveyed through the folding conveyance path 32 and conveyed to the first deflector 40 by the rotation of the first folding roller 36 .

Then, as shown in the fourth part), when the two-folding mode is selected, the sheet S is guided from the carry-in roller pair 30 to the sheet folding conveyance path 32 by the entrance deflector 33.
is introduced into the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39 by the operation of the first deflector 40. Thus, as shown in FIG.
A loop X is formed at the center of the sheet when it comes into contact with the sheet. Then, as shown in FIG. 5fbl, the loop It becomes a sheet folded in two (see Figure 4 (al)).
. Then, the sheet S folded in half is then guided between the second folding roller 37 and the third folding roller 45 by the second deflector 46 and the third deflector 51, and further from there to the third folding roller 45. The paper passes between the folding roller 45 and the fourth folding roller 50, passes through the folding end conveyance path 53, and is discharged by the discharge roller pair 35.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the Z-folding mode is selected, the first deflector 40 is switched to the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39 side, and the sheet S is
The sheet S is guided by the deflector 40 and conveyed to the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39, and a loop is formed at a portion approximately 174 points from the leading edge of the sheet S. It is sandwiched between the pair of rollers (36, 37) and a first fold is formed. Furthermore, the sheet s on which the first fold has been formed is guided to the second deflector 46 that does not switch the second folding position regulating conveyance path 43 to the second folding position regulating conveyance path 43. The first sheet of sheet s is
A loop is formed at the end of the two sheets stacked by the fold line of A second fold is formed at the end of the fold to form a Z-folded sheet. Further, the sea +-S is connected to the third deflector 5 which is switched to the folding roller pair (45, 50) of the third stage.
1, the third stage folding roller pair (45, 50
1 and a folding end conveyance path 53, and is conveyed through a pair of discharge rollers 3.
5, the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge port 5.

As shown in FIG. 4(c), in the case of the back Z-folding mode, the pair of carry-in rollers 30 is folded in the same manner as described above.
Sea 1-Fold 1 by operating the entrance deflector 33 from
By operating the first deflector 40, the first and second folding rollers 36.
37, and is introduced from there into the second folding position regulating conveyance path 43 by operating the second deflector 46. Then, when the tip of the sheet S comes into contact with the fixing/stopper 47, a loop is formed at a portion approximately I74 from the tip of the sheet S at the nip between the second folding roller 37 and the third folding roller 45. Kuwamata Komare, Figure 4 (C+
A first fold is formed as shown in FIG.

Note that after this, by operating the third deflector 51, the third deflector 51 is operated.
When the fold of the sheet S comes into contact with the third fixed stopper 52, a loop formed in the vicinity of about 174 overlapped portions from the fold of the sheet S is transferred to the third folding roller. 45 and the fourth folding roller 50
and a fold is formed as shown in FIG. 4 tc+.

Thus, the Z-folded sheet S that has been folded back to the back side passes through the folding completion conveyance path 53 and is discharged from the pair of discharge rollers 35.

In this way, the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge port 5 of the folding device 2 is transferred from the sheet inlet port 6 of the finishing device 3 to the stacker section transport #11 by the pair of amateur rollers 16.
The 9-color sheets are conveyed to the stapling unit conveyance path 20 and are accumulated or stapled.

Further, the case of inserting the manual sheet S from the insertion slot 29 will be explained along the flowchart of FIG. 6.

The operator sets the folding mode using the input section (not shown) of the copying machine 1, and when the manual sheet S is inserted from the insertion slot 29, the sheet S is detected by the sensor S (Sl
). Then, the folding device main body 26 and the finisher device 3 are powered on according to a command from the control unit C that receives the ON signal from the sensor S (S2). Then, the control unit C determines whether or not the folding mode is input from the input unit of the copying machine 1 (33), and if it is not input, the control unit C determines whether the folding mode is input from the input unit of the copying machine 1.
A folding designation message is displayed on the display section (not shown) (S4). Also, if fold mode is specified,
The control section C operates the deflectors 27 and 33 to deflect the seat S.
is guided to the folding conveyance path 32 (S5). At this time, the leading edge and trailing edge of the sheet S are detected by the sensor S2, and the sensor S2 detects that the bow is blocked, and the control unit C determines the leading edge detection time T of the sheet S, and the trailing edge detection time T2 of the sheet S. Then, calculate the sheet passing time T=T2-T, S6), and the sheet passing time T and the passing time T of the smallest size sheet S=, .
(S7). And T < T, ,,,
In this case, the control unit C operates each deflector 40, 46, 51 so as not to fold the sheet S, and discharges the sheet S out of the apparatus main body 26 (S8). Also, T≧T□,,
In this case, the control unit C operates the deflector 40 toward the first folding position regulating conveyance path 39 (S9), and guides the sheet S to the conveyance path 39. Further, the control unit C determines whether the mode inputted by the input unit is the two-fold mode or not (510).
), if it is determined that it is in two-fold mode, the sheet S
is brought into contact with the stopper 41, and the sheet S is folded in half by the same operation as described above (811). If it is determined that the mode is not in half-folding mode, the control section C operates a solenoid (not shown) to project the stopper 42, and also operates the deflector 46. Add folds (312)
. Then, the folded sheet S is transferred to the stack tray, illustrator or staple tray 1 by the same operation as described above.
2a, where they are stacked or stapled.

Note that if the insertion slot 29 is provided with an automatic paper feeder that continuously feeds the manual sheets S, the operability will be further improved.

(g) As described in detail, the present invention includes an insertion slot for inserting a manual sheet and a detection means for detecting a manual sheet inserted from the insertion slot. The detection means detects the manually fed sheet, the folding means detects a detection signal from the detecting means, and the folding means can fold the manually fed sheet into two or Z-fold.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a sheet folding device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an image forming apparatus system including a sheet folding device of the present invention. Further, FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing the finisher device. Furthermore, FIG. 4(a). (bl, (cl) are diagrams showing the sheet folding mode. FIG. 5 [al, (bl) are schematic diagrams showing the folding operation of the sheet! This is a flowchart 1. 1. Image forming device, 2. Sea!-Folding device, 7.
・・Discharge port, 9・・Carry-in port, 29・・Insertion port
, A...folding means, S...sheet, S...
...Detection means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has a loading port connected to the discharge port of the image forming device;
and a sheet folding device that is equipped with a folding means for folding a sheet into two or Z-folds, etc., which includes an insertion port for inserting a manual sheet outside the loading port, and detecting a manual sheet inserted from the insertion port. A sheet folding apparatus comprising: a detection means for detecting a sheet, and configured such that, upon receiving a detection signal from the detection means, the folding means folds a manual sheet inserted from the insertion slot. .