JP3875802B2 - Paper post-processing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet post-processing apparatus having a function of aligning unevenness of a fore edge portion by cutting when a sheet bundle having a center portion bound is half-folded.
[0002]
[Prior art]
  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-309974, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-183558, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-183567, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-183567 are disclosed in Japanese. JP-A-9-278269.
[0003]
  Furthermore, after sequentially receiving the recorded sheets discharged from the paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus and binding the position approximately at the center with respect to the transport direction of the received sheet bundle, the bound sheet bundle is A sheet post-processing apparatus that binds a book by strengthening the folded state by folding the bound sheet bundle by causing a folding blade to act at substantially the same position as the binding position and holding it with a press roller. And JP-A-10-181990.
[0004]
  In these known techniques, after binding, the center part of the sheet is added to the roller nip by a folding blade to perform folding, but the folding operation is the final step. However, when several sheets are bound and half-folded, the fore edge on the opposite side of the binding will be misaligned between the inner paper and the outer paper, and from the front cover to the center of the thickness. The paper edge gradually became longer, and the paper edge gradually became shorter from the center of the thickness to the back cover.
[0005]
  For this reason,
1. When turning the pages of a book that was bound, it was difficult to turn smoothly due to the misalignment of the paper edges.
2. In addition, such a phenomenon becomes more noticeable as the number of sheets increases.
3. In order to eliminate this misalignment, it is necessary to cut the fore edge in a separate process, but it takes more work and the folding by the folding machine is not complete. If cutting is not performed in a flat state, cutting deviation occurs. In order to perform cutting without causing cutting misalignment, careful attention and large-scale equipment are required.ofThere were problems such as being forced to get out of range.
[0006]
  Incidentally, a technique for cutting off the small edge portion of a booklet and efficiently storing chips in a waste bucket using air is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-172080. Since it has not been clarified whether the toothpick is held, positioned and cut, it is unclear whether the fore edge can be cut accurately and whether the state after cutting is clean.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
  Therefore, the present invention can consistently carry out the process of receiving paper, saddle stitching, half-folding, and cutting the irregular fore edge, and can cut the fore edge with an accurate and clean finish. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to achieve the object, the present invention has the following configuration.
(1). After sequentially receiving the recorded sheets and binding the center position with respect to the transport direction of the received sheet bundle, a folding blade is applied to the binding position of the bound sheet bundle so as to be In a sheet post-processing apparatus for producing a saddle stitch book by reinforcing a folded state by folding a bundle of bound sheets and transporting them while being held by a pair or a plurality of pairs of press rollers, it is opposite to the binding side of the saddle stitch book A cutting means for cutting and aligning the end on the side, and this cutting means is used as a final press roller among the press rollers in the feeding direction of the saddle stitch book.-Provided at a position on the upstream side,
  In a state where at least a part of the press roller holds the bound sheet bundle, a position to be cut of the saddle stitch book is positioned at a cutting position of the cutting means to perform a cutting operation.And a discharge tray height control means for controlling the height of the discharge tray disposed downstream of the final press roller to a certain level, and the discharge tray height control means allows the discharge tray height control means to On a virtual plane including the upper surface of the lower roller in the pair of rollers constituting the press roller that holds the saddle stitch book and the upper surface of the lower roller in the pair of rollers constituting the paper discharge roller The height of the paper discharge tray is controlled so that the upper surface of the paper discharge tray or the uppermost surface of the saddle-stitched booklet that has already been discharged is positioned on the paper discharge tray.(Claim 1).
[0009]
(2). After sequentially receiving the recorded sheets and binding the center position with respect to the transport direction of the received sheet bundle, a folding blade is applied to the binding position of the bound sheet bundle so as to be In the sheet post-processing apparatus for producing a saddle-stitched book by reinforcing a folded state by folding a bound sheet bundle and conveying it while holding it with a pair or a plurality of pairs of press rollers,A cutting means for cutting and aligning the end opposite to the binding side of the saddle stitch book is provided at a position on the upstream side of the final press roller among the press rollers in the feeding direction of the saddle stitch book. In a state in which a part of the press roller holds the bound sheet bundle, a position to be cut of the saddle-stitched book is positioned at a cutting position of the cutting means, and the cutting means is configured. There is a scraping means for scraping the chips by sliding contact with the side of the cutting blade according to the operation of the cutting blade.(Claim 2).
[0010]
(3). (1) or (2)InIn the sheet post-processing apparatus described above,A detecting means provided at a position upstream of the cutting means, for detecting a rear end in the feed direction as an end opposite to the binding side of the saddle stitch book, and a storage means for storing the number of the saddle stitch book The saddle stitching is performed so that the position to be cut of the saddle stitching book is positioned at the cutting position of the cutting means from the trailing edge detection signal of the saddle stitching book by the detection means and the number of stored sheets of the storage means. A feed amount control means for setting the feed stop position of the book(Claim 3).
[0011]
(4). (1)In the paper post-processing apparatus according to any one of (3) to (3), the cutting roller is positioned and positioned while the saddle-stitched book is held on the press roller for feeding.(Claim 4).
[0012]
(5). (1) to(4)In the sheet post-processing apparatus described above,A paper discharge roller and a paper discharge tray are sequentially arranged downstream of the final press roller. During the cutting operation, the downstream portion of the saddle stitch book in the feed direction is the upper surface of the paper discharge tray or the paper discharge tray. A press roller that is supported on the uppermost surface of a saddle-stitched book that has already been discharged on the tray and is in a semi-discharged state toward the discharge tray, and that holds the saddle-stitched book during the cutting operation of the saddle-stitched book The entire saddle-stitched book extending from the gripping portion to the semi-discharged portion is supported in a substantially flat shape (substantially straight when viewed from the side).(Claim 5).
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[1]. Outline of configuration and operation of paper post-processing device
  In FIGS. 1 and 2, the binding position of the sheet bundle by the stapler 10 is on the extension of the line indicated by the symbol A, and the folding position of the sheet bundle by the folding blade 11 is on the extension of the line indicated by the symbol E. The symbol n indicates the position of the binding hardware. In FIG. 1, symbol B indicates the position occupied by the corner portion of the sheet bundle when corner binding is performed, that is, the position of the positioning stopper 23. Further, in FIG. 2, the symbol L indicates the length of the sheet bundle in the conveyance direction.
[0014]
  In FIG. 1, the sheet post-processing apparatus 2 is connected to an image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to an apparatus that outputs recorded paper, such as a printer, a printing machine, a copying machine, or the like. In this example, the discharge roller of the image forming apparatus 1-The recorded paper is sent out from 3, and this paper is an entrance roller provided at the entrance of the paper post-processing device 2.-50 is sequentially received by the aircraft.
[0015]
  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a conveyance roller-Pair 5, transport path 6, turn roller-7, a switching claw 8, a stacker (recording material stacking unit) 9, a stapler (binding machine), a folding blade 11, a first discharge tray 12, a second discharge tray 13, and a sheet on the second discharge tray 12 Paper discharge roller-Pair 14, pre-press roller that temporarily folds and conveys paper to second discharge tray 13 side-15 and the prepress roller-Press roller provided downstream of 15-16, paper discharge roller for feeding paper to the second paper discharge tray 13-107 and the like.
[0016]
  These pre-press rollers-15. Press roller-16, paper discharge roller-107 and the like are a pair of upper and lower rollers.-Lower roller-The upper roller whereas the position is fixed-Is the lower roller-It is pressed by elastic force toward Upper roller-The lower roller depending on the thickness of the paper bundle that passes-The space | interval with respect to can be freely displaced, given a moderate urging | biasing force.
[0017]
  Pre-press roller-15. Press roller-For No. 16, the upper roller is used to perform the folding function.-, Lower roller-Both are provided with driving force. Paper discharge roller-Since 107 is only a feed function, either the top or bottom, in this example the lower roller-Only the driving force is given to the upper roller-Is going around.
[0018]
  As shown in FIG. 6, the pre-press roller-A pair of upper and lower rollers constituting 15-15u and 15d are small rollers arranged at intervals in the axial direction.-So-called corrugated rollers-(Or a piece cut roller-). This small roller in the axial direction-And small roller-The folding blade 11 is positioned so as to face the portion of the interval K. The folding blade 11 has a plate shape and is tapered so as to become thinner toward the tip so as to exhibit a folding function.
[0019]
  As shown in FIG. 1, the folding blade 11 is pivotally attached to one end portion of a lever 52 that can be swung with a symbol P as a fulcrum, and the other end portion of the lever 52 is connected to a plunger of a solenoid 38. The lever 52 is urged clockwise around the fulcrum P by urging means (not shown), and when the solenoid 38 is off, the folding blade 11 acts to fold the sheet bundle as shown in FIG. Retreat from the position where
[0020]
  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stacker 9 includes a lower stacker lower guide 21, a stacker upper guide 22 provided on the upper side with a space that can accommodate the sheet bundle 34 facing the lower stacker guide 21. The side guide 23 is configured to hold the sheet at both ends in the width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction. When viewed from the paper feeding direction, the side guide 23 has a U shape, is positioned along the widthwise end of the paper, and holds the paper in an aligned state. The side guide 23 is composed of a pair of members facing in the width direction of the paper, and can be moved in conjunction with a so-called center reference so that the interval can be adjusted according to the size of the accepted paper in the width direction. ing.
[0021]
  In FIG. 1, an opening 40 for receiving a sheet into the stacker 9 is formed above the stacker 9 so that the next sheet comes on the back side of the sheet previously fed into the stacker 9. In this way, the sheets are sequentially accepted. Further, a first sheet bundle discharge port 43 is provided on the opening 40 side, and the second stacker lower guide 21 (guide on the side where the sheet bundle rises in a mountain fold) side is further provided within the sheet bundle movement range. A sheet bundle discharge port 42 is provided.
[0022]
  The sheet post-processing apparatus 2 can select and perform either “non-stipple mode” that outputs an input sheet without binding or “stipple mode” that outputs an input sheet without binding. . In the staple mode, the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle 34Up“Corner binding bookbinding mode” for binding the end of the sheet or “Saddle binding bookbinding mode” for folding the center position in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle can be selected. Furthermore, in the “saddle stitching mode”, either “a cutting mode” for cutting the fore edge portion or “a non-cutting mode” for not cutting can be selected. These modes are specified by a changeover switch of an operation panel (not shown) provided in the paper post-processing apparatus 2, and accordingly, the operation of each member is controlled by the control system of the paper post-processing apparatus. Mode is executed.
[0023]
  The operation will be described below.
[0024]
a. When non-stipple mode is selected;
  In FIG. 1, the switching claw 8 is switched to the lower side, and the entrance roller-50, the paper carried into the paper post-processing apparatus 2 is discharged from the paper discharge roller.-The pair 14 is discharged as it is to the first discharge tray 12.
[0025]
b. When the stipple mode is selected and the corner binding mode is selected;
  In FIG. 1, the switching claw 8 is switched to the upper side (state shown in FIG. 1), and the entrance roller-The paper carried into the paper post-processing apparatus 2 through 50 is received into the stacker 9 through the opening 40 and becomes a paper bundle 34.
[0026]
  In the case of corner binding (edge binding), the belt 33 is rotated via the pulleys 32a and 33a by driving the motor 31 shown in FIG. The positioning stopper 23 attached to the left side surface 33 is moved to a predetermined position.
[0027]
  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the position of the stipple device 10 and the sheet edge position in the corner binding bookbinding mode. That is, when the positioning stopper 23 is placed at the movement stop position B, the sheet bundle 34 whose lower end is aligned with the positioning stopper 23 is the binding position A of the stapler 10 (generally about 6 to 10 mm from the end of the sheet). Thus, the corner portion of the sheet bundle 34 is located.
[0028]
  Since the stapler 10 can be moved in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 2, the stapler is moved to an appropriate position in the width direction of the sheet bundle 34, the binding process is executed, and the corner binding is finished. . When the corner binding is completed, the belt 33 is driven again to move the positioning stopper 23 upward.
[0029]
  In FIG. 1, when the leading end of the sheet bundle 34 passes through the sensor 35, a drive roller is generated by an output signal of the sensor 35.-Pressure roller on 36 side-37 is moved while being energized to hold the sheet bundle 34. Thereafter, drive roller-36 and pressure roller-The sheet bundle 34 is conveyed upward by 37, and the sheet discharge roller-It is sent to the pair 14, and this paper discharge roller-The paper is discharged to the first paper discharge tray 12 by the pair 14.
[0030]
  The positioning stopper 23 has a sheet bundle 34 driven by a driving roller.-36 and pressure roller-When it is pinched by the nip portion 37, the role is fulfilled. At this point, the operation returns to prepare for the next sheet stack.
[0031]
c. When the staple mode is selected and the saddle stitch binding mode is selected;
  In FIG. 1, the switching claw 8 is switched to the upper side (state shown in FIG. 1), and the entrance roller-The paper carried into the paper post-processing apparatus 2 through 50 is received into the stacker 9 through the opening 40 and becomes a paper bundle 34.
[0032]
  In the case of saddle stitch binding, the belt 31 is rotated via the pulleys 32a and 33a by driving the motor 31 shown in FIG.RWithTheThe positioning stopper 23 is moved to a predetermined position. That is, the lower end of the paper is aligned in advance by the positioning stopper 23 placed at the same position as shown in FIG.
[0033]
  When the sheet bundle 34 composed of a predetermined number of sheets is formed, the position of ½ of the length L in the sheet feeding direction of the sheet bundle 34 stacked in the stacker 9 as shown in FIG. The positioning stopper 23 is moved and positioned at a position C that is L / 2 away from A so as to be positioned at the binding position A of the stapler 10. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the position of the stapler 10 and the sheet edge position in the first step of saddle stitching where the saddle stitching is performed. Saddle stitching is executed at the position shown in FIG.
[0034]
  Next, the positioning stopper 23 is moved upward so that the binding portion of the sheet bundle 34 that has been saddle-stitched matches the tip position of the folding blade 11, and the positioning stopper 23 is positioned at the position D shown in FIG. The binding portion and the folding blade 11 are matched. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the position of the stapler 10 and the sheet edge position 10 in the second step of saddle stitching.
[0035]
  Next, the folding operation will be described. In FIG. 1, the folding blade 11 retracted above the opening 41 of the stacker upper guide 22 and on the extension of the line E is not shown as the lever 52 swings when the solenoid 38 is turned on. Guided by the guide, it advances through the opening 41 in the direction of the sheet bundle 34, and eventually the tip of the folding blade 11 contacts the upper surface of the sheet bundle 34 as shown in FIG. This contact point is referred to as a folding blade action start point R. When the leading edge of the folding blade 11 further advances from the folding blade action starting point R, the central portion of the sheet bundle 34 gradually immerses into the second sheet discharge port 42 side, and folding starts. As the folding blade 11 advances, the sheet bundle 34 protrudes from the second sheet bundle discharge port 42 and is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.-15 will be added. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the folding blade 11 has moved to a position where the gap K is difficult to be inserted, and the sheet bundle 34 is sufficiently removed by the pre-press roller-It works to make it 15 difficult to insert.
[0036]
  The sheet bundle 34 is folded by the folding blade 11, and then the pre-press roller-Pre-press roller is gradually creased by being added to 15-At the stage of passing through 15, the folded state is not complete, but is a temporary folded state, and there is a possibility of restoration due to the elasticity of the paper, and the folded state is not complete.
[0037]
  Pre-press roller-The paper bundle 34 temporarily folded by 15 is the next press roller.-16This press roller is strengthened fold while passing-16Folding is completed at the stage of passing. The sheet bundle 34 is thus a press roller.-When it is sent out from 16, the folding is completed. When the saddle-stitched sheet bundle 34 is further folded in half from the center to form a book, the sheet bundle 34 is hereinafter referred to as a saddle-stitched book 108. The saddle stitch book 108 is a paper discharge roller.-107 is sent to the second paper discharge tray 13. The folding blade 11 has a sheet press 34 with a pre-press roller.-15 is returned to the original position, and acceptance of the next sheet is started when the sheet bundle 34 is completely removed from the stacker 9.
[0038]
  Through the above steps, first, the stapler 10 is disposed at a position downstream of the folding blade 11 in the stacking direction of the paper in the stacker 9. In other words, the positioning stopper 23 is disposed at a position close to the position B when the corner binding is performed.
[0039]
  Therefore, when performing saddle stitching, the sheet bundle 34 is conveyed to the downstream side of the stacker 9 so that the center position (L / 2 position) in the sheet bundle conveyance direction where folding is performed passes through the folding blade 11. It will be. Since the folding blade 11 is arranged on the upstream side of the stacker 9 in the paper carry-in direction, when folding, the sheet bundle 34 is saddle stitched so that the L / 2 position of the sheet bundle faces the folding blade 11. It will be returned upward from the position at which it was moved.
[0040]
  When such an operation procedure is employed, corner binding and saddle stitching can be performed as required by simply adding the saddle stitch binding function while keeping the corner binding bookbinding function as it is.
[0041]
  However, depending on the size, saddle stitch binding mode is selected.ThisIt is also possible to set the positioning stopper 23 from the beginning to stand by at the position shown in FIG. 4 where the sheet bundle can be saddle-stitched as it is.
[0042]
[2]. On the configuration and operation of the means for cutting the fore edge
  In the operation mode “when the stipple mode and the saddle stitch binding mode are selected” described in [1] (c) above, the sheet bundle 34 with the center portion bound as shown in FIG. The folded saddle-stitch book 108 is uneven in the right end portion (small edge portion) on the opposite side to the left side that is the binding side.
[0043]
  Therefore, in order to make this irregularity, the right end portion is cut. However, the amount of unevenness also depends on the number of saddle-stitched book 108, and unevenness may not be a problem when the number is small or when the thickness of the paper is thin. Therefore, in the case where unevenness becomes a problem, the fore edge is cut, and otherwise it is not cut. In order to provide such a degree of freedom, as described above, in the “saddle stitching mode”, it is possible to select either “cutting mode” for cutting the fore edge portion or “non-cutting mode” for not cutting. In the following, the means and operation for cutting when “cutting mode” is selected will be described.
[0044]
  In FIG. 10, the saddle stitch book 108 is to be cut at the end portion 108b of the front cover 108a. A position where a surface QQ perpendicular to the surface of the sheet 108a intersects from the end portion 108b is defined as a cutting position by a cutting blade.
[0045]
  In FIG. 1, the cutting blade 101 is in the conveyance path of the saddle stitch book 108, and is a press roller.-It is provided at a position upstream of 16 and downstream of the folding blade action start point R. The cutting blade 101 is composed of a plate-like blade having a width corresponding to the width of the sheet bundle to be cut, and is held in close contact with the rectangular plate-like upper sheet presser 102 as shown in FIG. Has been. The lower end surface of the upper sheet presser 102 is opposed to the fixed blade 103 that is stationary with an interval t through which the saddle stitch book 108 can pass through the conveyance path of the saddle stitch book 108.
[0046]
  Press roller-16 is the upper roller-16u, lower roller-16d, paper discharge roller-107 is the upper roller-107u, lower roller-If it consists of 107d, these lower rollers-16d upper surface and lower roller-The upper surface of the second discharge tray 13 is positioned on a virtual plane HH including the upper surface of 107d, and the upper surface of the fixed blade 103 is positioned on the virtual plane HH. Yes.
[0047]
  Where the lower roller-The positions of the upper surface of 16d, the upper surface of 107d, and the upper surface of the fixed blade 103 are the lower rollers.-16d,Lower roller107d, the fixed blade 103 is fixed because the fixed state is fixed, but the second discharge tray 13 is gradually lowered so that the landing height of the saddle stitch book 108 to be discharged is always constant. To be controlled.
[0048]
  Therefore, when the saddle stitch book 108 is not discharged onto the second paper discharge tray 13, the upper surface of the second paper discharge tray 13 is included in the virtual plane HH as shown in FIG. However, as the saddle-stitched book 108 is stacked, even if the uppermost surface of the already-bound saddle-stitched book changes on the second discharge tray 13 as shown in FIG. Are included on the virtual plane HH.
[0049]
  This control is performed based on detection information from the paper discharge tray detection lever 112. One end of the discharge tray detection lever 112 is pivotally attached to the main body of the sheet post-processing apparatus at a fulcrum 112P, and the contact 112S at the free end on the other end is placed on the upper surface of the second arrangement tray 13 by its own weight. It comes to contact.
[0050]
  Either when the saddle stitch book 108 is not on the second discharge tray 13 as shown in FIG. 8 or when the saddle stitch book 108 is discharged on the second discharge tray 13 as shown in FIG. In this case, the height of the second discharge tray 13 is driven and controlled by the tray vertical movement motor so that the contact 112S is maintained on the virtual plane HH.
[0051]
  Such drive control is maintained so that the angle (θ) of the discharge tray detection lever 112 when the contact 112S is in contact with the second discharge tray 13 by its own weight is within a certain allowable range. This is possible by controlling the height position of the second paper discharge tray 13. For example, the displacement of the discharge tray detection lever 112 is detected by the detection switches S1 and S2 as the displacement of the switch operating piece 112a swinging integrally with the discharge tray detection lever 112, and based on the detection signal. The motor driving for changing the height of the second paper discharge tray 13 is controlled. Thereby, the switch operating piece 112a may be controlled so as to be always within the installation range of the detection switches S1 and S2. The paper discharge tray detection lever 112, the detection switches S1 and S2, and the like constitute main members of the paper discharge tray height control means.
[0052]
  The lower press roller by the discharge tray height control means-16d upper surface and lower discharge roller-The upper surface of the second discharge tray 13 or the uppermost surface of the already-discharged saddle stitch book (paper) is positioned on a virtual plane HH including the upper surface of 107d.
[0053]
  In FIG. 8, the lower end surface of the upper sheet presser 102 is positioned above the upper end surface of the fixed blade 103 with an interval t. This position is the home position of the upper sheet presser 102. The cutting edge of the cutting blade 101 is located above the lower end of the upper sheet presser 102 in this home position.
[0054]
  The interval t is larger than the thickness of the saddle stitch book 108 so as not to interfere with the conveyance of the saddle stitch book 108. The front half of the saddle stitch book 108 is a press roller.-16, the fore edge is cut in a state where the rear end is on the fixed blade 103. When cutting, a downward force is applied to the cutting blade 101 by means not shown. Thereby, the cutting blade 101 is lowered.RuHowever, as the cutting blade 101 is lowered, the upper sheet presser 102 is also lowered. In addition, at this time, the upper sheet presser 102 and the cutting blade 101 are integrally lowered until at least the upper sheet presser 102 contacts the saddle stitch book 108.
[0055]
  Since the lower end of the upper sheet presser 102 is positioned below the cutting blade 101, the upper sheet presser 102 comes into contact with the upper surface of the saddle stitch book 108 first with the lowering of the cutting blade 101, and with a constant urging force. The upper sheet presser 102 presses the saddle stitch book 108 and holds the saddle stitch book 108 together with the fixed blade 103 under pressure. Further, when a downward force is applied to the cutting blade 101, the cutting blade 101 is lowered and the fore edge of the saddle stitch book 108 is cut. At the time of this cutting, the saddle stitch book 108 is held by the upper sheet press 102 and the fixed blade 103, and a press roller-16 is also held.
[0056]
  As shown in FIGS. 1, 8, and 9, a scraping member 104 made of an elastic plate is provided so as to cross the moving region of the cutting blade 101, and the upstream side of the cutting blade 101 on the conveyance path At the position downstream of the folding blade action start point R, a rear end detection sensor 105 for detecting the rear end of the saddle stitch book 108 is provided.
[0057]
  Hereinafter, a process until the saddle stitch book 108 is discharged from cutting will be described.
  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the press roller-The feeding of the saddle stitch book 108 is stopped when a predetermined time has passed from the time when the trailing edge of the saddle stitch book 108 sent in addition to 16 is detected by the trailing edge sensor 105. The position of the saddle stitch book 108 at the cutting position that is the lowering position of the cutting blade 101 is determined according to the set value for the predetermined time. Therefore, by selecting this predetermined time, the place where the saddle stitch book 108 should be cut can be matched with the cutting position of the cutting blade 101.
[0058]
  The shape of the edge of the saddle stitch book changes depending on the number of sheets. For example, when two sheets of paper are stacked and folded in half, the first and second sheets are misaligned by one sheet, but when ten sheets of paper are stacked and folded in half, The deviation is 10 times that of two sheets, and the width to be cut changes. The number of sheets in the saddle stitch book is determined by the number of sheets for which a binding command is input to the sheet post-processing device, and the number of sheets is used as a variable for the stop position when determining the cutting position, thereby preventing the occurrence of overcutting and undercutting. In addition, accurate cutting is possible.
[0059]
  For this reason, in this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the number of sheets of the saddle stitch book 109 (= number of sheets bundle 34) sent from the controller 109 of the image forming apparatus 1 is set to the feed amount corresponding to the predetermined time. Information) is stored in the storage device 110, and based on the storage information of the storage device 110, the press roller-16 and paper discharge roller-When the amount of rotation 107 is rotated by a preset amount, that is, when the place to be cut of the saddle stitch book 108 matches the cutting position of the cutting blade 101, these press rollers-16 and paper discharge roller-Press roller from controller 111 so that rotation of 107 stops-16 and paper discharge roller-A control signal is sent to the drive motor 107 for control. The controller 111 determines the saddle stitch book feed stop position so that the position where the saddle stitch book is to be cut is positioned at the cutting position of the cutting blade from the trailing edge detection signal of the trailing edge detection sensor 105 and the number of stored sheets of the storage device 110. An example of the feed amount control means for setting is configured.
[0060]
  As described above, in FIG. 10, the saddle-stitch book 108 is to be cut at a position where the edge of the front cover 108a can be trimmed with a minimum of missing image information, that is, the end portion 108b of the front cover 108a. The position of the edge of the front cover, which is the place to be cut, varies depending on the number of sheets constituting the saddle stitch book even if the sheet size is the same.
[0061]
  Therefore, the predetermined time is changed based on the sheet number information (= sheet number information of the sheet bundle 34) of the saddle stitch book 109 sent from the controller 109 of the image forming apparatus 1. Furthermore, the position of the edge of the front cover, which is the location to be cut, changes not only with the number of sheets but also with the thickness of the sheet. Therefore, the sheet thickness (for example, thick, medium thickness, If it is possible to specify the selection information input (thin, etc.), it is possible to perform cutting with higher accuracy.
[0062]
  Thus, when the place to be cut of the saddle stitch book 108 matches the cutting position of the cutting blade 101, the upper sheet presser 102 is lowered from above the positioned saddle stitch book 108 as described above. The saddle stitch book 108 is held in pressure contact with the fixed blade 103, and then the cutting blade 101 is lowered to cut the small edge portion of the saddle stitch book 108.
[0063]
  At the time of cutting, the saddle stitch book 108 is fed by a press roller for feeding.-The state added to 16 is maintained as it is, and the cutting operation is performed in the state where it is held. Thus, the press roller-When cutting is performed with the saddle stitch book 108 being held at 16, cutting is completed in a state where there is no misalignment of the folded paper, so that accurate cutting and clean cutting of the cut edge can be performed.
[0064]
  For example, press roller-Once the saddle-stitched book is released, it will be added again, and even if it is added at the time of cutting, if the entire surface of the saddle-stitched book is not pressed when re-welding, the paper will sag. Can not cut cleanly. If the cutting is performed while feeding, the cutting can be performed without loss of time.
[0065]
  If the fore edge is cut with the saddle stitch book 108 completely stored in the main body of the paper post-processing apparatus, the support state at the time of cutting is a roller.-Therefore, it can be maintained in a substantially flat shape (substantially linear when viewed from the side), which is ideal, but the paper post-processing apparatus is increased in size. In order to avoid this, it is only necessary to cut the fore edge with the saddle stitch book ejected to the outside of the half machine. However, when the saddle stitch book is ejected to the outside of the half machine, the saddle stitch book is Curved downward, press roller-Even if the sheet is held by the sheet, the paper shifts gradually, resulting in a poor finish after cutting. As a solution, by configuring the half-discharged portion to be received by the discharge tray surface, it is possible to reduce the curvature due to its own weight and to keep it substantially flat. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the curvature of the saddle stitch book and make it substantially flat to reduce the difference between the inner and outer circumferences and to reduce the cutting deviation.
[0066]
  In other words, the portion of the saddle stitch book 108 that has been discharged to the second paper discharge tray 13 immediately before the saddle stitch book 108 is held by the fixed blade 103 and the upper sheet press 102 has no support. In such a case, it may be drooped downward, or may be warped upward if the height of the second paper discharge tray 13 is too high.
[0067]
  When the saddle stitch book 108 is bent in this way, there is a difference between the inner and outer circumferences between the sheets. In this state, the saddle stitch book 108 is held under pressure by the fixed blade 103 and the upper sheet presser 102, and the cut surface is cut. It causes problems such as slanting. For this reason, the state of the saddle stitch book 108 before cutting is preferably as flat as possible (straight when viewed from the side).
[0068]
  Therefore, in this example, the saddle-stitched book 108 has a second downstream portion in the feed direction of the saddle-stitched book, as shown in FIG. It is supported directly on the upper surface of the paper discharge tray 13, and if there is an already-discharged saddle-stitched book, it is supported on the uppermost surface of the already-discharged saddle-stitched book as shown in FIG. The press roller of the saddle stitch book 108 is in a semi-discharged state-The entire saddle-stitched book from the gripping portion 16 to the half-discharged portion on the second discharge tray is supported in a substantially flat shape (substantially straight when viewed from the side).
[0069]
  As a means for that, as described above, the lower roller-16d upper surface and lower roller-An imaginary plane H including the upper surface of 107d-The upper surface of the second paper discharge tray 13 is positioned on H, and the virtual plane H-The upper surface of the fixed blade 103 is set on H. Further, as the saddle stitch book 108 is stacked, even if the top surface of the already-settled saddle stitch book is changed on the second discharge tray 13 as shown in FIG. Are provided on a virtual plane HH, such as a discharge tray detection lever 112, detection switches S1, S2, and the like. In order to make the saddle stitch book 108 to be cut into a flat shape (a straight shape when viewed from the side), it is preferable that the inclination of the upper surface of the second paper discharge tray 13 is as small as possible.
[0070]
  As in this example, the saddle-stitched book is held in a substantially flat shape (substantially straight when viewed from the side) and cut, thereby eliminating problems such as an oblique cut. Further, in the configuration in which the small edge portion of the saddle stitch book is cut in the half discharge state on the second discharge tray, the cutting means is configured inside the sheet processing apparatus, so that the saddle stitch book is completely removed from the machine The sheet post-processing apparatus can be configured more compactly than the configuration in which the sheet is cut in the squeezed state.
[0071]
  When the cutting blade 101 reaches the fixed blade 103 and the cutting is completed, the cutting blade 101 moves up together with the upper sheet presser 102 and returns to the home position shown in FIG. The cutting blade 101 slides with the chip scraping member during the upward movement during the cutting movement and during the return after the cutting movement.
[0072]
  As shown in FIGS. 1, 8, 9 and 11, the chip scraping member 104 is formed of an elastic blade, and is provided so that the free end of the tip is in pressure contact with the cutting blade 101, particularly at an angle β. The base end is fixed to the immovable member. Therefore, when the cutting blade 101 moves, the chip scraping member 104 slides relative to the cutting blade 101 accordingly.
[0073]
  With such a configuration, the chip scraping member 104 automatically slides on the cutting blade 101 to scrape off the chips in accordance with the movement of the cutting blade 101 during cutting, particularly the upward movement. A chip receiver 106 is provided below the cutting blade 101 as shown in FIG. The scraped scraps are dropped into the chip receiver 106 from the gap between the pair of guides 120 and the fixed blade 108 on the conveyance path. Since cutting waste adheres to the cutting blade and does not fall naturally, it is effective to provide the scrap scraping member 104.
[0074]
  Of the pair of guides 120, the lower guide has a convexly curved shape as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.-The leading end of the saddle stitch book 108 folded at 15 is fixed on 103. Therefore, the leading end portion of the saddle stitch book 108 does not enter the gap between the pair of guides 120 and the fixed blade 103 (the gap for dropping chips).
[0075]
【The invention's effect】
  According to the sheet post-processing apparatus of claim 1, the press roller-By cutting with the saddle-stitched book still attached, cutting is completed without causing paper misalignment of the folded paper, so accurate cutting and clean cutting of the cut edge can be achieved.At the same time, by holding the saddle stitch book in a substantially flat shape (substantially straight when viewed from the side) and cutting it, problems such as an oblique cut end are eliminated.
[0076]
  According to the sheet post-processing apparatus of claim 2,In accordance with the movement of the cutting blade during cutting, the chip scraping member automatically scrapes off the chips adhering to the cutting blade and keeps the state of the cutting blade clean.To do.
[0077]
  According to the sheet post-processing apparatus of claim 3,The feed amount control means prevents the cut portion of the saddle stitch book from being cut excessively or insufficiently, and enables accurate cutting.
  Claim4According to the paper post-processing deviceAt the time of cutting, the saddle-stitched book is kept in the state where it is held by the press roller for feeding, and the cutting operation is performed in the state where it is held, so the paper misalignment of the folded paper is not Cutting is completed without any occurrence, so accurate cutting and clean cutting of the cut endit can.
[0078]
  According to the sheet post-processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, the sheet post-processing apparatus can be made compact by a configuration in which the fore edge portion of the saddle stitch book is cut in the half-discharged state on the discharge tray.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a stacker.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a stipple position and a sheet edge position in corner binding.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a stipple position and a sheet edge position in the first step of saddle stitch binding.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a stipple position and a sheet edge position in the second step of saddle stitch binding.
FIG. 6 Pre-press roller-FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a folding blade action start point.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating height control of a second paper discharge tray.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating height control of a second paper discharge tray.
FIG. 10 is a side view of a saddle stitch book.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship of a scraping member with respect to a cutting blade.
[Explanation of symbols]
  11 Folding blade
  15 Press roller-
101 cutting blade
108 Saddle Stitch Book
    R Folding blade action start point

Claims (5)

After sequentially receiving the recorded sheets and binding the center position with respect to the transport direction of the received sheet bundle, a folding blade is applied to the binding position of the bound sheet bundle so as to be In a sheet post-processing apparatus that folds a bound sheet bundle and conveys it while holding it with a pair or a plurality of pairs of press rollers to strengthen the folded state and produce a saddle stitch book,
Has a cutting means Trim the ends of the opposite side to the binding side of the saddle stitching book, the cutting means, of the saddle stitching book feeding way improving the press roller, upstream from the final press roller over Provided at the side position,
In a state where at least a part of the press roller is holding the bound sheet bundle, the place to be cut of the saddle stitch book is positioned at the cutting position of the cutting means, and a cutting operation is performed .
A discharge tray height control means for controlling the height of the discharge tray disposed downstream of the final press roller to a constant level is provided, and the saddle stitching is performed during the cutting operation by the discharge tray height control means. On a virtual plane including the upper surface of the lower roller in the pair of rollers constituting the press roller that holds the book and the upper surface of the lower roller in the pair of rollers constituting the paper discharge roller, A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the height position of the paper discharge tray is controlled so that the upper surface of the paper discharge tray or the uppermost surface of a saddle-stitched booklet that has been discharged is positioned on the paper discharge tray. . After sequentially receiving the recorded sheets and binding the center position with respect to the transport direction of the received sheet bundle, a folding blade is applied to the binding position of the bound sheet bundle so as to be In a sheet post-processing apparatus that folds a bound sheet bundle and conveys it while holding it with a pair or a plurality of pairs of press rollers to strengthen the folded state and produce a saddle stitch book ,
A cutting means for cutting and aligning the end opposite to the binding side of the saddle stitch book is provided at a position on the upstream side of the final press roller among the press rollers on the feeding direction of the saddle stitch book,
In a state where at least a part of the press roller is holding the bound sheet bundle, the place to be cut of the saddle stitch book is positioned at the cutting position of the cutting means, and a cutting operation is performed .
A paper post-processing apparatus, comprising: scrap scraping means for scraping scraps in contact with a side surface of the cutting blade in accordance with an operation of the cutting blade constituting the cutting means. In the paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A detecting means provided at a position on the upstream side of the cutting means, and detecting a feeding direction rear end as an end opposite to the binding side of the saddle stitch book;
Storage means for storing the number of saddle stitched books;
The saddle-stitched book is positioned so that the position to be cut of the saddle-stitched book is positioned at the cutting position of the cutting means from the trailing edge detection signal of the saddle-stitched book by the detecting means and the number of stored sheets of the storage means. sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim Rukoto to have a feed quantity control means for setting a feed stop position of. In the paper post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is configured to perform the cutting operation by positioning the saddle-stitched book in a state where the saddle-stitched book is held for feeding . In the paper post-processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A paper discharge roller and a paper discharge tray are sequentially arranged downstream of the final press roller, and during the cutting operation, the portion on the downstream side in the feed direction of the saddle stitch book is the upper surface of the paper discharge tray or the paper discharge tray. A press that is supported on the uppermost surface of a saddle-stitched book that has already been discharged on a paper tray and is in a semi-discharged state toward the discharge tray, and that holds the saddle-stitched book during the cutting operation of the saddle-stitched book The sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the entire saddle-stitched book from the gripping portion by a roller to the semi-discharged portion is supported in a substantially flat shape (substantially straight when viewed from the side) .

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