JPS58139968A - Sheet folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a stable folding constantly even for papers of a short folding size by folding conveyed sheets by a folding means to accumulate successively on a vertically movable accumulation table for moving the accumulation table vertically in accordance with the output of a paper-face detecting means. CONSTITUTION:Sheets 1 discharged from a printer part pass through stacker rollers 3, and are folded toward guides 11 by the cooperation of the horizontal oscillation of a swing fin 5 by the drive of a motor and the rotation of the left and the right fold belts 6 to be accumulated on a table 38. At this stage, the table 38 is initially at a raised position until dousers 41 on blades 39 equipped on both ends of the table 38 are detected by a paper-face sensor 12, and brought down by the operation of the paper-face sensor 12 for a fixed time when the accumulation of sheets 1 is started and surpasses the dousers 41 in their folding face. This bringing down of the table 38 is done by the rotation of a screw shaft 42 by a motor 43.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet folding device for folding sheets of continuous recording paper such as continuous slip paper (hereinafter referred to as paper) and stacking the folded sheets on a loading platform such as a table.

A line printer will be explained below as an example.

Generally, in line printers, paper is stored in a paper box after being folded along the folding perforations in advance, is transported along a predetermined path, printed, and then folded again along the original folding lines and stacked. It is.

However, paper output from modern high-speed non-impact printers undergoes various processes that stretch the creases, so when folding the paper again, the creases bulge, making it difficult to fold the paper properly. For example, if the folding dimension is particularly short at the beginning of folding, there may be a gap between the bottom surface of the folded paper and the top surface of the table, or with thick paper, the folded paper will roll loosely and the sheets will not stick together. A part is formed. At this time,
When the folding surface is detected with a transparent photoelectric sensor,
After the folding starts, even if the amount of folded paper increases and the folding surface far exceeds the folding level, the light from the photoelectric sensor continues to pass through the gap, so the original folding surface cannot be detected. Eventually, it will become defective.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above conventional problems and provides a sheet folding device that can always perform stable and accurate folding of paper from the beginning to the end of paper transport, even if the fold size of the paper is short. This is what we provide.

That is, the present invention, which achieves the above object, is a sheet folding device that sequentially folds and stacks sheets on a loading table, which includes a sheet folding means for folding sheets being conveyed, and a vertical movement for sequentially stacking the sheets folded by the means. a loading table, a shielding means provided opposite to a side edge of the sheets stacked on the loading table, and a detection means provided on the side of the shielding means, the detection means It is characterized by moving the loading platform one step downward in response to a detection signal from the device.

An example of a seat folding device using an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, an outline of a printer device to which the present invention can be applied will be explained using FIG.

In the figure, A is a charging section, B is a laser information recording exposure section, and C is a developing section, which are arranged on the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 8, and form an image on the photoreceptor drum E according to the information to be recorded. . On the other hand, the long paper P is folded and stored in the paper box S along the perforations. This long paper P is transported along a predetermined path by a tractor T, a guide G, and a roller H, and after the image on the drum E is transferred at the print section E, this image is fixed at the fixing section R. Ru. The paper P on which an image has been formed according to the recorded information in this manner is further conveyed and folded and stored in the folding device F.

Now, FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a seat folding device F to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In the figure, 1 is a printed sheet of paper fed into the folding device F, 2 is a guide plate, and 3 is a stacker roller that feeds the fed sheet 1 downward.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a paper presence/absence sensor such as a photoelectric sensor for detecting the starting edge and presence/absence of the paper 1 fed by the stacker roller 3. Furthermore, 5 is a swing fin that distributes the paper 1 left and right, and 6 is a swing fin 5 that feeds and folds the paper 1 that has been distributed left and right by frictional force, and two frictional conveying surfaces are formed.
The fold belt is constructed from a perspective view (partially omitted and only two belts are shown). Note that this belt 6 passes through an opening r110b of a press 10, which will be described later, and passes through a blade plate 39.
It extends to the side edge of. 7 is this fold belt 6
8 is a pulley driven by the fold belt 6, 8a and 8 are other driven idler pulleys, and 9 is an eccentric cam fixed on the same axis 9a as the driven pulley 8. Further, lO is a press guided by a vertical guide mechanism (not shown) on a movable side plate 13, and is vibrated in the vertical direction by the rotation of an eccentric cam 9, compressing the folds of the folded paper l and folding it, while the fold belt Evacuate to the inside of 6. That is, the press 10 is the press 1
It is subjected to a downward pulling force by a spring 10a stretched between length guides 0 and 11, and is moved up and down by an eccentric cam 9 rotating in synchronization with the heald 6, and as it descends, the spring loa The fold of the paper 1 is pressed by the tensile force of the press 10 and the weight of the press 10 to fold the paper. Further, reference numeral 11 denotes length guides that regulate the length direction of the sheets and guide the stacked sheets so that they do not fall down, and are movable along three pairs of length guides on the left and right in the longitudinal direction, respectively, along notches 313a of the blade plate 39, which will be described later. (Note that the guide in the center is not shown). Further, 12 is a paper surface sensor such as a photoelectric sensor, which is provided on the movable side plate 13 and detects the folded surface of the paper, and 12 is a light projector for the paper surface sensor, which is also provided on the movable side plate 13. Here, two sets of sensor 12 and light emitter 12' are used, and they are installed parallel to the sheet folding surface (Fig. 3(b)), and 13 is the shaft 8b of the driven pulley 8 and the shaft of the idler pulley 8a. 9a, press 10 and length guide 11
and the movable side plate 14 to which the paper surface sensor 2 is assembled are guide shafts fixed to the side plate (not shown) at an angle of 45° in order to move the movable side plate 13 in parallel at an angle of 45°.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a drive belt 29 that moves the movable side plate 13 up and down along the guide shaft 14, and a worm reducer 16.
This is a size setting motor such as a DC servo motor that is driven via a DC servo motor. 17 is a position sensor such as a potentiometer for detecting the position of the movable side plate 13; 18 is a driving power source for the size setting motor 15; and 19 is paper size information input from a paper size input mechanism (not shown). Further, 20 is a control circuit that compares the output of the position sensor 7 with the folding dimension specified in the paper size information 19, and controls the drive power source 18 of the DC servo motor 15 so that the contents match. , the drive pulley 7 of the fold belt 6 and the stacker roller 3 are set in a predetermined direction, and the circumferential speed V of the fold belt 6 is set to the printing speed ■1
This is a fold motor such as an AC induction motor that rotates at a speed 20% to 30% faster. Furthermore, 22 is a slip clutch such as a powder clutch that slips the increased speed of the motor 21 and transmits it to the stacker roller 3 to control the tension between the printer side and the stacker roller 3. Also, 23 is the motor 21
24 is a power source for the slip clutch 22, 25 is a control circuit that controls the supply timing of the motor power source 23 and the slip clutch power source 24, 26 is a swing guide that slides the swing fin 5 in the vertical direction, and 27 is a failure of the folding device. This is the rotation axis of the swing guide 26 rotatably supported by the illustrated side plate. Reference numeral 2B denotes a moving belt stretched on both sides of the swing guide 26 to move the swing fin 5 vertically in parallel, and to which the swing fin 5 is fixed. Furthermore, 29, 30, and 31 are moving side plates 1
These are a toothed drive belt, a reduction gear, and a relay belt for transmitting the movement of 3 to the swing fin 5 at a speed of about 1/3. Further, 32 is a rotating shaft 27 of the swing guide 26.
A swing motor such as a DC servo motor that swings the
34 is a speed sensor such as a rotary encoder that detects the rotational speed of the output shaft of the DC servo motor; 35 is a power source for the DC servo motor 32; , 36 is a control circuit for controlling the rotation force direction, start/stop timing, and rotation speed of the DC servo motor 32, and 37 is a switch panel shown in FIG.

This is related to paper folding.

In FIG. 2, the belt 6 is partially omitted from illustration, and the press 10-guide 11 is provided over almost the entire width of the vane plate 39, but is illustrated partially broken. . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, these are provided at both left and right ends.

Additionally, table relationships are shown.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a table whose central portion protrudes in a semicircular shape in the longitudinal direction, 39 is rotatably attached to the table 38 with a rotating shaft 39', and is kept substantially horizontal when no paper is placed on it; 40 is a blade plate; This is a spring that elastically supports the blade plate 38 substantially horizontally, and is elastically deformed when receiving a force that causes the folds of the stacked sheets to bulge and widen, thereby acting to close the blade plate 39 downward. (The state in which paper is loaded and the blade plate 38 is closed downward is shown in FIG. 3(a) by the two-dot chain line). Also, 41 is a table 38 for folding the optical axis 12a of the paper surface sensor 12 to block light in the initial stage. This is a light shielding plate attached to each of the blade plates 39 provided at both ends of the table 38 and the blade plate 39, and is provided facing one side edge of the sheets stacked on the table 38 and the blade plate 39. Also, 42 is table 38
43 is a table motor that drives the feed screw shaft, 44 is a power source for the motor 43, and 45 controls starting and stopping of the motor 43 in response to the operation of the switch panel 37 and the output of the paper surface sensor 12. The control circuits are shown respectively.

Here, the control circuits 20, 25, 36-45 include:
The structure is such that a laser recording start signal, a print start signal, a store/zoom signal, a paper size change signal, etc. are sent from a CPU (not shown) on the printer side, and the folding operation is performed in conjunction with the printing operation of the printer. Been l, Mru.

Next, the operation of the shoe mechanism will be explained.

First of all, the size of the paper to be used is 19 force ζ C (not shown)
Specified by the PU, the paper size change signal is sent to C (not shown).
When the control circuit No. 20 is sent from the PU, the power supply 1 is applied to the motor 15 so that the output value of the position detection sensor 17 matches a preset value corresponding to the folding dimension of the paper.
Power is applied from 8.

As a result, the motor 15 drives the drive belt 29 via the worm reducer 16, and the movable side plate 13 moves in parallel along the guide shaft 14 and stops at a predetermined position.

At the same time as this operation, the reduction gear 30, relay belt 31, and moving belt 28 are sequentially driven, and the swing fin 5 moves parallel downward along the swing guide 26, expanding and contracting, and the folding mechanism is activated. Under the control of the control circuit 20, an optimum layout number corresponding to the folding size of the sheet is set.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the folding dimension LI
Position number and length guide compatible with lam and L in
, paper surface sensor 12 and six fold belts are arranged,
At the same time, the position of the swing fin 5 is also determined relatively. Therefore, in this embodiment, the folding level is set respectively according to the size of the paper passing through the printer section, especially the folding dimension, and the length of the swing fin 5 is changed, and the guide 11 and the fold belt 6 are roughly adjusted. The position of the press 10 and the paper surface sensor 12 can be changed, the vibration of the swing fin 5 prevents folding due to bending, and the frictional force of the fold belt 6 allows the paper to be accurately folded along the folding perforation. The vibration of the machine reliably compresses the creases and prevents the creases from rising at the fold perforations, so even paper with stretched creases output from high-speed printers, especially non-impact printers, etc., can be easily compressed depending on the size and the presence or absence of internal perforations. It has the effect of always allowing stable folding regardless of the situation.

Next, the lifting and lowering operation of the table will be explained.

The control circuit 45 is activated by operating the switch panel 37 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG.
starts or stops. Furthermore, the table 38 is configured to rise when the uP switch SWI is pressed, and to stop when both paper surface sensors 12 are shielded from light for a certain period of time, approximately 0.3 seconds.

That is, it rises until the paper surface sensor 12 detects the paper on the table 38 or the shielding plate 41, and stops at that position.

During printing, when the paper surface sensor 12 detects that the light is blocked by both folded sheets at the same time for a certain period of time, the control circuit 45 lowers the table 38 by the thickness of the stacked sheets in a certain period of time. repeat the action,
That is, when the folded surface Q of the sheets is stacked beyond the shielding plate 41, the sheets stick together due to their own weight and the paper surface sensor 1
2 is detected for the first time, the table 38 is lowered for a predetermined period of time to keep the folding surface below the folding level. By repeating this table lowering operation, stable sheet folding can be obtained from the beginning to the end of folding.

In this embodiment, the shape of the shielding plate 41 attached to the back side of the table 38 is such that the shape of the shielding plate 41 is such that the sheet is placed on the table 38 too
It is almost the same as the top surface of the paper when folded 50 times and placed.
That is, it has a slope that slopes downward from the table 38 side toward the end, and even if the folding dimension of the paper changes and the guide 11 and paper surface sensor 12 move in accordance with the paper folding dimension, the paper surface sensor 12 is designed to prevent false detection of the folding surface Q.

Similarly, during printing, the fold motor 21 rotates the stacker roller 3 via the slip clutch 22 to feed the paper 1, - rotates the fold belt 6 via the blade drive roller 7, and rotates the stacker roller 3 via the eccentric cam 9. The press 10 is vibrated up and down to fold the paper l, and the swing motor 32 is used to vibrate the swing fins 5 from side to side to sort the paper, and the folding operation is performed from the outside.

That is, the sheet passing through the stacker roller 3 is sent out by the swing fin 5 toward the left and right fold belts 6 by the drive of the motor 21 controlled by the control circuit 25, and the waist is formed. It is folded toward the guide ll by the frictional force of . Furthermore, since the press 10 moving up and down compresses the creases, the paper is folded accurately and stably. By the way, the vertical movement of the press 10 is controlled by the control circuit 25&, so that, for example, when the swing fin 5 is facing toward the left side, the left press 10 moves upward and retreats inside the conveyor belt 7. Then, when the paper force l is fed and the swing fin 5 faces the opposite right side, the left press lO moves downward and compresses the fold, and at the same time presses the right press lO.
Ideally, the movement of the press 10 to move upward should be performed in synchronization with the swing fin 5, but the number is not limited to this, for example, if the frequency of the vertical movement of the press 10 is 3 times the frequency of the swing fin 5. By more than doubling the number, it is possible to perform folding stably even without a synchronization relationship.

Note that the vibration frequency if of the swing fin 5 is selected in accordance with the folding dimension of the paper. That is, the paper feed speed is V
When the folding dimension is L, the vibration frequency f is given by f=V/L. Therefore, the humidity control circuit 36 controls the operation of the swing motor 32 so that it is controlled by the outputs of the angle sensor 33 and the speed sensor 34, and the drive of the swing fin 5 is controlled in synchronization with the start and stop of the printer. This is configured.

The other switch SW2 on the switch panel 37 is used to stop the table 38. Before setting the paper, press the uP switch SW1 to raise the table 38 to the folding position, and after folding is completed, the table 38 is stopped.
By pressing the WN switch SW3, the table 38 can be lowered to the paper take-out position.

Next, we will explain the case where paper is set after the paper size is set.

First, paper is taken out from the paper box S and hung on the tractor T.

Then, depending on the folding direction of the paper shown in FIG. 7(a) or FIG. 7(b), the bezel load switch a or b in FIG. 6 is selected and the time t1 in FIG. 8 is selected. When pressed for up to 1 hour, the trough T and feed roller R shown in FIG. 1 are activated and the paper is fed into the folding device F. At the same time, the fold motor 21 in Figure 3
starts, and the fold belt 6 starts rotating. on the other hand,
When the slip clutch 22 is energized at 13 hours, the stacker roller 3 starts rotating. Then, the paper l is guided by the guide plate 2 and passes through the stacker roller 3,
It is fed into the swing fin 5. At that time, when the paper presence/absence sensor 4 detects the starting edge, the swing fin 5, which was initially stopped with the paper ejection port facing downward, moves in the direction in which the paper load switch is pressed, that is, in the case of switch a, to the left. In the case of switch b, vibration is started to the right at a speed corresponding to the folding dimension of the paper, and the paper is sorted at a deflection angle of about 45° on one side. Then, at the zero-order moment when the leading edge of the paper sorted by the swing fin 5 slides on the upper surface of the blade plate 39 and stops against the length guide 11, the swing fin 5 reverses and sorts the paper in the opposite direction. Due to the repulsive action of the paper's waist and the frictional conveyance action of the fold belt 6, the paper is fed in contact with the first inclined surface of the fold belt 6, and folded on the second inclined surface along the perforation line (length guide). 11, and the creases are simultaneously compressed and folded using a punching press 10.

This folding operation is repeated several times, and at time t8, the energization to the slip clutch 22 stops 4±, thereby stopping the rotational force ζ of the stacker roller 30.

At the same time, a braking force is applied to the swing motor 32 to stop it. Then, when the fold motor 21 is stopped at time t7, the rotation of the fold belt 6 and the vibration of the press 10 are stopped, and the sheet setting process is completed.

In this way, in this embodiment, two types of crease conditions are displayed when setting the paper, and the switch EL11b for loading the paper is set to 2 in accordance with the display. Offset placement (corresponding to the operation of the lever switch a-b, the leading edge of the paper can be separated to the right side by the gas ζ, making it easy to handle the folds of the paper, making it easy to set the paper.) This has the effect of improving the printer's operating rate.

When printing is started, laser recording is performed from time t to time t8 as shown in FIG. 9, and the printed paper is output from time 111 to time t12. In contrast, the fold motor 21 is activated in anticipation of sufficient standing time for 10 hours before the start of printing, and the slip clutch 22 is activated at 111 hours at the same time as printing.
When the electricity is turned on, the paper is fed by the stacker roller 3. On the other hand, the swing fin 5 also restarts the operation that was stopped last time at 711 hours and starts the folding operation. Then, each time the sheets are sequentially stacked on the table 38 and the blade plate 39 and the northernmost side of the stacked sheets crosses the shielding plate 41 and is detected by the paper surface sensor 2 installed above the shielding plate 41, Control circuit 4 receiving signals
The motor 43 controlled by the motor 5 rotates, and the table 38 gradually lowers.

In this embodiment, two sets of paper surface sensors 2 are used, and they are mounted parallel to the paper folding surface. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the paper surface sensor can be improved and stability can be increased.

For example, in one set, if the paper is loosely folded or fluttering, the paper sensor will detect this and the table will move lower and lower.Also, if the paper sensor is installed at an angle, it will not work properly. If the folding surface cannot be maintained, especially when paper is handled in a centered distribution in the width direction, the folding surface will change if the width dimension changes even if the folding dimension is the same, and the folding stability will deteriorate.

Therefore, as mentioned above, it is preferable that at least two sets of paper surface sensors be installed parallel to the table in the folding device of a printer that outputs at high speed and in ancient times, but the invention is not limited to this, of course.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order for the horizontally mounted paper surface sensor 12 to reliably detect the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets, the lowermost surface of the stacked sheets may not come into close contact with the table 38 at the initial stage of folding. There are times when the sheets of paper do not come into contact with each other for several pages from the bottom, so please use the same method as mentioned above.
A shielding plate 41 is attached to the blade plate 39 of the table 38 to prevent false detection. That is, the light shielding range by the shielding plate 41.

By setting it 10 mm to 20 mm above the bottom surface of the paper, false detection at the initial stage of folding can be eliminated and an accurate folding surface can be maintained.

Although this embodiment shows an example in which a transmissive photoelectric sensor is used, the same effect can be obtained even when a reflective photoelectric sensor is used, for example, by similarly using the shielding plate as a reflector. In addition, by using multiple paper sensors, the shielding plate for the paper sensor can be accessed from the back of the table, which allows you to check not only the size and thickness of the paper, but also the initial setting of the paper. It is now possible to stably detect the folding surface without any adverse effects on the position and number of folded sheets, or even the flapping of the folding surface during folding.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a swing fin is provided to distribute the leading edge of the fed paper to the left or right, but this is not limited to this. It is also possible to implement the method of

As described above, the present invention provides an apparatus that stably folds a large amount of paper at high speed using an optimal folding mechanism corresponding to the size of the paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer device to which the present invention can be applied, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet folding device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and Fig. 3 (a) and (b) are side views thereof. Figures 4 and 5 are side views showing the states of the length guide, paper surface sensor, and fold belt corresponding to the folding dimensions.
1-- ---One paper 3--------Stacker roller 4-----One paper presence/absence sensor 5--------
Swing fin 6-------Fold belt
7------Pulley 10---Press I
Oa ---------Spring 11----One length guide
l 2------One page sensor 13---Moving side plate 15------Size set motor 20
-------Control circuit 21--------Fold motor 22-----Slip clutch 25-
----1 control circuit 28-------swing guide 28--1 moving belt 29---1 drive belt 30---1 ~ reduction gear 31------
- Relay belt 32 --- Swing motor 33
--------One angle sensor 36------One control circuit
37------ Switch panel 38------
-Table 39---Flapboard 40---
---Spring 41-----Blinding plate 43-
------Table motor 45-------Control circuit applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a sheet folding device that sequentially folds and stacks sheets on a loading platform. A sheet folding means for folding the sheets being conveyed; a vertically movable loading table for sequentially stacking the sheets folded by the means; What is claimed is: 1. A sheet folding device, comprising: a shielding means provided above the shielding means; and a detecting means provided above the shielding means, the loading platform being moved downward by one step in response to a detection signal from the detecting means.