JP5948985B2 - Paper processing apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs preset sheet processing on a sheet-like recording medium (in the present specification, simply referred to as “sheet”) such as a loaded sheet, recording sheet, transfer sheet, and OHP sheet, and The present invention relates to an image forming system including the sheet processing apparatus and a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or an image forming apparatus such as a digital multi-function peripheral having at least two of these functions.

  Conventionally, a so-called sheet processing apparatus that performs sheet processing such as alignment processing, binding processing, and punching processing on an image-formed sheet is widely known, and this type of sheet processing apparatus is provided in a subsequent stage of the image forming apparatus. Image forming systems have been widely used in recent years. In such an image forming system, there is a demand for downsizing, and various systems that meet the demand have been proposed.

  As this already proposed technique, for example, the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. Among them, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-240759), a document reading unit is arranged at the upper part of the apparatus main body, a paper feeding unit is arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body, and between the document reading unit and the paper feeding unit. A paper post-processing unit capable of performing a plurality of paper post-processing on paper conveyed from the apparatus main body after printing by the printing unit in the space of the apparatus main body and a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper Are described.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-011787 discloses a transfer unit that transfers post-processed paper from a paper processing tray toward a paper stacking tray perpendicular to the paper transport direction of the image forming apparatus. However, when the paper is transported and returned to the original predetermined position, the paper supplied from the auxiliary tray located above the transport means is placed on the upper surface of the transport means and is pulled back in the direction of the predetermined position. A printed paper post-processing device is described.

  In the invention of Patent Document 1, a sheet post-processing section and a recording sheet capable of performing a plurality of sheet post-processing on a recording sheet conveyed from the apparatus main body after printing by the printing section in the space of the apparatus main body are discharged. And a discharge section are arranged to reduce the size. However, when the recording sheet is conveyed from the apparatus main body by SEF (Short Edge Feed), it is impossible to perform post-processing on the long end surface side parallel to the conveying direction of the recording sheet. If the punch function that can be processed, the stapling function, and the paper stacking function after processing are arranged on the side of the longitudinal end parallel to the transport direction, an arrangement space that is equal to or longer than the paper length is required for each function. It cannot meet the demand for downsizing.

  Further, the invention of Patent Document 2 includes a transfer unit that transfers a sheet in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. This transfer unit is used only for sheet transfer such as sheet withdrawal and discharge. For example, when trying to position a sheet, it is necessary to newly provide another mechanism. Therefore, the number of parts and the machine size are increased, which is disadvantageous when the paper post-processing unit is arranged in the space of the image forming apparatus main body.

  In any case, it has not been possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus main body so that the sheet processing apparatus can be disposed in a so-called cylinder space including the paper discharge tray.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable processing of a plurality of sheets while saving space.

In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, a processing unit that performs a preset process on an end surface side of the paper that has been carried in parallel to the carry-in direction, and a paper that has been processed by the processing unit, A conveyance direction converting unit that conveys the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the carried-in direction, and a sheet that is provided downstream of the sheet conveyance direction converted by the conveyance direction conversion unit and that has been processed by the processing unit is loaded. includes a stacking means, wherein the conveying direction changing unit, a sheet processing apparatus comprising a pair of aligning members for aligning and holding the direction parallel to the sheet edge which has been conveyed in the sheet, the alignment member A temporary stacking unit that is provided below and temporarily stacks a sheet that has been changed in direction by the transport direction converting unit and discharged to the stacking unit before being discharged to the stacking unit; Characterized by comprising a binding means for performing a binding process, the during stacking means parallel to the sheet edge side direction of the sheet has been conveyed against the stacked sheet bundle on.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to process a plurality of sheets while saving space.

1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the paper post-processing apparatus when it cuts in the BB line in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a moving direction of a sheet conveyed to a sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a punching process, and illustrates a state immediately after a sheet is discharged from a pair of conveying rollers. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a punching process, and shows a state immediately after a rear end of a sheet has passed through a pair of discharge rollers. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation when performing punching processing, and shows a state when positioning of the sheet end surface on the side parallel to the sheet conveying direction by the first and second joggers after the state of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an operation when performing punching processing, and shows a state when the end surface of the sheet on the side orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction is positioned by the punch alignment jogger after the state of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of performing a punching process, and shows the state when performing a punching process after the state of FIG. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a shift process, and illustrates a state in which shift discharge is performed on the left side when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of performing a shift process, and shows the state when the 2nd jogger is retracted to the retracted position. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a shift process, and shows an initial state when an end surface on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is dropped and discharged to a discharge tray. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a shift process, and shows a final state when an end face on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is dropped and discharged to a discharge tray. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of performing a shift process, and shows the state when returning a 1st jogger to an acceptance position for the next paper acceptance. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a shift process, and illustrates a state where sheets are discharged to a discharge tray and stacked. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a shift process, and illustrates a state in which shift discharge is performed on the left side when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and illustrates a state when the first and second joggers are moved from the alignment position to the paper discharge tray while the paper is supported. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and shows a state when a first jogger is moved to a paper receiving position. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and shows a state when the second jogger is moved to the staple mode push-out position. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and illustrates a state in which a supported paper end surface is dropped onto a staple tray. FIG. 21 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing stapling processing, and shows a state when moving from the state of FIG. 20 to a paper receiving position of the next paper. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing stapling processing, and shows a state in which a sheet is received on a staple tray and waits for completion of alignment of the sheet end surface. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a staple process, and shows a state when a staple aligning jogger is moved according to the notified paper size. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a staple process, and shows a state when the staple alignment jogger is retracted to the home position again. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and shows a state in which the staple unit is moved from a home position to a predetermined binding position. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and illustrates a state when a binding process is performed on a sheet bundle. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and illustrates a state when a sheet is continuously fed and a binding process is performed on a sheet bundle to be formed next. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and shows a state when the staple unit is moved to the home position. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when stapling is performed, and illustrates a state when a sheet bundle is sandwiched between a discharge roller 9 and a driven roller. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when performing a stapling process, and illustrates a state in which a sheet bundle is discharged toward a discharge tray. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The present invention is characterized in that a sheet is discharged in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction from the image forming apparatus main body, and a plurality of sheets can be processed on the end surface side parallel to the sheet conveyance direction during that time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a system configuration of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the image forming system according to the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatus main body 100, a sheet post-processing apparatus 200, and an image reading apparatus 300.

  The image forming apparatus main body 100 is an indirect transfer type tandem color image forming apparatus. In the figure, an image forming unit 110 in which four color image forming stations 111 are arranged at a substantially central portion is provided below the image forming unit 110. An optical writing unit (not shown) provided adjacently, a paper feeding unit 120 provided below the image forming unit 110, and a sheet picked up by the paper feeding unit 120 are conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 140 and the fixing unit 150. A paper feed conveyance path (vertical conveyance path) 130, a paper discharge path 160 for conveying the paper on which the image is fixed to the paper processing apparatus 200 side, and reverse the paper on which the image is formed on one side to form an image on the other side For this purpose, a double-sided conveyance path 170 is provided.

  The image forming unit 110 includes a photosensitive drum for each color of YMCK of the image forming station 111, and a charging unit, a developing unit, a primary transfer unit, a cleaning unit, and a charge eliminating unit arranged along the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum. And an intermediate transfer belt 112 for intermediate transfer of an image formed on the photosensitive drum by a primary transfer unit, and an optical writing unit for writing an image for each color on the photosensitive drum. The optical writing unit is disposed below the image forming station 111, and the intermediate transfer belt 112 is disposed above the image forming station 111.

  The intermediate transfer belt 112 is rotatably supported by a plurality of support rollers, and one of the support rollers 114 is opposed to the secondary transfer roller 115 via the intermediate transfer belt 112 in the secondary transfer unit 140, and the intermediate transfer belt 112. The upper image can be secondarily transferred to the paper. Reference numeral 116 denotes a toner container disposed so as to be replaceable.

  The image forming process of the indirect transfer tandem color image forming apparatus is well known and is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The paper feeding unit 120 includes a paper feeding tray 121, a pickup roller 122, and a paper feeding / conveying roller 123, and feeds the paper picked up from the paper feeding tray 121 upward along the vertical conveying path 130. The fed sheet is transferred with an image by the secondary transfer unit 140 and sent to the fixing unit 150. The fixing unit 150 includes a fixing roller and a pressure roller, and heat and pressure are applied in a process in which the paper passes through the nip between the two, and the toner is fixed to the paper.

  A paper discharge conveyance path 160 and a double-sided conveyance path 170 are provided downstream of the fixing unit 150, both of which are branched in two directions by a branching claw 161 and conveyed to the sheet post-processing apparatus 200 side, and a double-sided conveyance path. The transport path is selected when transported to 170. A branch conveyance roller 162 is provided in the immediate vicinity of the branch claw 161 on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, and applies a conveyance force to the sheet.

  The sheet post-processing device 200 is disposed inside the image forming apparatus main body 100, performs a predetermined process on the image-formed paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus main body 100, and stacks it on a paper discharge tray 210 positioned on the most downstream side. Details will be described later.

  The image reading device 300 is a known device that optically scans an original set on a contact glass and reads an image on the original surface. Since the configuration and function of the image reading apparatus 300 itself are known and are not directly related to the gist of the present invention, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The image forming apparatus main body 100 generally configured as described above generates image data used for writing based on document data read from the image reading apparatus 300 or print data transferred from an external PC or the like. Based on the image data, optical writing is performed from the optical writing unit to each photosensitive drum, and images formed for each color at each image forming station are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 112, and are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 112. A color image in which images of four colors are superimposed is formed.

  On the other hand, paper is fed from the paper feed tray 121 according to the image formation. The sheet is temporarily stopped at a registration roller position (not shown) immediately before the intermediate transfer unit 140, sent in time with the leading edge of the image on the intermediate transfer belt 112, secondarily transferred by the intermediate transfer unit 140, and sent to the fixing unit 150. It is sent.

  In the case of single-sided printing or after double-sided printing of double-sided printing, the paper on which the image is fixed by the fixing unit 150 is transported to the discharge path 160 side by the switching operation of the branching claw 161, and in the case of double-sided printing. It is conveyed to the double-sided conveyance path 170 side. The sheet transported to the duplex transport path 170 is reversed, sent to the last intermediate transfer unit 140, an image is formed on the other surface, and then returned to the paper discharge path 160 side. The paper transported to the paper discharge path 160 is transported to the paper post-processing device 200 and is subjected to predetermined paper processing by the paper post-processing device 200 or discharged to the paper discharge tray 210 without processing.

2. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the paper post-processing device, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the paper post-processing device when taken along line BB in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a moving direction of a sheet conveyed to the apparatus.

  2 to 4, the sheet post-processing apparatus 200 includes an inlet roller pair 201, a discharge conveyance path 202, a conveyance roller pair 203, a punch unit 251 as a punching unit, a cross, from the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction (arrow d1 direction). A first jogger 252 and a second jogger 253 as a transport unit, a staple tray 261 as a temporary stacking unit, a reference fence 262 as a butting member, a return roller 264 as a return member, a staple unit 263 as a binding unit, A paper discharge roller 209 as a paper discharge unit, a paper discharge guide plate 212, and a paper discharge tray 210 as a stacking unit are mainly configured.

  In other words, the paper receiving unit of the paper post-processing apparatus has an entrance roller pair 201 that receives paper from the paper discharge transport path of the image forming apparatus main body 100, a paper discharge transport path 202 that transports the received paper to the punch unit 251, and a pair of transport rollers. 203 is provided, and the paper is transported along the paper discharge transport path 202 by rotating the pair of entrance rollers 201 and the pair of transport rollers 203 by an unillustrated entrance motor. Further, an entrance sensor (not shown) is disposed in the paper discharge conveyance path 202, and detects the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet, and the detected timing of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet and the driving step of the inlet motor that is a stepping motor. The timing when each paper processing is performed is determined by the number.

  In order to make the image forming apparatus compact, the sheet post-processing apparatus 200 conveys the sheet by SEF (Short Edge Feed) on the downstream side of the conveying roller pair 203, and performs post-processing such as punching and stapling on the image forming apparatus. It is necessary to apply to the sheet end face (FIG. 3A) parallel to the conveyance direction d1 of the main body 100. Therefore, downstream of the conveyance roller pair 203, the sheet conveyance direction is switched to a conveyance direction d2 perpendicular to the conveyance direction d1 of the image forming apparatus main body 100, and the sheet is processed.

  A discharge guide plate 212 and a discharge roller 209 are provided on the most downstream side of the staple tray 206. The conveyance by the paper discharge roller 209 is performed with the driven roller 213. The driven roller 213 is provided at the movable end of the paper discharge guide plate 212 and can be moved up and down by a stepping motor 213a. The paper P is sandwiched and conveyed by the paper discharge roller 209 and the driven roller 213.

  A paper presser 220 for pressing the paper P stacked on the paper discharge tray 2103 is disposed at the attachment portion of the paper discharge tray 210 to the main body of the paper processing apparatus 200, and the paper press release is released by turning on / off the solenoid 221. Operation and sheet pressing operation are performed. That is, the solenoid 221 is turned on in accordance with the conveyance of the paper to release the pressing operation of the paper presser 220. When the paper P passes the paper discharge roller 209, the solenoid 221 is turned off to press the paper. Even if the solenoid 221 is turned off at the timing when the paper P passes through the paper discharge roller 209, the paper P passes through the paper discharge roller 209 due to a delay in the operation of the solenoid 221 and the paper presser 220, and is placed on the paper discharge tray 210. After dropping, the paper P slides in the direction opposite to the transport direction due to the action of gravity, and after hitting the end fence 225, the paper P is pressed on the movable tray portion 222b by the paper presser 220. Alternatively, the paper P can be pressed by the paper presser 220 by setting a preset delay time with the timing when the paper P passes the paper discharge roller 209 as a trigger.

  The paper discharge tray 210 includes a fixed tray portion 222a on the downstream side in the transport direction and a movable tray portion 222b on the upstream side, and the movable tray portion 222b moves up and down by a tray DC motor 223a and a cam / link mechanism 223b. The movable tray portion 222b is pivotally supported by the fixed tray portion 222a via the support shaft 223c with the upstream end portion as a rotation end, and the operating end of the cam / link mechanism 223b is the movable tray portion 222b. It is connected to. As a result, the tray DC motor 223a rotates, and the movable tray portion 222b swings around the support shaft 223c according to the rotation.

  When the number of discharged sheets reaches a certain number, the movable tray unit 222b rotates the tray DC motor 223a according to a command from a control unit described later, and lowers the free end of the movable tray unit 222b. In addition, a tray paper surface sensor (not shown) is arranged on the paper presser 220. If the paper presser 220 holds the paper and the tray paper surface sensor is OFF, the paper discharge tray 210 is raised until the paper surface sensor is turned ON. If the sensor is ON, the discharge tray 210 is lowered until the paper surface sensor is turned OFF, and is raised until it is turned ON again, so that the height of the discharge tray 210 loaded with the paper P is kept constant. ing.

  In this way, the free end of the movable tray portion 222b is moved up and down in accordance with the paper stacking state of the paper discharge tray 210, and the distance from the nip portion of the paper discharge roller 209 to the paper stacking portion of the movable tray portion 222b is kept constant. Accordingly, the contact angle between the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 209 and the movable tray 222b can be made constant, the alignment quality of the paper stacked on the paper discharge tray 210 can be stabilized, and a large number of sheets can be stacked. It becomes.

  The staple tray 261 is provided with a staple aligning jogger 265 and a fixed fence 266, and in the vicinity of the punch unit 251, a punch aligning roller 255 and a punch aligning jogger 256 are provided. The punch aligning roller 255 is rotationally driven by an entrance motor and functions as a post-processing unit aligning roller that can be separated from and attached to the paper. The punch alignment jogger 256 functions as a post-processing unit alignment fence that regulates the position of the front end of the sheet.

  In the paper post-processing apparatus generally configured as described above, the punching process is executed, and the shift process and the staple process are performed in the shift mode and the staple mode, respectively. Each will be described below.

2.1 Punching Processing FIGS. 5 to 9 are operation explanatory views showing operations when the punching processing is performed by the paper post-processing apparatus.

  In FIG. 5, the paper P discharged from the conveying roller pair 203 is provided with a paper (back side) end surface e <b> 4 for punching processing on the paper support portion 251 a and the first jogger 252 of the punch unit 251 as shown in FIG. 6. The front end surface e2 of the sheet is supported by the support portion 252a provided on the second jogger 253.

  The first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 are each inserted into a guide shaft (not shown), and further connected to a stepping motor via a timing belt (not shown). The first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 linearly reciprocate perpendicularly to the transport direction d1 of the image forming apparatus main body 100 by forward and reverse rotation driving of the stepping motor. The first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 can be driven independently.

  When performing the punching process, as shown in FIG. 5, the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 are moved from the home position (p100, p200) to a predetermined paper receiving position based on the previously notified paper size information. (P101, p201).

  In the vicinity of the punch unit 251, a punch aligning roller 255 and a punch aligning jogger 256 that are rotationally driven by an inlet motor are provided. In the mode in which the punching process is performed on the paper P, since the punching unit 251 performs the punching process, the positioning of the paper P by the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253, the punch aligning roller 255, and the punch aligning jogger 256 is performed. I do.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the paper trailing edge e3 passes through the paper discharge roller pair 203, the paper P is moved in the direction of the arrow d4 by the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 as shown in FIG. e4 is positioned. In other words, the first jogger 252 is moved in the direction of the arrow d4, and the paper P is moved to the reference position (p102) when the paper edge surface e4 is punched. At the same time, the second jogger 253 is moved in the direction of the arrow d4 to make the interval with the first jogger equal to the received paper width (p202), thereby positioning the paper end surface e4. Positioning of the sheet end surface e4 is performed by a punch alignment roller 255 and a punch alignment jogger 256.

  The punch aligning roller 255 includes a lever portion and a roller portion that move up and down, and is driven up and down by a stepping motor (not shown). The roller portion of the punch alignment roller 255 is driven by an inlet motor. When the support portion 252a provided on the first jogger 252 is waiting at the lower part of the roller, the punch alignment roller 255 is lowered to drive the inlet motor. As a result, the paper supported by the punch unit 251, the first jogger 252, and the second jogger 253 can be conveyed in parallel with the direction d1.

  The punch alignment jogger 256 is inserted into a guide shaft (not shown) and is connected to a stepping motor via a timing belt (not shown). The punch alignment jogger 256 reciprocates linearly in parallel with the conveyance direction of the image forming apparatus main body 100 by driving the stepping motor forward and backward.

  In the linear reciprocating movement, as shown in FIG. 8, the punch alignment jogger 256 waiting at the home position (p300) is moved in the direction of the arrow d3, and is moved to a predetermined alignment position (p301) according to the notified paper size. Then, the punch alignment roller 255 is lowered and driven in the direction of the arrow d1 while the roller is in contact with the sheet, whereby the sheet end surface e1 is abutted against the punch alignment jogger 256 and positioned.

  The sheet P is punched by the punch unit 251 as shown in FIG. 9 in a state where the sheet P is positioned with respect to the sheet end surface e4 and the sheet end surface e1 by the above procedure. In the mode in which the punching process is not performed, only the edge of the sheet is positioned with respect to the received sheet, and the punching operation by the punch unit 251 is not performed.

  After performing the punching process (FIG. 9) or after receiving the paper (FIG. 8), the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 move the paper P toward the downstream staple tray 261 or the discharge tray 210 as will be described later. Transport. After the sheet is conveyed downstream, the operation shifts to a shift mode operation for shifting and discharging, or a staple mode operation for binding and discharging a plurality of sheets.

  As described above, the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 not only function as a cross conveyance unit but also serve as a sheet positioning member, and can contribute to a reduction in the number of parts.

  Since the operation is different between the shift mode and the staple mode, the configuration of each part will be described for each mode.

2.2 Shift Mode FIGS. 10 to 16 are operation explanatory views showing operations when the sheet post-processing apparatus performs shift processing.

  The shift mode is a mode in which sheets are sorted into a predetermined number of sheets on the left and right as viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus (FIG. 1) on the discharge tray 210 without performing binding processing on the sheets. When the paper P is shifted and discharged to the shift position s1 (left side as viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus) as shown in FIG. ) To the left shift reference position (p311), the punch alignment roller 255 is brought into contact with the paper, and the paper P is moved in the direction of the arrow d1. That is, the sheet P is moved to the shift position s 1 by abutting the sheet end surface e 1 against the punch alignment jogger 256 by the punch alignment roller 255.

  When the movement of the sheet P is completed, the second jogger 253 is moved from the alignment position p202 in the direction of the arrow d2 as shown in FIG. 11, and is retracted to the shift mode retract position (p211) in front of the sheet discharge guide plate 212. . Then, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the first jogger 252 is moved in the direction of the arrow d2 from the alignment position p102 to the shift mode pushing position (p111) while dropping the sheet end surface e2. As a result, the paper P moves toward the paper discharge tray 210 as indicated by the arrow d2a and falls onto the staple tray 261.

  The paper pushed out by the first jogger 252 is discharged in the direction of the arrow d2a toward the paper discharge tray 210 by a paper discharge roller 209 and a paper discharge guide plate 212 arranged at the boundary between the staple tray 261 and the paper discharge tray 210. Is done. The paper discharge guide plate 212 can be moved up and down by a stepping motor 214, and the paper is sandwiched by a paper discharge roller 209 and a driven roller 213 attached to the paper discharge guide plate 212. At this time, the first jogger 252 is returned to the receiving position (p101) as shown in FIG. 14 for receiving the next sheet. The paper discharge roller 209 is driven by a paper discharge motor (not shown), and the paper is sandwiched and conveyed by the paper discharge roller 209 and the driven roller 213 to discharge the paper P to the paper discharge tray 210 as shown in FIG. And load. As described above, in the shift mode, the paper is not directly stacked on the staple tray 261 but directly discharged toward the paper discharge tray 210 and conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 16, when the paper P is shifted and discharged to the shift position s2 (right side when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus), the punch alignment jogger 256 is moved to the alignment position (p301) after alignment of the paper end surface e1 or after punching processing. To the right shift reference position (p312) to move the paper in the direction of the arrow d3. At the same time, the punch alignment roller 255 is driven in the direction d1, and the sheet end surface e1 is abutted against the punch alignment jogger 256 to correct the inclination of the sheet, thereby moving the sheet to the shift position s2. The operation after the sheet is moved to the shift position s2 by the punch alignment jogger 256 is the same as that when the sheet is discharged to the shift position s1 (FIGS. 11 to 15).

  When sorting the paper P every predetermined number of sheets, the paper P is discharged by switching the left shift and the right shift every predetermined number of sheets. As a result, when the sheets are stacked on the paper discharge tray 203, the paper discharge positions are alternately shifted every predetermined number of sheets, and the paper P is sorted.

  By repeating the above operation, the sorted sheets are stacked on the discharge tray 210.

2.3 Staple Mode FIGS. 17 to 30 are operation explanatory views showing operations when the sheet post-processing apparatus performs a staple process.

  The staple mode is a mode in which when the paper P is discharged, the staple unit 263 performs a binding process every predetermined number of sheets and discharges the paper P. In the staple mode, as shown in FIG. 17, the first jogger 252 and the second jogger 253 are moved from the alignment position (p102, p202) to the direction of the arrow d2 (discharge tray 210 side) with the paper supported. When the paper is moved and reaches the paper drop position (p121, p221), next, as shown in FIG. 18, the first jogger 252 is moved in the arrow d4 direction to move to the paper reception position (p101). Then, as shown in FIG. 19, by moving the first jogger 252, the second jogger 253 is moved in the arrow d4 direction while dropping the front end surface of the sheet, and moved to the staple mode push-out position (p222). As a result, the sheet P is pushed toward the reference fence 262 (in the direction of the arrow d4a). The paper pushed out by the second jogger 253 is delivered to a return roller 264 disposed in the vicinity of the reference fence 262 on the staple tray 261.

  The staple tray 261 is provided with a staple aligning jogger 265 and a fixed fence 266, and the paper P conveyed on the staple tray 261 is aligned by the reference fence 262 and the return roller 264, the staple aligning jogger 265, and the fixed fence 266. Is done.

  The alignment of the sheet end surface e4 is performed by the reference fence 262 and the return roller 264. The roller of the return roller 264 is driven by an inlet motor. When the entrance roller 201 is driven in the direction d1, the return roller 264 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow d4a toward the reference fence 262 as shown in FIG. The sheet P delivered to the return roller 264 is aligned by abutting the sheet end surface e4 on which the binding process is performed by the staple unit 263 with the reference fence 262 by the rotation of the roller. At this time, when the paper P is transferred to the return roller 264, the second jogger 253 retracts to the staple mode retracting position (p223) without waiting for the paper P to be abutted against the reference fence 262. As a result, the second jogger 253 drops the supported paper end surface e2 on the staple tray 261 as shown in FIG. 20, and then moves to the paper receiving position (p201) for the next paper shown in FIG.

  When the sheet alignment of the sheet end surface e4 is completed, the sheet alignment of the sheet end surface perpendicular to the arrow d1 direction is performed by the staple alignment jogger 265 arranged on the staple tray 261. The staple alignment jogger 265 is inserted into a guide shaft (not shown) and is connected to a stepping motor via a timing belt (not shown). The staple aligning jogger 265 performs a linear reciprocating movement in parallel with the sheet conveying direction of the image forming apparatus main body 100 by driving the stepping motor forward and backward.

  The staple aligning jogger 265 retracts to the home position (p400) where it does not contact the falling paper P before dropping the paper P onto the staple tray 261 as shown in FIG. 22, and as shown in FIG. Then, the sheet P is received on the staple tray 261, and the completion of the alignment of the sheet end surface e4 is awaited. When the alignment of the sheet end surface e4 is completed, the staple alignment jogger 265 is moved to a position (p421) where the distance between the staple alignment jogger 265 and the fixed fence 266 is equal to the sheet length according to the notified sheet size as shown in FIG. Let Next, the staple aligning jogger 265 is brought into contact with the sheet end surface e1, and the sheet P is sandwiched between the staple aligning jogger 265 and the fixed fence 266, whereby the sheet P is moved in the direction of the arrow d3 and aligned with the reference position, and the sheet end surface e1 and Match e3. During this time, the return roller 264 continues to rotate and maintains the alignment of the sheet end surface e4. Thereafter, if the next sheet P is further received, the staple aligning jogger 265 is retracted to the home position (p400) again as shown in FIG.

  The above operation is repeated to form the aligned sheet bundle PB on the staple tray 261.

  When the predetermined number of sheets P are received in the staple tray 261 and the sheet alignment is completed, the staple unit 263 performs a binding process on the sheet bundle PB by the stapler 263.

  The staple unit 263 is connected to a stepping motor (not shown) via a timing belt (not shown), and linearly reciprocates parallel to the transport direction of the image forming apparatus main body 100 by driving the stepping motor forward and backward. A DC motor (not shown) is mounted in the staple unit 263. By driving the DC motor, the binding needle is driven into the sheet bundle PB and the binding process is performed.

  Prior to receiving the paper P into the staple tray 261, the staple unit 263, according to the binding position information and the paper size information notified in advance as shown in FIG. 25, from the home position (p500) of the staple unit 263 to a predetermined binding position ( p521). 17 to 24, the sheet bundle PB is formed on the staple tray 261. When the alignment is completed, the DC motor is driven as shown in FIG. 26 to perform the binding process on the sheet bundle PB.

  After the binding process is completed and the sheet bundle PB is discharged in the direction of the arrow d2a toward the sheet discharge tray 210 as shown in FIG. 27, the sheet passing is continued and the binding process is performed on the next formed sheet bundle PB. In this case, as shown in FIG. 24, the staple unit 263 stands by on the spot, retracts the staple alignment jogger 265, and receives the next sheet. When the next sheet is not received and the apparatus is stopped, the stepping motor is driven as shown in FIG. 28 to move the staple unit 263 to the home position (p500).

  After the binding process, the paper discharge guide plate 212 is lowered as shown in FIG. 29, and the paper bundle is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller 209 and the driven roller 213 attached to the paper discharge guide plate 212. As shown in FIG. The bundle PB is discharged toward the discharge tray 210 in the direction of the arrow d2a.

  In this way, a series of operations of accepting a plurality of sheets P to form an aligned sheet bundle PB, binding the sheet bundle PB, and discharging the sheet bundle PB to the discharge tray 210 is completed.

3. Control Device FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the image forming system according to the present embodiment.

  The control of the sheet post-processing apparatus 200 is executed by a sheet post-processing apparatus control unit 400 having a built-in CPU 401, ROM 402, RAM 403, serial I / F 404, timer 405, and the like.

  The program code for control is stored in the ROM 402, and the CPU 401 expands the program code in the RAM 403, stores data necessary for control in the RAM 403, and uses the RAM as a work area, and the control defined by the program code. And various DC loads 420 are controlled.

  The image forming apparatus main body 100 and the paper post-processing apparatus 200 exchange commands necessary for paper transport control via the serial I / Fs 415 and 404, and the paper post-processing apparatus 200 receives the commands and paper positions obtained from the various sensors 430. Paper conveyance control and post-processing are performed based on the information. In addition, door opening / closing information for replenishing the staples of the staple unit 263 is also input to the post-processing device control unit 400. Further, although not shown, the sheet post-processing device control unit 400 also includes a sheet abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of a sheet being conveyed and a load abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of a load that drives each unit.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
1) A punch unit 251 for performing punching processing and a staple unit 263 (processing means) for performing binding processing are provided on the side of the paper end surface e4 in the longitudinal direction parallel to the transport direction of the paper P, and the paper P is removed from the image forming apparatus main body 100. Since the sheet is transported in a direction orthogonal to the carry-in direction, the sheet discharge tray 210 (stacking unit) may be configured to be able to cope with the sheet length of the short end surface perpendicular to the sheet passing direction. Therefore, the installation area of the paper discharge tray 210 can be reduced.

2) Further, by using the pair of first and second joggers 252 and 253 as cross conveying means for conveying the paper P in a direction orthogonal to the carrying-in direction from the image forming apparatus main body 100, the paper is pushed out. In addition to cross-conveying, the sheet end surface e4 parallel to the sheet P can be regulated and used as a reference fence used for alignment or positioning during sheet post-processing. As a result, the paper post-processing apparatus 200 can be reduced in size and the number of parts can be reduced, and the image forming apparatus main body 100 can be arranged in a space-saving manner.

3) At that time, if the sheet post-processing apparatus 200 is disposed in a space between the image forming apparatus main body 100 and the image reading apparatus 300, that is, a so-called in-body space, the installation area of the image forming system is approximately the installation area of the image forming apparatus main body 100. The space saving can be promoted without sacrificing the post-processing function.

4) Since the first and second joggers 252 and 253 have support portions 252a and 253a that can support the bottom surface of the paper, it is not necessary to separately provide a support portion for supporting the paper, and the number of parts can be reduced. .

5) When the paper is received, the paper receiving position of the joggers 252 and 253 is changed based on the paper size information notified from the image forming apparatus main body 100. Therefore, even if the width of the conveyed paper P is narrow, The lower surface of the paper can be supported by the support portions 252a and 253a, and paper P having various sizes can be passed.

6) A sheet from the image forming apparatus main body 100 side of a staple tray 261 for temporarily stacking sheets P and a sheet bundle PB stacked on the staple tray 261 vertically below the punch unit 251 and joggers 252 and 253 Since the stapling unit 263 that performs the binding process on the paper end surface e4 parallel to the transport direction is provided, the paper P can be temporarily stacked on the staple tray 261 by dropping the paper P from the joggers 252 and 253 onto the staple tray 261. In addition, a conveyance path for conveying the paper P to the staple tray 261 becomes unnecessary. Thereby, reduction of a number of parts and space saving can be achieved.

7) The presence or absence of the binding process to the sheet bundle PB is determined. When the binding process is performed, the sheet P is dropped and temporarily stacked on the staple tray 261. When the binding process is not performed, the process is not performed via the staple tray 261. When the joggers 252 and 253 are operated so that the paper P is discharged (dropped) to the paper discharge tray 210, it is not necessary to perform the sorting process after the paper P is stacked on the staple tray 261, and the binding process is not performed. Productivity can be improved.

8) A reference fence 262 that aligns the sheet end surface e4 parallel to the sheet conveyance direction from the image forming apparatus main body 100 side of the sheets P stacked on the staple tray 261, and the staple unit 263 are disposed near the jogger 252. , 253 is provided with a return roller 264 that comes into contact with the paper P dropped onto the staple tray 261 and abuts the paper end surface e4 against the reference fence 262. Therefore, when the paper P is delivered to the return roller 264, the joggers 252 Can be returned to the paper receiving position. As a result, it is possible to shorten the interval between the sheets of paper P that are passed from the image forming apparatus main body 100, and it is possible to improve productivity.

9) The image forming apparatus main body 100 moves in parallel with the sheet conveyance direction d1 and abuts and aligns the sheet end surface e1 perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction d1 of the sheets P stacked on the staple tray 261. A post-processing unit alignment fence 256 that is separable from the upper surface of the sheet and that can be separated from the upper surface of the sheet and transports the sheet P in the sheet conveyance direction d1 to abut the sheet end surface e1 on the post-processing unit alignment fence 256. Thus, the sheet end surface e1 perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction d1 can be aligned at the place where post-processing is performed.

10) After moving the post-processing unit alignment fence 256 to any one of the two or more sorting positions, the post-processing unit alignment roller 255 abuts the sheet end surface e1 against the post-processing unit alignment fence 256, Since the paper P can be transported to the paper discharge tray 210, the paper P can be sorted without adding a new member.

  In the present embodiment, the paper in the claims is denoted by P in the present embodiment, and the processing means is a punch unit 251 (punching process), a staple unit 263 (binding process), a post-processing unit alignment fence 256, and a post-processing unit alignment roller 255 ( (Sorting process), the sheet processing apparatus is loaded into the sheet post-processing apparatus 200, the transport direction changing means and the pair of alignment members are loaded into the first and second joggers 252 and 253, and the stacking means is loaded into the discharge tray 210. The sheet end surface parallel to the direction that has been formed is denoted by reference numeral e4, the support portion is denoted by numerals 252a and 253a, the control means is denoted by the CPU 401, the punching means is denoted by the punch unit 251, the temporary stacking means is denoted by the staple tray 261, and the sheet bundle is denoted by numerals. In PB, the binding means is in the staple unit 263, the abutting member is in the reference fence 262, and the return member is in the return roller 264. The fence corresponds to the post-processing unit alignment fence 256, the alignment roller corresponds to the post-processing unit alignment roller 255, and the sheet end surface perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is carried in corresponds to the symbol e1, and the image forming system performs image formation. This corresponds to a system including the apparatus main body 100, the sheet post-processing apparatus 200, and the image reading apparatus 300.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and all the technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are all included. The subject of the present invention. The above embodiment shows a preferable example, but those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification, These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image forming apparatus main body 200 Paper post-processing apparatus 210 Paper discharge tray 251 Punch unit 252,253 Jogger 252a, 253a Support part 255 Post-processing part alignment roller 256 Post-processing part alignment fence 261 Staple tray 262 Reference fence 263 Staple unit 264 Return roller 300 Image reading device 401 CPU
e1 Paper end surface perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is carried in e4 Paper end surface parallel to the direction in which the paper is carried in P Paper PB Paper bundle

JP 2006-240759 A JP-A-11-011787

Claims (9)

Processing means for performing a preset process on an end surface parallel to the carry-in direction of the carried-in paper;
A transport direction changing means for transporting the paper processed by the processing means in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is carried in;
A stacking unit that is provided on the downstream side of the sheet transport direction converted by the transport direction converting unit and stacks the sheets processed by the processing unit;
Have
The transport direction changing means is a paper processing apparatus comprising a pair of alignment members that press and align a paper end face parallel to the direction in which the paper is carried in ,
A temporary stacking unit that is provided below the alignment member, and is temporarily stacked before discharging the sheet discharged to the stacking unit side and discharged to the stacking unit side by changing the direction by the transport direction converting unit;
A binding unit that performs a binding process on a sheet end surface parallel to a direction in which the sheet is carried in the bundle of sheets stacked on the temporary stacking unit;
Having
A paper processing apparatus . The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the alignment member includes a support portion that supports a sheet bottom surface. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A sheet processing apparatus, comprising: a control unit configured to change the position of the alignment member when the sheet is received based on the notified sheet size information. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A paper processing apparatus, wherein the processing means is a punching means for punching the paper. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The alignment member causes the temporary stacking unit or a paper discharge operation to the stacking unit to be performed, determines whether or not a binding process is performed on the sheet bundle, and temporarily performs stacking on the temporary stacking unit when performing the binding process. The sheet processing apparatus further comprises a control unit that operates the alignment member so that the stacking unit discharges the sheet without using the temporary stacking unit when the binding process is not performed . The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
An abutting member that aligns the sheet end surface parallel to the direction in which the sheet of the sheet loaded on the temporary stacking unit is carried in;
A return member that forcibly abuts the end face side of the paper discharged to the temporary stacking unit against the abutting member;
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The processing means includes
An alignment fence that moves in parallel with the direction in which the paper is carried in and abuts and aligns a paper end surface perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is loaded in the temporary stacking unit;
An alignment roller that is separable from the upper surface of the sheet and that abuts the end surface of the sheet against the alignment fence by conveying the sheet in a direction in which the sheet has been carried in;
A sheet processing apparatus comprising: The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 ,
Control means for moving the alignment fence to any one of two or more sorting positions, abutting the end face of the sheet against the alignment fence by the alignment roller, and discharging the sheet to the stacking means sheet processing apparatus characterized by having a. An image forming system comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 .