JPH09183559A - Sheet binding device and image forming device with it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive sheet binding device and image forming device incorporating it of simple configuraion, with which it is possible to enhance the quality of a sheet bundle without dislocation of sheets and make the post-treatment stably using a small number of restricting members. SOLUTION: An aligning tray 38 is equipped with a tail restricting member 20 of split construction, and sheets S exhausted and stacked on the tray 38 by exhaust means 17, 18 are allowed to run against the tail restricting member 20 and aligned. A post-treatment means 400 is provided having approx. the same collide surface as the collide surface of the tail restricting member 20, and the sheets are allowed to run against not only the member 20 but also the post-treatment means 40 and are bound together by a binding means 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet binding device for binding sheets on which an image has been formed (hereinafter referred to as "copy sheet"), and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer and a facsimile equipped with the sheet binding device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sheet binding device that aligns the copy sheets in a sheet bundle and performs post-processing such as binding the sheet bundle, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet binding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing post-processing such as binding at a predetermined position in the width direction of a sheet is known.
In the sheet post-processing apparatus, a regulating member for regulating the position of the trailing edge of the sheet for aligning the sheets stacked on the processing tray for post-processing the sheet is provided. The regulation member has a cutout portion to avoid interference with a sheet binding device that binds sheets. And
The sheet binding device binds a limited portion of the sheet at the position of the cutout portion.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the operation range of the sheet binding device is further expanded so that a wide range of sheets can be bound.
A large cutout portion of the regulation member is provided. Therefore, the abutting area of the restricting member for aligning the sheet is reduced and the sheet is displaced,
The quality of the bound sheet bundle was deteriorated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to perform post-processing such as binding by the constituent member of the post-processing means also serving as a part of the restriction member for restricting the rear end position of the sheets stacked on the alignment tray. Since the sheets can be bound without shifting, the quality of the bound sheet bundle can be improved, and a stable post-processing operation can be performed with a small number of regulating members, so the sheet structure is simple and inexpensive. An object is to provide a binding device and an image forming apparatus including the binding device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a discharging unit for discharging a sheet, an aligning tray for stacking and aligning the sheet, and a stacking tray mounted on the aligning tray. A trailing edge regulating member for abutting and aligning the trailing edge of the placed sheet, a post-processing means for post-processing the sheet, and an aligning means for aligning the sheets stacked on the aligning tray with the trailing edge regulating member. A sheet post-processing, wherein the post-processing means includes an abutting portion having an abutting surface substantially the same as an abutting surface for abutting the trailing edge of the sheet of the trailing edge regulating member. On the device.

Further, the post-processing means may have binding means for binding the sheets.

Further, it is preferable that the rear end regulating member is divided into a plurality of pieces.

Further, it is more preferable that the rear end regulating member divided into a plurality of parts be independently rotatable so that interference with the binding means can be avoided.

Further, a binding moving means for moving the post-processing means may be provided, and the post-processing means may have a cam member for rotating the divided rear end regulating member.

Then, a discharging means for discharging the sheet, an aligning tray for stacking and aligning the sheet, a trailing edge regulating member for aligning and aligning the trailing edge of the sheet placed on the aligning tray, and the sheet Post-processing means for performing post-processing,
A sheet binding device, comprising: an aligning unit that aligns sheets stacked on the aligning tray with the trailing edge regulating member, and the post-processing unit has a part of the trailing edge regulating member. Good.

Further, it is preferable that the rear end regulating member is divided into a plurality of pieces.

Further, the post-processing means may have binding means for binding the sheets.

Further, it is preferable that the binding means is a stapler.

The present invention can be similarly applied to an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit and a sheet binding device that stacks and binds sheets on which images are formed by the image forming unit.

[Operation] Based on the above construction, the sheets discharged and stacked on the aligning tray by the discharging means are aligned and aligned by the aligning means with respect to the plurality of trailing edge regulating members provided on the aligning tray. To be done. The sheet, together with the rear end regulating member divided into the plurality, is applied to a post-processing means having an abutting surface substantially the same as an abutting surface for abutting the rear end of the sheet of the rear end regulating member. To be Then, the sheets are bound by the binding means.

Since the plurality of divided rear end regulating members are independently rotatable, the post-processing means
When the binding moving means for moving the post-processing means moves along the plurality of divided rear end regulating members, the cam member for rotating the divided rear end regulating members of the post-processing means causes the rear end regulating member to rotate. By rotating the divided rear end regulating member at the position where the processing means approaches, interference with the post-processing means is avoided. Therefore, the sheets can be bound over a wide range of the sheets, and the sheets are aligned accurately, so that the quality of the sheet bundle is improved.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 5 to which the present invention can be applied.
It is a figure which shows the internal structure of 00. In the figure, 1 is a sheet post-processing apparatus including a sheet binding device 60 of the present invention, 100 is a copying apparatus main body which is an image forming unit, and 200
Is a paper cassette that holds multiple sheets of different sizes,
Reference numeral 300 denotes a circulation type document feeder (hereinafter referred to as "RDF") which automatically feeds a document.

On the other hand, in the digital type copying machine,
Scanner part that reads the image of the original (hereinafter "scanner part")
And a printer unit that reproduces an image (hereinafter referred to as “printer unit”), and each can operate independently. The scanner unit irradiates the original with a lamp, decomposes the reflected light into small dots (pixels) with a light receiving element, and at the same time converts it into an electric signal according to the light and shade of the original (photoelectric conversion). Based on the electric signal sent from the scanner unit, the drum is irradiated with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image on the drum, and the copy forms an image after development, transfer and fixing. Therefore, by connecting the interface unit 501 to the digital copying machine, the signal of the original read by the scanner unit can be transmitted to another facsimile 5
02, or conversely, an electric signal received from another facsimile 502 can be sent to the printer unit through the interface unit 501 to display an image on a transfer sheet.

Similarly, an image signal received from a computer device 503 (hereinafter referred to as "personal computer") such as a personal computer is sent to a printer unit through an interface unit 501 and copied to a transfer sheet, or an image read by a scanner unit is displayed. It can be loaded into the personal computer 503 through the interface 501. As described above, in the current digital copying machine, not only the original sent from the RDF 300 or the original placed on the platen glass 101 is read and copied, but also the interface unit (501) is used.
It is also possible to use it as the facsimile 502 or as the printer of the personal computer 503 by intervening.

In the copying apparatus 100, 101 is an original platen glass (platen glass) on which originals are stacked, 103, 1
Reference numeral 04 denotes a scanning reflection mirror (scanning mirror) for changing the optical path of the reflected light of the original, 105 denotes a lens having a focusing and variable magnification function, 106 denotes an illumination lamp and a mirror for reading the original sent from the RDF 300. It is the first scanning mirror that it has. 107 is a registration roller, 108 and 110
Is a photosensitive drum and a pressure roller, 111 is a conveyor belt that conveys the recording sheet on which an image has been recorded to the fixing side, 112 is a fixing device that thermocompresses the conveyed recording sheet, and 113 and 11
7 is a conveyance roller for conveying the recording paper, 114 is a flapper for switching the conveyance direction of the conveyed recording paper,
Reference numeral 115 is a conveyance roller for conveying the recording paper toward the sheet post-processing apparatus 1, 116 is a reversing path for conveying the front and back of the recording paper in an inverted form, 118 is a photosensitive drum unit unit for the paper from the paper feeding cassette and the reversing path. Conveying rollers for conveying to, 119, 120, and 121 are rollers, trays, and separation pads for conveying sheets from the manual feeding unit. 12
Reference numerals 2, 123, and 125 are a laser for forming an image on the photosensitive drum, a polygon mirror, and a mirror for changing the optical path, and 124 is a motor for moving the polygon mirror 123.

The paper feed cassette 200 stacks sheets of each size by type and supplies the sheets to the main body by type according to a signal from the main body. Reference numeral 201 is a conveyance roller for pulling out the sheet from the cassette, and 202 is an intermediate roller for delivering the sheet pulled out from the cassette in the upward direction. The photosensitive drum 1
The surface of 08 is composed of a photoconductor and a seamless photoconductor using the conductor, and this drum 108 is rotatably supported by a shaft and is operated in response to the pressing of a copy start key, which will be described later. (Not shown) starts rotation in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Next, when the predetermined rotation control and potential control processing (pre-processing) of the drum 108 is completed, the platen glass 1
The original placed on 01 is illuminated by an illumination lamp integrated with the first scanning mirror 106, and the reflected light of the original passes through the scanning mirrors 103 and 104 and the lens 10.
An image is formed by the light receiving element inside the lens unit through the lens 5.

The light receiving element converts the reflected light image from the document into an electric signal and sends it to an image processing section (not shown).
The image processing unit performs predetermined data processing received by the main body from the user and sends the data to the laser 122. The laser section 122 converts the electric signal into light, and the light is reflected by the polygon mirror 123 and the mirror 125 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 108. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 108 is visualized by the toner and transferred onto a transfer paper as described later. The transfer paper set in the cassette 200 or the manual feed tray 120 is fed by the paper feed rollers 118, 201, 202, or 119.
It is sent into the copying apparatus 100, and is sent to the photosensitive drum 108 with accurate timing by the registration roller 107, so that the leading edge of the latent image and the leading edge of the transfer sheet are aligned. After that, the transfer paper passes between the photosensitive drum 108 and the roller 110, so that the toner image on the drum 108 is transferred onto the transfer paper. After that, the transfer paper is separated from the drum 108, guided to the fixing device 112 by the conveyor belt 1ll, and fixed by pressing and heating. The transfer paper is advanced by the flapper 114 in the direction of the paper discharge roller 115, and is output to the sheet post-processing device 1 with the printing surface facing upward.

On the other hand, in the RDF 300, 301
Is a stacking tray for setting the original bundle 302 downwards. When a single-sided original, the half-moon roller 304 and the separation roller 303 separate the originals one by one from the bottom of the original bundle, and the conveyance roller 305 and the entire belt 306 separate the originals. After being conveyed to the exposure position of the platen glass 101 via the paths I to II, the platen glass 101 is stopped and the copying operation is started. After completion of copying, the paper is conveyed to the path VI by the large conveyance roller 307 via the path IV, and further discharged by the paper discharge roller 308.
It is returned to the upper surface of the original bundle 302 again. Reference numeral 309 denotes a recycle lever that detects one circulation of the original document. The recycle lever 309 is placed on the upper part of the original document stack at the start of document feeding, and the original documents are sequentially fed. When the trailing edge of the final document leaves the recycle lever 309, it falls by its own weight. Therefore, one circulation of the original is detected.

Next, in the case of a double-sided original, the original is once guided to the paths I, II to III as described above, and the rotatable switching flapper 310 is switched there to guide the leading edge of the original to the path IV, and the conveying roller 305. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the platen glass 101 by the entire surface belt 306 through the path II and then stopped. That is, the large conveyance roller 307 causes the path III
The document is inverted in the route of IV to II.

The sheet post-processing apparatus 1 is an image forming apparatus 50.
No. 0 main body side (a portion constituted by the RDF 300, the copying apparatus 100, and the sheet feeding cassette 200) can be connected and separated. First, the stopper member 2 formed on the upper portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 makes the image forming apparatus. It is positioned and attached to the combined holding portion 133. Furthermore,
A folder unit or a mounting base 70 is arranged under the sheet post-processing apparatus 1, and casters 80 are movably attached to the folding machine unit or the mounting base 70. Therefore, for jamming in the vicinity of the sheet discharge section of the copying apparatus 100 or jamming in the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 and the transfer section of the copying apparatus 100, the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 is rotated by rotating the stopper member 2 in the X direction. This can be easily done by separating the image forming apparatus 500 from the main body side (FIG. 1).

The copy sheet discharged from the discharge section of the copying apparatus 100 is processed by the subsequent processing method in FIG.
The conveyance is switched to either the sheet post-processing device 1 or the folding device 70 using the first flapper 3. When the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 processes copy paper, the upstream end of the first flapper 3 is located in the downward direction and the upstream end of the second flapper 4 is located in the upward direction. Through
It is sent to the first transport path 6. When the copy sheet is conveyed to the folding device 70, the upstream end of the first flapper 3 is located in the upper direction, and is conveyed through the third conveying path 7 in the direction indicated by the broken line arrow. As described above, the copy sheet discharged from the discharging section has the upstream side end of the first flapper 3 positioned in the upward direction, and is further transported to the downstream side from the first transport path 6 through the roller pair 5. 8 is a second transport path (buffer path), 9 is a buffer roller, 14, 15, 16,
Are buffer rollers, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are sheet detection sensors, which detect a passing sheet, a staying sheet, and the like.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a first discharging roller which is a discharging means,
Reference numeral 8 is a pressing roller that is a discharging means that cooperates with the first discharging roller 17, and 19 is a discharging aligning belt that is a matching means, and is rotated by being sandwiched between the first discharging roller 17 and the pressing roller 18. In addition, as a measure for preventing the belt from coming off, an endless rib is provided in the vicinity of the central portion on the inner side of the belt, and is engaged with the first discharge roller 17 to rotate. The abutting plate 20, which is a trailing edge regulating member, can take a reference position and a home position for sequentially stacking copy sheets, and a retracted position for retracting when the stapler 22 that is the binding means moves back and forth. Stippler 2 composed of multiple members
When changing the position of 2, the contact plate 20 in the same phase as the stapler 22 can be rotated to the position shown by the broken line and retracted. The details of the retracting mechanism for the contact plate 20 will be described later. Copy sheet S
Alignment in the width direction is performed by the width aligning guide 21 shown in FIG. Further, the stapler 22 moves the range indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 and performs stapling at a predetermined position of each size in order to perform stapling of sheets at two locations, one at the front and one at the back.

Reference numerals 25, 24, and 23 in FIG. 2 are second trays, which are trays for stacking discharged sheets of the first, second, and third stages, respectively. Reference numeral 50 is a measuring means for measuring the height of the paper surface of the copy sheet discharged to the tray. The measuring means (hereinafter referred to as “distance measuring sensor”) 50 is for measuring the height of the paper surface after the copy sheet is discharged, and moving the tray upward and downward to an appropriate position. 26 is the tray 23, 24, 2
It is a tray unit including 5 and can be moved in the vertical direction by a driving force from a driving source built in the lower part thereof.

The operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 of the present invention will be described below. When ejecting copy sheets without stapling, the trays 23, 24, 25
Directly discharge to.

First, FIGS. 5 and 6 show the case where the copy sheets are discharged to the tray 24 of the second stage.
When the non-stipple mode is selected by the operator, when the cam 351 shown in FIG. 7 is rotated by the drive source M in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the moving discharge roller 33 attached to the swing guide 31 becomes the second discharge roller 32. The rocking guide 31 is lowered to the position where it is pressed. Further, the stopper 30 rotates to the position (the position shown in FIG. 8) rotated in the Y direction with respect to the swing guide 31 and stops. The swing guide 3
Ribs 311 are formed on the sheet contact surface 31b of FIG. 1 (FIGS. 7, 10, and 11). The copy sheet discharged from the copying apparatus 100 in this state passes through the first transport path 6, the roller pair 5, and is passed to the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18. The copy sheet discharged further downstream from the position by the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18 is moved by the moving discharge roller 33 of the swing guide 31 and the second discharge roller 32 to the trays 23, 24, 25. And is discharged to the upper surface of the tray 23, 24, 25 (FIG. 2).

In the normal copy mode, the tray 23,
Paper present sensors 23a, 24 disposed in the 24, 25
When it is confirmed by a, 25a (FIG. 6) that no copy sheet remains on the tray, the tray unit 26 moves to a predetermined position for receiving the first copy sheet of the third-level tray 23. When the number of stacked sheets reaches a certain number or more, the tray unit 26 descends to a position where the upper surface of the stacked sheets is almost the same as the surface receiving the first copy sheet. When the distance measuring sensor 50 detects that the maximum load amount of sheets has been loaded in each of the trays 23, 24 and 25 by repeating the above operation, a stop signal is issued to the copying apparatus 100 to eject copy sheets. Pause. Here, the tray unit 26
In order to stack copy sheets on the tray 24, is moved to a position determined to stack the first copy sheet. After that, a copy operation restart signal is output to the copying apparatus 100 to restart the copy operation and start stacking sheets. When the sheets are discharged to the tray 25 of the first stage, the same process as the loading from the tray 23 of the third stage to the tray 24 of the second stage is performed.

As described in the section of the interface, the image forming apparatus 500 is a facsimile (50
2) Since the personal computer (503) can also have a function as a printer, this apparatus can sort and stack copy sheets in each tray 23, 24, 25. It is also possible to assign numbers to the trays 23, 24, 25 according to the user's wishes and stack them on the trays 23, 24, 25 desired by the user. In FIG. 6, the illustrated state is a state in which a certain number of output sheets from the personal computer 503 are received. When stacking the output paper in the copy mode from this state (when using the tray 25), the tray unit 26 descends and the tray 2 is moved.
The copy sheet discharged from the copying apparatus 100 is stacked by moving to the position 5 for receiving the first copy sheet.

Next, with the tray 24 receiving a certain number of output sheets of the personal computer 503, the facsimile 502
A case of stacking output sheets such as the above will be described. If sheets are stacked on the tray 24 and moved up to stack the sheets on the tray 23, there is a space in the Fp portion indicated by the diagonal lines in FIG. When the copy sheets S are stacked, when the trays 23, 24, and 25 are raised, the stopper 30 is inserted as shown in FIG. By rotating from the position of the broken line part to the position of the solid line part and closing the space of the Fp part, it is possible for the tray 24 to move upward with the copy sheets stacked.

On the other hand, at the time of stipple sorting in which stippling is performed and copying is performed, the sheets are not directly stacked on the stacking trays 23, 24 and 25, but the first tray in FIG. "Tray")
To load. When the staple sort mode is selected by the user, the swing guide 31 is driven by a driving source (not shown).
Is raised to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 12 (the position where the second discharge roller 32 and the movable discharge roller 33 are separated from each other). In this state, the paper stopper portion 35 of the roller guide 34
Project to the upper end of the tray stacking surface. The copy sheet discharged from the copying apparatus 100 in this state is
After passing through the transport path 6, the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 1
Passed to 8. The first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 1
The copy sheet S ejected by means of
Is released, and the movable discharge roller 33 is
Since it is separated upward from the discharge roller 32, it is stacked on the staple tray 38.

In the above-described state, the tray 24 is located above the non-stipple mode and supports the rear end of the copy sheet to assist in returning to the upper side in the discharge direction as shown in FIG. The copy sheet discharged onto the stipple tray 38 in FIG. 13 is assisted in falling by its own weight toward the upstream side in the discharge direction by setting the inclination of the stipple tray 38 and the drop position of the copy sheet on the tray 24 at a high position. However, it is further urged in the upstream direction on the staple tray 38 by the discharge alignment belt 19 which rotates in the arrow direction in synchronization with the first discharge roller 17 (FIG. 14). Therefore, the copy sheet S hits the contact plate 20,
It is aligned in the opposite direction to the ejection direction. Further, the alignment of the copy sheet S in the width direction is performed by the motor 5 in FIGS.
The copy guide is moved by a width-shifting guide 21 moved by 32 to start the operation at a predetermined time when the copy sheet falls on the staple tray and hits the contacting plate 20, and the copy sheet is moved from the inner side of the main body in FIG. By operating to the front side, the copy sheet is aligned in the front direction.

As described above, the operation is repeated until the set number of sheets is loaded on the stipple tray 38, and all the set numbers of sheets are loaded on the stipple tray 38 as shown in FIG. When aligned, the stapler 22 described later in detail operates. When the stippling operation is completed, as shown in FIG. 15, the swing guide 31 descends and the second discharge roller 32 rotates in the arrow direction,
The stapled paper on the staple tray 38 is discharged (FIG. 16).

During the stapling operation, the copy sheets S are sequentially ejected from the copying apparatus 100. Therefore, the leading one sheet of the ejected sheets of the next job is retained in the sheet post-processing device and the second copy sheet is copied. The sheet is superposed and discharged. 17 to 20 show this series of operations. The first copy sheet discharged from the copying apparatus 100 is sent to the buffer path 8 when the upstream end portions of the first flapper 3 and the second flapper 4 are positioned downward (FIG. 17). The copy sheet sent to the buffer path 8 is wound around the buffer roller 9 and sent in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

Here, the flapper 39 is a copy sheet S.
Rotates so as to be fed in the direction of the roller 15, and the sheet detection sensor 11 detects the leading edge of the copy sheet and stops (FIG. 18). Then, when the second copy sheet comes in, the buffer roller 9 starts rotating, and
The first copy sheet is stacked and conveyed (FIG. 19). When the trailing edge of the first copy sheet passes the position of the flapper 39, the flapper 39 is rotated so as to feed the copy sheet toward the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18, and the two sheets are overlapped. The copy sheet S is discharged onto the staple tray 38 (FIG. 20).

By performing the above operation, the copy sheet S
That is, while the stapler 22 is performing the staple operation, the staple operation can be performed without being discharged from the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18, and the operation of the copying apparatus 100 should be stopped. There is no. Furthermore, it is possible to wind three or more copy sheets around the buffer roller 9 in order to gain time for performing the stippling operation. By repeating the above operation, a plurality of stipple copy bundles Sb are created. When the stipple copy bundle Sb is already on the tray 24 as shown in FIG. In addition, if the already-loaded paper exceeds the point G shown in FIG. 12 to the upper side, when the next discharged paper comes out, it may be caught and jammed (FIG. 9).
Since the aligning guide 21 operates and becomes a load at the time of alignment, the alignment may be deteriorated.
A paper stopper portion 35 that suppresses the upper end surface of the roller 4 is provided on the upper end of the roller guide 34 so that it can be retracted.

The paper stopper portion 35 is provided for the swing guide 3
1 and the link 36, the swing guide 31 is extended to the trays 23, 24 and 25 when the swing guide 31 is opened, and retracted when the swing guide 31 is lowered.
It makes it possible to move 3, 24, and 25 and facilitates the ejection of stapled paper. In addition, another tray 23,
When the copy sheets are discharged to the sheets 24 and 25, the copy sheets already loaded on the tray 24 flow backward into the stipple tray if the swing guide 31 is left open. As shown, the swing guide 31 and the stopper 30 are closed, and the roller guide 34 is further rotated to enable movement when the trays 23, 24, and 25 are already loaded. With the above-described configuration, the stacked sheets can cross the discharge port of the staple tray 38, so that the trays 2 and 24 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 are loaded with the sheets and the trays 2 and 24 are stacked.
The image forming apparatus 500 that can move between 3, 24, and 25 and has the function of the interface 501.
The performance of can be fully utilized.

Next, the moving structure and staple binding position of the staple unit 400 will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 to 24. Note that FIG. 24 shows sheet sizes A3 and A.
4 and B4 and B5 are shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the staple unit 400
The retracting mechanism of the trailing edge regulating member 20 that performs the retracting operation when moving in the direction of arrow P will be described later.

First, the binding position will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet post-processing apparatus 1 is provided with an electric stapler 22 for binding the copy sheet bundle Sa stacked on the staple tray 38. The stapler tray 38 is moved by a stapler moving mechanism, which will be described later.
With respect to the copy sheet bundle Sa stacked on the upper side, binding is performed at the front one place (binding position H1 shown in FIG. 24), two places binding (binding positions H2 and H3 shown in FIG. 24), and one place on the back side ( The binding stop position H4) shown in FIG. 24 is performed. The stippler 22 is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow P in FIGS. 22 and 24, and performs stapling operation at each position.

Next, a staple unit 400, which is a post-processing unit having the stapler 22, and its guide
The drive mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 23. The stapler 22 is fixed to the stapler cover 430, and is supported by a support member 431 provided on the moving table 433 so as to be movable in the Q direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 21). In addition, the moving member 433 has a spring member 43.
9 is provided to bias the stapler cover 430 upward, and is positioned by the stopper 430a. Further, support shafts 441, 442, and 443 are arranged on the moving base 433, and a pulley gear 440, guide support members 434, 435, and 436 are rotatably supported by the support shafts 441, 442, and 443, respectively. Further, a regulating member 444 for keeping the parallel movement of the movable table 433 is rotatably supported. Further, the movable table 433 is provided with a stopper regulating member 438 related to a retracting mechanism of the trailing edge regulating member 20 described later. Further, the stay 432 is provided with a slot-shaped groove 447 (FIG. 22) that restricts the movement of the guide support member 434, and a rack 445 that meshes with the rail 437 and the pulley gear 440 that restrict the movement of the guide support members 435 and 436.
Are arranged.

Further, the moving table 433 is provided with a pulse motor 452 (FIG. 23) which is a binding moving means for moving the stapler unit in the direction of arrow P, and the pulse motor 452 has a belt pulley 454. It is arranged. A timing belt 455 is disposed between the belt pulley 454 and the pulley gear 440, whereby the drive of the pulse motor 452 is transmitted to the pulley gear 440 meshing with the rack 445, and the staple unit 400 is indicated by the arrow P. Move in the direction. Reference numeral 453 is a cover for electric parts such as the pulse motor 452.
Reference numeral 6 (FIG. 22) is a photo interrupter that functions as a detection unit that detects the home position of the staple unit 400. By the photo interrupter 446,
Although the position of the staple unit 400 (binding position) is controlled by defining the rotation amount of the pulse motor 452 by the number of pulses starting from the home position, the present invention is not limited to this structure. .

Next, the first guide supporting member 434 is restricted by the slot-shaped groove 447 provided in the stay 432.
434 (A) to 434 (F) and 434 (K) shown in the figure
Position (hereinafter referred to as "A, B, C, D, E, F, K")
Between the two (FIG. 22). Second guide support member 435
Is regulated by the rail 437 only while the first guide support member 434 moves from the position A to the position E, and the third guide support member 436 has the first guide support member 434 which has the position E. , F, and K are restricted by the rail 437 only while moving. The stapler 22 is always 2
The position and angle are regulated by one of the two guide support members, and the guide binding member is positioned at the staple binding position by the rotation amount of the motor 452.

The mounting position of the second guiding support member 435 in the height direction is lower than the mounting position of the third guiding support member 436, and the rail 437 regulates the second guiding support member 435. The gap between the height direction area and the height direction area where the rail 437 regulates the third guide support member 436 is maintained. Therefore, in the region where the third guide support member 436 tries to enter the rail 437, the rail 437 that restricts the second guide support member 435 is provided.
Since it is not necessary to provide a notch or the like in the region in the height direction of the second guide support member 435, the second guide support member 435 does not fall out of the regulation region of the rail 437.

In FIG. 22, the first guide support member 43
When 4 is in the A (home position) position, the second
The position of the guide supporting member 435 is regulated by the rail 437, and the third guide supporting member 436 is in a free state. At this time, the diagonal binding operation can be performed at the position H1 in FIG. Next, the first guide support member 43
When 4 moves from the position A to the position C, the second guide support member 435 of the stipple unit 400 that was tilted at the predetermined angle at the position A has the rail 437.
When the first guide support member 434 moves between C and D by being positionally regulated, it gradually rotates in parallel to the width direction of the sheet, and the stapler unit moves the sheet. The position is regulated so as to maintain a parallel state with respect to the width direction of the. As a result, it is possible to perform parallel two-point binding (H1, H2) operations according to different types of paper sizes.

When the first guide support member 434 moves from the position D to the position F, the second guide support member 435 is formed.
Moves out of the position regulation region by the rail 437, and at the same time, the third guide support member 436 enters the position regulation region by the rail 437 from the free position. At this time,
The staple unit 400 that was in a parallel state with respect to the width direction of the sheet is tilted by a predetermined angle. When the first guide support member 434 moves from the position F to the position K, the staple unit tilted by a predetermined angle causes the third guide support member 436 to be regulated by the rail 437 so that the predetermined guide unit 436 has a predetermined position. Move while being tilted. As a result, it is possible to perform the (H4) operation in which the back-side diagonal one-point binding is performed in accordance with various paper sizes.

The staple unit 400 is constructed so as to be movable in the P direction while the position and the angle are regulated, so that the staple unit 400 is bound at one position at the front, bound at the two positions, and positioned at the back side at the position corresponding to each kind of paper size. It becomes possible to bind in place. The amount of movement of the first guide support member 434 is defined by the amount of rotation of the pulse motor 452 as described above. As shown in FIG. 24, by providing the sheet alignment standard on one side, the front one-position binding position (H1) is common for all kinds of paper sizes, but the sheet alignment standard is set to the sheet center and two-position binding is performed. Position (H2, H
Although 3) is common to various paper sizes, the present invention is not limited to this.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 25, the stapler cover 430 is provided with a convex portion 430b which is an abutting portion for abutting and aligning the trailing edge of the copy sheet S in the sheet conveying downstream direction. And the convex portion 40
The contact surface 20f of the trailing edge regulating member 20 (detailed description on the next page) of the copy sheet S is provided on the side surface of the sheet conveying direction 3b in the downstream direction.
The sheet rear end receiving surface 430c which is an abutting surface having substantially the same position and substantially the same angle as the (sheet rear end receiving surface 20f).
Is provided.

Next, the trailing edge regulating member 20 that regulates the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the staple tray 38 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The trailing edge regulating member 20 serves as an evacuation mechanism that regulates the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the stipple tray 38 and retreats when the stipple unit 400 moves in the direction of arrow P. Therefore, the mechanism will be described below. The rear end regulating member 20 is rotatably supported by a shaft member 457 arranged on the staple tray 38, and is urged in a counterclockwise direction by a spring member 448 supported by the shaft member 457. Then, at this position, the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the staple tray 38 is regulated. Reference numeral 450 denotes a gear portion integrally fixed to the rear end regulating member 20, and meshes with a fan-shaped gear 451 rotatably supported by the shaft member 456. As shown in FIG. 25, the electric stapler 22
Since the rear end regulating member 20 and the rear end regulating member 20 have an overlapping positional relationship, not only the stapling unit 400 cannot move in the direction of the arrow P, but also the staple binding operation cannot be performed. The stopper regulating member 438, which is a cam member disposed on the moving table 433, abuts against the contact portion 45la of the fan gear 451 and the fan gear 451 rotates to the position indicated by the broken line, thereby moving to the retracted position indicated by the broken line. (FIG. 25).

The rear end regulating member 20 is divided into a plurality of pieces in the width direction of the sheet (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d,
20e), a spring member 448, a gear portion 450,
A fan gear 451 is provided. Therefore, the rear end regulating members 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e are configured to be independently rotatable. That is, when the staple unit 400 is at the position shown in FIG. 26, the trailing edge regulating members 20 a, 20 b, 20 c are at the first position that regulates the trailing edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the staple tray 38. The rear end regulating members 20d and 20e are in the second position which is the retracted position from the staple unit 400. Further, when the stopper regulating member 438 (FIG. 25) is disengaged from the contact portion 45la of the sector gear 451, the rear end regulating member 20 and the sector gear 451 move from the second position (broken line position) to the first position (solid line position). In addition, the spring member 448 is configured to be rotated by the returning force of the spring member 448.

As shown in FIG. 26, the trailing edge regulating members 20a, 20b, 20c regulate the trailing edge of the sheet.
And the trailing edge regulating members 20d and 20e are in the retracted second position, and when the stapling operation is to be performed, the trailing edge regulating members 20a and 20b support the sheet trailing edge. , 20c sheet receiving surface 20f3
Since there is only one place, the rear side of the rear end of the sheet bundle is displaced toward the upstream side of the sheet conveyance.
The sheet rear end receiving surface 430c of the stipple cover convex portion 430b provided at substantially the same position and at the same angle as f supports the rear side of the sheet bundle upstream side rear end portion to prevent the sheet bundle displacement. , Accurate stipple operation becomes possible. This means that the rear end regulating members 20a, 20b are in the second position, which is the retracted position, and the rear end regulating members 20c, 20b.
The same applies when d and 20e are at the first position that regulates the rear end of the sheet, that is, when the staple unit 400 is at a position close to the operating side. Also,
As shown in FIG. 26, the above-described convex portion 430b is provided at two places in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance with a distance from the central portion of the staple unit 400. In the case of each of the side 1-point binding and the back 1-point binding, there is no contact with the rear end of the sheet bundle.

Next, the specific construction and basic operation of the electric stapler 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28.

The stapler 22 has an alligator shape and is equipped with an upper forming part 401 and a lower stipple table 402. The forming part 4
A needle cartridge 403 is detachably attached to 01, and about 5000 needles H connected in a plate shape are loaded in the needle cartridge 403. The plate needle H loaded in the needle cartridge 403 is urged downward by a spring 404 provided on the uppermost side of the needle cartridge 403, and the feed roller 40 arranged at the lowermost side.
It is configured such that the conveyance force is applied to 5.

The needles H sent out by the feed rollers 405 are formed one by one by swinging the forming part 401. The forming part 4
01 indicates that the eccentric cam gear 408 is rotated via the gear train 407 when the staple motor 406 is activated, and the action of the knitting cam integrally attached to the eccentric cam gear 408 causes as shown by an arrow in the figure. Then, the clinching operation (needle binding operation) is performed by swinging to the staple table 402 side. The staple-free state of the staple H loaded in the needle cartridge 403 is the needle cartridge 40.
3, a needleless detection sensor 409 (reflective sensor), which is a needle detection means provided below the sensor 3, is used for detection.

In order to detect a needle jam (needle clogging) of the staple H sent out from the staple cartridge 403, as shown in FIG. 28, a cord 406a for supplying a drive current to a staple motor 406 is connected. A current detection sensor (abnormality detection means) 406b which is load detection means for detecting the value of the current flowing through the cord 406a is provided.

Next, the stippling operation of the stapler 22 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 29A, the plate-shaped needles H stored in the needle cartridge 403 are sent out one by one (sheets) from the lowermost side by the feed roller 405 (FIG. 27) and sent to the needle bending block 415. The tip end of the needle Ha is held in the holding groove 415a of the needle bending block 415 at the center. Then, when the knitting cam gear 408 rotates and the forming part 401 moves to the downward operation position, the driver 416 is pushed down by a drive mechanism (not shown) as shown in FIG. 29B,
The plunger 416a is pushed down. At this time, the push claw 41 formed on a part of the plunger 416a.
The U-shaped bending block 417 is pressed by 6b and is pressed onto the needle bending block 415. The stapler needle H held in the holding groove 415a of the needle bending block 415 is bent in a U shape as shown in FIG. 29 (a).

Then, the plunger 416a is further pushed down, the pushing claw 416b is disengaged from the U-shaped bending block 417, and only the plunger 416a is pushed down to reach the taper portion of the needle bending block 415. While pushing the bending block 415 to the state shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 29B (in the direction of the dashed arrow in the figure), only the most distal needle Ha bent in a U-shape is cut between the needle cutting member 418. Then, the copy sheet bundle Sa is bound by the staple Ha. When the knitting cam gear 408 rotates and the forming part 401 moves to the upper standby position, the driver 416 and the plunger 416a.
Moves upward, returns to the standby position, and starts stapling operation 1
The process ends.

Next, the operation of the sheet binding device 60 of the present invention and the image forming apparatus 500 having the same will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the photosensitive drum 10 is driven by the main motor (not shown) that operates in response to the depression of the copy start key.
8 starts rotating in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Next, when the predetermined rotation control of the drum 108 and the potential control processing (pre-processing) are completed, the original placed on the original glass 101 is
Illuminated by an illumination lamp integrally formed with the first scanning mirror 106, the reflected light of the original is reflected by the scanning mirror 10.
An image is formed on the light receiving element inside the lens unit through the lenses 105 through 3 and 104.

The light receiving element converts the reflected light image from the document into an electric signal and sends it to an image processing section (not shown).
The image processing unit performs predetermined data processing received by the main body from the user and sends the data to the laser 122. The laser section 122 converts the electric signal into light, and the light is reflected by the polygon mirror 123 and the mirror 125 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 108. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 108 is visualized by the toner and transferred onto a transfer paper as described later. The transfer paper set in the cassette 200 or the manual feed tray 120 is fed by the paper feed rollers 118, 201, 202, or 119.
The photosensitive drum 1 is sent to the registration roller 107, and by the registration roller 107, the photosensitive drum 1 is accurately timed.
08, and the leading edge of the latent image is aligned with the leading edge of the transfer paper. After that, the transfer paper passes between the photosensitive drum 108 and the roller 110, so that the toner image on the drum 108 is transferred onto the transfer paper. After this, the transfer paper is separated from the drum 108 and is fixed by the conveyor belt 1ll.
It is guided to 12 and fixed by pressure and heat. The transfer paper is advanced by the flapper 114 in the direction of the paper discharge roller 115, and is output to the sheet post-processing device 1 with the printing surface facing upward. In FIG. 2, the copy sheet discharged from the discharge unit of the copying apparatus 100 is switched to either the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 or the folding apparatus 70 by using the first flapper 3 according to the subsequent processing method. When the sheet post-processing apparatus 1 processes copy paper, the upstream end of the first flapper 3 is located in the downward direction and the upstream end of the second flapper 4 is located in the upward direction. Through to the first transport path 6.

The copy sheet sent to the first transport path 6 is nipped by the first discharge roller 17 and the pressing roller 18 as shown in FIG.
It is discharged to 8. The copy sheet discharged onto the stipple tray 38 is urged in the upstream direction on the stipple tray 38 by the discharge aligning belt 19 which rotates in the direction of the arrow in synchronization with the first discharge roller 17, and the copy sheet is pushed. The pad plate 20 is hit and aligned. Also, copy sheet S
The widthwise alignment of the
The copy sheet is dropped onto the staple tray to start the operation in a predetermined time of hitting the contact plate 20, and the copy sheet is moved by a predetermined distance from the width side of the copy sheet to the front side in FIG. The sheets are aligned frontward. The aligned copy sheet bundle Sa is
According to the procedure described later, the stapler 22 is bound by the first control unit 504a of the control unit 504 to form the staple copy bundle Sb.

Next, the stapler 22 binds the copy sheet bundle Sa. First, the needleless sensor 40
9 (FIG. 28) confirms that the needle is gone, the needle cartridge 403 is removed, a new cartridge 403 containing the needle H is attached, and the automatic indexing switch 515 (FIG. 2) in the stipple door is set. When it is pushed and the door is closed on it, one test pattern is printed (hereinafter referred to as "test pattern paper"), and when the test pattern paper is output on the upper surface of the staple tray 38, Is detected by the staple tray sensor 514 (FIG. 2), and the stapler 22 performs the binding operation. Then, the stapler 22 gives a blank shot until the needleless detection sensor 409 confirms the presence of the needle H, and the indexing is completed.

When the staple tray sensor 514 confirms that the test pattern sheet is placed on the staple tray 38, the discharge roller 32 is driven to discharge the test pattern sheet. Further, the staple tray sensor 514 determines and confirms whether or not the test pattern paper is ejected. The stapler 22 waits until the test pattern sheet is ejected, and when the test pattern sheet is removed, the needle replacement cueing control is terminated.

Next, the staple unit 400 is moved by the pulse motor 452 to move the copy sheet bundle Sa.
Approach the binding position of. At this time, the stopper regulating member 43 which is a cam member provided in the staple unit 400
25 rotates the sector gear 451 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 25, so that any of the rear end regulating members 20, such as the rear end regulating members 20d and 20e existing at the approaching position of the staple unit 400, is not shown in FIG. It is rotated in the direction and descends to the position shown by the broken line. The rear end regulating member 2
By the lowering operation of 0d and 20e, the rear end regulating member 20
The interference between d and 20e and the staple unit 400 can be avoided. Then, the sheet rear end receiving surface 430c of the stipple cover convex portion 430b formed on the staple unit 400 has the other rear end regulating members 20a, 2b.
0b and 20c cooperate with the sheet trailing edge receiving surface 20f to contact and hold the trailing edge of the copy sheet bundle Sa. In the holding state of the previous operation, the stapler 22 binds the sheet S. Therefore, since the copy sheet bundle Sa is bound with the end faces accurately aligned, the quality of the staple copy bundle Sb is improved.

Further, the aligned copy sheet bundle Sa is
The stapler bundle S bound by the stapler 22
b. When the stapling operation is completed, as shown in FIG. 15, the swing guide 31 descends and the second discharge roller 32 rotates in the arrow direction, so that the stapled paper on the staple tray 38 is discharged. (Fig. 1
6).

In the above embodiment, the staple cover convex portion 430b having the sheet rear end receiving surface 430c is provided in the staple unit 400, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the fixed portion of the stapler 22 is fixed. The stipple table 402 may be provided.

[0071]

As described above, according to the invention of the present application, the constituent member of the post-processing means also serves as a part of the restriction member for restricting the rear end position of the sheets stacked on the alignment tray. Since it is possible to perform post-processing such as binding without binding the sheets, the quality of the bound sheet bundle can be improved, and a stable post-processing operation can be performed with a small number of regulating members. The structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sheet binding device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sheet binding device and a sheet post-processing device including the same according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a matching unit of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the sheet post-processing device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the same operation.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing driving of a swing guide.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a sheet discharging unit.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state in which the sheet is engaged with the discharge roller.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which sheets are stacked on a tray.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state in which the stopper is lowered.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a state where the swing guide is raised.

FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which sheets are accumulated on a staple tray.

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state where the sheet bundle is stapled.

FIG. 15 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a stapled sheet bundle is discharged.

FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a stapled sheet bundle is discharged.

FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state where a sheet starts to enter the sheet post-processing apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the first sheet is wound around the buffer roller.

FIG. 19 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a first sheet and a second sheet are stacked and conveyed.

FIG. 20 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a second sheet is discharged in a stacked state.

FIG. 21 is a staple unit diagram of the sheet binding device.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of the movement path of the staple unit.

FIG. 23 is a right side view of the staple unit.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory view of a diagonal binding position of a staple unit.

FIG. 25 is an enlarged side view showing the rotation mechanism of the rear end regulating member.

FIG. 26 is a plan view showing the operational relationship between the staple unit and the trailing edge regulating member.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged view showing the stapler portion of the staple unit.

FIG. 28 is a plan view showing the configuration of a stapler.

FIG. 29 is a view showing a staple driving configuration of a forming portion of a stapler.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Sheet Post-Processing Device 3 First Flapper 4 Second Flapper 17 Ejecting Means (First Ejecting Roller) 18 Ejecting Means (Pressing Roller) 19 Aligning Means (Ejecting Aligning Belt) 20 Rear End Restricting Member (Abutting Plate) 20f Abutting Surface (sheet rear end receiving surface) 21 Width alignment guide 22 Binding means (Stippler) 23 Tray (third stage tray) 24 Tray (second stage tray) 25 Tray (first stage tray) 31 Shaking Motion guide 32 Ejection roller (second ejection roller) 33 Moving ejection roller 34 Guide member (roller guide) 38 Alignment tray (stipple tray) 39 Flapper 40 Guide member 50 Measuring means (distance measuring sensor) 60 Sheet binding device 100 Image forming Part (copying device) 400 Post-processing means (stipple unit) 406b Load detection means (abnormality detection means) 4 9 Needle detecting means (needle-free detection sensor) 430b Contact part (stipple cover convex part) 430c Contact surface (sheet rear end receiving surface) 434 First guide support member 435 Second guide support member 436 Third Guide support member 437 Rail 438 Cam member (stopper regulation member) 446 Detection means (photointerrupter) 448 Spring 450 gear 451 Fan-shaped gear 452 Binding movement means (pulse motor) 500 Image forming apparatus 501 Interface 514 Paper detection means (stipple tray sensor) ) 515 switching means (switch for automatic indexing) H needle S copy sheet Sa copy sheet bundle Sb staple copy bundle

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A discharging unit for discharging a sheet, an aligning tray for stacking and aligning the sheet, a trailing edge regulating member for aligning a trailing edge of the sheet placed on the aligning tray, and aligning the sheet. A post-processing means for post-processing, and an aligning means for aligning the sheets stacked on the aligning tray with the trailing edge regulating member, wherein the after-processing means includes the sheet of the trailing edge regulating member. A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising: an abutting portion having an abutting surface substantially the same as an abutting surface for abutting a rear end. 2. The sheet binding device according to claim 1, wherein the post-processing unit has a binding unit that binds the sheets. 3. The sheet binding device according to claim 1, wherein the trailing edge regulating member is divided into a plurality of pieces. 4. The rear end regulating member divided into a plurality of parts,
The sheet binding device according to claim 3, wherein interference with the binding means can be avoided by independently providing the binding means. 5. The binding moving means for moving the post-processing means is provided, and the post-processing means has a cam member for rotating the divided rear end regulating member. The sheet binding device described. 6. A discharging unit for discharging a sheet, an alignment tray for stacking and aligning the sheet, a trailing edge regulating member for aligning a trailing edge of the sheet placed on the aligning tray, and aligning the sheet. A post-processing unit that performs post-processing, and an alignment unit that aligns the sheets stacked on the alignment tray with the rear-end regulating member, and the post-processing unit has a part of the rear-end regulating member. A sheet binding device characterized by: 7. The sheet binding device according to claim 6, wherein the trailing edge regulating member is divided into a plurality of pieces. 8. The sheet binding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the post-processing unit has a binding unit that binds the sheets. 9. The sheet binding device according to claim 8, wherein the binding means is a stapler. 10. An image forming unit, and a sheet binding device for stacking and binding sheets on which images are formed by the image forming unit,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet binding device, wherein the sheet binding device is the sheet binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.