JPH08192951A - Sheet post-treating device of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a post-treating device which is connected with an image forming device and performs binding together of sheets of paper, which can be set selectively into the margin binding mode and the middle binding mode, and allows its aligning device for margin binding to retreat at the time of middle binding. CONSTITUTION: A post-treating device to be connected with an image forming device has a tray 10 under a transport path and a staple device 20, and the first sheet aligning device comprising a stopper 41 and paddle 81 is installed in mating with the margin binding while the second sheet aligning device 12 is installed in its downstream. To make middle binding of the sheets, the stopper 41 and paddle 81 are retreated from the sheet transport path, and the leading edge of sheet is pressed to the stopper 13 to make location, and the binding operation is made by the staple device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus for aligning and binding sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to binding to edge portions of sheets and saddle stitching to central portions of sheets. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device of an image forming apparatus in which two types of sheet aligning devices are arranged so as to perform the alignment with respect to the leading end of the sheet in correspondence with the binding mode of the sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A post-processing apparatus, which is connected to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a laser beam printer to bind a copy, has been generally used. As a device for simply binding with staples, for example, a device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-35863 is known. In the conventional example, one stapling device is provided so as to be movable along the end portion of the bundle of sheets to be bound, and the stapling can be performed at any place by the staple. Further, as a device in which a stapling device is arranged with respect to a sorter device which is connected to an image forming device and sorts sheets, and which binds a corner portion of a bundle of sheets, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-4345.
Devices such as those disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6 are known. In the stapling apparatus of the conventional example, the tray of the sorter is positioned at the stapling position and then the stapling apparatus is used for stapling, so that the post-processing work of the sheets can be easily performed.

In addition to the conventional stapling apparatus as described above, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-219601, a large size sheet is bound at the central portion in the length direction to produce a bookbinding product. After that, a device for folding the bookbinding product in half through the binding portion may be used. In the above-mentioned conventional example, the stitcher member and the clincher member are individually movably provided corresponding to the upper and lower positions of the stack of accumulated sheets, and the two staple members are interlocked,
It is stopped at the binding position so that the staples can be bound. Then, by using the stapling device as described above, it is possible to perform binding with a staple in an arbitrary position of the bundle of sheets.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention
Even when using a stapling apparatus such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 601, for example, there are two types of modes for the sheet, namely, edge binding for binding the edge of the sheet and saddle stitching for binding the central portion in the length direction of the sheet. There is a problem that binding cannot be performed. This is because, in each of the edge binding and the saddle stitching modes as described above, the distance between the leading edge of the sheet to be bound and the binding portion by the staple is different, and therefore, when one aligning member is provided. Is due to the fact that the aligning action on the paper cannot be easily performed. Further, in order to align the leading end portions of the sheets, it has been considered to use a conveying member composed of a paddle member or the like, but when the paddle member is arranged on a fixed shaft, the number of accumulated sheets increases. As a result, the paper on the paper comes closer to the axis of the paddle, and the paper may be locked by the paddle member and may not move forward.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-8927, a guide plate member arranged on the upper portion of the paper is provided so as to be swingable. It is also conceivable to arrange a roller member to form a means for aligning the sheets.
However, in the case of configuring the sheet aligning device inside the intermediate tray as in the conventional example, although the guide plate member can exert the pressing action of the leading end portion of the sheet, it can be used in the stapling device or the like. Placing them in correspondence
There is a problem that the mechanism of the paper alignment device becomes complicated,
Furthermore, there is a problem in that, for example, when the binding mode for paper is set to two types, it cannot be easily handled.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the sheet aligning device arranged in the conventional stapling device as described above, and to provide a stopper device and a paddle which can be retracted and retracted in the sheet conveying path in correspondence with the edge binding mode. When the provided conveying member is arranged and the saddle stitching mode of the sheet is used, the conveying member and the stopper device are retracted to the non-operating position, and the leading end portion of the sheet greatly protrudes to the downstream side of the stapling apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet post-processing device that does not cause any hindrance to the guiding action and that can exhibit the aligning action by using the sheet aligning device arranged in the downstream portion of the stapling device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an apparatus for connecting sheets to a sheet discharging section of an image forming apparatus, aligning sheets and binding them with staples is combined with a stitcher member and a clincher member, and accumulated at a binding position. The present invention relates to a stapling device that is configured such that the two stapling members are individually provided so as to be movable in the width direction of the sheet along the upper and lower sides of a bundle of the formed sheets. According to the present invention, the first sheet aligning means is provided so that one stapling device is movable in the width direction of the sheet, is disposed close to the binding position by the stapling device, and is capable of appearing and retracting with respect to the sheet conveying path. A second sheet aligning means movably provided at a downstream portion of the stapling apparatus, a sheet edge binding mode set for the stapling apparatus, and a saddle stitching mode selecting section for the sheet; A device for selectively operating the second sheet aligning means in accordance with the binding mode of the stapling device is configured. Further, in the present invention, the paper aligning means may be provided with a stopper device that can be retracted into and out of the paper transport path, and a paddle that transports paper to a stopper of the stopper device.

[0008]

In the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, one stapling apparatus is provided so as to be movable in the width direction of the sheet, the binding position is arbitrarily selected, and the staple needle is driven. A device that can be configured. A sheet aligning device including a stopper device and a paddle is arranged corresponding to the binding position by the stapling device, and constitutes a means for responding to the edge binding mode of the sheet. Further, another sheet aligning device is arranged downstream of the stapling device so that it can correspond to the saddle stitching mode of the sheets. Further, among the two types of sheet aligning devices, in the device that is disposed close to the stapling device, the upper guide plate that is disposed with respect to the upper staple member, and the paddle and the guide plate member that are disposed in the sheet aligning device are provided. A means is provided that is movable up and down and that swings the stopper device to a position where it is retracted from the paper transport path.

Therefore, in the sheet aligning device arranged corresponding to the stapling device, when carrying out the end-stitching operation of the sheets, a feeding action is applied to the stopper device in the direction of abutting the sheet by the paddle. And an upper guide plate arranged on the upper stapling member of the stapling apparatus,
The leading end portion of the paper can be regulated between the stopper device and the stopper device to provide the aligning action. Further, when performing the aligning action in the saddle stitching mode of the paper, the stopper device and the paddle member of the paper aligning device, which are close to the stapling device, are retracted so as not to hinder the passage of the paper. A sheet aligning device arranged downstream of the stapling device can be used to provide the aligning action. In addition to the above-mentioned configuration, the sheet aligning device arranged in the downstream portion of the stapling device regulates the edge of the sheet according to the size of the sheet and sets the binding position in the length direction of the sheet in order to set the binding position. It is configured to be able to do. By arranging the two types of sheet aligning devices having the above-described configurations, it is possible to easily set two types of binding modes for the post-processing device, and for the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. The binding work can be easily performed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A post-processing device for an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The sheet post-processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer and constitutes an apparatus for processing sheets,
An apparatus that can arbitrarily perform the operation of introducing the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus through the upper conveyance path 2 and directly discharging it to the discharge tray 6 and the operation of stapling it by using the stapling device is configured. In the upper conveyance path 2 arranged in the sheet post-processing apparatus 1, a plurality of conveyance roller devices 3 and 3a and a discharge roller device 5 are provided.
Is configured by combining the driving roller member 5a with the orbit roller 5b as a pinch roller member. In the discharge roller device 5, when the sheet is inverted and guided toward the staple tray member 10, the orbit roller 5b is driven by the orbit roller 5b while the sheet is nipped between the drive roller member 5a and the pinch roller member 5b. A planetary rotation operation is performed around the member 5a to guide the leading end of the sheet toward the staple tray member 10. Further, in the upstream part of the discharge roller device 5,
A mechanism is provided for swinging the upper guide plate 4 through the support shaft 4a when the sheet is reversed, and means for guiding the sheet while largely curving the sheet to form a loop.

In the discharge part roller device 7 arranged at the downstream side of the discharge roller device 5, a pinch roller member 7b is provided so as to be separable from the drive roller member 7a, so that the discharge roller device 5 moves to the discharge tray 6. When the sheet is directly ejected, the drive roller member 7a is driven in the ejection direction. Also,
When the sheet is deposited on the staple tray member 10 using the switchback type transport system without performing the reverse discharge by the discharge roller device, the discharge unit roller device 7 is driven in the forward and reverse directions to reverse the paper. Instead, the staple tray member 10 may be ejected. Further, in the discharge section roller device, it is also possible to discharge the document bound on the staple tray member 10 toward the discharge tray 6, and in order to correspond to such various transport modes, the drive roller member. A pinch roller member 7b is provided so as to be separable from and contact with 7a.

A staple device 20 for binding sheets is provided corresponding to the staple tray member 10 arranged under the upper transport path 2 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 and is deposited on the staple tray member. An upper stapling member 21 and a lower stapling member 25 are arranged so as to be located above and below the sheet. Further, the staple tray member 10 does not constitute a member for supporting a sheet by one plate member, but as will be described later, a guide plate of the lower staple member and a sheet support plate member arranged in the front and rear positions thereof. Are combined to form a member capable of exhibiting the action as one staple tray member. Then, a stopper 41 is arranged at a position corresponding to the upper stapling member 21 constituting the stapling device 20, and the stopper 41 is provided so as to be retractable in and out of the sheet conveying path. Further, in the upstream part of the stapling device 20,
Above the staple tray member 10, a swingable guide plate member 70 and a paddle 81 that can be retracted into and out of the sheet conveying path are arranged to correspond to the edge binding mode of the sheet, and the first by the stopper device and the paddle. The sheet aligning means (sheet aligning device) is configured.

A second sheet aligning means (sheet aligning device) 12 for aligning the leading end portions of the sheets is provided downstream of the stapling device, and the sheet aligning device 12 is provided.
In addition to the stopper 13 and the paddle member 14 being disposed therein, the transport roller device 11 is provided. The sheet aligning device 12 is provided so as to be movable in the upstream and downstream directions,
When binding the leading edge of the sheet, the sheet aligning device can be held at an arbitrary position. Further, when binding (saddle stitching) to the central portion in the length direction of the sheet, for example, for A3 size sheets, the sheet aligning device 12 is moved to the position indicated by the phantom line in the figure, and A4 size sheets are used. For the paper of
Position the paper alignment device at the position indicated by the solid line in the figure,
The position of the paper aligning device is set according to the length of the paper so that the central portion of the paper can be aligned at a position where it coincides with the binding line T. Further, in the sheet post-processing apparatus, the discharge path 17 is arranged from the end portion of the staple tray member toward the lower part of the apparatus main body, and the gate member 15 and the discharge roller device 16 are arranged so that the bound document is stored. Make sure that it is ejected toward the bottom of the device. In the stapling device, when the sheet aligning device 12 is moved to a position indicated by an imaginary line and the center portion of the sheets is bound, the conveyance roller device 11 is reversely driven in a state where the binding work is completed. After the leading edge of the document reaches the upstream portion of the gate member 15, the transport roller device 11 is again driven in the normal direction to guide the document toward the discharge path 17.

[0014]

[Structure of Stapling Apparatus] The stapling apparatus 20 incorporated in the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention can be constructed as shown in FIG. 2 so that it is positioned above and below the sheets stacked on the staple tray member. The upper staple member 21 and the lower staple member 25 are arranged. The stapling device 20 constitutes a device for guiding the lower staple member 25 provided with a stitcher member 26 for arranging means for driving staples by sliding the guide bars 28 and 28a.
A belt member 39 for driving 5 is provided. Further, in the upper stapling member 21 located above the sheet, a clincher member 22 for bending and stopping the tip end portion of the staple is arranged, and a guide bar 24 for guiding the upper stapling member 21 is provided. 24
A means is arranged to drive the belt member 36. Further, upper and lower guide plates 23 and 27 are arranged on the upper staple member 21 and the lower staple member 25 in order to guide the sheets, and guide the sheets on the staple tray member. I will let you.

In the stapling device 20, a driving device 30 is arranged to drive the upper stapling member 21 and the lower stapling member 25, and the rotation of the motor 31 is transmitted to the driving shaft 33 via the transmission device 32. To do. A pulley 3 is attached to the drive shaft 33 via a clutch 34.
5, the belt member 36 is driven through the pulley 35, and the upper staple member 21 is driven. Further, the lower staple member 25 is driven by winding a belt member 39 around a pulley 38 provided via a clutch 37 provided on the drive shaft 33 and driving the lower staple member connected to the belt member 39. To do. Then, by configuring the motor as a stepping motor capable of driving in the forward and reverse directions, the upper and lower staple members are moved in an arbitrary direction, moved by an arbitrary distance, and positioned at a binding position, and a staple needle is used. A binding operation can be performed. In the stapling apparatus 20, when moving the upper and lower stapling members, for example, the side portion of the lower stapling member 25 is positioned with respect to the sensor S to perform the initialization operation, and then the motor is driven to a predetermined position. By applying several pulses, the positioning with respect to the staple member is performed, and the binding position by the staple is set.

[0016]

[Structure and Operation of Sheet Aligning Device] A stopper device and a conveying member which constitute the first sheet aligning device in combination with the stapling device shown in FIG. 2 are configured as shown in FIG. The stopper device 40 among the respective constituent members is provided on the upper staple member. Also,
The mechanism for supporting and swinging the guide plate member 70 is arranged with respect to a fixed frame that is separate from the stapling device,
The guide plate member 70 is swung with following the operation of vertically moving the paddle 81 of the transport member 80. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the guide plate members 60 arranged in the vicinity of the stopper device refer to the guide plates 23, 23a arranged on both sides of the upper staple member in FIG.
In FIG. 3, the reference numerals are changed and the description is made in relation to other members.

The guide plate members 60, 60a are supported via a support shaft 66 provided on the upper stapling member. An arm 65 is arranged with respect to the support shaft 66, and a rear end portion of the arm 65 is provided. An urging means by a spring 67 is provided on the arm 65, and urges the arm 65 in the clockwise direction (the direction in which the guide member is lowered) via the support shaft 66. Further, a link 63 is arranged at the tip of the arm 65, and the link 63 is
Through the support shaft 62 provided at the tip of the guide plate member 60
Has been arranged. Although the two members of the arm 65 and the link 63 can be configured as one body, the two arm members can be slid on each other in order to finely adjust the arrangement position of the guide member. Therefore, it is preferable to be configured so that it can be fixed at any position. The guide surface of the guide plate member 60 on the upstream side in the paper conveyance direction is provided so as to ride on the end portion of the guide plate member 70, as will be described later, and the paper conveyed through the paper conveyance path. Is guided to stop by the stopper 41 of the stopper device 40.

In the first sheet aligning device shown in FIG. 3, the guide plate member 70, which is arranged above the sheet conveying path so as to face the staple tray member 10, has a sheet inserting side as shown in FIG. It is provided via a support shaft at a position near the tip of the discharge roller device 5. Then, with respect to the guide plate member 70, springs 73 and 73a are arranged at the downstream portion in the sheet conveying direction to urge the guide plate member in the upward direction. The action of lifting the downstream end of
This is performed in association with the action of the vertical movement of the paddle 81 on the transport member 80. The paddles 81, 81a arranged corresponding to the guide plate member 70 are fixedly arranged with the roller member 82 sandwiched with respect to the drive shaft 83, and guide the collar members 84, 84a provided on the drive shaft 83. It is located above the plate member 70, and the collar member prevents the guide plate member from swinging upward by the force of the spring. The drive shaft 83 provided with the paddle
Can be rotated using any drive means.

Links 8 and 85a are arranged on both sides of a drive shaft 83 for supporting the paddle through elongated holes 86 and 86a, and an upper end portion of the link 85 is connected to an arm member via a support shaft 91. The link 85a and the arm member 90a are also arranged in combination on the rear side of the apparatus. The ends of the arm members 90 and 90a are connected using a long shaft member 92, and the shaft member 92 is rotated by a solenoid 95 to perform a vertical movement operation with respect to a drive shaft that supports a paddle. Also, the shaft member 9
2, the spring 98 is arranged via the rear link 97, and constitutes a means for urging the arm member 90 in the clockwise direction as seen from the side surface via the shaft. Further, in the conveying member 80, the roller member 8 arranged on the drive shaft
2 and the paddle 81 are configured so that the weight of these members is applied to the sheet and the feeding action for the sheet is performed.

Therefore, in the conveying member 80, as shown in FIG. 3, at the position where the paddles 81 and 81a are lowered, the sheet to be inserted between the upper and lower guide plate members 60 and 70 is moved to the paddle 81. With this, it is possible to carry out the action of conveying toward the stopper. In the carrying member 80, the paddles 81 and 81a provided on the drive shaft 83 are provided.
Like a paddle generally used for feeding paper, a large number of blade members made of soft rubber or the like are arranged around the cylindrical member provided on the drive shaft so as to project therefrom. Then, by arranging the paddle and the roller member close to each other,
When the paddle and the roller member are pressed against the paper by their own weight, the outer peripheral portion of the roller member comes into contact with the paper and the blade member of the paddle is not excessively curved, so that the feeding action by the paddle is improved. It can be demonstrated in the state.

The stopper device 40 arranged corresponding to the upper staple member together with the guide plate member 60 is
The stopper 41 is supported by the frame 42, and the stopper 4
1 is provided so as to be retractable in and out of the sheet conveying path, and means for swinging the frame 42 of the stopper 41 via a support shaft is provided. Then, in order to drive the stopper device 40, a drive device using a solenoid 50 is arranged, and a gear 53 for connecting the solenoid link 51.
And the rotation of the gear 53 is transmitted to the gear 55, and the drive shaft 5
The gear 57a of the drive portion of the stopper 41 is driven via the gear 55a provided on the drive shaft 6, and the stopper 41 is swung via the support shaft of the frame. Similar stoppers are also arranged around the rear side guide member 60a, but the drive mechanisms for them are the same as those for the stopper 41, so they are not shown. Although the operation of the stopper device 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10 and subsequent figures, springs 44 and 54 are arranged to urge the stopper 41 toward the position where the sheet conveyance path is closed.

A gear 55a for driving the stopper 41
Is provided slidably with respect to the drive shaft 56, and the drive shaft 56 is configured to have a D-cut cross section,
The shaft hole corresponding to the shaft of the gear 55a is configured to correspond to the D-cut cross section of the drive shaft. And the two gears 5
When the stopper provided so as to be swingable via 3, 57 is moved together with the upper stapling device, the stopping action on the sheet can be performed at an arbitrary position where the stopper is moved along the drive shaft. . In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the drive device by the solenoid 50, and
The gear 55 and the like arranged on the shaft 56 are arranged outside the arm member 90a, but are described inside the arm member 90a for convenience of explanation.

[0023]

[Operation Corresponding to Binding of Paper] As described above, the stopper device 40 arranged corresponding to the upper stapling member of the stapling device is interlocked with the operation of raising the drive shaft of the conveying member 80 to move from the paper conveying path. The operation of saving is performed. Further, the guide plate member 60 is lifted by the guide plate member 70 by the operation of raising the guide plate member 70 and separated from the staple tray member, so that the paper transport path is largely opened. Then, when the stopper 41 is arranged at the position where the sheet conveying path is closed, the conveying member 80 brings the leading end of the sheet into contact with the stopper so as to align the sheet, and the end binding mode in which the leading end of the sheet is bound is set. Can be adapted. On the other hand, when the stopper 41 is swung to a position retracted from the sheet conveying path, the sheet aligning device 12 shown in FIG. Make the binding operation used.

When the edge binding mode is set,
The respective constituent members are positioned in the state shown in FIG. 4, and the guide plate member 70 and the paddle 81 are positioned at the alignment position with respect to the upper and lower staple members 21 and 25 constituting the stapling apparatus. Also, the upper staple member 2
The stopper 41 provided at 1 is positioned at a position where the sheet conveyance path is closed. Then, from the upstream portion, the discharge roller device 5
The leading end portion of the paper P sent through the paper is fed by a paddle and locked by the stopper 41 so as to be aligned, and the binding operation is performed on the end portion of the paper. Therefore, in the edge-stitching mode shown in FIG. 4, the sheet aligning apparatus 1 arranged downstream of the stapling apparatus 1
2 is left inactive. Corresponding to the example shown in FIG. 4, the stopper 41 and the guide plate member 7 are shown in FIG.
The relationship between 0 and the paddle 81 is shown. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the guide plate member 70 is swingably provided via the support shaft 71, but the spring 73 is shown in a position different from that of FIG. 3 for the sake of simplifying the description. . Also,
A stopper 74 is disposed above the tip end of the guide plate member 70 on the rocking side to limit the rising position of the guide plate member, and to limit the rising position of the guide plate member even when the paddle is greatly raised. It can be so.

The examples shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 show a state in which saddle stitching of sheets is performed. The stopper 41 is swung clockwise through a support shaft to retract from the sheet conveying path.
By raising the paddle 81 and the guide plate member 70, the leading edge of the sheet is sent toward the second sheet aligning device 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the paddle, the guide plate member, and the stopper, which are arranged at the positions corresponding to the stapling apparatus, are retracted by a distance larger than the distance between the upper and lower staple members, so that the paper P is Second
The movement of the sheet aligning device 12 is prevented. Further, as will be described later, the guide plate member arranged corresponding to the upper stapling member prevents the leading end of the sheet from being caught on the lower surface of the upper stapling member and maintains the guiding action. To do.

Further, referring to FIG. 7 corresponding to FIG. 6, when the paddle 81 is swung upward, the guide plate member 70 is spring-loaded while being released from the restraint by the drive shaft of the paddle. The state of raising by 73 is shown. In the example shown in FIG. 7, when the guide plate member 70 is moved up following the operation of raising the paddle 81, the rising position of the guide plate member 70 is limited by the stopper 74, so that the blades of the paddle 81 are moved. Is positioned above the lower surface of the guide plate member by a distance h so as not to hinder the sheet passing through the sheet conveying path. Further, when the stopper 41 is swung and the guide plate member 70 is swung upward, a margin space having a space H is formed between the staple tray member 10 and the upper guide plate member and the like. Therefore, the operation for aligning the sheets can be favorably set in correspondence with the saddle stitching mode.

Corresponding to the saddle-stitching mode and the end-stitching mode shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the respective constituent members corresponding to the stapling apparatus perform the operations shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively. The example shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the end-stitching operation corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5, and the paper P discharged from the discharge roller device 5 is switched back through the discharge roller device 7 of FIG. In such a manner, it is slid down toward the stapling device along the inclination of the tray and is fed to the staple tray member 10. The paper fed into the tray member 10 is fed by the paddle 81 between the guide plate member 70 and the tray member 10, and the end portion of the paper P is guided from the guide surface of the guide plate member 70. Guide along the guide surface 61 of the plate member 60, and align while being locked by the stopper 41,
Edge-stitching action is applied to the accumulated sheets.

The example shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to FIGS. 6 and 7, and the guide plate member 70 is raised by raising the paddle 81. The guide plate member 60 in the riding state is also raised. Then, the link 63 swings in a counterclockwise direction via the support shaft 66 to open the sheet conveyance path widely. Further, the guide plate member 60 and the guide plate member 70
The stopper 41 is rocked in conjunction with the operation of raising the paper to open the paper conveyance path so that the leading edge of the paper P can be fed toward the second paper alignment device. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the orbit roller 5b of the discharge roller device 5 is planet-rotated with respect to the drive roller member 5a to guide the leading end of the paper toward the stapling device. . Further, in the discharge roller device 5, the orbit roller 5b is returned to its original position (shown in FIG. 8) in a state where the trailing edge of the sheet has passed through the nip position of the discharge roller device. As described above, by positioning the sheet in correspondence with the second sheet aligning device, the binding position of the sheet is positioned in correspondence with the stapling device to perform saddle stitching.

As shown in FIG. 3, in a stopper device 40 provided with a driving means by a solenoid 50, springs 44 and 54 are respectively arranged in opposition to the solenoid in order to swing the stopper 41, The stopper 41 is maintained in a state of being projected to the sheet conveying path by the spring. Stopper 4 by the solenoid
The mechanism for retracting 1 from the sheet conveyance path is configured as shown in FIG. 10, and supports the gear 57 and the stopper frame 42 via the support shaft 43 so as to be swingable and rotatable, respectively. . Then, the stopper 4 is inserted through the stud member 58 provided so as to project from the gear 57 to the side.
A mechanism for swinging the stopper 41 is configured by transmitting it to the frame 42 that supports 1. Further, a cam member 45 is arranged in order to adjust the position where the stopper 41 closes the sheet conveying path.
By rotating 5 through the shaft 46, the stopper 4
Allow the stop position for 1 to be adjusted.

Stopper device 40 constructed as described above
In FIG. 3, when the sheet edge binding mode is set in FIG.
Since the solenoid is turned off and the gear is rotated by the spring, the gear 55 is caused to rotate clockwise as shown in FIG. Since the gear 57 meshing with the gear 55 rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 43, the stud member 58 is separated from the position where the frame 42 is pressed, and the frame 42 is biased by the spring 44. , Is stopped at a position where it abuts on the cam member 45. Therefore, the stopper 41 is stopped and held in correspondence with the reference line K for stopping the sheet, and the feeding operation and the aligning operation are performed by the paddle arranged in the first sheet aligning device.

When setting the saddle stitching mode,
Since the solenoid rotates the gear 55 counterclockwise and the gear 57 clockwise, the stud member 58 is rotated.
The frame 42 is swung clockwise through. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the stopper 41 is swung via the support shaft 43 to set a wide paper passage path so that an arbitrary number of paper sheets can be accumulated, and the saddle stitching mode is supported. The second sheet aligning device is used for alignment. Further, when the sheets are stacked on the staple tray member in the saddle stitching mode, the second sheet aligning device shown in FIG. 1 can be positioned according to the size information of the sheets. Thus, the binding operation for the central portion of the paper in the length direction can be easily performed.

[0032]

Since the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention is constructed as described above, one stapling apparatus is provided so as to be movable in the sheet width direction, and the binding position is arbitrarily selected. Then, it is possible to drive the staple. Then, the sheet aligning device including the stopper device and the paddle is arranged in correspondence with the binding position by the stapling device, and a means for responding to the edge stapling mode of the paper is configured, and in the downstream portion of the stapling device,
Another sheet aligning device can be arranged to correspond to the saddle stitching mode of the sheet. Further, of the two sheet aligning devices provided in the present invention, in the device that is placed close to the stapling device, an upper guide plate that is placed on the upper stapling member, a paddle and a guide plate member that are placed on the sheet aligning device. It is possible to accommodate the saddle-stitching operation of the sheet by providing the and the vertically movable elements and swinging the stopper device to a position where the stopper device is retracted from the sheet conveying path.

Therefore, in the sheet aligning device arranged corresponding to the stapling device, when carrying out the edge binding operation of the sheet, a feeding action is applied to the stopper device in the direction of abutting the sheet by the paddle. And an upper guide plate arranged on the upper stapling member of the stapling apparatus,
The leading end portion of the paper can be regulated between the stopper device and the stopper device to provide the aligning action. Further, when performing the aligning action in the saddle-stitching mode of the paper, by retracting the stopper device and the paddle member of the paper aligning device close to the stapling device to a position that does not hinder the passage of the paper,
A sheet aligning device arranged downstream of the stapling device can be used to provide the aligning action. In addition to the above-mentioned configuration, the sheet aligning device arranged in the downstream portion of the stapling device regulates the edge of the sheet according to the size of the sheet and sets the binding position in the length direction of the sheet in order to set the binding position. It can be carried out. By arranging the two types of sheet aligning devices having the above-described configurations, it is possible to easily set two types of binding modes for the post-processing device, and for the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. The binding work can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a stapling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a sheet aligning device arranged with respect to the stapling device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the first sheet aligning device of the present invention.

5 is an explanatory view of the position of an alignment member corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the sheet is aligned by a second sheet aligning device.

7 is an explanatory diagram of the position of the alignment member corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship of members corresponding to edge binding of sheets.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship of members corresponding to saddle stitching of sheets.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship of members arranged corresponding to stoppers in the first sheet aligning apparatus.

11 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the stopper of FIG. 10 is positioned corresponding to end binding.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the stopper of FIG. 10 is positioned corresponding to saddle stitching.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 paper post-processing device, 5 discharge roller device, 5b
Orbit roller, 7 discharge roller device, 1
0 staple tray member, 12 second sheet aligning device, 13 stopper, 14 paddle member,
20 staple device, 21 upper staple member, 25 lower staple member, 30 drive device, 40 stopper device, 41 stopper, 5
0 solenoid, 56 drive shaft, 60 guide plate member, 70 guide plate member, 73 spring, 74 stopper, 80 transport member, 81
Paddle, 83 drive shaft, 90 arm member,
95 Solenoid.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A device, which is connected to a paper discharge unit of an image forming apparatus, aligns paper sheets and binds them with staples, combines a stitcher member and a clincher member, and puts them above and below a stack of paper sheets deposited at the binding position. Along
A stapling device comprising the two stapling members individually movable in the width direction of the paper, wherein one stapling device is movable in the width direction of the paper and is placed close to the binding position by the stapling device. A first sheet aligning unit that is disposed so as to be capable of appearing and retracting with respect to the sheet conveying path, a second sheet aligning unit that is movably provided at a downstream portion of the stapling apparatus, and a sheet set for the stapling apparatus. 2. An image forming apparatus, wherein the edge stapling mode and the saddle stitching mode of the sheet are selected, and the first and second sheet aligning means are selectively operated corresponding to the binding mode of the stapling apparatus. Paper post-processing device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet aligning unit is provided with a stopper device capable of projecting and retracting in a sheet conveying path, and a conveying member that conveys the sheet with respect to a stopper of the stopper device. Paper post-processing device of forming device.