JPH08112782A - Staple cartridge, staple package and sheet binding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate an operation of charging with a supplying staple by making a staple cartridge, completing a staple used out, repeatedly usable, to remove waste due to discarding the cartridge after only one time use and to correspond to ecology. CONSTITUTION: In a staple cartridge 3 having a staple supporting means 4 of supporting a plurality of sheet binding staples in the inside to be mounted in and demounted from a sheet binding device main unit, the cartridge 3 is provided with a staple supply port 16 against the staple supporting means by constituting openably/closably at least partly a side surface wall of the staple supporting means and provided with a means of releasing a condition of staple press energizing action of a staple press energizing means 6. Releasing and resetting the condition of staple press energizing action of the staple press energizing means are performed to be associated with opening/closing operation of a staple supply port part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises: a. A binding needle cartridge that has a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles (stapler needles, staple needles) and that is attached to and detached from a sheet binding device (stapler) b. Needle support means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles in the sheet binding device, or replenishing binding needle for a needle supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles in a binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from the sheet binding device Binding needle package in which the above is wrapped with a packaging material (binding needle package) c. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, a binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and a binding staple for feeding sheets to stop the binding of sheets. The present invention relates to a sheet binding device having sheet binding means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, printers, and facsimiles, and other various sheet output apparatuses, and sheet post-processing apparatuses such as sorters connected to the apparatus, sheet discharge units and sorting bins (sorting bins) An electric sheet binding device (electric stapler, which is arranged to perform staple binding processing for a plurality of sheets aligned in a tray)
Various types of electric staplers have been devised.

For example, the electric sheet binding apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 1-130902 and 5-38890 proposed by the present applicant has a binding needle as shown in FIG. 21 (a). Use the needle belt N. This needle belt N
Is a straight wire 1 (for example, a wire of 27 mm long, 0.5 mm long and 0.4 mm wide with a rectangular cross section having a cross section of 0.5 mm × 0.4 mm) that is straightly cut into a predetermined length, and horizontally arranges it for about 70 pieces. The strips are closely arranged side by side, and the adhesive layer 2 is thinly applied along the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped body on the surface of the central portion of the strip-shaped body with a predetermined width smaller than the width of the strip-shaped body. As a result, the individual binding needles 1, 1, ... Which are arranged side by side are connected in series.

The needle belts N as described above are piled up and down, for example, about 72 sheets to form a block body (hereinafter referred to as a needle belt block body, the binding needle 1 has a total of about 5,000 pieces), and this is shown in FIG. ), (C), and (d) are stored in the staple cartridge 3. (B) is an external perspective view of the staple cartridge 3, (c) is a vertical side view,
(D) is a bottom view.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a binding needle accommodating portion as a needle supporting means portion of the binding needle cartridge 3, which accommodates the above-mentioned needle belt block body A. The bottom portion of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 is formed as a band-shaped opening 5a in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 21 (d), and the needle belt block body A has both lower longitudinal sides on the left and right sides of the binding needle accommodating portion 4. It is received by riding on the upper surface of the front and rear shelf board portions 5, 5 which are respectively projected inward from the side plates. 6 is a needle pressing plate that comes into contact with the upper surface of the needle belt block A stored in the binding needle accommodating portion 4, 8 is an upper surface plate of the binding needle accommodating portion 4, and 7 is the upper surface plate 8 and the needle pressing plate 6. These are needle pressing springs that are contracted between them, and these constitute a binding needle pressing biasing means, and the needle belt block body A in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 has a needle pressing spring 7 on its upper surface via a needle pressing plate 6. In response to the compression reaction force, the inside of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 is constantly pressed and urged downward. Reference numeral 9 denotes a needle belt feed guide plate portion which extends and projects forward from the bottom portion of the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

The needle belt block A is accommodated in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3 from the upper surface opening thereof, on which the needle pressing plate 6 and the needle pressing spring 7 are placed, and the upper surface plate 8 is By binding the stopper claw portion 8a of the upper surface plate 8 into the engaging hole portion 4a on the side wall side of the binding needle accommodating portion while compressing the needle pressing spring 7 against the elasticity, the binding needle accommodating portion 4
The top opening of the is closed. Needle belt block A for the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3
And the needle pressing plate 6, the needle pressing spring 7 and the upper surface plate 8 are assembled by the manufacturer.

The binding needle cartridge 3 is mounted on a predetermined mounting portion of a sheet binding device body (not shown). In a predetermined mounting state, the bottom surface portion of the binding needle cartridge 3 is located at a position corresponding to the needle feeding means (friction feeding rotation belt or the like) 10 on the sheet binding device body side, and the needle feeding means 10 opens the bottom surface of the binding needle cartridge 3. The portion 5a comes into contact with the lower surface of the needle belt block body A housed in the binding needle housing portion 4.

In this state, the needle belt block A
The lower surface of the needle feeding means 10 is stably brought into contact with the needle feeding spring 10 and the needle pushing plate 6 with a predetermined force by a downward pressing urging force, and the lowermost part of the needle belt block A from the needle feeding means 10. The needle belt N is configured so that a sufficient feeding force acts on it.

The needle feeding means 10 feeds the lowermost needle belt N of the needle belt block A forward, and separates only the lowest needle belt N from the superposed needle belts thereon. It is sent out forward from the binding needle accommodating portion 4, further sent along the lower surface of the needle belt feed guide plate portion 9, and sent from the discharge port 9a to the needle driving portion of the sheet binding device body (not shown).

The staple driving portion of the main body of the sheet binding device is based on a staple driving (stapling operation) signal, and one end of the one binding needle 1 of the fed needle belt N is set at both end portions to the center portion of the staple. On the other hand, the operation of bending downward in a U-shape and the operation of driving the bent binding needle separately from the tip of the needle belt and pushing it down and driving it into the sheet in cooperation with the anvil are performed. Then, the above operation cycle is repeated for each staple driving signal, and the sheet binding process is sequentially performed.

When the individual staples 1 of the first lowest needle belt N are successively consumed and delivered, after the needle belt,
The next lowest needle belt N in the needle belt block body A of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 is continuously fed out, and the needle belt block body accommodated in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3 in this manner. The needle belt N of A is sequentially sent out from the lower one and used.

When the binding needle accommodating portion 4 becomes empty due to consumption of binding staples due to repeated stapling operations, a staple detecting means (not shown) detects the absence of staples and activates a display portion (not shown) to inform the user of a staple supply message. Is displayed / warned.

As in the apparatus of the above-mentioned example, a needle belt N in which straight wires are connected side by side as a binding needle is used, and the individual straight wires are sequentially bent into a U-shape at the needle driving portion. The device of the method of driving the sheet from the sheet can store a large number of binding needles in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 having a smaller capacity than the device of the method of using the binding body of the binding needles that are bent in the U-shape in advance, The device can be made compact.

[0014]

In the conventional apparatus as described above, the staple replenishment after the stapleless detection, display, and warning is performed by removing the stapleless staple cartridge 3 from the apparatus main body. , The binding needle accommodating portion is replaced with a new (new) binding needle cartridge 3 in which the staple belt is filled, and the binding needle cartridge without needles is discarded.

However, the staple cartridge without staples is simply the one in which the staples are consumed and the staple pressing means 6 to 8 and the like can be repeatedly operated without the need for replacement. Therefore, if the binding needle (needle belt block body A) can be resupplied to the binding needle accommodating portion 4, there is no problem in repeated use, and the binding needle cartridge itself costs a considerable amount. Therefore, it is uneconomical to make it a one-time disposable item, and is also against ecological awareness.

However, the binding needle cartridge as in the above-described example has a structure that does not consider resupplying and using the binding needle, and the user can easily open the binding needle accommodating portion 4 to re-load the binding needle. It could not be replenished.

If the staple needle cartridge 3 as in the above-mentioned example is forced to be replenished and reused, the staple needle cartridge will be disassembled.

That is, the upper plate 8 is opened from the upper surface of the binding needle accommodating portion 4, and the engaging claw portion 8a for fixing the upper plate 8 is engaged with the engaging hole portion 4a on the side wall of the binding needle accommodating portion. Remove it by prying it firmly with the tip of a finger. In this case, there are a plurality of engaging portions 8a and 4a, and the engaging force of these engaging portions 8a and 4a is so strong that it is difficult to unravel, and the engaging portions 8a and 4a and the binding needle accommodating portion are forcibly prune. A situation in which the side wall and the top plate 8 are destroyed is also likely to occur.

Further, when removing the upper surface plate 8, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the careless protrusion and loss of the needle pressing spring 7 that is contracted between the upper surface plate 8 and the needle pressing plate 6.

The needle pressing plate after the upper plate 8 can be removed, the needle pressing spring 8 and the needle pressing plate 7 are taken out, and the replenishing binding needle (needle belt block body) is stored in the binding needle accommodating portion 4. 6. The reassembling operation of the needle pressing spring 7 and the top plate 8 was also difficult for an amateur user.

Further, in the binding needle cartridge as in the above example, the reason why the replenishment of the binding needle is not considered is as follows. When the user replenishes the needles, the needle belt block body for replenishment is removed from the package, the needle belt block body is taken out naked, and when this is grasped and loaded into the binding needle accommodating section, the naked needle belt block It is easy to loosen the needle belts that are stacked on top and bottom of the body, and there is a difficulty in operability. When the disassembled needle belts are piled up and down again and loaded in the binding needle accommodating section, if they are not aligned properly, needle belt feeding failure or needle driving failure may occur, and the device function and reliability may deteriorate. What you can think of ... When the insertion posture and the insertion direction are specified when the staple belt block body is loaded into the binding needle accommodating portion, the user does not know or mistakes the specific insertion posture and the insertion direction. There is a possibility that the device function and reliability may be deteriorated by causing feed failure or needle driving failure (generally, when manufacturing staples, warp occurs on the surface formed by the needle belt due to various conditions, When bending into a U-shape immediately before driving the needle, the bending resistance varies depending on the bending direction.Therefore, the insertion posture and the insertion direction are specified when loading the staple belt block into the binding needle accommodating part, and the insertion posture is determined. Or when the insertion direction is wrong, it may cause needle belt feeding failure or needle driving failure).

In view of the above, the present invention is to disassemble the staple-free staple cartridge for loading and replenishing the staple for accommodating the staple in the staple accommodating portion as the internal needle supporting means. The staple cartridge can be used repeatedly without the need to eliminate the wasteful economy of one-time use of staple needle cartridges without needles, and is ecologically friendly. The purpose is to do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet binding device using such a binding needle cartridge.

Further, the handleability of the supply staple is improved so that the staple support means can be loaded without causing loosening, and the supply staple is inserted into the staple accommodating portion. Even when the posture and the insertion direction are correct, the supply staple can be correctly loaded into the staple accommodating portion without mistake so that the above-mentioned problems (1) to (3) can be dealt with. The purpose is to provide a package.

[0025]

The present invention provides a binding needle cartridge, a binding needle wrapping body, and a sheet binding device, which are characterized by the following configurations.

(1) A binding needle cartridge which has a needle supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles therein and which is attached to and detached from the main body of the sheet binding device, and at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means can be opened and closed. And a staple supply port for the needle support means.

(2) A sheet supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles therein, and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means, A binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from a binding device body, wherein at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided.
A binding needle cartridge comprising means for canceling the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means.

(3) A sheet supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles, and binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means, A binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from a binding device body, wherein at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided.
A binding needle cartridge configured to release the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means in conjunction with the opening operation of the binding needle supply port.

(4) A sheet supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles, and binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means, A binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from a binding device body, wherein at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided.
It is characterized in that the binding needle pressing urging means in the binding needle pressing urging action releasing state is returned to the binding needle pressing urging operating state in association with the closing operation of the binding needle supply port portion. Binding needle cartridge.

(5) A sheet having a needle supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles therein and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means, A binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from a binding device body, wherein at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided.
A binding needle cartridge configured to release and restore the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the binding needle supply port.

(6) Needle support means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of the sheet binding device, or needle support for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from the sheet binding device It is a binding needle wrapping body in which a replenishing binding needle for the means is wrapped with a wrapping material, and the wrapping material enclosing the replenishing binding needle is divided into a plurality of parts and is configured to be removable from the replenishing binding needle. Binding staple packaging.

(7) Needle support means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of the sheet binding device, or needle support for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from the sheet binding device A binding needle wrapping body in which a replenishment binding needle for the means is wrapped with a wrapping material, and one side of the wrapping body serves as a replenishment binding needle outlet, and normally prevents the replenishment binding needle in the packaging body from coming out from the outlet. A binding having a portion that has a portion for preventing the binding needle from coming out from the surface side of the package facing the outlet for the supplemental binding needle and pressing the supplemental binding needle in the package toward the outlet side for the supplemental binding needle A binding needle wrapping body characterized in that a staple outlet is forcibly opened and a supply binding staple in the wrapping body is pushed out.

(8) Needle support means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of the sheet binding device, or needle support for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from the sheet binding device A binding needle wrapping body in which a replenishing binding needle for the means is wrapped with a packaging material, and a means for identifying the insertion posture or the insertion direction of the replenishing binding needle for the needle supporting means is provided on the packaging material or the binding needle being packaged. A binding needle wrapping body characterized by the above.

(9) A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge is configured to open and close at least a part of the side wall of the needle supporting means that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles, and the binding needle cartridge with respect to the needle supporting means. A sheet binding device comprising a binding needle supply port.

(10) A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the loaded binding needles The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit configured to bind sheets by means of a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles, and the binding needles in the needle supporting unit are pressed against the binding needle feeding unit. Binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing, at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided, and binding of the binding needle pressing biasing means A sheet binding device comprising means for releasing a needle pressing biasing action state.

(11) A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the binding needles fed out. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit configured to bind sheets by means of a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles, and the binding needles in the needle supporting unit are pressed against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing, at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means is provided, and an opening operation of the binding needle replenishing port portion A sheet binding device characterized in that it is configured to release the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means in conjunction with the above.

(12) A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge containing a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit configured to bind sheets by means of a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles, and the binding needles in the needle supporting unit are pressed against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing, at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided, and the closing operation of the binding needle supply port part A sheet binding device, which is configured to return the binding needle pressing biasing means in the binding needle pressing biasing action released state to the binding needle pressing biasing action state in conjunction with the above.

(13) A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit configured to bind sheets by means of a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles, and the binding needles in the needle supporting unit are pressed against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing, at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means can be opened and closed, and a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means is provided, and the opening and closing operation of the binding needle supply port portion A sheet binding device, which is interlocked with the above-mentioned means to release and return the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means.

[0039]

[Action]

1) Needle supporting means for the staple cartridge (binding needle accommodating portion)
At least a part of the side wall (outer surface wall) of the binding device is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting device is provided. Can be easily opened without disassembling the cartridge, and the user can easily perform the loading / supply operation of the supply staple for the needle supporting means of the staple cartridge without needle.

Therefore, the staple cartridge without staples can be reused by replenishing the staple cartridge without discarding it, which is economical and ecological.

2) In the binding needle cartridge in which the binding needle pressing and urging means is provided in the needle supporting means, the binding needle pressing member of the binding needle pressing and urging means is in the needle supporting means when the needle is not present. Because it is in a state where it has been lowered to
A means for releasing the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means is provided, and at the time of replenishing the staple, the supply port is opened, and the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means is changed. By releasing and releasing the binding needle pressing member from the supplementary binding needle loading space in the needle supporting means portion, it is easy to load and supply the supplemental binding needle to the needle supporting means portion without being disturbed by the binding needle pressing member. You can do it. After the supply of the staples for supply, the supply port is closed, and the staple pressing means is returned to the staple pressing state.

3) By releasing or returning the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means or both of the cancellation and the return in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the binding needle supply port, Replenishment to the needle support means by automatically opening or closing the binding needle replenishing port to automatically release or return the binding needle pressing urging operation state of the binding needle pressing urging means or both of the releasing and the returning operation. Loading and replenishing operations of binding staples can be performed more easily and quickly.

4) As a packaging body of replenishing binding needles for the needle supporting means portion of the sheet binding device or the needle supporting means portion of the binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from the sheet binding device, By dividing the packaging material into a plurality of parts that can be removed from the supplementary binding needle and dividing and removing the packaging material before and after the loading operation of the supplemental binding needle into the binding needle accommodating portion, the supplemental binding needle is separated. It is possible to easily and easily load the needle supporting means with good operability without causing squeezing.

That is, during the needle replenishing operation, the wrapping material of the replenishing binding needle wrapping body is not completely removed and the replenishing binding needle is not taken out nakedly. A part of the binding needle is exposed and the exposed part is inserted into the needle supporting means. At this time, since the remaining supply staples other than the exposed portion are still bound by the remaining packaging material after division, it is possible to prevent the supply staples from coming apart. Next, the remaining portion of the packaging material is removed or while the remaining portion of the supplementary binding stapler is inserted into the needle supporting means. At this time, since a part of the replenishing binding needle has already been received in the binding needle accommodating portion, the replenishing binding needle does not become dislocated even if the remaining packaging material is removed from the replenishing binding needle.

In this way, since the supply staples can be loaded in the staple storage portion without being separated, the supply staples that are carelessly separated are realigned to support the needles. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation such as a staple feeding failure or a needle driving failure, which may occur due to poor alignment when the device is loaded.

5) Further, as the replenishment binding needle wrapping body, one surface side of the wrapping body is used as a replenishment binding needle outlet, and there is always a portion for preventing the replenishment binding needle in the wrapping body from coming out from the outlet. Then, the binding needle outlet having the binding needle slip-out preventing portion is forced by pressing the feeding binding needle in the packaging body from the surface side of the packaging body facing the feeding binding needle outlet to the feeding binding needle outlet side. Even when the replenishing binding needle in the package is opened and pushed out, the replenishing binding needle outlet of the replenishing binding needle wrapping body is made to correspond to the binding needle replenishing port of the binding needle accommodating portion to replenish the wrapping body. In the same manner as in the above 4), the supplementary staple is forced out of the replenishing staple outlet against the staple escape-preventing portion and pushed out of the package to be inserted into the staple accommodating portion. Supports the staples without breaking them It can be loaded against the stepped portion.

6) In the replenishing stapling needle wrapping body, identification means such as a mark that can identify the insertion posture or the inserting direction of the replenishing stapling needle with respect to the needle supporting means is provided on the packaging material or the binding needle. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation such as a staple feeding failure or a needle driving failure, which may occur when the user does not know or mistakes the particular insertion posture or insertion direction of the supply staple to the needle supporting means. .

[0048]

【Example】

<Embodiment 1> (Figs. 1 to 9) (1) Device side including sheet binding device (Fig. 1) Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration of an example of a sorter as a device including a sheet binding device (electric stapler). It is a figure.

20 is a sorter main body, 21 is a large number of bottles B ₁
A bin unit that Dan設the .about.B _n in the vertical, longitudinal guide rails 24 the bin unit 21 is supported by a spring 22 hanging against the sorter main body 20, also provided on the left and right side plates 23 of the sorter main body 20 It is arranged so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the.

The sorter main body 20 is connected to the sheet discharge port side of, for example, the image forming device M as a sheet output device, and has a carry-in port 25 and a carry-in roller pair 26 for carrying in the sheet P discharged from the image forming device M. Have The first sheet conveying path 27 and the upper discharge roller pair 28 extend in the direction from the carry-in roller pair 26 to the bin unit 21.
And a lower sheet discharge roller pair 30 facing the second sheet conveying path 29 and the bin unit 21 that branch from the carry-in roller pair 26 and face downward. A deflector 31 is disposed at a branch portion of both the sheet conveying paths 27 and 29, and the deflector 31 is selectively displaced so that the sheet to be discharged from the upper discharge roller pair 28 to the bin B of the bin unit 21. To the first sheet conveying path 27, and the sheet to be discharged from the lower discharge roller pair 30 to the bin B is guided to the second sheet conveying path 29.

The trunnions 32 provided in the bins B of the bin unit 21 are fitted into the guide rails 24 so that the trunnions 32 of the bins B are stacked, and the bin intervals of the bins are set to the outer diameter of the trunnion 32. And is supported by the bin unit 21 so as to be kept constant.

The bin unit 21 can be moved up and down along the guide rail 24 with the upper guide roller and the lower guide roller fitted in the guide rail 24.

A pair of lead cams (spiral cam means) 34 having a spiral cam surface are fixedly provided above the lead cam shafts 33 respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the sorter body 20, and a shift motor 35 is provided. When the left and right lead cams 34 rotate in the forward and reverse directions respectively by, the trunnion 3
2 is pushed by the cam groove of the lead cam 34 and is guided by the guide rail 24 to move up or down. Along with this, the bin unit 21 moves up or down with respect to the sorter body 20.

Bottle unit 21 for the sorter body 20
By the ascending or descending movement control for each bin of
The sheet P carried into the sorter main body 20 from the image forming apparatus M is sequentially distributed / sorted by the upper or lower discharge roller pair 28/30 into various constants / bins of a predetermined level in the bin unit 21, stacked / stored, and aligned. It

Reference numeral 36 is a sheet binding device disposed on the sorter body 20 side, and is controlled to move forward and backward between a sheet binding position which is advanced with respect to the bin B of the bin unit 20 and a standby position which is retracted. When the constants of the bin unit 21 and the predetermined number of sheets P are distributed and aligned in the predetermined bin,
The bin unit 21 is controlled to move up or down one bin at a time, and each time, the sheet binding device 36 performs the forward movement / sheet binding operation / backward movement operation control to perform binding processing for sheets in each bin. Is done.

(2) Sheet binding device 36 (FIGS. 2 and 3) FIGS. 2 and 3 are a side view and a plan view of the sheet binding device 36, respectively.

A staple (staple) unit 67 shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure includes a staple cartridge unit 3 capable of accommodating a plurality of staple belts N in which a plurality of staples are connected in a row in multiple stages.
A belt-shaped needle feed-out portion 10 that sequentially feeds the needle belt N from the cartridge portion 3 to the needle driving-in portion, and needles at the tip of the needle belt N fed by the needle feeding-out portion 10 are sequentially driven into the sheet P or the like for binding. It is composed of a needle driving part 67b which enables the operation. The cartridge 3 is a guide 67
Positioned by being guided by f.

The staple unit 67 has a rotation center 67c.
The upper unit of the staple unit 67 can be moved in the Y direction in FIG. 2 through the gear train by the rotation of the motor.
When the anvil portion 67d of the lower unit sandwiches the sheet P with each other, the hammer in the unit 67 pushes down the needle at the tip of the needle belt to perform staple driving.

The stapler cover 70 is screwed to the stapler attachment sheet metal 71, and the stapler attachment sheet metal 71 is attached to the staple unit 67.
The lower unit of the main body is fixed with screws.

Further, the stapler attachment sheet metal 71
Is a movable table 72 that reciprocates the staple unit 67.
It is fixed with screws. A moving guide 73 and a slider roller 75 (FIG. 3) are fixed to the lower part of the moving table 72, and drive from a stapler driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to the ring gear 79 via gears 76 and 77.

When the ring gear 79 rotates half a turn and the protrusion 79a rotates 180 °, the roller slider 75 moves the ring gear 7
It becomes possible to move in the X direction by a distance corresponding to the rotation diameter of the protrusion 79a of No. 9.

(3) Stapling Needle Driving Operation (FIG. 4) The stapling needle driving operation for the sheet P of the sheet binding device 36 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

A) From the binding needle cartridge 3 mounted on the staple unit 36, the binding needle feeding means 10 feeds the lowest needle belt N of the needle belt block A (N) to the front, and the lowest Only the needle belt N is separated from the superposed needle belt on top of it and sent out forward from the binding needle accommodating portion, and further, the needle belt feed guide plate portion 9
It is sent from the discharge port 9a to the needle driving part along the lower surface of the.

B) As shown in FIG. 4A, the tip portion of the lowest needle belt N sent from the outlet 9a to the needle driving portion has a slit hole 11a in the needle separating member 11 of the needle driving portion.
To the outermost side of the slit hole 11a, and the needle separating member 11
Needle bending block 12 abutted on the outside of the plate by a push spring 13.
The central portion except both end portions of the needle 1 is inserted into and held by the needle receiving groove portion 12a.

C) In this state, the U-shaped bending block 14 moves downward with respect to the needle bending block 12 based on the needle driving (stapling operation) signal, and the left and right downward leg portions 14a, 14a cause the needle bending block 12 to move. Both ends of the binding needle 1 (the one leading edge of the needle belt N) held in the needle receiving groove portion 12a of FIG.
As shown in (c), it is bent downward in a U-shape with respect to the center of the needle.

D) Subsequently, the needle driving hammer 15 (needle driving plate-shaped plunger) moves downward between the needle separating member 11 and the needle bending block 12, and the lower end of the needle driving hammer 15 is moved to the needle bending block. The needle bending block 12 retreats in the direction away from the needle separating member 11 against the pressing spring 13 by hitting the front downward sloping surface 12b of the upper surface of 12 (shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4D). . By retracting the needle bending block 12, the most distal end of the U-shaped bent binding needle 1 of the needle belt N is exposed from the needle receiving groove portion 12 a of the needle bending block 12.

When the needle driving hammer 15 is subsequently moved downward, the hammer 15 causes the needle separating member 11 and the needle bending block 1 to move.
The lower end of the hammer 15 abuts on the upper side of the most distal end of the U-shaped bent binding needle 1 of the needle belt N by being inserted between the needle 15 and the needle separating member 1.
It is pushed down between 1 and the needle bending block 12. At this time, the binding needle 1 and the slit hole 11 of the needle separating member 11
The adhesive layer portion connecting the next stapling needle 1 located within a is sheared, and only the most advanced U-shaped bent stapling needle is separated from the needle belt N.

E) The U-shaped bent binding needle 1 separated from the needle separating member 11 and the needle bending block 12 by the needle driving hammer 15 is placed on the anvil 67d therebelow. The sheets are stitched into the sheet P located, the downwardly bent leg portions penetrate the sheets, and are further re-folded inward by the anvil 67d, whereby the sheets are bound. FIG. 4D shows this state.

F) Next, the needle C-shaped bending block 12 and the needle driving hammer 15 move upward to the initial position and stand by. Along with this, the needle bending block 12 returns to the state of FIG. 4A in which the needle bending block 12 is in contact with the outer side of the needle separating member 11, and the needle belt feeding action of the needle feeding means 10 causes the needle receiving of the needle bending block 12. Only one binding needle 1, which is the most advanced after the needle belt N with respect to the groove portion 12a, has the slit hole 11a.
The needle sticks out and is held by the central part of the needle excluding both ends.

G) Then, for each needle driving signal, the above c) to
The operation cycle of f) is repeated and the binding process of the sheets is sequentially performed.

When the individual binding needles 1 of the first lowest needle belt N in the binding needle cartridge 3 are successively consumed and fed out sequentially, the needle belt is followed by the next needle belt block in the binding needle accommodating portion. The lowest needle belt N is continuously fed to the binding needle cartridge 3, and the needle belts N of the stacking block body of the plurality of needle belts stored in the binding needle accommodating portion of the binding needle cartridge 3 are sequentially arranged from the lower one. Sent to and used.

H) When the binding needle accommodating portion of the binding needle cartridge 3 becomes empty due to the sequential consumption of the binding staples due to the repeated stapling operation, the staple detecting means detects the absence of staples and activates the display portion to supply staples to the user. Display and warn a message.

(4) Binding Needle Cartridge 3 (FIGS. 5 to 9) The binding needle cartridge 3 of this embodiment is provided with a binding needle supply port that can be opened and closed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the binding needle cartridge when the binding needle supply port is opened, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the needle pressing plate 6, the needle pressing spring 7, and the binding needle supply port opening / closing cover plate 17. The same members and portions as those of the binding needle cartridge shown in FIG.

The binding needle cartridge 3 of this example has a needle belt feed guide portion 9 of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 as a needle supporting means.
A side wall portion (a cartridge rear wall portion) on the side opposite to the side is opened to serve as a staple supply port 16. Reference numeral 17 denotes an open / close lid plate for the binding needle supply port 16. The lid plate 17 has its left and right sides engaged with vertical guide plates 16a, 16a provided inwardly on the left and right sides of the binding needle supply port 16 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and by lowering the binding needle. Supply port 1
6 is closed, and the binding needle supply port 16 is opened by raising it.

In the case of this example, the binding needle accommodating portion 4 is interlocked with the operation of raising the lid plate 17 and opening the binding needle supply port 16.
The needle pressing plate 6 serving as the binding needle pressing member of the binding needle pressing biasing means is pulled upward in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 against the needle pressing spring 7, and is held at the pulling position. (Releasing the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means).

That is, the needle pressing plate 6 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 6a on the left and right sides thereof as shown in FIG. The left and right side walls of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 each have a double wall structure in which a space is provided between them as shown in FIG. And the needle pressing plate 6
The protrusions 6a on the left and right sides are engaged with the longitudinal slit slots 4b provided on the left and right inner side walls of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (d). The needle pressing plate 6 is free to move up and down in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 by being guided by the projecting piece 6a and the longitudinal slit elongated hole 4b, and like the cartridge of FIG. The needle pressing spring 7 contracted between the face plate 8 and the face plate 8 constantly presses and urges the binding needle accommodating portion 4 downward.

On the other hand, the horizontal fork arms 17a and 17a, which are bent in an L-shape substantially at right angles to the lid plate 17, are integrally projected on the left and right portions of the lower side of the lid plate 17 described above on the inner surface side of the lid plate 17. The left and right horizontal fork arms 17a and 17a are provided on the left and right sides of the staple storing unit 4 respectively.
It projects into the space between the inner and outer walls of the heavy wall, and the upper surface of each of the horizontal fork arms 17a, 17a receives the projections 6a on the left and right sides of the needle pressing plate 6.

Therefore, when the lid plate 17 is lifted up, the left and right horizontal fork arm portions 17a, 17 integral with the lid plate 17 are formed.
The protrusions 6a on the left and right sides of the needle pressing plate 6 are scooped by a,
The needle pressing plate 6 is lifted and moved in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 together with the lid plate 17 against the needle pressing spring 7. Then, when the lid plate 17 is operated to be raised to a predetermined open height position, the spring claw portion 17b provided on the surface of the lid plate 17 is caught on the upper side portion of the cartridge to prevent the lid plate 17 from falling. The needle pressing plate 6 is also held in a state of being pulled up above the binding needle accommodating portion 4 by the left and right horizontal fork arm portions 17a, 17a by stopping the lid plate 17 from being lowered. Figure 7
(A) is a vertical sectional side view of the binding needle cartridge 3 in this state. (B) is a bottom view, (c) is a rear view, (d)
FIG. 7A is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along the line d-d of FIG.

In this state, the supply staple (needle belt block body) A is sufficiently pushed into the staple storage unit 4 from the opened staple supply port 16 and loaded. Then, the stopper for lowering the lid plate 17 by the springy claw portion 17b is released to lower the lid plate 17 and close the binding needle replenishing port 16. This lid plate 1
Although the needle pressing plate 6 supported by the horizontal fork arms 17a and 17a is also lowered by lowering 7, the needle pressing plate 6 hits the upper surface of the replenishing binding needle A loaded in the middle and is received, and the lid plate 17 and left and right horizontal fork arms 17a
A state in which only 17a moves downward and the supplementary binding staple A receives the compression reaction force of the staple pressure spring 7 through the staple pressing plate 6 on its upper surface and is pressed and urged downward in the staple storing unit 4. Becomes FIG. 8A shows the staple cartridge 3 in this state.
It is a vertical side view of FIG. (B) is a rear view, (c) is (a)
It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line cc of FIG. The binding needle cartridge 3 is mounted on the sheet binding device again and used.

FIG. 9A is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the binding needle cartridge in the state without needles again, and FIG. 9B is a transverse sectional view taken along the line bb of FIG. 9A. In this state, the needle pressing plate 6 is in a state in which the staple pressing plate 6 is completely lowered in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 to the shelf plate portion 5, which receives the lower surface of the binding needle A. The staple cartridge 3 without staples is removed from the sheet binding device, and the supplementary staple A is loaded and reused again as described above.

By providing the binding needle cartridge 3 with the binding needle supply port 16 that can be opened and closed in this way, when the cartridge 3 is out of staples, the cartridge is removed from the sheet binding device and the supply port is opened and bound. The user can easily and easily load and supply the supply staple A into the needle accommodating portion 4, and the cartridge without the needle can be repeatedly used without discarding it.

By interlocking with the opening operation of the binding needle supply port 16, the binding needle pressing urging means releases the binding needle pressing urging action state, and the needle pressing plate 6 which is the binding needle pressing member is inserted into the binding needle accommodating portion 4.
By making it escape from the staple loading space for replenishment,
The loading and replenishing operation of the binding staple A for the binding needle accommodating portion 4 can be easily performed without being disturbed by the needle pressing plate 6.

Of course, the releasing / restoring means of the binding needle pressing / biasing means for releasing the binding needle pressing / biasing operation state may be provided as an individual operating means without interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the binding needle supply port.

<Embodiment 2> (FIG. 10) In the binding needle cartridge 3 of FIG. 10, the opening / closing lid plate 17 of the binding needle replenishing port 16 is made substantially horizontal as shown by the solid line around the pivot point (hinge axis) 17c. Tilt to the outside and rotate to bind staple supply port 1
6 can be opened, and it can be raised and rotated as shown by the two-dot chain line so that the binding needle supply port 16 can be bound.

As shown by the solid line, the cover plate 17 which is tilted outward and turned substantially horizontally is made to function as a loading / inserting guide of the replenishing staple A from the opened staple replenishing port 16 to the staple accommodating portion 4. be able to.

The release / return of the binding needle pressing biasing action state of the needle pressing plate 6 as the binding needle pressing member of the binding needle pressing biasing means is carried out through a lever mechanism or a cam mechanism, although not shown in the drawing. It is also possible to interlock with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid plate 17 about the rotation fulcrum 17c, or without interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid plate 17,
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the release / return means provided individually is operated.

<Embodiment 3> (FIGS. 11 to 14) FIG. 11A is a vertical sectional side view of the binding needle cartridge 3 of this embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a sectional view taken along line bb of FIG. 11A. A cross-sectional plan view, (c) is a front view, and (d) is a rear view.

Like the cartridge of the first embodiment, the cartridge 3 of the present embodiment has left and right vertical guide plates on the side wall portion (the cartridge rear wall portion) of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 on the side opposite to the needle belt feed guide portion 9 side. An opening / closing lid plate 17 is provided which is vertically slid and guided by 16a and 16a. In the case of this example, the binding needle replenishing port 16 is opened by pulling the opening / closing lid plate 17 downward in FIG. 11A, and the binding needle replenishing port 16 is closed by pushing it up.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a frame body which is loosely fitted in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 and has a substantially U-shaped plane, and is integrated with the opening / closing lid plate 17 at the upper end of the opening / closing lid plate 17. The frame 18 is moved down and up in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 together with the pulling up and pushing up of the opening and closing cover plate 17.

The needle pressing plate 6 is located inside the frame 18 in a corresponding manner. Reference numeral 6b denotes a handle portion provided at a substantially central portion on the front side of the needle pressing plate 6, and the handle portion 6b is a longitudinal slit elongated hole 4c provided at a substantially central portion of the front wall portion of the binding needle accommodating portion 4. Is projected to the outside of the needle accommodating portion 4. The notch opening of the U-shaped frame 18 is located at the position corresponding to the handle 6b, and the frame 18 and the handle 6b do not interfere with each other.

4d and 4d, 4d and 4d are binding needle accommodating portions 4
A pair of left and right inwardly-inwardly-provided upper and lower front wall portions and rear wall portions, respectively, which are springy claw portions for locking the needle pressing plate.

FIG. 11A shows a state in which a binding needle (needle belt block body) A is stored in the binding needle storage portion 4 and the opening / closing lid plate 17 is closed. In this state, the U-shaped frame body 18 is located at the upper part inside the binding needle accommodating portion 4, and the four spring-like claw portions 4d, 4d, 4d, 4d are all formed on the outer surface of the frame body 18. The needle pressing plate 6 is kept open by pushing outward against the spring property, and the accommodation binding needle A is pressed by the needle pressing plate 6.

The binding needle cartridge 3 is used by mounting it on a sheet binding device. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the storage staples are consumed and the staple storage unit 4 is emptied. In this state, the needle pressing plate 6 moves the binding needle accommodating portion 4 inside the shelf plate portion 5
・ It is in a state where it has been lowered to 5.

To resupply the binding needle to the cartridge 3 that has no staple, remove the cartridge 3 from the sheet binding device, turn the cartridge 3 over, and pull up the open / close lid plate 17 in FIG. The staple replenishing port 16 is opened with. As a result, the U-shaped frame 18 is pulled up in FIG. 13 and the four spring claws 4d.
The outward push-opening of 4d, 4d, 4d is released, and the inward facing claw portion enters the inside of the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

Then, in FIG. 13, the needle pressing plate 6 is moved by pressing the grip 6b against the needle pressing spring 7 while compressing and pressing the needle pressing spring 7 to move the spring pressing claws 4d, 4d, 4d.
・ Fit and lock 4d. FIG. 14 shows the locked state. After this locking, even if a finger is released from the handle 6b, the needle pressing plate 6 is prevented from returning and moving, and a space for the needle accommodating portion is formed between the needle pressing plate 6 and the shelves 5 and 5.

Then, the replenishing binding needle A is inserted from the binding needle replenishing port 16 into the binding needle accommodating portion 4 and loaded on the needle pressing plate 6. Next, the opening / closing lid plate 17 is slid downward in FIG. 14 to close the binding needle supply port 16. By closing the lid plate 17, the U-shaped frame body 18 is also shown in FIG.
4, the U-shaped frame 18 interferes with the springy claws 4d, 4d, 4d, 4d, and the claws are pushed outward to lock the needle pressing plate 6. Is released,
A state in which the staple pressing plate 6 is lifted by the needle pressing spring 7 with the loaded binding needle A placed in FIG. 14 and the binding needle A is pressed between the needle pressing plate 6 and the shelf plate portions 5, 5. Becomes FIG. 11 shows a state in which the cartridge 3 is returned to the front again.

In the case of the present embodiment, when the needle is supplied, the needle pressing plate 6 comes to the lower side as shown in FIG. 14, so that the needle can be supplied with one hand.

<Embodiment 4> (FIGS. 15 to 17) As shown in FIG. 15, the binding needle cartridge 3 of this embodiment is configured such that the lower surface of the binding needle is fed from the binding needle supply port 16 on the back wall of the binding needle accommodating portion 4. The bottom plate 19 to be received can be pulled out, and the needle pressing plate 6 is moved upward by interlocking with the pulling out of the bottom plate 19 to release the binding needle pressing urging action state, and the binding needle accommodating portion of the bottom plate 19 4, the binding needle pressing and urging action state is restored in conjunction with the pushing in.

As in the first embodiment, the needle pressing plate 6 is guided by the projecting piece 6a (FIG. 17) and the longitudinal slit slot 4b to be freely movable in the up and down direction in the binding needle accommodating portion 4. A needle pressing spring 7 provided between the needle pressing plate 6 and the cartridge upper surface plate 8 constantly presses and urges the binding needle accommodating portion 4 downward.

Further, cam follower rollers 6c (6c) are provided near the rear side of the needle pressing plate 6 on the left and right sides, respectively, and the vertical direction is provided on the inner side walls of the left and right double wall structure portions of the binding needle accommodating portion 4, respectively. 2 by engaging with the slit long hole 4e (4e)
It projects into the space between the inner and outer walls of the heavy wall.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the bottom plate 19 is provided with openings 19a corresponding to the needle feeding means on the body side of the sheet binding device (not shown), and the left and right sides thereof are respectively provided. Slope cam plates 19b and 19b with a rearward downward slope
Are symmetrically integrated vertically and upward.

The bottom plate 19 is provided on the left and right side wall lower portions of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 so that the left and right guide members 5b.
5b, and the rear side knob 19c is pinched and slid out from the staple replenishing port 16 to the outside of the staple accommodating portion 4 until it is stopped by a stopper (not shown) and pulled out as shown in FIG. It is possible to push it back into the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

Left and right slope cam plates 19 of the bottom plate 19
b and 19b are located in the space between the inner and outer walls of the left and right double-wall structure of the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

FIG. 17A shows a state in which the binding needle A is loaded and stored in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3. In this state, the bottom plate 19 is sufficiently pushed into the binding needle accommodating portion 4, and the cam follower rollers 6c (6c) on the left and right sides of the needle pressing plate 6 are separated from the corresponding sloped cam plates 19b and 19b. The edge is cut off, and the storage binding needle A is pressed and urged by the needle pressing plate 6.

The binding needle cartridge 3 is attached to a sheet binding device for use. FIG. 17B shows a state in which the storage staples are consumed and the staple storage unit 4 is emptied. In this state, the needle pressing plate 6 is completely lowered to the bottom plate 19 in the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

To replenish the staples to the cartridge 3 that has no staples, remove the cartridge 3 from the sheet binding device and pinch the knob portion 19c on the rear side of the bottom plate 19 to bind the staples from the staple feeding port 16. It is slid out of the needle accommodating portion 4 until it is stopped by a stopper portion (not shown), and is drawn out as shown in (c) of FIGS.

In the process of pulling out the bottom plate 19, the left and right cam follower rollers 6c on the side of the needle pressing plate 6 which is completely lowered.
(6c) are respectively scooped by the rearward and downward inclined surfaces of the slope cam plates 19b, 19b and receive a pushing-up force, whereby the needle pressing plate 6 resists the needle pressing spring 7 and automatically compresses it. Then, the inside of the binding needle accommodating portion 4 is moved upward.

When the bottom plate 19 is fully pulled out, the cam follower rollers 6c (6c) are positioned corresponding to the horizontal portions of the tops of the sloped cam plates 19b and 19c as shown in (c) of FIG. 6 is in the most raised position and is held in that position.

Then, the bottom plate 19 is pulled out to the outside.
The replenishing binding needle A is placed on top of the above, and the bottom plate 19 is sufficiently pushed into the binding needle accommodating portion 4. During this pushing-in process, the cam follower roller 6c (6c) of the needle pressing plate 6 becomes the inclined cam plate 1
By the reverse movement of 9b and 19b, the cam slope is descended, and the needle pressing plate 6 begins to descend. Then, the bottom plate 19 is sufficiently pushed in to bring the binding needle A into the loaded state shown in FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, although the opening / closing substrate for the binding needle supply port 16 is not particularly provided, it is possible to provide an opening / closing lid plate for the purpose of preventing dust and the like from entering the binding needle accommodating portion 4. Of course.

The staple supply port 16 of the staple cartridge 3
Various open / close methods and open / close structures for the open / close lid plate 17 are possible other than the embodiment. Further, the binding needle supply port 16 and its opening / closing lid plate 17 are used for the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3.
It may be arranged on the right side wall portion, the left side wall portion, or the front wall portion.

<Embodiment 5> (FIG. 18) This embodiment is an embodiment of a packaging structure of the supplementary binding needle A which facilitates loading of the supplemental binding needle A into the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

FIG. 18 (a) is an external perspective view of the supplementary binding needle wrapping body 100 of this embodiment. The needle belt block A as a staple for replenishment is a needle case 10 as a packaging material.
1 is stored and packed as a package. Needle case 101
Is made of a functional sheet such as paper, vinyl or the like, or a cuttable material such as cellophane, and is divided into two parts, a small case part 101a and a large case part 101b, with a cut-off band part 101c as a boundary.

When the replenishing binding needle A is loaded in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3, the cut-out band portion 101c of the replenishing binding needle package 100 is pinched by the knob portion 101d. Pull with a needle case 10
The needle case 101 is removed by breaking the perforation line from around 1 along the perforation line (weakening line) 101e of the packaging material against the breaking resistance of the packaging material to remove the needle case 101.
And the large case portion 101b is divided into two parts and opened.
The small case portion 101a of the needle case 101 as shown in (b) of FIG.
18C is exposed to expose the tip side portion of the supplementary binding needle A, and the exposed portion is opened in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding needle cartridge 3 as shown in FIG. 18C. Insert from the supply port 16. At this time, since the remaining supply staples other than the exposed portion are still bound by the large case portion 101b which is the remaining packaging material portion, the supply staple A may be separated. To be prevented.

Next, the large case portion 101b, which is the remaining packaging material portion, is removed from the replenishing binding needle A by removing or removing the remaining portion of the replenishing binding needle A in the binding needle accommodating portion 4. Put in. At this time, since the tip side portion of the supplementary binding staple A has already been received in the staple binding unit 4, the supplementary staple A is supplied even if the large case portion 101b, which is the remaining packaging material portion, is removed. The binding needle A does not come apart.

As described above, since the supply staple A can be loaded in the staple accommodating portion 4 without being separated, the supply staples that are carelessly separated can be realigned. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation such as a staple feeding failure or a staple driving failure that may occur due to poor alignment when the binding needle accommodation unit 4 is loaded.

<Embodiment 6> (FIG. 19) As shown in (a) of FIG. 19, the supplementary binding staple packaging body 100 of the present embodiment has cellophane outside the needle belt block A as the supplementary binding needle. It is wrapped with a wrapping material 101f made of a flexible material such as. In this case, the end face on the front end side of this package is opened as a supply staple outlet 101g. However, in order to prevent the replenishment binding needle A inside the package from coming out of the outlet 101g, a part of the packaging material is extended from the upper and lower surfaces of the package and the four side surfaces of the left and right surfaces. By folding back, the frame portion (frame portion) 100h of the packaging material is formed and provided on the four sides of the outlet 101g, and the frame portion (frame portion) 100h prevents the replenishment binding needle A from coming out. When the wrapping body 100 presses the side opposite to the replenishing stapling needle outlet 101g side to exert a pushing force on the inner needle belt block A, as shown in FIG. The frame portion 100h of 101g is broken, and the needle belt block body A inside the packaging material 101f is pushed out from the outlet 101g.

Therefore, when the supplementary staple A is loaded into the staple accommodating portion 4 of the staple cartridge 3, it is necessary to install the supplementary staple A as shown in FIG.
9 (c), the packaging body 100 is slightly inserted into the opened binding needle supply port 16 of the binding needle cartridge 3 with the side of the binding staple outlet 101g for supply being opposed, and the binding binding of the packaging body is completed. The end surface on the side opposite to the needle outlet 101g side is pressed to break the frame portion 100h of the outlet 101g, and the needle belt block A inside the packaging material 101f is pushed out into the binding needle accommodating portion 4 and loaded.

Also in this embodiment, as in the case of the above-mentioned fifth embodiment, the replenishing binding needle A can be loaded in the binding needle accommodating portion 4 without being scattered.

<Embodiment 7> (FIG. 20) In this embodiment, when loading the needle belt block body A as the replenishing binding needle into the binding needle accommodating portion 4, the loading posture and insertion direction of the needle belt block body A In order to prevent the mistake, in order to prevent the mistake, as shown in FIG. 20, on the outer surface of the packaging material 100i such as cellophane of the supplementary staple needle packaging body 100, a mark ma.
It is provided by printing mb.

The mark ma is an insertion direction arrow mark provided on the upper surface of the package 100, and the mark mb is a non-insertable mark provided on the lower surface. In the staple supply drawing, the user determines the insertion direction of the needle by the mark, so that the arrow mark ma side is the upper surface and the needle is inserted in the arrow direction.
By inserting and loading the replenishing needle belt block A into the binding needle accommodating portion 4, the direction of the needle belt is unified to the direction recommended by the manufacturer, and accurate needle replenishment can be performed. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation such as a staple feeding failure or a needle driving failure, which may occur due to not knowing or erroneously identifying a particular insertion posture or insertion direction with respect to the binding needle accommodating portion 4.

The marks ma and mb are not limited to the above printing,
In addition, it is possible to apply any means as long as it does not easily come off, such as sticking a seal or painting. Simple color identification may be used. For example, the package 100
It is also possible to indicate that the front side is blue printed and the back side is red printed, so that the blue side is the top side of the insertion surface.

Further, the packaging material 100i may be made transparent or anti-transparent and the needle belt itself of the needle belt block body A inside may be provided with identification means such as a mark. In this case, even if the user accidentally breaks the needle belt block A and loosens the needle belt N after unpacking, since the marks are attached to the individual needle belts, the needle belts will be realigned later. Can be inserted.

The replenishment binding staple wrapping body 100 according to the fifth to seventh embodiments is not limited to the replenishment of staples to the binding needle accommodating portion 4 of the binding staple cartridge 3 which is detachably mountable to the sheet binding device. The same effect can be obtained when replenishing the staple storage unit built into the apparatus.

[0125]

As described above, according to the binding needle cartridge, the binding needle wrapping body, and the sheet binding device of the present invention, the binding needle cartridge without the needle can be easily opened without disassembling the cartridge. Needle supporting means (binding needle accommodating portion)
It is economical because the user can easily load and supply the staples for replenishing the staples, and can re-supply the staples without discarding the staple cartridge that has no staples and use it repeatedly. Can handle ecology.

In the binding needle cartridge having the binding needle pressing biasing means in the needle supporting means, the binding needle pressing biasing means is provided with means for releasing the binding needle pressing biasing operation state, At the time of replenishment, the replenishment port is opened at the time of replenishment, and the binding needle pressing urging operation state of the binding needle pressing urging means is released to allow the binding needle pressing member to escape from the loading binding needle loading space in the needle supporting means portion, thereby binding the binding needle. Without being disturbed by the pressing member,
It is possible to easily carry out the loading and supplying operation of the supply staple for the needle supporting means.

[0127] The binding needle pressing biasing means releases or restores the binding needle pressing biasing state or both of the cancellation and the restoration are performed in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the binding needle refilling port, thereby binding the staple feeding port. By simply opening and closing the portion, the binding needle pressing biasing means automatically releases or restores the binding needle pressing biasing action state, or both of the cancellation and the restoration are performed. Loading and replenishing operations can be performed more easily and quickly.

When the replenishing binding needles can be loaded into the needle supporting means without causing the loosening, and the replenishing binding needles that have been accidentally loosened are realigned and loaded into the needle supporting means. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation such as a staple feeding failure or a needle driving failure, which may occur due to poor alignment of the sheets.

Further, even when the loading posture and the insertion direction of the supplementary binding needle are specified when the supplemental binding needle is loaded on the needle supporting means, the direction of the supplemental binding needle is determined by the manufacturer. It is possible to perform accurate needle replenishment consistently with the recommended direction, and there is a possibility that the user does not know or mistakes the particular insertion posture and insertion direction of the replenishing staple to the needle support means part It is possible to avoid the occurrence of situations such as defects and defective needle driving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a sorter as a device including a sheet binding device (electric stapler).

FIG. 2 is a side view of the sheet binding device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet binding device.

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D are explanatory views of a staple stapling operation on a sheet of a sheet binding device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the staple cartridge when the staple supply port is opened.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the needle pressing plate, the needle pressing spring, and the binding needle supply port opening / closing cover plate.

7A is a vertical side view of the binding needle cartridge when the binding needle supply port is opened, FIG. 7B is a bottom view, FIG. 7C is a rear view, and FIG. 7D is d- of FIG. Cross section along line d

FIG. 8A is a vertical side view of the staple cartridge when the supply staple is loaded and the opening / closing cover plate is closed;
Is a rear view, (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line cc of (a).

FIG. 9A is a vertical sectional side view of the binding needle cartridge in a state without needles, and FIG. 9B is a transverse sectional view taken along line bb of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the binding needle cartridge according to the second embodiment when the opening / closing lid plate is opened.

FIG. 11A is a diagram of the binding needle cartridge of Example 3,
Side view in vertical section when the staple is loaded, (b) is b in (a).
-A cross-sectional plan view of the line b, (c) is a front view, (d) is a rear view

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional side view of a staple cartridge without staples.

FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional side view when the opening / closing cover plate is opened with the cartridge turned upside down.

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional side view when the needle pressing plate is further moved down and locked by the claw portion.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the binding needle cartridge according to the fourth embodiment when the bottom plate is pulled out.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a bottom plate

17A is a vertical side view of the staple cartridge when the staple is loaded, FIG. 17B is a vertical side view of the staple cartridge without staples, and FIG. 17C is a state in which the bottom plate is pulled out. Vertical side view of

FIG. 18 (a) is an external perspective view of a replenishing binding needle wrapping body as a fifth embodiment, and FIG. 18 (b) is a side view of a replenishing binding stapler which is opened and only a small case portion of a needle case is removed and removed. FIG. 3C is a perspective view with a part exposed, and FIG. 7C is an explanatory diagram of a loading staple loading needle.

FIG. 19 (a) is an external perspective view of a replenishing binding needle wrapping body as Example 6, FIG. 19 (b) is a perspective view of a state in which a replenishing binding needle wrap is pushed out of the wrapping body, and FIG. Explanatory view of loading procedure for staples

FIG. 20 is an external perspective view of a binding staple packaging body for supply as Example 7.

21A is a perspective view of a staple belt, FIG. 21B is an external perspective view of a staple cartridge without a staple supply port, and FIG.
Is a vertical side view, (d) is a bottom view

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 sorter main body 21 bin unit 36 sheet binding device M image forming apparatus P sheet 3 binding needle cartridge N needle belt A needle belt block body 6 needle pressing plate 16 binding needle supply opening 17 opening / closing lid plate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display area B65H 39/11 K

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A binding needle cartridge which has needle supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles therein, and which is attached to and detached from a sheet binding device main body, wherein at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means can be opened and closed. A binding needle cartridge characterized in that it is provided with a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means. 2. A sheet binding device having a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles, and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means. A staple cartridge that is attached to and detached from the device body,
At least a part of the side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable so as to have a binding needle supply port for the needle supporting means, and means for releasing the binding needle pressing biasing state of the binding needle pressing biasing means. A binding needle cartridge characterized by being made. 3. A sheet binding device comprising: a needle supporting means for supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles therein; and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means. A staple cartridge that is attached to and detached from the device body,
At least a part of the side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable so as to have a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means, and the binding needle pressing urging means of the binding needle pressing urging means is interlocked with the opening operation of the binding needle replenishing port portion. A binding needle cartridge characterized in that the binding needle pressing biasing state is released. 4. A sheet binding device comprising: a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles; and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means. A staple cartridge that is attached to and detached from the device body,
At least a part of the side wall of the needle support means is configured to be openable and closable so that a binding needle supply port for the needle support means is provided, and the binding needle pressing force release operation is interlocked with the closing operation of the binding needle supply port. A binding needle cartridge characterized in that the binding needle pressing biasing means in the state is returned to the binding needle pressing biasing operation state. 5. A sheet binding device having a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles and a binding needle pressing biasing means for biasing the binding needles in the needle supporting means to the binding needle feeding means. A staple cartridge that is attached to and detached from the device body,
At least a part of the side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable so as to be provided with a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means, and the binding needle pressing urging means of the binding needle pressing urging means is interlocked with the opening and closing operation of the binding needle replenishing port. A binding needle cartridge configured to release and restore the binding needle pressing biasing state. 6. A needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a sheet binding device, or a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge which is attached to and detached from a sheet binding device. Is a binding needle wrapping body in which a replenishing binding needle is wrapped with a wrapping material, and the wrapping material in which the replenishing binding needle is wrapped is divided into a plurality of parts and can be removed from the replenishing binding needle. Binding needle packaging. 7. A needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a sheet binding device, or a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge that is attached to and detached from a sheet binding device. Is a binding needle wrapping body in which a supply binding needle for wrapping is wrapped with a wrapping material, and one surface side of the wrapping body serves as a supply binding needle outlet, and normally prevents the supply binding needle in the packaging body from coming out from the outlet. Have parts,
The binding needle outlet having the binding needle slip-out preventing portion is forcibly opened by pressing the feeding binding needle in the packaging body from the surface side of the packaging body facing the feeding binding needle outlet to the feeding binding needle outlet side. A staple wrapping body characterized in that a replenishing staple in the package is pushed out. 8. A needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a sheet binding device, or a needle supporting means for internally supporting a plurality of sheet binding needles of a binding needle cartridge which is attached to and detached from a sheet binding device. Is a binding needle wrapping body in which a replenishing binding needle for is wrapped with a wrapping material, and means for identifying the insertion posture or insertion direction of the replenishing binding needle with respect to the needle supporting means is provided in the wrapping material or the binding needle that is packaged. A binding needle wrapping body. 9. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit for binding sheets, and the binding needle cartridge is configured to open and close at least a part of a side wall of a needle support unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles and binds to the needle support unit. A sheet binding device having a needle supply port. 10. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit for binding sheets, and the binding needle cartridge has a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles and a biasing force that presses the binding needle in the needle supporting unit against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means, and at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is openable / closable. A sheet binding device comprising means for releasing the pressing and urging action state. 11. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit for binding sheets, and the binding needle cartridge has a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles and a biasing force that presses the binding needle in the needle supporting unit against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means, at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable, and a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means is provided. A sheet binding device configured to release the binding needle pressing biasing operation state of the binding needle pressing biasing means in conjunction with each other. 12. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit for binding sheets, and the binding needle cartridge has a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles and a biasing force that presses the binding needle in the needle supporting unit against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means, and at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable to provide a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means. A sheet binding device, which is configured to interlock with each other and to restore the binding needle pressing biasing means in the binding needle pressing biasing action released state to the binding needle pressing biasing action state. 13. A cartridge mounting portion for mounting a binding needle cartridge accommodating a plurality of sheet binding needles, binding needle feeding means for sequentially feeding the binding needles in the loaded binding needle cartridges, and the fed binding needles. The binding needle cartridge has a sheet binding unit for binding sheets, and the binding needle cartridge has a needle supporting unit that internally supports a plurality of sheet binding needles and a biasing force that presses the binding needle in the needle supporting unit against the binding needle feeding unit. A binding needle pressing biasing means, and at least a part of a side wall of the needle supporting means is configured to be openable and closable to provide a binding needle replenishing port for the needle supporting means. A sheet binding apparatus, which is interlocked with each other to release and return the binding needle pressing biasing means from the binding needle pressing biasing state.