JPH06186807A - Sheet feeding device provided with staple removing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an automatic document feeder where a stapled document is not damaged and it is unnecessary to manually remove a staple by providing a staple detecting means and a staple removing means. CONSTITUTION:The document bundle separated and carried from an electrostatic attracting belt 51 is interposed between feeding belts 110 and 111, and fed and guided to staple detecting rollers 301 and 302. A staple detecting roller 301 is constituted of a pressure sensitive conductive rubber roller, and the presence or absence of the staple is detected as a projecting part on the document by interposing the document bundle by a pressure sensitive member. The document bundle is fed until the position of the staple of the document bundle in a feeding direction becomes the specified position of a staple removing device 300. The staple removing device 300 makes cutting force by a punching edge act on the document around the staple on the document bundle, and the staple part of the document bundle is punched together with paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function having a staple removing device for automatically removing staples binding a sheet bundle (original bundle).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, staples have been generally used as a means for bundling a plurality of sheets so that they are not dispersed. When it becomes necessary to separate the stapled sheet bundle again for various reasons, it is necessary to remove the staples from the sheet bundle. This work is a very difficult and time-consuming work of deforming the metal and then pulling it out of the sheet bundle. In order to facilitate the work of removing the staple, it is conventionally composed of a pair of levers and a claw provided at the tip of the lever, and a user is provided at the tip of the lever by gripping the pair of levers. Many devices for removing staples from the sheet bundle by deforming the staples by the action of the claws, and improved devices thereof have been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 1-306185 and 2-1985). 24069, etc.). Although the above-mentioned device requires manpower, an automatic device is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-154445. This device automatically inserts the stapled sheet bundle into the device and aligns the staple on the sheet bundle with a designated position so that the staple removing pawl is automatically moved. It is configured to operate to remove staples.

On the other hand, in a copying apparatus such as a PPC which optically processes a document placed on the document exposure table and makes a copy, the document on the document exposure table to be copied is copied according to the end of copying. Need to be replaced. Performing this operation artificially is very troublesome when the amount of documents is large. As a means for solving this, conventionally, an automatic document feeder which separates documents one by one from a plurality of sheet document groups placed on a document table and transports them onto a document exposure table of a copying machine. (AD
F) is used. As a result, the human labor required for the copying operation of the sheet document group is significantly reduced. However, here the stapled sheath
When the stack of sheets is used as a document for copying, it is necessary to manually remove the staple in the conventional automatic document feeder. In addition, when using the automatic document feeder, there are many cases where the user does not recognize that a stapled document bundle exists in the sheet document group to be copied. In this case, the automatic document feeder may damage the document by faithfully executing the operation of separating one sheet from the stapled document bundle. Conventionally, in order to prevent such a situation, JP-A-59-2
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03031 discloses an invention in which the operation of the automatic document feeder is stopped when the original on the document tray of the automatic document feeder is a stapled original.

[0004]

All of the above-mentioned conventional staple removing devices require some manpower to remove staples, and a proposal for a completely automated staple removing device has been proposed. It wasn't done. The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, which includes a completely automated staple removing device. Another object of the present invention is that even when there are a plurality of sheet bundles from which staples are desired to be removed, it is possible to automatically remove staples from each of these plurality of sheet bundles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, which includes a staple removing device.

On the other hand, in the conventional automatic document feeder, when the stapled document is used, it is necessary to remove the staple artificially. Further, regarding the processing when the original placed on the original placing table in the automatic original feeding apparatus such as a copying apparatus is a stapled original, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-203031 is disclosed. Although the effect of preventing the damage of the document is recognized, another work is required to remove the staple that causes this. Further, when the original placed on the original placing table is an original group including a plurality of stapled original bundles, the conventional apparatus cannot process the original. Still another object of the present invention is that even a stapled original is not damaged, and the stapled original is not damaged.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function as an automatic document conveying device that does not need to remove pulls artificially. Still another object of the present invention is a staple removing function as an automatic document feeder which can process even a document placed on a document table is a document group in which a plurality of stapled document stacks are stacked. An object of the present invention is to provide an attached sheet conveying device.

Conventionally, there is known a sheet cutting device which cuts a document into small pieces in order to make information on the document indistinguishable when discarding a confidential document or the like. The sheets to be cut by this sheet cutting device are mostly stapled sheet bundles.
Therefore, the stapled sheet bundle is directly transferred to the sheet.
If used in a sheet cutting device, the blade of the sheet cutting device will be damaged. Therefore, in the conventional sheet cutting device,
It was necessary to remove staples on the sheet bundle beforehand.
However, the conventional staple removing devices are all
It requires some manpower to remove the pull, and no proposal has been made for a fully automated staple removal device. Still another object of the present invention is to convey a sheet having a staple removing function, which is equipped with a sheet cutting device capable of automating the staple removing operation and cutting the sheet bundle from which staples have been removed. To provide a device.

By the way, the positions of the staples in the sheet bundle are not always constant because they vary depending on the sheet size and the like. Therefore, in the staple removing device in which the staple removing operation is automated as described above,
When the position of the staple removing means is fixed to a specific position, the staple removing operation cannot be smoothly performed unless the position of the staple with respect to the sheet bundle is predetermined. Therefore, in the above-described sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, the staple removing position of the staple removing unit and the staple position of the sheet bundle are
Since it is necessary for the operator to perform the staple removing work after preliminarily performing the alignment, there is a problem that the staple removing work takes a long time. In view of this point, a further object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function that can reduce the time required for the staple removing operation.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet mounting table on which a plurality of sheets are mounted and a plurality of sheet mounting tables mounted on the sheet mounting table. -Separating and feeding means for separating and feeding a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets stapled from the sheet, and a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets separated and fed by the separating and feeding means. Sheet conveying means for conveying sheets, staple detecting means for detecting staples on the sheet bundle during conveyance of the sheet bundle by the sheet conveying means, and this staple detecting means In order to stop the staple detected by the means at a predetermined position, a transfer control means for controlling the sheet transfer means and a step for removing the staple stopped at the predetermined position from the sheet bundle. And a pull removing means.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a document placing table on which a plurality of stapled document bundles and one document can be mixedly placed, and a staple from the document group. Separated document feeding means for separating and feeding one document bundle or one document, document transporting means for transporting the separately fed document bundle or one document, and document bundle during transportation of the document bundle A staple detecting means for detecting the upper staple, a conveying control means for controlling the original conveying means for stopping the staple detected by the staple detecting means at a predetermined position, and a predetermined controlling means. A staple removing means for removing staples stopped at the position from the original bundle and a separate feeding means for separately feeding the originals from the original bundle from which the staples have been removed are provided. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sheet is separated and fed by the separating and feeding means. Document stacking table for stacking sheets or documents, document aligning means for fixing irregularities of a plurality of sheets or documents discharged onto the document stacking table, and stapling sheets or documents on the document stacking table. And a stapling means for doing so.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet bundle or the original bundle is placed. The separating and feeding means has a sheet placing table or a document placing table which directly acts.

Further, according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sheet mounting table on which a plurality of stapled sheet bundles and one sheet can be mixedly mounted, and a sheet mounting table described above are provided. A separating and feeding means for separating and feeding a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets stapled from the sheet group, and a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets thus separated and fed. Sheet conveying means for conveying, staple detecting means for detecting staples on the sheet bundle during conveyance of the sheet bundle, and staple detected by the staple detecting means. Transport control means for controlling the sheet transport means, a staple removing means for removing staples stopped at the predetermined position from the sheet bundle, and a staple. And a sheet bundle cutting means for cutting the removed sheet bundle.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet carrying device with a staple removing function according to claim 5, wherein the staple removing means is a sheet bundle. Is punched out in a range including staples on the sheet bundle to remove staples from the sheet bundle.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention further provides a staple document stack mounting table for mounting a stapled document stack with the document surface directed in a designated direction, and this staple document stack. An original bundle conveying means for conveying a bundle of originals placed on a mounting table, a staple detecting means for detecting a staple on the original bundle during the conveyance of the original bundle, and a staple detecting means. A conveyance control means for controlling the document bundle conveying means for stopping the staple detected by the above-mentioned method at a predetermined position, and a staple removing means for removing the staple stopped at the predetermined position from the original bundle. A staple removing moving means for moving the staple removing means in a direction perpendicular to a document bundle conveying direction by the document bundle conveying means,
According to the detection result of the staple detecting means, the staple is detected.
A removal movement control means for controlling the pull removal movement means, a control means for making the standby position of the staple removal means on the left side of the document surface side of the conveyed document bundle, and a document bundle from which staples have been removed And a separate feeding unit for separately feeding the originals one by one.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a sheet conveying device with a staple removing function as set forth in claim 7, wherein the originals placed on the staple original stacking table are placed. The removal movement control means has a document size detection means for detecting the size, and the removal movement control means is a control means for changing the standby position of the staple removal means in accordance with the detection result by the document size detection means. .

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the stapled sheet bundle is conveyed for each bundle, and the staple position is detected during the conveyance. In addition, the detected station
The conveyance of the sheet bundle is controlled so that the pull matches the removal position of the staple removing means. When the staple matches the removal position of the staple removing means, the staple is removed.
The pull removing means operates to remove staples on the sheet bundle.

According to the second to fourth aspects of the invention, the sheet bundle is separated and fed part by portion from the sheet group in which the stapled sheet bundle is loaded. Next, the staple position is detected during the transportation of the sheet bundle. Further, the conveyance of the sheet bundle is controlled so that the detected staple matches the removal position of the staple removing means. Then, when the staple matches the removal position of the staple removing means, the staple removing means operates to remove the staple on the sheet bundle.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, when the sheet bundle placed on the sheet bundle mounting table is conveyed, the staples on the sheet bundle are removed. Detected,
The conveyance of the sheet bundle is controlled so that the pull stops at a predetermined position. Then, the staple stopped at the predetermined position
After being removed from the stack of sheets, the sheet bundle from which staples have been removed is cut.

According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the invention, the stapled sheet bundle is conveyed from the mounting table. Next, the staple position is detected while the sheet bundle is being conveyed. Further, the conveyance of the sheet bundle is controlled so that the detected staple matches the removal position of the staple removing means. Then, the staple removing means is moved in a direction orthogonal to the sheet bundle conveying direction, and when the removing position of the staple removing means and the staple coincide with each other, the staple removing means is actuated. -Stay on the bundle
The pull is removed.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As described above, in a copying apparatus such as a PPC that optically processes an original placed on an original exposure table to make a copy, the original on the original exposure table is copied. It is necessary to replace it when finished, and it is very troublesome to perform this operation artificially when the amount of documents is large. As a means for solving this, conventionally, an automatic document feeder for separating the originals one by one from a plurality of sheet originals placed on an original placing table and conveying them to the original exposing table of the copying machine. Since (ADF) is used, the human labor required for the copy operation of the sheet document group is greatly reduced. On the other hand, staple is generally used as a means for collecting a plurality of sheets into a series of bundles.
When using such a stapled sheet bundle as a document for copying, it is necessary to artificially remove the staple in advance in order to use the automatic document feeder of the copying machine. . This work was a very difficult and time-consuming work of deforming the metal and then pulling it out of the sheet bundle. Further, when using the automatic document feeder, there are many cases where the user does not recognize that the stapled document bundle exists in the sheet document group to be copied. In this case, the automatic document feeder may damage the document by faithfully executing the operation of separating one sheet from the stapled document bundle.

A sheet conveying apparatus with a staple removing function according to the present invention which solves the above problems will be described below by taking an automatic document feeder (ADF) as an example. The main function of this embodiment is to separate a group of originals placed on the original placing table into stapled bundles. The separated staple original bundle is conveyed together with the bundle. The staples are removed from the conveyed staple original bundle. The original bundle from which staples have been removed is conveyed together with the original bundle. The originals from which the staples have been removed are separated and fed one by one onto the original exposure table. The original is conveyed from the original exposure table to the original output table. The originals conveyed from the original exposure table to the original output table are collected and re-stapled to the state before removal. Is.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of an apparatus having the above functions. The overall configuration of this device is A:
The sheet bundle separating / feeding unit (function), B: staple removing unit (function), C: sheet separating unit (function), and D: re-staple unit (function). First, the detailed configuration of each of the above units will be described.

The sheet bundle separating / feeding device, which constitutes the sheet bundle separating / feeding unit of the present apparatus, separates a document bundle or a single document from a mixed document group of a stapled document bundle and a single document. It is a device for feeding. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a plane of an electrostatic adsorption / separation device as an example of the sheet bundle separating / feeding device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a side surface of this electrostatic adsorption separation device.

In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the operator places a document bound by staples and a document group on which one document is mixed on the document table 1. The document table 1 is connected to the document table body 1A by links 2 and 3 so that the document group can be moved up and down while maintaining a horizontal state, and a mechanism for adjusting the position of the document table 1 by the movement of the arm 4 is provided. Have In the initial stage (state where no document is placed), the document table 1 is in a standby state at the lowest position, and when the operator stacks the document group on the document table and presses the start button,
It is raised by the movement of frame 4. As a result, when the uppermost surface of the document group is raised to a predetermined height, the photosensor 5 detects the uppermost surface of the document group, and the document table 1 is further raised from this position by a predetermined amount. Here, a leaf spring 6 is attached to the tip of the arm 4, and the leaf spring 6
Due to the elasticity of, the uppermost document of the document group is pressed against the electrostatic attraction belt 51 with a predetermined pressure.

The electrostatic attraction belt 51 is made of a material such as mylar, vapor deposition mylar, or polyester-based two-layer belt, and is stretched by a drive roller 52 and a tension roller 55. Here, the drive roller 52 is a motor.
Torque is applied by the electrostatic chuck belt 51.
Drive. The tension roller 55 has a function of being pressed rightward in the drawing by a pair of springs 57a and 57b with a predetermined pressure so as to stretch the electrostatic attraction belt 51 so as not to loosen it. Further, an electrode roller 58 is provided on the surface of the electrostatic attraction belt 51 so as to come into contact therewith, and a voltage is applied to the electrode roller 58 by an electrode plate 60 pressed against the end surface of the roller. Is applied. Also, the electrode roll
The power supply that applies a voltage to the laser 60 has a sine waveform with a frequency of 2 to
It is possible to supply 10 Hz and a voltage of 3 kv to 6 kv, and by applying a high voltage to the electrostatic attraction belt 51, an electrostatic attraction force is generated. As a result, the uppermost document of the document group pressed by the electrostatic attraction belt 51 comes into close contact with the electrostatic attraction belt 51 by the electrostatic attraction force, and as the electrostatic attraction belt 51 rotates, It is conveyed to the left in the figure. Here, in the case of feeding a bundle of documents bound by staple, in the above method, only the uppermost one sheet is the electrostatic adsorption belt 51.
However, the second and subsequent originals are not affected by the electrostatic attraction force. However, since the original bundle is connected to each other by the portion bound by the staple, the second and subsequent originals are fed by the conveying force of the first one.

In this way, the document group stacked on the document table 1 is pressed by the electrostatic attraction belt 51, and the uppermost document is attracted, and then the document table 1 is lowered by a predetermined amount to move the uppermost document. Make it easy to separate and feed only the bundle. After the separated and fed document bundle is fed by the electrostatic attraction belt 51,
It is separated from the electrostatic attraction belt 51 by the separation claw 64,
It is guided between the conveyor belts 110 and 111. The conveyor belt 110 includes a drive roller 103 and a tension roller 10.
7 and the driven roller 105 are arranged to give a predetermined tension, and are driven to rotate in a predetermined direction by a motor (not shown) connected to the drive roller 103. The conveyor belt 111 is provided with a predetermined tension by a drive roller 112 and a tension roller 114, and is arranged in a predetermined direction by a motor (not shown) connected to the drive roller 112. Is driven to rotate. As a result, the document bundle separated and conveyed from the electrostatic attraction belt 51 by the separation claw 64 becomes a conveyance belt 110 and a conveyance belt 111.
When guided to the space between the originals, the bundle of originals is conveyed to both transport belts 110,
The pair of staple detecting rollers 30 of the staple removing device in the next sheet bundle separating step are conveyed while being sandwiched by 111.
You will be guided to 1,302. In addition, each conveyor belt 110,
A photo sensor 123 for detecting the leading edge of the document stack is provided near the exit of the 111.
As a result, it is detected that the leading edge of the document bundle has passed near the exits of the respective conveyor belts 110 and 111.

The staple removing device, which constitutes the staple removing portion of the present apparatus, detects the presence or absence of staples on the document separated by the sheet bundle separating / feeding device, and detects the presence of staples. In this case, the device removes staples from the original. This staple removing device has a staple detecting means for detecting staples on the conveyed document bundle. The staple detecting means in this embodiment comprises a staple detecting roller 301 composed of a pressure-sensitive conductive rubber roller. The staple detecting roller 301
Is configured to detect the presence or absence of staple as a convex portion on the original by sandwiching the original with a pressure sensitive member.

The detection principle of this staple detecting means will be described below. First, the structure of the staple detection roller 301 is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the staple detection roller 301 includes electrode plates 326 and 327 on which electrodes are provided in directions orthogonal to each other.
A sheet sandwiching 25 is attached to the surface of the roller. Here, each of the electrode plates 326 and 327 is configured such that a plurality of electrodes are arranged in the same direction and in parallel. That is, this staple detection roller 30
When viewed from the surface of No. 1, as shown in FIG. 5, the electrodes of the electrode plates 326 and 327 are arranged in a grid pattern with the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 325 sandwiched therebetween. In addition, the pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 3
Reference numeral 25 is a rubber sheet in which an electric current flows only in a portion to which pressure is applied, and its resolving power is extremely high, and it is suitable for detecting a detailed position of a protrusion such as a staple.

Next, a staple detecting method by the staple detecting roller 301 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 6, when the staple detection roller 301 rotates on the surface of the document stack O bundled with the staples P, the staple P protrudes from the surface of the document. Therefore, only that portion of the staple detection roller 301. Will be pressurized. FIG. 7 shows the surface of the staple detection roller 301 when it is pressed by the staple P at the position shown in cross section, and a circuit diagram for detecting it. Here, the electrode array of the electrode plate 326 is set in the X direction,
The electrode array of 27 is in the Y direction. One of the input terminals (+ side in FIG. 7) of the comparator 328 is connected to the electrode array in the X direction, and further connected to Vcc via the resistor R1, while the open collector type buffer 329 is connected. It is also connected to the output terminal. This buffer 3
The 29 input terminals are connected to the output ports of the CPU. The other input terminal of the comparator 328 (see FIG.
Then, a predetermined reference voltage is input to the (-) side. The output terminal of the comparator 328 is connected to the input port of the CPU. A comparator 330 is provided on the electrode array in the Y direction.
One of the input terminals (+ side in Fig. 7) is connected,
Further, it is connected to GND via a resistor R2. Further, a predetermined reference voltage is input to the other input terminal of the comparator 330. The output terminal of the comparator 330 is connected to the input port of the CPU.

These two comparators 328 and 33
0 is for distinguishing whether or not the electrode of that line is pressed by the staple P and is electrically connected. That is, if there is no staple P on that line, the potential on the + side of the comparator 328 becomes Vcc,
If the reference potential is set to be lower than Vcc, the output of the comparator 328 becomes high level. Similarly, if the reference potential of the comparator 330 is set higher than the GND level, The output of 328 becomes low level. However, when the electrode of this line is pressed by the staple P, the respective electrode rows X and Y are electrically conducted, and the comparators 328 and 33 are connected.
The + side input of 0 receives the potential obtained by dividing Vcc by R1 and R2. Therefore, the comparator 3
If the reference potential of 28 is set higher than this divided voltage value, the output changes to low level, and if the reference potential of the comparator 330 is set lower than this divided voltage value, the output changes to high level. Therefore, the reference potential of the comparator 328 is
It is necessary to set it to a value lower than Vcc and higher than the potential created by R1 and R2, and the reference potential of the comparator 330 is higher than the GND level and more than the potential created by R1 and R2. Must be set to a low value. Furthermore, in order to judge both of the electrode rows X and Y at the same time, when the respective lines are viewed at the same time, the staple P presses not by the points but by the area, so that all the lines included in the pressed part are pressed. There is a problem because it becomes conductive. Therefore, using the buffer 329, only the line of interest is activated and the remaining lines are all set to low level. In this way, the CPU can read the levels of the electrode arrays X and Y sequentially to determine the detailed position of the staple P, and the photo for detecting the leading edge of the document stack O described above. By using the sensor 123, it is possible to know the relative positions of the document stack O and the staple P.

This staple detecting means is, as shown in FIG. 8, a staple detecting roller (center fixing roller) 301.
And a pair of pressure sensitive rollers including a staple detection roller (center movable roller) 302. The worms 301a and 302a, and the worm gear 3 respectively.
Drive motors 301c, 30 via 01b, 302b
It is rotationally driven in a predetermined direction by 2c. Here, the driving motor 301c may be arranged in any direction with respect to the staple detection roller (center fixing roller) 301, but the driving motor 302c of the movable center roller 302 may be arranged in any direction.
Even if the center movable roller 302 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8, the shaft center of the worm 302a is parallel to the moving direction of the center movable roller 302 so that the drive of the drive motor 302c is surely transmitted. It is arranged so that.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, solenoids 303 are arranged at both ends of the center movable roller 302, and each solenoid 303 is provided except when pressure is detected (at the time of detection).
Is turned off and the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 are turned off.
Are kept in a released state (a state in which they are not pressurized). In each solenoid 303, the photo sensor 123 detects the leading edge of the original bundle O conveyed from the sheet bundle separating and feeding device, and the staple detecting rollers 301 and 302 are detected.
It is turned on at the timing when the front end of the document stack O reaches.
As a result, the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 are pressed, and at the same time, both drive motors 301c and 302c are turned on, and the position of the staple P on the original stack O is detected.

Next, the staple removing means in this embodiment will be described. The staple removing means is means for removing the staple P on the conveyed document stack O, and has staple punching means. Steer
The pull punching means is a means for punching the staple portion of the document stack together with the sheet by applying a cutting force by a punching blade to the documents around the staple P on the document stack O.
A sectional view of the whole is shown in FIG.

The punching portion of the staple punching means is roughly divided into a punching movable side and a punching receiving side, and the movement in the thrust direction is caused by one worm gear 304 being driven by a drive motor 304a as shown in FIG. The pair of worm wheels 305 on the punching movable side and the pair of the wok wheels on the punching receiving side are rotated by the rotation.
Each of the screw shafts 305a, 306a (Fig. 12) fixed coaxially with the corresponding one of the wheel wheels 305, 306 is rotated to rotate the screw shafts 305a, 306a. Movable side base 307 (FIG. 13) and receiving side base 30 fitted together
8 (FIG. 14) are simultaneously moved in the thrust direction (direction along the screw shafts 305a and 306a).

On the other hand, the angle between the punching portion of the staple punching means and the staple P on the original stack is
The movable side rotation unit 309 as shown in FIG.
The rotation is performed with the receiving side rotation unit 310 as shown in FIG. The movable side rotation unit 309 and the receiving side rotation unit 310 have the same structure on both the punching movable side and the punching receiving side, and are rotatably arranged with respect to the movable side base 307 and the receiving side base 308. The rotation angle with respect to each base, that is, the angle with respect to the staple P on the original stack, can be arbitrarily changed by the built-in base motors 311 (FIG. 17) arranged in each base. There is.

Further, on the punching movable side of the staple punching means, a pressure cam 312 rotatably arranged on the movable side base 307, a document pressing member 313, and a rotating direction in the movable side rotating unit 309. Is provided with a punching blade 314 that is slidable while being regulated. As shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, the pressure cam 312 rotates in the direction of the arrow when the pressure cam drive motor (not shown) is turned on, and first presses the document pressing member 313 (see FIG. 1
9), and thereafter, the punching blade 314 is pressed (FIG. 20) to form a two-stage configuration. Here, as shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the document pressing member 313 is moved to the pressure solenoid 31.
5 and the pressing arm 316 (FIG. 22), and then
The punching blade 31 is formed by the pressure cam 312 not having the two-stage structure.
4 may be pressurized.

As shown in FIG. 10, the document pressing member 313 is pressed by a spring 317 disposed between the document pressing member 313 and the movable side base 307 so as to press the document holding member 313 to the side opposite to the plain and document stack O path. Has been done. The punching blade 314 is provided with a spring 318 disposed between the punching blade 314 and the document pressing member 313.
Thus, like the document pressing member 313, pressure is applied to the side opposite to the path of the document stack O. When the punching shape by the staple punching means is made rectangular, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 26, the punching blade 314 in which the end surface shape viewed from the side surface of the cutting edge is a concave curved surface and the end surface shape viewed from the front surface of the cutting edge is a concave curved surface (FIG. 27) or a flat surface (FIG. 28). Is used. In the case of punching out only the legs of the staple P, as shown in FIGS. 29 to 31, there are two cutting edges corresponding to the legs of the staple P, and the end surface shape of each cutting edge viewed from the side or front. A punching blade 314 having a concave curved surface is used.

Next, the sheet separating device which constitutes the sheet separating portion in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 32, the sheet separating apparatus 401 causes the lowermost portion of one or a plurality of document bundles O conveyed to the sheet separating unit due to friction between the sheet feeding roller 402 and the separating belt 403 ( It has a function of separating the original document located at the uppermost part of the original document stacking unit from other original documents and sending it to the conveying unit downstream of the sheet separating unit. As shown in FIG. 33, the paper feed roller 402 and the separation belt 403 are moved by the conveyance motor 412 to the gears 412a, 412b, 412c, and 412a.
The drive force is transmitted to the paper feed roller drive shaft 402a and the separation belt drive shaft 403a via the paper feed clutches 404 and 412d, 412e, 412f, and 412g, so that they are rotationally driven in the directions of the arrows in FIG. ,
Transmission control of those rotational driving forces is performed by the paper feed clutch 404.
When the solenoid 405 is turned on / off, the clutch lever 404a swings in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 34 to engage / disengage the clutch gear 404b.

As shown in FIG. 32, the document presence / absence detecting sensor 4 is provided at the document entrance of the sheet separating device 401.
07 is provided, and this document presence / absence detection sensor 407 is provided.
When it is confirmed that the document is conveyed by the solenoid 405, the solenoid 405 is activated (turned on), and the paper feed roller 402 and the separation belt 40 are turned on.
The driving force of the carry motor 412 is transmitted to the sheet feeding roller 3, and the sheet feeding roller 402 and the separation belt 403 rotate in the directions of the arrows in FIG. Here, the paper feed roller 402 and the separation belt 403 are each formed of a friction member,
If the friction coefficient between the paper feed roller 402 and the original (paper) is μ ₁ , the friction coefficient between the separation belt 403 and the original (paper) is μ ₂ , and the friction coefficient between the originals (paper to paper) is μ ₃ , then μ ₁ ＞ μ ₂ ＞ μ ₃
Paper feed roller 402 and separation belt 403
Material selection and surface shape processing are performed.

As a result, when one document is conveyed to the contact portion between the paper feed roller 402 and the separation belt 403,
From the relationship of μ ₁ > μ ₂ , the feeding ability of the sheet feeding roller 402 becomes larger than the resistance force of the separation belt 403, and the original is fed to the feeding unit 410. Further, when a plurality of originals are conveyed to the contact portion between the sheet feeding roller 402 and the separation belt 403, the uppermost one sheet in contact with the sheet feeding roller 402 is satisfied from the relationship of μ ₁ > μ ₂ > μ _3. Only the original document is conveyed to the next conveying section, and the second and subsequent original sheets that are not in contact with the paper feed roller 402 are not conveyed to the conveying section due to the resistance force of the separation belt 403 and stand by (separation). To be done. In this way, only one original is fed to the sheet separating device 401.
When the trailing edge of this document passes through the document length detection sensor 406, the solenoid 405 is turned off, and the paper feed roller 402 and the separation belt 40 by the paper feed clutch 404.
The drive transmission to 3 is released. This sheet separating device 40
1 operates again when the document sent to the transport unit is discharged, sends the next document to the transport unit, and repeats the above operation until there are no documents waiting.

Here, a method of detecting the document size by the document length detection sensor 406 and the document width detection sensor 408 will be described. The document length detection sensor 406 detects the length of the document based on the time it takes for the leading edge to the trailing edge of the document to pass therethrough. Further, the document width detection sensor 408 is
As shown in FIG. 35, when the document width is 204 mm or more, it is provided at a position to be turned on, and the width of the document being conveyed is A
It is detected whether it is 4 vertical or more or B5 vertical or less. This allows
The size of the document being conveyed is detected from the detection result of each sensor.

In the present embodiment, when the user recognizes that the document to be fed is not stapled, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, by using the manual feed tray 409, the process up to the staple removal can be omitted.
Here, the open / close sensor 4 provided on the manual feed tray 409
When 09a detects the use of the manual feed tray 409, the document presence / absence detection sensor 407 detects the insertion of the manual feed document, thereby immediately starting the separating / conveying operation of the manual feed document. Further, the mechanism of the sheet separating apparatus 401 of the present invention includes the above-described one as long as it is a separating mechanism that can convey only one document at the lowermost portion (uppermost portion in the document stacking portion) to the conveying portion. The conventional separation mechanism can be applied.

Next, the configuration of each device of the carrying unit, the reversing unit, and the paper discharging unit of this embodiment will be described. The transport device 410, the reversing device 420, and the paper discharge device 430 have a function of transporting a document on the contact glass 413 by the transport belt 411, reversing the document, and discharging the document onto the discharge tray 434 ( Figure 37). For the original sent from the sheet separating device 401 to the conveying device 410, the driving force of the conveying motor 412 is transmitted from the gear 412b to the conveying belt drive shaft 411a (FIG. 33), and the conveying belt 411 rotates, so that the contact glass 413 is rotated. Is transported over. The conveyor belt 411 is temporarily stopped when the document is conveyed to the copy position (FIG. 38), and after the copy operation of the document is completed,
The original is conveyed to the reversing device 420 by being driven again by the conveying motor 412.

The document conveyed to the reversing device 420 is further conveyed by a reversing roller 421 driven by a paper discharge motor 432 (FIG. 39) via a gear, and is transferred to a reversing switching claw 422 at a reversing position 422a. Then, it is sent again to the transport device 410 (FIG. 40). At the time when the leading edge of the document is fed to the position where it comes into contact with the transport belt 411, the transport motor 412 temporarily stops and then rotates in the reverse direction to transport the document onto the contact glass 413 again (FIG. 4).
1). The conveyance motor 412 stops again when the rear end of the document is conveyed onto the contact glass 413, and then rotates in the normal rotation direction to drive the conveyance belt 411. Simultaneously with the restart of the conveyance motor 412, the reversal switching solenoid 423 (FIG. 39) operates, the reversal switching claw 422 rotates to the paper discharge position 422b, and the original sent to the reversing device 420 is reversed. 42
2 and is conveyed to the paper discharge device 430 (FIG. 42).

The paper discharge device 430, as shown in FIG.
The driving force of the paper discharge motor 432 is transmitted through the reversing roller 421 and the belt 433 to the paper discharge roller 431, and the original is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 434 (FIG. 43). Then, after a lapse of a certain time after the document passes through the paper discharge detection sensor 435 provided on the upstream side of the paper discharge roller 431 in the conveying direction, the return roller motor 437 starts to rotate and the return roller solenoid 438 operates. (Fig. 44),
The return roller 436 contacts the surface of the document, and the document is returned toward the end fence 439 (FIG. 45). The surface of the return roller 436 is formed of a low-friction member so that the document has a conveyance ability only by sliding on the document surface when the document is abutted against the end fence 439. Further, the return roller 436 is stopped after the return roller motor 437 has rotated for a certain period of time, and the return roller solenoid 438 returns, so that the return roller 436 is separated from the document surface and returns to the standby state (FIG. 46). Here, when the document is discharged, the discharge sensor 435 detects the discharge, but when the document passes and the discharge sensor 435 is turned off, the discharge motor 437 slows down. This prevents the document from being discharged farther than the point of action of the return roller 436.

Next, the re-stapling device constituting the re-stapling portion of this embodiment will be described. The re-stapling device 450 aligns the positions of a plurality of ejected originals with a jogger 462, and again staples the stacked originals to the same stapled position by a stapler 451 moved by a worm shaft 455. Has the function of performing. After it is confirmed by the document presence / absence detection sensor 407 of the sheet separating device 401 that the separated and conveyed documents have been exhausted, and the discharge detection sensor 435 has discharged one bundle of document groups, a plurality of joggers 462 are provided. Align the positions of the originals. The jogger 462 causes the return roller motor 437 to move the gear 46, as shown in FIG.
4 and the jogger moving clutch 463, the gear 46
The driving force is transmitted by 2a, 462b, the pulleys 462c, 462d, and the belt 462e, and the transmission of the driving force is controlled by the solenoid 465 provided in the jogger moving clutch 463. When the discharge of one bundle of documents is completed, the return roller motor 437 and the solenoid 465 of the jogger moving clutch 463 are actuated to start the movement of the jogger 462. Jogger 4
Reference numeral 62 indicates the side fence 4 of the paper discharge tray 434 based on the document width length information obtained by the document width detection sensor 408.
40 (FIG. 39), the return roller motor 437 is stopped by the amount of movement necessary for abutting the document, and the return roller motor 437 stops when the document abuts the side fence 440.

In this way, the stapler 451 (FIG. 49) starts to move with the originals aligned by the end fence 439 and the side fence 440 of the paper discharge tray 434. The stapler 451 stops when the document detected by the staple detection roller 301 has moved to the position where it was stapled. Here, in the stapler 451, as shown in FIG. Through the gears 458a and 458b, the worm shaft 455
It is moved by being transmitted to. That is, the stapler 451 is drive-controlled by turning on / off the solenoid 457 provided in the stapler moving clutch 456 and rotating / stopping the worm shaft 455.

A staple motor 454 is attached to the stapler bracket 459 on which the stapler 451 is installed.
As shown in FIG. 49, this staple motor 454 is provided with a stapler 4 which is moved in a direction perpendicular to the document conveying direction by the rotation of the worm shaft 455.
51 rotates at a predetermined stapling position,
The driving force of the gears 454a, 454b, 454c, 4
It is transmitted to the pinion 460 and the eccentric cam 461 via 54d.

Thus, in FIG. 49, the pinion 4
When the staple 60 is rotated, the staple claw 453 is moved upward, and when the eccentric cam 461 is rotated, the staple receiver 452 is moved downward, the original stack O is sandwiched by the stapler 451, and the staple motor 45 is further moved.
The document stack O is stapled by rotating 4. After the stapling operation is completed, the staple motor 454 rotates in the reverse direction, and the stapler 451 returns to the standby position and is stopped. Also, the stapler 451
After returning to the standby position, the worm shaft 455 is reversely rotated by the reverse rotation of the paper discharge motor 432, and the operation of the paper discharge motor 432 is performed when the stapler 451 moves toward the standby position and returns to the standby position. Is stopped. Furthermore,
After completion of this stapling operation, the return roller motor 437
Reversely rotates, the jogger 462 is returned to the standby position and stopped, and the solenoid 465 is also returned (turned off).

Here, in the case of the device using the configuration of this embodiment as described above, it is possible to perform the operations shown in the following (1) to (3). (1) The stapler 451 is made to stand by at the staple position in advance. Since the position where the document is stapled is detected in advance when the document passes through the staple detection roller 301, the re-stapling position of the document is already detected before the document is discharged. Further, since the original conveyance path is out of the movement path of the stapler 451, the stapler 45 is not ejected after all the originals have been discharged.
Instead of moving 1, the stapler 451 can be made to wait at the re-stapling position before the first original is ejected. In this operation, the solenoid 457 of the stapler moving clutch 456 is used for the time required to move the stapler 451 to the re-staple position by using the driving force of the paper discharge motor 432 that rotates to discharge the first original. It becomes possible by operating (ON).

(2) The re-stapling position is arbitrarily designated. In the present embodiment, the re-stapling position can be arbitrarily designated regardless of the original stapling position of the stacked documents. When the user wants to perform stapling at a position different from the original stapling position of the document, the user specifies the re-stapling position by the stapling position designation key 466 on the operation panel shown in FIG. As a result, when the re-stapling position of the original is designated, the stapler 45
By changing the driving time of the paper discharge motor 432 or the operating time of the solenoid 457 of the stapler moving clutch 456 when moving the stapler 1, the stapler 451 is moved to the designated staple position.

(3) One bundle of documents is separated into a plurality of copies by stapling.

When the originals that have been bundled into one bundle at the time of stacking are separated into a plurality of copies by stapling, the user presses the staple number designation key 467 on the operation panel shown in FIG. The input key 469 is used to input the number of pages of the document which is the highest page of each document when divided into a plurality of copies, and the number of documents conveyed by the document length detection sensor 406 or the paper discharge detection sensor 435 is input. Counted and designated 1
The stapling operation is performed when the number of bundles is conveyed. Then, after the stapled document is moved by the staple-finished document moving device described later, the document is conveyed and stapled again.

Next, the structure of the stapling completion document moving device will be described. This staple end document moving device 4
Reference numeral 70 denotes a document that is re-stapled by the stapler 451 and becomes two or more bundles by stapling, after the first bundle of documents is discharged and stapled and before the second bundle of documents is discharged. In addition, it has a function of moving the staple-finished original of the first bundle and retracting the staple-finished original of the first bundle from the staple position of the original of the second bundle.
The staple-finishing original moving device 470 of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the stop claw 4 that is on standby at the staple P-side end of the document stack O discharged onto the discharge tray 434.
Has 71. The stop claw 471 is supported by the end of a swingable lift lever 476, and is lifted by swinging the lift lever 476 by turning on / off the lift solenoid 475. Also, stop claw 4
71 is a bracket 47 together with the lift solenoid 475.
It is arranged on the No. 7. The bracket 477 is reciprocally moved in the document conveyance direction by the forward and reverse rotations of a pinion 474 that meshes with a rack 478 provided on the bracket 477. As shown in FIG. 52, the pinion 474 is connected to the gears 437a, 437b, 437c from the return roller motor 437.
The driving force transmitted via the stop claw moving clutch 472 is controlled to be intermittent by a solenoid 473 provided in the stop claw moving clutch 472, so that the forward and reverse directions are performed via the gears 472a and 474b and the pinion drive shaft 474a. Is rotated.

In FIG. 51, after the first bundle of originals has been stapled, the pinion 474 causes the return roller motor 437 to move.
When the stop claw 471 is rotated by receiving a driving force from the end fence 439, the stop claw 471 moves to an operation position on the upstream side of the end fence 439 in the transport direction and is stopped. The stop claw 471 reaching this operation position is operated by the solenoid 475. Due to
It is lifted to a height facing the end of the first bundle of documents O (FIG. 53). When the raising of the stop claw 471 is completed, the return roller motor 437 starts reverse rotation in this state, and the stop claw 471 is moved in the document discharge direction. As a result, the first bundle of documents is pushed by the stop claws 471, moved to the downstream side on the paper discharge tray 434, and retracted from the staple position of the stapler 451. When the stop claw 471 reaches the standby position, the return roller motor 437 stops rotating, the solenoid 475 returns, and the leading end of the stop claw 471 retracts the first stack of documents O from the staple position. It is held at the set position (FIG. 54). By repeating the above operation for the second and subsequent original bundles, the stapling operation for each original bundle can be executed smoothly without any trouble.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, after the staples are removed, the bundle of originals which has been processed (copied) is again provided.
Although the sheet conveying device configured to staple is shown, this embodiment can also be used as a sheet conveying device of a cutting device that cuts a document bundle into small pieces and discards them. An example in which the sheet conveying device of the present invention is applied to a sheet cutting device will be described below.
55, the document to be cut is stacked on the document table 1, and when the document set sensor 7 detects this document, the document table 1 is raised and the document is electrostatically attracted to the belt 51. Close to. At the same time, the electrostatic attraction belt 51 charged by the electrode roller 58 starts rotating. The loaded documents are electrostatically adsorbed when they come into contact with the electrostatic adsorption belt 51, and are conveyed as the electrostatic adsorption belt 51 rotates. The transported document is further transported by the transport belts 110 and 111 and reaches the staple removing device 300 (details are described above). As described above, the staple removing device 300 detects the presence and position of the staple P on the document, removes the staple P, and conveys the staple P to the cutting unit. The cutting unit of this embodiment is composed of a pair of rotating cutting rollers 8 and 9, and the document conveyed to this is cut by the sliding contact portion (FIG. 56) between the cutting disks 8a and 9a. The cut pieces of paper are dropped into the collection unit 10 and stored.

By the way, since the purpose of this sheet cutting device is to cut and discard the conveyed sheet, as the staple removing device, the detected staple needles are punched and removed together with the surrounding sheets. Alternatively, the punch may have a large diameter. Thus, by using the punch as the staple removing means, the configuration and operation of the staple removing device can be simplified.

Next, the control of the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 57 shows a schematic block diagram of the control device for the operation of the sheet conveying apparatus according to the present invention.
The sheet conveying device according to the present invention, as shown in FIG.
When a document bundle bundled by stapling (hereinafter referred to as document bundle) and a document bundle in which only one document is mixed (hereinafter referred to as mixed document bundle) are set, they are roughly separated. A document bundle separating unit 501, a feeding unit 502 for feeding the separated document bundle, a staple position detecting unit 503 for detecting a staple position, a staple removing unit 504 for removing staples, and a staple-removed document. A separating unit 505 that separates the bundle one by one and conveys the bundle onto the contact glass, a conveying unit 506, a reversing unit 507 that reverses and discharges the document fed on the contact glass, and a discharge unit 508. , A re-stapling unit 509 that staples the discharged original document again, and an operation unit 510 that the operator inputs. However, the operation unit 51
For 0, it is possible to use the operation unit of the image forming apparatus which is the main body of the sheet conveying apparatus. Each of the above parts is 1
The CPU 511 is sequentially controlled by one or a plurality of CPUs 511, and the CPU 511 and the CPU 512 included in an image forming apparatus such as a PPC, which is a main body, are connected by a serial or parallel communication line, and the main body is informed of the status of the apparatus at any time. Or, receiving an instruction from the main body,
It is configured so that the device can be controlled as it is. Further, FIGS. 58 to 61 show flowcharts of the operation of the entire apparatus, and FIG. 62 shows a time chart. Hereinafter, the control operation of each unit of the present apparatus will be described step by step.

(1). Operations of the original bundle separating unit 501 and the feeding unit 502. In FIG. 1, an operator staples a bundle of originals (this bundle of originals may be a single copy or a plurality of copies, unstapled originals may be mixed, or only unstapled originals). When is set on the document table 1, the document setting sensor 7 provided on the document table is turned on (point B in FIG. 62). At this time, the operator adjusts the side guides 11 and 1 of the document table 1 according to the width of the document.
2 (FIG. 2). A detection filler 13 is provided on the side guide 12, and the document width sensors 14A, 14B installed on the document table main body 1A corresponding to the document width.
14C detects the position of the detection filler 13 to detect the width of the document. In the time chart of FIG. 62, the case where only the document width sensor 14A is turned on is illustrated.

Next, when the operator presses the start key (point A in FIG. 62), the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 is turned on, and at the same time, the AC voltage applying power supply 62 is turned on. The AC voltage applying power source 62 and the electrostatic attraction belt 51 are in contact with each other via the electrode roller 58 and the electrode plate 60, and non-uniform electrolysis is formed on the surface of the electrostatic attraction belt. Electrostatic adsorption belt 51
And the ON time (t1) of the AC voltage applying power source 62 is set to a length necessary for adsorbing the original document. Here, the AC voltage applying power source 62 is turned off when the position where the application of the AC voltage is started exceeds the leading end in the original feeding direction. To

After the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 and the AC voltage application power source 62 are turned off, the document table vertical movement motor 15
(FIG. 2) is turned on to raise the document table 1. At this time,
The timing for turning on the platen vertical movement motor 15 does not necessarily have to be after the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 and the AC voltage application power supply 62 have been turned off, and as shown in FIG. It is also possible to start the document table vertical movement motor 15 in advance. As a result, when the document table 1 rises, the document height detection sensor 5 turns on at a predetermined position. The CPU 511 starts measuring time from this timing, and stops the document table 1 after t2 seconds. This is to ensure that the uppermost surface of the document is in close contact with the electrostatic attraction belt 51. Then, after t3 seconds, the document table vertical movement motor 15 is turned on to the descending side to descend the document table 1. This t3 is the time required for adsorption. Platen 1
Is lowered to a position where the uppermost surface of the second original is reliably separated from the lowermost surface of the first original and stopped (C in FIG. 62).
point). After that, the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 is turned on to convey the attracted document to the conveyor belts 110 and 111. The electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 also serves to drive the conveyance belts 110 and 111, and thereafter keeps on until the original is conveyed to the staple removing unit 504.

(2). Operation of the staple position detection unit 503. When the document conveyed by the conveyance belts 110 and 111 turns on the document leading edge detection sensor 123, the pressure solenoid 303 is turned on to turn on the staple detection roller 30.
1, 302 is pressed and the position of the staple P is detected.
Next, after the time t4 seconds from when the leading edge of the document turns on the document leading edge detection sensor 123 to when it reaches the nip between the staple sensing rollers 301 and 302, the drive motor 301c of the staple sensing roller 301 on the pressure sensitive center fixed side, The drive motor 302c of the staple detection roller 302 on the movable side of the pressure-sensitive center is simultaneously turned on. When the staple position detection by the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 ends (point D in FIG. 62), the pressure solenoid 303
Is turned off to release the pressure of the staple detection rollers 301 and 302, and the drive motors 301c and 302c are turned off at the same time. After that, the drive motors 301c and 302c are reversely rotated to return the detection portions of the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 to the initial state. This is because the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 do not have sensing portions on the entire peripheral surface,
This is because the sensing portion is provided only in the area for detecting the position of the staple, and the staple detecting rollers 301, 30 are also provided.
This is because it has a signal extracting means such as a harness for electrically connecting the electrode at 2 to the CPU 511. That is, when the staple detecting rollers 301 and 302 are rotated in only one direction, the signal extracting means such as a harness becomes entangled. Here, the staple detection rollers 301 and 302 which do not have such signal extraction means
If so, the staple detection rollers 301, 302 are not always required.
No action is required to return. If the staple position detecting unit 503 does not detect the staple P, it is determined that this original is only one and the following (3)
Of the re-separation unit 50 directly without performing the staple removing operation of
The original is conveyed to 5.

(3). Operation of the staple removing unit 504. After the above staple position detection is completed, the information and
The CPU 511 calculates the time t5 until the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 is turned off based on the time from when the document leading edge detection sensor 123 is turned on, and the position of the document in the staple feeding direction of the staple removing device 300 is calculated. The original is conveyed until the position is reached, and the electrostatic adsorption belt drive motor 54
Is turned off (point E in FIG. 62). Then, the worm gear 30 that moves the staple removing device 300 in the thrust direction.
The drive motor 304a of No. 4 is rotated in the normal direction, that is, rotated so that the staple removing device 300 moves in a certain direction of the staple P, and the staple removing device 300 is moved right above the staple P. At this time, the movement amount of the staple removing device 300 is stored in the CPU 511 (point F in FIG. 62). Then, the base built-in motor (angle adjusting motor) 311 of the staple removing device 300 is rotated,
The angle of the staple P and the angle of the staple removing device 300 are matched (point G in FIG. 62). Then, the pressure solenoid (document pressing solenoid) 315 for pressing the document is turned on to hold the document, and the pressure cam drive motor 312a of the pressure cam 312 is turned on to operate the pressure cam 312 to punch out the staples. . When the pressure cam 312 has finished operating, the pressure cam drive motor 312a is turned off (point H in FIG. 62). Further, after turning off the document pressing solenoid 315, the angle adjusting motor 311 is rotated in the opposite direction to return the angle of the staple removing device 300 to the initial angle (points I and J in FIG. 62). Also, the worm gear 3
The drive motor 304a of 04 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the staple removing device 300 to the initial position. After these operations are completed, the electrostatic attraction belt drive motor 54 is turned on again (point K in FIG. 62) and moved until the leading end of the document stack from which the staple P has been removed reaches the re-separation unit 505 ( 62 (point L in FIG. 62). As described in (1), since the width of the set original is already recognized, the staple removing device 300 is moved in advance to the position of the width of the original to be sent based on the information. It is also possible to set it, and this state is shown in FIG. 62 (point M in FIG. 62).

(4). Re-separation unit 505 and transport unit 5
Operation of 06. In the re-separation unit 505 and the conveyance unit 506, the staple-removed document bundle is separated sheet by sheet and conveyed to the document reading unit (on the contact glass 413). As shown in FIGS. 39 and 63, after removing the staples, the conveying belts 110 and 111 are rotated to feed the original bundle from the staple removing unit 300. As a result, after the document presence / absence detection sensor 407 detects (turns on) the document bundle, after a time T401, the document bundle reaches the sheet separating device 401 of the re-separation unit 505, and the conveyance belts 110 and 111 there.
The drive motor 54 is stopped, the solenoid 405 of the sheet feeding clutch 404 and the conveyance motor 412 are turned on to rotate the sheet feeding roller 402, and the document is fed. Here, the carry motor 412 drives the carry belt 411 together with the paper feed roller 402. As a result, the re-separation unit 505 is in contact with the paper feed roller 402.
Only one original is conveyed and separated from other originals. Then, after the time T404 after the trailing edge of the separated and conveyed document passes through the document length detection sensor 406, the solenoid 405 of the sheet feeding clutch 404 is turned off to cause the sheet feeding roller 4 to move.
Stop the rotation of 02. On the other hand, the transport belt 411 transports the document onto the contact glass 413, the transport motor 412 rotates forward to set the document at a predetermined position on the contact glass 413, and the document length detection sensor 406 operates after the time T402. Time T405 after turning on at the leading edge of the document
It is rotationally driven until is passed. Further, the length of the document is determined from the ON time T403 of the document length detection sensor 406, the number of times the document length detection sensor 406 is turned on is counted by a counter, and the number of conveyed documents is stored (FIG. 59). Then, when the conveyance motor 412 is stopped after the lapse of time T405, the image forming apparatus (copier)
A signal is sent to the CPU 512 of the main body, and the contact glass 4
The process moves to the reading / copying (FIG. 60) operation of the original document conveyed / set at a predetermined position on 13.

(5). Reversing unit 507 and paper discharge unit 50
8 movements. In the reversing unit 507 and the paper discharge unit 508, the front and back of the document discharged from the contact glass 413 are reversed and discharged in order to arrange the order and the front and back of the document. As shown in FIGS. 39 and 64, after the CPU 512 of the main body of the copying machine receives a reading end signal of a document conveyed / set on the contact glass 413, the conveyance motor 412
Is rotated in the normal direction again, the conveyor belt 411 is rotated, and the document on the contact glass 413 is sent out. This allows
At time T410 after the conveyance motor 412 is turned on, the leading edge of the document reaches the reversing device 420. Therefore, after this time T410, the paper discharge motor 432 is driven to drive the reverse roller 4
21 is rotated to further feed the document. At this time, since the reversal switching solenoid 423 is in the off state, the document is again conveyed by the reversal switching claw 422 by the reversing switching claw 422.
It is reversely conveyed in the direction of 11. Then, before the front end of the document that has been inverted and conveyed reaches the conveyance belt 411 (after time T411 after the paper discharge motor 432 is turned on), the conveyance motor 412 is temporarily stopped to stop the rotation of the conveyance belt 411. After this time T412, the conveyance motor 4
12 is driven in the reverse direction to feed the original again between the conveyor belt 411 and the contact glass 413. The paper discharge motor 432 operates for a time T4 depending on the length of the separated and conveyed original.
Rotate only 13 and stop. Further, the conveyance motor 412 is also stopped after a time T414 corresponding to the length of the original, and the conveyance belt 411 is stopped. At this time, the document is stopped at the same position as the document reading position.
In this way, the entire area of the original document is conveyed again to the transport belt 411.
Between the contact glass and the contact glass, the front and rear edges and the front and back are transferred in the opposite way. Next, after the time T415 after the conveyance motor 412 is stopped and the conveyance belt 411 is stopped, the reversal switching solenoid 423 is turned on and the reversal switching claw 422 is rotated to open the document discharge path. At the same time, the transport motor 412 is again driven in the normal direction to drive the transport belt 4
11 is rotated in the forward direction, and the document is conveyed again toward the reversing device 420. Then, after a time T416 after the transport motor 412 has been driven in the forward direction again, the sheet discharge motor 432 is driven in the forward direction again to transport the document toward the sheet discharge tray 434. Next, when the time T417 elapses, the driving of the carry motor 412 is stopped, while the discharge detection sensor 435 detects that the document passes, and the trailing edge of the document passes through the discharge detection sensor 435. After the time T418, the number of rotations of the paper discharge motor 432 is decreased and the paper discharge speed of the discharged document is slowed down. This is to prevent the discharge position from varying due to inertia when the document is discharged to the discharge tray 434. Next, after the time T419 from the time when the paper discharge motor 432 is switched to the low speed until the original is completely discharged,
The driving of the paper discharge motor 432 is stopped, and at the same time, the reverse switching solenoid 423 is turned off, the reverse switching claw 422 is rotated to the reverse position 422a, and the reverse path of the reverse device 420 is opened. And time T420
After that, the return roller motor 437 is driven, and at the same time, the return roller solenoid 438 is turned on. This allows
The return roller 436 causes the document to move to the end fence 439.
After acting for a time T421 required for returning to the above position, the driving of the returning roller motor 437 is stopped and the returning roller solenoid 438 is turned off.

(6). Operation of the re-staple unit 509. The re-stapling unit 509 staples the original bundle discharged on the paper discharge tray 434 (original that was originally bound together) into a single bundle of originals. The operation required for re-stapling is divided into an operation of moving the stapler 451 to a position for re-stapling the document stack and an operation of driving the stapler 451 to staple the document stack. Here, in the former operation (movement of the stapler), the original staple position of the document or the designated position is detected in advance, so that before the document is ejected, the original staple position of the document is changed to the original staple position. The stapler 451 can be made to stand by in advance, and this operation can shorten the re-stapling processing time.

First, the movement of the stapler 451 will be described. As described above, since the staple position information is already obtained at the time when the leading edge of the document is sent to the document length detection sensor 406, as shown in FIG. 65, it is time after the document presence sensor 407 is turned on. After T430, the solenoid 457 of the stapler moving clutch 456 is turned on, and after the time T431, the paper discharge motor 432 is driven to rotate normally to move the stapler 451. The drive time T432 of the paper discharge motor 432 at this time is determined by the position where the document stack is stapled, and when the stapler 451 reaches the staple position of this document stack,
The paper discharge motor 432 is stopped and the time T4
After 33, the solenoid 457 of the stapler moving clutch 456 is turned off, and before ejecting the original, the stapler 451 is made to stand by in advance at the original staple position of the original. Next, the stapling operation will be described. This stapling operation can be performed only after all the originals to be bound are discharged. Therefore, after the stapler 451 is moved, a series of separation / feeding to reversing / paper ejection from the above (1) to (5) is performed until one bundle of originals to be re-stapled is ejected. Make an action. Then, as shown in FIG. 66, the return roller motor 437 for driving the return roller 436 and the return roller solenoid 438 are driven for the time T421, and the last original to be bound is returned to the end fence 439 by the return roller 436. When the return roller motor 437 for driving the return roller 436 and the return roller solenoid 438 are both turned off, a stapling start signal is output, and after the time T465 after receiving this signal, the return roller motor 437 is operated by the jogger 462. The drive is driven in the forward direction again and the solenoid 465 of the jogger moving clutch 463 is turned on. This allows the jogger 4
The reference numeral 62 moves by a stroke corresponding to the width of the original detected in advance to adjust the disorder of both sides of the original on the paper discharge tray 434, and the return roller motor 437 which moves the jogger 462 is moved. When it is operated for a time T466 and stopped, it stops at the moving position and supports the document stack from the side. Then, this return roller motor 437
After the time T467 after the
At time T468, the sheet 54 normally rotates to strike the staples on the original bundle and temporarily stops, and after that time T469, the stapler 451 is reversed again for the period T470 to return the stapler 451 to the standby state before hitting the staples. Next, after the staple motor 454 is stopped again, the time T471
After that, in order to return the jogger 462 to the original position, the return roller motor 437 is reversely rotated for the time T472. Further, in parallel with this operation, after the time T481 after the staple motor 454 is stopped, the stapler moving clutch 456 solenoid 45 is used to return the stapler 451.
7 is turned on, and after the time T482, the discharge motor 4
32 in the reverse direction to return the stapler 451 to the home position (in this embodiment, the stapler 451 is set to the staple position side of the document bundle where the moving distance is short, and the moving time is shortened), and after the time T483, the paper discharge motor 432 is turned on. While stopping, the stapler moving clutch 456 solenoid 457 is turned off after time T482.

(7). Moving operation of the document stack moving unit 513. The document stack moving unit 513 is similar to the other units in the CPU 5
11 connected to operate. Further, the original stack moving unit 5
A reference numeral 13 moves the processed original bundle that has been re-stapled to a position where it does not hinder the re-stapling operation of the next conveyed original bundle, and finishes processing with the next conveyed original bundle. It is composed of a staple end document moving device 470 for separating a plurality of document bundles. As shown in FIG. 66, time T4 has elapsed after the above-described re-stapling operation is completed.
After 73, the return roller motor 437 is again driven in the forward direction as a means for moving the staple-finished document, and the solenoid 473 of the stop claw moving clutch 472 is turned on to move the moving portion of the staple-finished document moving device 470 to the end fence 439 side. To move. This moving unit stops when the stop claw 471 is positioned outside the end fence 439 by the return roller motor 437 normally driving for a time T474 to stop. Next, after a time T475 after the return roller motor 437 is stopped, the lift solenoid 475 of the stop claw 471 is turned on to raise the stop claw 471. The return roller motor 437 takes time T from when the lifting solenoid 475 is turned on.
After 476, reverse driving is performed, and while the stop claw 471 is raised, the staple-finishing document moving device 470 is operated in the sheet discharge direction.
The moving part of is moved backward. As a result, at the site of the end fence 439, the abdomen of the stop claw 471 is brought into contact with the end of the document stack that has undergone re-stapling, and this document stack is moved in the paper discharge direction. Then, after the time T477, the end portion of the original bundle does not interfere with the re-stapling operation of the next original bundle, that is, the predetermined position beyond the slit for stapling the next original bundle. When the position is reached, the return roller motor 437 and the solenoid 473 of the stop pawl moving clutch 472 are turned off.
Further, after time T478, the lift solenoid 475 of the stop claw 471 is turned off to lower the stop claw 471,
The claws at the upper ends of the stop claws 471 hold down the re-stapled document stack so as not to hinder the discharge operation of the document stack sent next.

Next, an outline of the overall processing of the above-described operation from separation to re-stapling will be described. In this example,
From the control side, All the original bundles in the original bundle group to be handled are re-stapled to their original positions without changing their states before and after the reading process. ． For any document bundle in the document bundle group to be handled, the document is read at any position on the leading edge of the document and discharged and then stapled again. ． With respect to an arbitrary original bundle of the original bundle group to be handled, re-stapling is performed at an arbitrary position on the leading end of the original between the continuous pages. It has basic functions such as.

First, the method of inputting the processing contents of the discharged original in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the processing contents are input in advance in order to automatically perform the processing after the copying operation of the document bundle group handled at one time. The input operation of the processing contents of the discharged original in this embodiment is performed by an operation panel (hereinafter abbreviated as a panel) provided on the original table 1. First, when the operation is on standby, the panel is in a state of accepting a processing mode, and a mode in which all the originals to be handled are discharged and processed as they are (corresponding to the above, hereinafter, this mode is referred to as a normal mode: M = 0. Or a mode in which the user can freely process a bundle of documents to some extent (corresponding to the above, this mode is hereinafter referred to as a select mode: M = 1).

Here, when the selected mode is M = 0, the input is terminated at this point, but when the selected mode is M = 1, the following processing is performed. That is, when the select mode: M = 1 is selected, as shown in FIG. 67, the counters i and j are both reset (i = 0, j = 0), and then 1 is added to the counter i. Then, the operator inputs the order of the document bundle to be processed. The order of the document bundle input here is the feeding order, that is, a numerical value obtained by counting the document bundles placed on the document table 1 from above (for example, the document bundle to be processed is three bundles from the document table 1). If it is placed in the eye, the value is "3"). It is assumed that the numerical value of the order of the original bundle to be processed by this operator is bi (here i = 1). Next, with respect to the designated original bundle, it is selected whether the entire original bundle is processed collectively (ai = 0) or divided into certain pages (ai = 1). Here, when ai = 1 is selected, first, 1 is added to the counter j, and the first page Pij to be divided (here, still,
(i = 1, j = 1) is input (for example, when the pages to be divided are the first to fifth pages of the designated document bundle, Pij = 1). Then, the number of sheets (5 sheets in the example) Sij (here, Sij = 5) of this bundle of originals is input. After that, the re-stapling position for this document bundle is specified. Here, either the case of stapling the original position (Fxij = 0) or the case of re-stapling at the free position (Fxij = 1) is specified. select. The re-staple position for this document stack is Fxi
If j = 1, then the re-staple position xij
Enter. Here, since the document bundle is biased to the side fence 440 of the paper ejection tray 434 by the jogger 462, the distance from the document edge on the side fence side is input as the re-staple position Fxij for this document bundle ( For example, xij = 20 mm). Also, Fxij
When = 0, the next process is performed without inputting the re-stapling position for this document bundle. On the other hand, even in the case of ai = 0 as described above (the entire document is collectively processed), the input of Pij and Sij is skipped and the staple position designation routine is executed so that the re-stapling can be performed at any position. In this way, after the re-stapling position of the specified document bundle is specified, if ai = 1, it is selected whether or not to process the same document bundle. When the same document bundle process remains (for example, in the above example, when binding the 6th page to the 10th page of the last page of the 3rd document), the process returns to the process of adding 1 to the counter j. . Also, a
When i = 0 and when the processing of this original bundle has been completed, it is selected whether or not to process another original bundle. Here, when another document bundle process is selected, the process returns to the process of adding 1 to the counter i, and the process content is designated. On the other hand, if the processing of the other document bundle is the same as the processing of the normal mode, the input routine is ended there. When the input routine is finished, the final i
Is incremented by 1 and the numerical value bi of the order of the original bundle exceeds the number of original bundles that can be handled (bi = 99 in this case).
Is input to create a processing condition table for discharged originals.
An example is shown below. The (Example 1) When you select the normal mode (M = 0), and b ₁ = 99. (Example 2) Distance of 2 pages from the edge of the side fence side of the first half 5 pages of the third bundle of the original consisting of 10 pages
When re-stapling at the position of 0 mm and re-stapling the latter half 5 pages at the original stapling position before the staple removal (M = 1), b ₁ = 3, a ₁ = 1 and P ₁₁ = 1 and S ₁₁ = 5, Fx ₁₁ = 1,
x ₁₁ = 20 b ₁ = 3, a ₁ = 1, P ₁₂ = 6, S ₁₂ = 5, Fx ₁₂ = 0,
Based on the processing condition table of b ₂ = 99, the actual operation is controlled.

That is, the actual control of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
This is performed based on the overall processing routine shown in 8. FIG. 69 shows a routine for processing a single original in this overall processing routine, FIG. 70 shows a routine for re-stapling the original bundle as it is, and FIG. FIG. 71 shows a routine for dividing a bundle of documents into designated pages and re-stapling them, and FIG. 73 shows a stapler moving routine in these subroutines. Also, in FIG.
FIG. 74 shows the operation timing of each element in the routine for processing a single original shown in FIG. 74, and FIG. FIG. 76 shows the operation timing of each element in the routine for specifying the stapling position and re-stapling the original bundle without dividing it. In the routine for dividing the original bundle shown in FIG. Figure 7 shows the operation timing of each element
7 respectively.

By the way, the staple removing device 300 in the above embodiment is configured to remove the staples from the bundle of originals by punching out the staples P. This staple removing device pulls out the staples from the bundle of originals. Alternatively, it may be removed. 78 to 81 show a staple removing device configured to pull out and remove the staples from the original bundle as described above. As shown in FIG. 78, this staple removing device 300 ′ includes a document pressing member 313 ′ that is fitted to the movable side rotation unit 309 so as to be movable back and forth similarly to the document pressing member 313 in the above-described embodiment, and the above-described embodiment. It is composed of a staple holding claw 314 'that holds a staple in place of the original punching blade 314 in the example, and a pull-out solenoid 315' that pulls up the staple holding claw 314 'in place of the pressure solenoid 315 in the above-described embodiment. .

Here, the staple holding claw 314 'is composed of a pair of left and right holding claws 314'a and 314'b which can be freely opened and closed (FIG. 79). It is openably and closably supported by a support shaft 313'a (Fig. 80) pivotally supported on the upper end of the member 313 '. Further, each of the holding claws 314'a and 314'b of the staple holding claw 314 'has an opening / closing link 31.
6'is connected to the extraction solenoid 315 '(see FIG. 7).
8) and the opening / closing link 316 ′ is turned on / off by the pull-out solenoid 315 ′.
78 and 81 by moving forward and backward with respect to 3 '.
As shown in, each of the holding claws 314'a and 314'b is configured to open and close.

This staple removing device 300 'is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the state where the original stack O is stopped with its staple P facing the staple holding claw 314 ′,
First, the movable side rotation unit 309 rotates the staple holding claw 314 ′ so as to match the direction of the staple P. Next, the staple holding claw 314 '
, The original pressing surface 313′b of the original pressing member 313 ′ and the holding claws 31 are aligned with the orientation of the staple P.
The leading end portions of 4'a and 314'b are pressed against the document stack O (this causes the head of the staple P to be slightly lifted from the surface of the document stack O, and the head of the staple P and the document stack O).
There is a gap with the surface of). Extraction solenoid 31
5'is turned on in this state, whereby each holding claw 31 of the staple holding claw 314 ', as shown in FIG.
4'a, 314'b are closed by an opening / closing link 316 ', the heads of the staples P are held by the respective holding claws 314'a, 314'b, and the staple holding claws 314' are pulled up, so that the original Bundle O to staple P
Is pulled out. After that, the document pressing member 313 'returns to the initial standby position, the pull-out solenoid 315' is turned off, and the document stack O is conveyed toward the next re-separation unit.

[0076]

According to the constitution of claim 1 of the present invention,
A sheet bundle or a sheet can be separated and fed from a group of sheets in which a stapled sheet bundle and a sheet are mixed and loaded, and a staple is provided. Sheet bundle to stay
Since the pull can be removed automatically, the stapled staple
It is possible to remove all staples from a group of sheets in which a sheet bundle and a sheet are mixed and loaded without requiring manpower.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, since the originals can be separated and fed one by one from the staple-free original bundle, -All the subsequent work can be performed automatically simply by placing the original stack on which the pulled original stack and a single original are mixed and placed on the original table.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, labor for manually re-staping a copied document can be saved and the operability is improved.

According to the structure of claim 4 of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the inventions of claims 1 to 4,
Place the unpulled original on the platen,
Since the documents are directly separated and fed without passing through the staple removing means, the document conveying speed can be improved and the productivity can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even if the stapled bundle of sheets to be discarded and one sheet are mixed and loaded, these staples are manually loaded. It is not necessary to remove them by cutting, and the cutting and discarding of these can be automatically performed only by placing the sheet group on the sheet group mounting table.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the fifth aspect of the invention, staple removal on the sheet bundle can be achieved with a simple configuration.

According to the configuration of claim 7 of the present invention, in the automatic document feeder, when the document placed on the document table is a stapled document, this staple is automatically set. The staples are removed and the sheets are separated and fed one by one. Therefore, the labor of manually removing the staples can be omitted, the operability can be improved, and the stapled originals can be stapled.
Documents can be prevented from being damaged because they are not separately fed without removing the pull. Further, according to the present invention, since the staple removing means waits in advance on the side corresponding to the upper left of the document being conveyed, the time required for moving the staple removing means can be shortened, and the time required for document processing can be reduced. Can be shortened.

According to the structure of claim 8 of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 7, the standby position of the staple removing means can be changed in advance according to the size of the document, so that the document processing can be performed. The time can be further shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a configuration of a separation unit and a feeding unit of the original bundle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a separation unit and a feeding unit of the original bundle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a staple detection roller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the surface layer portion of the staple detection roller in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a staple detection unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a staple detection circuit diagram of a staple detection unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a staple detection roller driving means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of a staple detection roller driving means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a staple removing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the staple removing device driving means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a staple removing device driving means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a movable side base of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a receiving side base of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of a movable side rotation unit of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a receiving side rotation unit of the staple removing device in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary unit driving means of the staple removing device in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic side view showing an operation mode of the document pressing member and the punching blade of the staple removing device in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic side view showing an operation mode of the document pressing member of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a schematic side view showing an operating mode of the punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a schematic side view showing still another operation mode of the document pressing member and the punching blade of the staple removing device in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a schematic side view showing another operation mode of the document pressing member of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a schematic side view showing another operation mode of the punching blade of the staple removing device in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a front view of a punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a side view of the punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of a cutting edge of a punching blade of a staple removing device according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is another cross-sectional view of the cutting edge of the punching blade of the staple removing device in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a front view of another punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a front view of another punching blade of the staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of the tip of another punching blade of the staple removing device in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a schematic side view of a re-separation unit for a stack of documents according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a schematic plan view of driving means of the re-separation unit in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a schematic side view of the paper feed clutch of the drive unit of the re-separation unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a schematic plan view showing a detection position of a document width detection sensor for a document according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 36 is a schematic side view showing a manual sheet feeding state of the re-separation unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration from the re-separation unit to the paper discharge unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a document separating operation from the re-separating section to the conveying section according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration from the staple position detection unit to the paper discharge unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a document transport operation from the transport unit to the reversing unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a document reversing operation from the reversing unit to the conveying unit in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 42 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an operation of discharging a document from the transport unit to the reversing unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a document discharging operation from the reversing unit to the paper discharging unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the operation state of the return roller in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a document returning operation state of the returning roller according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 46 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the operation state of the return roller in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a schematic side view of the jogger moving mechanism in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a schematic plan view of the stapler moving mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a schematic perspective view of a stapler drive mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a partial plan view of the operation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a schematic side view of the staple-finished original moving device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52 is a schematic plan view of a drive mechanism of the staple-finished original moving device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a schematic side view showing a document bundle moving start state of the staple-finishing document moving device in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 54 is a schematic side view showing a document bundle moving completion state of the staple-finishing document moving device in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 55 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a sheet cutting apparatus configured by using a means from a document bundle separating section to a staple removing section in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 56 is a schematic plan view of a cutting roller of the sheet cutting apparatus configured by using the means from the original bundle separating section to the staple removing section in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 57 is a block diagram showing a control device of each unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 58 is a flow chart showing the control operation of each unit from the separating unit to the staple removing unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 59 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the carrying section in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 60 is a flowchart showing the control operation of each unit from the re-separation unit to the paper discharge unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 61 is a flowchart showing the control operation of each unit from the re-stapling unit to the document stack moving unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 62 is a time chart showing operation timings of constituent elements of each unit from the separating unit to the staple removing unit in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 63 is a time chart showing operation timings of constituent elements of each unit from the re-separation unit to the transport unit in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 64 is a time chart showing the operation timing of the constituent elements of each unit from the reversing unit to the paper discharge unit in the example of the invention.

FIG. 65 is a time chart showing operation timings of constituent elements of the stapler moving means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 66 is a time chart showing operation timings of constituent elements of the re-stapling unit and the original stack moving unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing an input routine of the original stack processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 68 is a flow chart showing an overall processing routine in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 69 is a flowchart of a processing routine for one original according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 70 is a flowchart of a routine for re-stapling the original bundle as it is in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 71 is a flow chart of a routine for re-stapling by specifying only the staple position without dividing the original stack in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 72 is a flowchart of a routine for dividing a bundle of documents into designated pages and re-stapling them according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 73 is a flowchart of a stapler moving routine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 74 is a time chart in the processing routine of one original according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 75 is a time chart in the routine for re-stapling the original bundle as it is in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 76 is a time chart in a routine for designating only the staple position and re-stapling without dividing the document stack in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 77 is a time chart in a routine for dividing a bundle of documents into designated pages and re-stapling them in the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 78 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 79 is a perspective view of a staple holding claw in another staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 80 is a perspective view of a document pressing member in another staple removing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 81 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another staple removing device of the embodiment of the present invention during a staple removing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Document Plate 7 Document Set Sensor 8, 9 Cutting Roller 51 Electrostatic Adsorption Belt 58 Electrode Roller 64 Separation Claw 110, 111 Conveyor Belt 123 Document Leading Edge Detection Sensor 300 Staple Removal Device 301, 302 Staple Detection Roller 401 Sheet Separation Device 406 Document Length Detection sensor 407 Document presence / absence detection sensor 408 Document width detection sensor 410 Conveying device 411 Conveying belt 420 Reversing device 421 Reversing roller 431 Discharging roller 434 Discharging tray 436 Returning roller 451 Stapler 462 Jogger 466 Staple position designation key 467 Staple number designation key 468 Numeric keypad 469 Input key 470 Staple end document moving device 501 Document bundle separating unit 502 Feeding unit 503 Staple position detecting unit 504 Staple removing unit 505 Reseparation 506 transport unit 507 inverting unit 508 discharge unit 509 CPU 513 original bundle moving unit O original bundle P staples CPU 512 an image forming apparatus of the re staple unit 510 operation unit 511 sheet conveying device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor, Umitsu Fujishiro, 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Hidenori Kawabuchi, 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo No./Shares in Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Naofumi Horio 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ Incorporated Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Keisuke Hayashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock company Ricoh

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A sheet mounting table for mounting a plurality of sheets,
Separating and feeding means for separating and feeding a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets stapled from a plurality of sheets placed on the sheet mounting table, and the separating and feeding means. A sheet conveying means for conveying the separated sheet bundle or the sheet bundle, and a staple on the sheet bundle during the conveyance of the sheet bundle by the sheet conveying means. In order to stop the staple detecting means for detecting and the staple detected by the staple detecting means in a predetermined position,
A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, which has a conveying control means for controlling the sheet conveying means and a staple removing means for removing staples stopped at a predetermined position from the sheet bundle. . 2. A document stacking table on which a plurality of stapled document bundles and one document can be mixedly mounted, and a document stack stapled from the document group or one document is separately fed. Separating / feeding means, original conveying means for conveying the separated-fed original bundle or one original, and staple detecting means for detecting a staple on the original bundle during the conveyance of the original bundle. Then, in order to stop the staple detected by the staple detecting means at a predetermined position, a conveyance control means for controlling the document conveying means, and the staple stopped at the predetermined position are removed from the original stack. Staple removing means for
A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, comprising: a separate feeding unit that separates and feeds originals one by one from a bundle of originals from which staples have been removed. 3. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an original discharging tray on which the sheets or originals separated and fed by the separating and feeding means are stacked, It is characterized in that it has an original aligning means for adjusting irregularities of a plurality of sheets or originals discharged on the original discharge tray and a stapling means for stapling the sheets or originals on the original discharge tray. Sheet transport device with staple removal function. 4. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to claim 1, wherein the separating and feeding means directly acts on the placed sheet bundle or document bundle. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, comprising a sheet placing table or a document placing table. 5. A stapled sheet bundle and a sheet of sheet.
A plurality of sheets can be mixedly mounted on a sheet mounting table, and a separating and feeding means for separating and feeding a sheet bundle or a sheet of sheets stapled from the sheet group, and A sheet conveying means for conveying the separated sheet bundle or the sheet bundle, and a staple for detecting a staple on the sheet bundle during the conveyance of the sheet bundle. In order to stop the detecting means, the staple detected by the staple detecting means at a predetermined position, the conveyance control means for controlling the sheet conveying means, and the staple stopped at the predetermined position are intercepted. A staple removing function for removing the staple bundle from the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle cutting means for cutting the sheet bundle from which the staple has been removed. Transport device. 6. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to claim 5, wherein the staple removing means includes a sheet bundle and a staple on the sheet bundle. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, which is staple removing means for removing staples from the sheet bundle by punching with. 7. A staple document bundle placing table for placing the stapled document bundle with the document surface directed in a designated direction, and a document bundle placed on the staple document bundle placing table is conveyed. Document bundle conveying means, staple detecting means for detecting staples on the document bundle during conveyance of the document bundle,
In order to stop the staple detected by the staple detecting means at a predetermined position, the conveyance control means for controlling the document bundle conveying means and the staple stopped at the predetermined position are removed from the original bundle. A staple removing means, a staple removing moving means for moving the staple removing means in a direction perpendicular to the document bundle conveying direction by the document bundle conveying means, and a detection result of the staple detecting means. Removing control means for controlling the staple removing moving means, the control means for setting the standby position of the staple removing means on the left side of the document surface side of the conveyed document bundle, and the staple removing operation. 2. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, comprising: a separate feeding unit that separates and feeds originals one by one from a bundle of originals. 8. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function according to claim 7, further comprising a document size detecting means for detecting a size of a document placed on said staple document stacking table. A sheet conveying device with a staple removing function, wherein the removing movement control means is a control means for changing the standby position of the staple removing means according to the detection result of the document size detecting means.