JPS58139969A - Sheet folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the setting of sheets in a captioned device when conveyed sheets are distributed to the left and the right by a distributing means for folding by provding an option for the initiating direction of the distribution according to the initial folding state at the setting of sheets. 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, when sheets 1 are inserted in this folding device and end parts of the sheets 1 after passing the stacker rollers 3 are detected by a sheet sensor 4, the swing fin 5 starts oscillation to the left or the right according to the selecting state of an unillustrated paper rod switch. This construction permits to simplify the setting of sheets in the device, and obtain a stable operation of folding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method for folding sheets such as continuous recording paper such as continuous slip paper (hereinafter abbreviated as paper).

The present invention relates to a sheet folding device that is loaded on a loading platform such as a table.

Hereinafter, a description will be given using a line printer as an example.

1. In general, line printers and the like are configured to print paper that has been folded in advance and stored in a box, and then re-fold it along the original fold lines.
If the original fold line is not recognized and the paper is set for reverse folding, the fold line swells, resulting in a defective fold.

For example, in laser printers, the creases may stretch as the image passes through a high-temperature, high-pressure fusing process in the printer, making it difficult to fold the paper in the opposite direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a sheet folding device that solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and also simplifies the setting of sheets in the device.

That is, the present invention, which achieves the above object, provides a sheet folding device that sequentially folds and stacks sheets on a loading table, and includes a swingable distribution means for distributing the sheets to the left and right in order to fold the conveyed sheets; The apparatus is characterized by having means for selecting the starting direction of the sheet distribution of the sheet distribution means in accordance with the state of the first fold line when setting the sheet.

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 according to the information to be recorded on the photoreceptor drums E and h. do. 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 is formed according to the recorded information in this way is
It is further transported 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 l 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 10b of a press 10, which will be described later, and extends to the side end of the blade plate 39. 7 is a pulley that drives this fold belt 6, 8 is a pulley that is driven by the fold belt 6, 8a, 8 are other idler pulleys that are driven, and 9 is fixed on the same axis 9a as this driven pulley 8. It is an eccentric cam. A press 10 is guided by a vertical guide mechanism (not shown) on the 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 sheet l and folding it. Evacuate to the inside of 6. That is, the press 10 has a spring 10a stretched between the length guides of the presses 10 and 11.
It receives a tensile force in the direction F by and 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 sides in the longitudinal direction, respectively, along notches 39a 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 the sensor 12 and the light projector 12' are used and are mounted parallel to the sheet folding surface (FIG. 3(b)). 1 more
Reference numeral 3 denotes a movable side plate on which the shaft 8b of the driven pulley 8, the shaft 9a of the idler pulley 8a, the press 10, the length guide 11, and the paper surface sensor 12 are assembled, and the reference numeral 14 moves this movable side plate 13 in parallel at an angle of 45 degrees. Therefore, it is a guide shaft fixed at an angle of 45 degrees to a side plate (not shown). 15
is a drive belt 28 that moves the movable side plate 13 up and down along this guide shaft 14, and a worm reduction gear 41116.
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 17 with respect to 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. , is a fold motor such as an AC induction motor that rotates the drive pulley 7 and stacker roller 3 of the fold belt 6 in a predetermined direction and rotates the circumferential speed V2 of the fold belt 6 at a speed 20 to 30 times higher than the print speed v1. Furthermore, 22 is a slip clutch such as a powder clutch that slips the increased rotation 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. Further, 23 is a power source for 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, 27 is a rotating shaft of a swing guide 26 rotatably supported by a side plate (not shown) of the folding device. Reference numeral 28 denotes a moving belt stretched on both sides of the swing guide 26 to move the swing fin 5 in parallel in the vertical direction, and to which the swing fin 5 is fixed. Further, reference numerals 29, 30, and 31 denote a drive belt, a reduction gear, and a relay belt with a dash for transmitting the movement of the movable side plate 13 to the swing fin 5 at a speed of about 1/3. 32 is a swing motor such as a DC servo motor that drives the rotating shaft 27 of the swing guide 26; 33 is an angle sensor such as a rotary encoder that detects the rotation angle of the output shaft of the DC servo motor; and 34 is a swing motor such as a rotary encoder that detects the rotation angle of the output shaft of the DC servo motor. A speed sensor such as a rotary encoder that detects the rotation speed of the output shaft, 35 a power source for the DC servo motor 32, 36 a control circuit for controlling the rotation direction and stop timing and rotation speed of the DC servo motor 32 ,3
7 is a switch panel shown in FIG. 6, and one or more of them are related to paper folding.

Note that in FIG. 2, the belt 6 is partially omitted from illustration, and the press 10 and guide 11 are provided over almost the entire width of the vane plate 39, but are partially cut away and illustrated. . 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 semi-circular shape in the longitudinal direction; 39 is rotatably attached to the table 38 with a rotary shaft 39'; and a blade plate 401 which is kept substantially horizontal when no paper is placed on it; This is a spring that elastically supports the blade plate 38 substantially horizontally, and is elastically deformed by the force that causes the folds of the stacked sheets to bulge and widen, thereby acting to close the blade plate 39 downward. (The paper is loaded,
The state in which the vane plate 3B is closed downward is shown in FIG. 3(a) by the two-dot chain line), and 41 is a vane provided at both ends of the table 38 to shield the optical axis 12a of the paper surface sensor 12 from light in the initial stage of folding. This is a light-shielding plate that is attached to each number 4 of the plate 39, and is installed facing the table 38 and the top number of the blade plate 39, and one side edge of the stacked sheets. 42 is a feed screw shaft that moves up and down the table 3B; 43 is a table motor that drives the feed screw shaft; 44 is a power source for the motor 43; Start and stop! The control circuits controlling il+ are shown respectively.

Note that the brewing control circuits 20-25 and 36-45 each receive a laser recording start signal, a print start or stop signal, a paper size change signal, etc. from the printer's CPU power (not shown). and the folding operation is performed in conjunction with the printing operation of the printer.

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

First of all, the paper size 19 to be used is CP (not shown).
Specified from U, paper size change signal is sent to CP (not shown)
When control circuit number 20 is sent from d, position detection sensor 1
The power supply 18 is applied to the motor 15 so that the output value of No. 7 matches the preset value corresponding to the folding dimension of the paper No. 7.
Power is supplied from the

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, the relay belt 31, and the moving seat 28 are sequentially driven, and the swing fin 5 moves in parallel in the vertical direction along the swing guide 26 to expand and contract, and the folding mechanism is activated by the control circuit. The control at 20 sets the optimal arrangement corresponding to the folding dimensions of the paper.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the folding dimension I is
A length guide 11, a paper surface sensor 12, and a fold belt 6 are arranged at positions corresponding to al and Lin, and at the same time, the position of the swing fin 5 is also determined relatively. Therefore, in this embodiment, the folding level is set individually according to the size of the paper that has passed through the printer section, especially the folding dimension, the length of the swing fin 5 is changed, and the guide 11, fold belt 6, and press 10 and the paper surface sensor 12 can be changed, the vibration of the swing fin 5 prevents the paper from folding due to bending, and the frictional force of the fold belt 6 allows the paper to be accurately folded along the folding perforations, allowing the press lO to Vibration reliably compresses the folds and prevents the creases from bulging at the fold perforations, so even paper with stretched folds output from high-speed printers, especially non-impact printers, etc., can be easily compressed regardless of the size type or the presence or absence of internal perforations. This has the effect of making it possible to fold firewood in a stable manner at all times.

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

The switch panel motor 43 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 6 starts or stops. Furthermore, UP switch SW
When I is pressed, the table 38 rises and the paper surface sensor 12
are configured to stop when both of them are blocked from light for a certain period of about 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.

Note that in this embodiment, the shape of the shielding plate 41 attached to the back side of the table 3B is such that the shape of the shielding plate 41 is such that it is difficult to place the paper on the table 38.
It is almost the same as the top surface of the paper when it is folded 150 degrees and placed, that is, it has a slope that slopes downward from the table 38 side to the end, and the folding dimension of the paper changes and the guide 11 and Even if the paper surface sensor 12 moves in accordance with the folding dimension of the paper, the paper surface sensor 12 does not erroneously detect the folding surface Q.

Similarly, during printing, the fold motor 21 rotates the stuff roller 3 via the slip clutch 22 to feed the paper l, rotates the fold belt via the blade drive roller 7, and rotates the eccentric cam 9. The press lO is vibrated up and down to fold the paper l. Further, the swing motor 32 causes the swing fins 5 to vibrate left and right to sort out the sheets while the folding operation is performed.

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 11 by the frictional force. Moreover, here, the vertically moving press lO compresses the crease, so that the sheet is folded accurately and stably. By the way, the vertical movement of the press 10 is controlled by the control circuit 25. For example, when the swing fin 5 is facing leftward, the left press 10 moves upward and retreats inside the conveyor belt 7, and the next The paper is fed into the swing fin 5.
Ideally, the left press 10 should move downwards to compress the fold when the right side is turned to the opposite right side, and at the same time the right press 10 should move upwards in synchronization with the swing fin 5. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, for example, by making the frequency of the -L downward movement of the press 10 three times or more the frequency of the swing fin 5.

It is possible to perform folding stably even without a synchronization relationship.

Note that the vibration frequency of the swing fin 5 is selected in accordance with the folding dimension of the paper. That is, when the paper feeding speed is V and the folding dimension is L, the vibration frequency f is given by f=V/L. Therefore, the control circuit 36 controls the swing motor 3
2 is fed back by the outputs of the angle sensor 33 and speed sensor 34, and the drive of the swing fin 5 is controlled in synchronization with starting and stopping of the printer.

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, the case where paper is set after the paper size is set will be explained.

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 vapor load switch a or b in FIG. 6 is selected, and from the 11th hour to the 12th hour in FIG. When pressed, the tractor 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 time t3, 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 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 into contact with the first inclined surface of the fold belt 6, and folded on the second inclined surface along the length guide 11 along the perforation line. Press 1 at the same time.
At 0, the crease is compressed and folded.

This folding operation is repeated several times, and after 70 hours, the slip clutch 22 is no longer energized, and the stacker roller 3 stops rotating.

At the same time, a brake 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 is completed.

In this way, in this embodiment, the switch panel 37 displays two types of fold conditions when setting paper, and the switch a@ for loading the paper corresponds to the display.
By providing two switches b, the leading edge of the paper can be distributed to the left or right in response to the operation of this switch aφb, making it easier to handle the folds of the paper and making paper setting easier and more accurate. This has the effect of improving the operating rate of the printer.

When printing is started, laser recording is performed from time t8 to time t8 as shown in FIG. 9, and the printed paper is output from time t11 to time t12. On the other hand, the fold motor 21 is activated at time t10 before the start of printing in anticipation of a sufficient rise time, and the slip clutch 22 is activated at time t1 at the same time as printing.
When the electricity is turned on for one hour, the paper is fed by the stacker roller 3. On the other hand, at time t11, the swing fin 5 also resumes the operation continued from the last time it stopped, and starts the folding operation. Then, the sheets are sequentially stacked on the table 38 and the blade plate 39, and the top surface of the stacked sheets passes over the shielding plate 41.
Each time the paper surface sensor 12 provided above the shielding plate 41 detects the paper surface, a motor 43 controlled by a control circuit 45 that receives a signal from the sensor 12 rotates, and the table 38 gradually lowers.

In this embodiment, two sets of paper surface sensors 12 are used, and they are installed 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 piled up loosely 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 described above, it is preferable that at least two sets of paper surface sensors be installed in a folding device of a printer that outputs a large amount of paper at high speed, in parallel with the table, but of course the invention is not limited to this.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in order for the horizontally mounted paper surface sensor 12 to reliably detect the top surface of the stacked sheets, it is necessary to ensure that the bottom surface of the stacked sheets does not come into close contact with the table 38 at the initial stage of folding. Therefore, as described above, the shielding plate 41 is attached to the blade plate 39 of the table 38 to prevent false detection. That is, by setting the light shielding range by the shielding plate 41 to be 10 to 20 degrees above the bottom surface of the sheet, 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 and attaching a shielding plate for the paper sensors to the back of the table, it is possible to check not only the size and thickness of the paper but also the initial setting of the paper. It has become possible to stably detect the folding surface without any adverse effects on the position, number of sheets, or even the flapping of the folding surface during folding.

Further, in the above embodiment, a swing fin is provided as a system for distributing the leading edge of the fed paper to the left or right. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to use a method of dividing by %j±set bar or the like.

As described above, the present invention provides a sheet folding device that makes it easy to set sheets in the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

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) l side views. figure,
Figures 4 and 5 show the length guide 19 corresponding to the folding dimension number.
Side view showing the state of the paper sensor fold belt,
Figure 6 is a plan view of the switch channel, Figure 7 (a) and (
b) is a side view showing the folded state of the paper, Figure 8.
In FIG. 9, which is a t-ma timing diagram. 1------One paper 3---------Star/hooker roller 4------Paper presence/absence sensor 5---------
-Swing fin 8--------Fold belt 7--Pulley 10--------Pulley L/
1Oa---1 spring 11---1---length guide l 2------1 paper surface sensor 13---1111 moving side plate 15------size set motor 20-
--- Control circuit 21 --- Fold motor 22 --- Slip clutch 25 --- Control circuit 26 --- Swing guide
28-1--Moving belt 29--1 Drive belt 30--1 Reduction gear 31--1 Relay belt 32--Swing motor 3
3------One angle sensor 36---Control circuit
37------Switch panel 38---Table 39---One blade plate 40-1111 Spring 41---One light shielding plate 43-1---
--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, the swingable part that distributes the sheets left and right to fold the conveyed sheets is a means, and the distribution part is a sheet shaking part of the means. A sheet folding device comprising means for selecting a starting direction according to the state of a first fold when setting a sheet.