JP6633376B2 - Corner cutting / punching apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a corner cut / punch device that cuts and cuts a corner of a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and various printers into an inclined or curved form, and punches a punch hole in the sheet. The present invention relates to a corner cut / punch apparatus in which a punch that cuts at an angle or a curve at a corner and punches a punch hole is a unit, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  In recent years, it has been widely known that a predetermined sheet process is performed on a sheet carried out from an image forming apparatus. In a sheet processing apparatus connected to an image forming apparatus, an apparatus for performing punch blade processing and binding processing is also provided.

  By the way, it is known that the corner of the sheet is easily bent, so that the corner at the front end is cut or the corner of the sheet is cut to improve the appearance of the sheet shape and impart a kindness.

  For example, in Patent Literature 1, a sheet is sandwiched between a moving arc-shaped cutting blade and a receiving blade receiving the cutting blade, and the cutting blade is manually pushed into the receiving blade toward a corner of the sheet, so that a corner of the sheet is bent. Is shown.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163, a sheet feeding device is used to feed a sheet conveyed from a sheet storage unit on which sheets are stacked, by cutting both sides of the leading end side of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner by a sheet cutting mechanism, and then feeding the sheet to the image forming apparatus. Thus, an apparatus has been disclosed which reduces paper jams due to corner breaks of paper.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a method in which a bundled sheet is targeted, but a cutting blade and a punching blade longer than the sheet width to be conveyed are provided in one unit. An apparatus for performing is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 3627073 JP-A-6-156817 JP-A-2005-189551

  The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above manually cuts the corners of the sheet, which requires a long time for the cutting process, and the cutting range is also manual, so that it is not stable.

  On the other hand, the device disclosed in Patent Document 2 can cut the corner of the sheet automatically, but cuts only the front end side of the sheet, and cannot cut the rear end side of the sheet. If an attempt is made to cut the trailing edge of the sheet, it is conceivable to change the direction of the cutting blade or the cutting blade unit, but it is necessary to use a cutting blade direction changing mechanism.

Furthermore, the cutting blade shown in Patent Document 3 is a cutting blade that cannot cut the sheet's corner cut in an inclined or curved manner, and the cutting blade is relatively heavy, longer than the width of the sheet. Therefore, it was difficult to reduce the size of the drive and the entire device.

  The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned problem, and cuts the corners of the leading edge and the trailing edge of a sheet that is conveyed after entering the sheet conveying path from a cross direction and punching the sheet with a punch blade in the same unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a corner cutting punch device which is relatively lightweight and small in size.

The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
That is, a corner cutting / punching device that enters a conveying path of a conveyed sheet from an intersecting direction to cut a corner of the sheet and perforate the sheet, and a cutting blade that cuts the angle of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape and a cutting blade. A support frame having a cut receiving blade for receiving the cut blade, a drive unit for moving the support frame into and out of the transport path, and a punch blade for punching a sheet and a punch receiving blade for receiving the punch blade; A corner cutting / punching device characterized by being arranged on a support frame.

  According to the present invention, the cutting blade and the punch blade for cutting the front and rear corners of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner are supported by the support frame that enters and retracts in the cross direction in the sheet conveyance path, so that corner cutting and punching are performed. In addition, it is possible to provide a relatively lightweight and small-sized corner-cut punch device.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration in which a corner cut / punch unit, which is a corner cut / punch device as a part of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, and an image forming apparatus are combined. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a combination of a corner cut / punch unit according to the present invention, a tray unit having an extended lifting range, and an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a sheet processing apparatus including the corner cut / punch unit shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing main parts inside the corner cut punch unit and the folding unit in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is an explanatory perspective view of the corner cut / punch unit of FIG. 4. 4 is an explanatory plan view showing the relationship between the sheet and the corner cut punch unit of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner cut / punch unit as viewed from a side of a cutting blade frame. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corner cut punch unit as viewed from a receiving blade frame side. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of cut blades, punch blades, and embossed portions as a support frame in which a cut blade frame and a receiving blade frame are connected to face each other. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the support frame from the punch blade side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a cutting blade and a punch blade. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a moving lever that moves a cutting blade and a punch blade attached to a support frame. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a moving cam that moves a cutting blade, a punch blade, and an embossed portion. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a sheet and a support frame, and showing a state in which a sheet is introduced and a corner of a sheet front end is cut by a cutting blade. In a state in which embossing is performed on both sides in the width direction of the sheet following FIG. 14, FIG. 15A shows that embossing is performed on the rear side of the apparatus, and FIG. 15B shows that embossing is performed on the front side of the apparatus. FIG. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a corner at the rear end of the sheet is cut following FIG. 15; FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a punch hole is punched near the rear end side of the sheet following FIG. 16. FIGS. 14 to 16 show a sheet which has been subjected to corner cutting, embossing and punching by a cutting blade, a punch blade and an embossed portion, and FIG. 18A shows corner cutting and embossing at both corners at the front and rear ends of the sheet. , A punched sheet. FIG. 18B shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made by a cutting blade at the edge of the sheet in the width direction at the center of the sheet. FIG. 18C shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made by a cutting blade at an edge in the width direction of the fold line when the sheet of FIG. 18A is folded in three. FIGS. 19A and 19B show another embodiment showing the deformation of the arrangement of the cutting blade / punch blade / embossed portion arranged on the support frame shown in FIGS. 4 to 17, and FIG. Substantially the center is arranged in a line in the sheet width direction. FIG. 19B shows the punch blade shifted from the cutting blade and the embossed portion to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. FIG. 20A shows another modified example in which a cutting blade and a punch blade are arranged on one support frame different from that in FIG. 19, and FIG. 20A shows a punch blade shifted and arranged downstream of one four-sided cutting blade. FIG. 20 (b) shows the cutting blade divided at the center and overlapped with the downstream punch blade. 15 shows another embodiment in which a part of the cutting / punching method is changed. FIG. 15 shows a state in which a punch hole is punched near the rear end side of the sheet first, and then the sheet is switched back to cut a corner. FIG. Explanatory drawing of the control structure in the whole structure of FIG. 1 and FIG.

  Hereinafter, a sheet processing apparatus B including a corner cut / punch unit 30 as a corner cut apparatus (corner cut / punch apparatus) according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus A to which the sheet processing apparatus B is attached will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a sheet processing apparatus B and an image forming apparatus A including a corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a combination of a sheet processing apparatus B and an image forming apparatus A having a corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention and having an extended range of raising and lowering a stacking tray 90.

[Image Forming Apparatus A]
The image forming apparatus A shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 uses an electrophotographic method, and includes a sheet feeding unit including three-stage sheet feeding cassettes 1a, 1b, and 1c for storing sheets below the image forming unit 2, When the sheet processing device B is not mounted, the image reading device 20 is disposed above the image forming unit 2 as a paper discharge space. Therefore, when the sheet processing apparatus B is disposed, the apparatus is a so-called internal type apparatus that uses the above-described paper discharge space as illustrated.

The image forming section 2 employs a tandem system using an intermediate transfer belt. That is, four color components (yellow 2Y, magenta 2M, cyan 2C, black 2BK) are used. For example, in yellow 2Y, a photosensitive drum 3a as an image carrier and a charging roller for charging the photosensitive drum 3a And an exposure device 5a that uses an image signal read by the image reading device 20 as a latent image. Further, a developing device 6a for forming a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 3a as a toner image, and a primary transfer roller 7a for primarily transferring the image on the photosensitive drum 3a formed by the developing device 6a to the intermediate transfer belt 9 It has. This configuration is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 9 for each color component. The color components remaining on the photosensitive drum 3a are collected by the photosensitive cleaner 8a and prepared for the next image formation. These are the same for other color components as shown in FIGS.

Meanwhile, the image on the intermediate transfer belt 9 is transferred to a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 1 by the secondary transfer roller 10, and the image is melted and fixed on the sheet by the fixing device 12 by pressing force and heat. The superposed color components remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 9 are removed by the intermediate belt cleaner 11 and prepared for the next transfer.

The sheet on which an image has been formed in this manner is directed to the main body discharge roller 16 by the main body relay roller 14. However, when images are formed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet once conveyed to the sheet processing apparatus B by the switching gate 15 is switched. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the circulation path 17 and sent to the image forming unit 2 again to form an image on the back side of the sheet.
The sheet having an image formed on one or both sides of the sheet in this manner is conveyed to the sheet processing apparatus B including the folding unit 31 through the main body discharge roller 16.

Note that an image reading device 20 is disposed above the paper discharge space above the image forming unit 2. Here, the original placed on the original stacker 25 is sent to the platen 21 by the original feeder 24, and the sent original is irradiated by the scan unit 22 to be sequentially read by a photoelectric conversion element (for example, a CCD) and shown. Not storing images in data storage. The image formation of the stored image on the sheet by the image forming unit is as described above.

[Sheet processing device B]
Next, a description will be given of the sheet processing apparatus B disposed in the paper discharge space above the image forming unit 2 and below the image reading apparatus 20 in FIGS. As a part of the sheet processing apparatus B, there is provided a corner cut device for cutting corners of a sheet according to the present invention and punching a punch hole as needed, or a corner cut / punch unit 30 as a corner cut / punch device. .

The sheet processing apparatus B guides a sheet to be switched back to form an image on both sides of the sheet discharged from the main body discharge roller 16, cuts a corner of the sheet while feeding the sheet downstream, and punches a sheet. A corner cut / punch unit 30 for piercing or marking with a stamp or emboss is provided.

Downstream of the corner cut / punch unit 30, a folding unit 31 that folds the sheet into, for example, three, and a binding unit 32 that temporarily places the image-formed sheets that are sequentially conveyed on the processing tray 76 and binds them as a bundle with the stapler 80 And a tray unit 33 having a stacking tray 90 for stacking and moving up and down the sheet bundle bound by the binding unit 32 and the sheets discharged without being bound.

The corner cutting / punch unit 30 constituting the sheet processing apparatus B also has a role as a guide unit for extending the range of the sheet processing apparatus. The binding unit 32 having the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, and the tray unit 33 can be selectively arranged. For example, only the binding unit 32 and the corner cut / punch unit 30 can be placed. It is possible to omit it.

By the way, in FIG. 1, the tray unit 33 having the ascending / descending stacking tray 90 is such that the binding unit 32 is moved from the staple of the apparatus frame 29 of the image forming apparatus A to a position within L1a and the stacking tray 90 is moved to the elevating rack 100. On the other hand, it goes up and down. Therefore, since the sheet processing apparatus B is disposed in the paper discharge space, the entire image forming apparatus A becomes compact. For example, when only the binding unit 32 is placed in the paper discharge space, the stacking tray 90 which moves up and down also discharges the paper. It can be more compact by being located in space.

On the other hand, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in this case, the moving range where the stacking tray 90 moves up and down is the range of the L1t range up to the upper surface of the apparatus frame 29. Generally, this L1t range is set to about 500 to 1000 sheets as the amount of sheets to be stacked, and if the number of sheets is increased beyond this range, the image forming apparatus A is stopped and the sheets placed on the stacking tray 90 are taken out. Alternatively, the sheet processing apparatus B which can be externally attached to a completely different apparatus frame 29 is replaced.

Therefore, the above-mentioned stacking tray 90 is provided with a sheet processing apparatus B in which an extension rack 102 capable of easily expanding the elevating range is added to the existing elevating rack 100 (elevating rail 99) to increase the amount of sheets stacked on the stacking tray 90. FIG. 2 shows the image forming apparatus. By adding the extension rack 102 (extension rail 101), the stacking amount of sheets can be increased from about 500 sheets to about 1000 sheets.

In order to arrange in this way, two types of corner cut punch units 30 according to the present invention are prepared, one having a relatively short length (L1y) in FIG. 1 and the longer (L2y) shown in FIG. It is. That is, in order to add the above-mentioned extension rack 102 and move the stacking tray 90 down to the extension rack 102, first, the corner cut / punch unit 30 having a length in the conveyance direction of L1y in FIG. It is replaced with a corner cut / punch unit 30 having a length in the transport direction of L2y in FIG. The length L2y here is such that the distance L1a between the side surface of the binding device and the side surface of the device frame 29 in FIG.

In the following, the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, the tray unit 33 attached to the unit, the lifting mechanism of the stacking tray 90 of the tray unit 33 and the lifting range of the sheet processing apparatus B are extended. The outline of the extension rail including the extension rack 102 will be described.

[Corner cut punch unit 30]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention is disposed immediately after the main body discharge port 3. Here, the outline will be described, and the details will be described in FIG. A switchback path 35 for guiding a sheet to be switchback-conveyed by the main body relay roller 14 is provided in an upper stage of the corner cut / punch unit 30.

Below the switchback path 35, a transport path 37 for transporting the sheet from the main body discharge roller 16 to the downstream side is provided. Then, the cutting blade 40 moves so as to enter and retreat in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the sheet in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction, and cuts the corner of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner. A punch blade for punching a punch hole is provided on the support frame 38. On the opposite side of the transport path 37 between the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42, an embossed portion 44 for imparting a concavo-convex pattern to the sheet is disposed on the same support frame 38, and these are all raised and lowered with respect to the sheet surface. It is configured to move. In FIG. 3, a box-type waste container 56 for storing cut waste and punch waste is also detachably attached to the unit.

[Folding unit 31]
FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, and the tray unit 33 mounted on the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, and the sheet processing apparatus B of FIG. The sheet processing apparatus B in FIG. 2 is the same as FIG. 3 except that the range of movement of the stacking tray 90 is expanded.

First, an entrance roller 45 and an exit roller 47 are disposed in the lower folding conveyance path 43 of the path extending from the main body discharge roller 16 to the switchback path 35 and the conveyance path 37 of the corner cut / punch unit 30. A switching flapper 49 is provided between the entrance roller 45 and the exit roller 47, and the switching flapper 49 performs a folding process at the substantially cylindrical folding section 50 without transporting the sheet to the subsequent binding unit 32. ing. A folding switchback path 41 communicating with the switchback path 35 of the corner cut / punch unit 30 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is provided in the upper stage.

The substantially cylindrical folding part 50 includes a carry-in roller 51 that is a transport roller of the present invention that carries a sheet into the substantially cylindrical folding part 50 and a first direction that determines a winding direction of the sheet around the substantially cylindrical folding part. The gate 53 and the second gate 55 can be selectively moved to the operating position. For example, the first gate 53 is wound in a substantially cylindrical shape around the substantially cylindrical shape forming portion 57 counterclockwise in the drawing. The substantially cylindrical shape forming portion 57 is made of a deformable sheet member, and the sheet is wound and kicked in a substantially substantially cylindrical shape with, for example, three surfaces overlapping. When the shift members 60 and 61 positioned on both sides are shifted in the direction approaching each other by the link members 62 and 63 shown in FIG. 4 while being wound on the substantially cylindrical shape forming portion, the wound sheets also have a vertical elliptical cross section. The shape becomes flat. In addition, the extruded portions 60e and 61e of the link members 62 and 63 also shift between the column-shaped folding rollers 64 in FIG. Thereafter, the sheet wound flat and wound by the rotation of the folding roller 64 under pressure is obtained as a folded sheet.

[Binding unit 32]
1 to 3, a description will be given of the binding unit 32 that binds the sheet conveyed from the folding unit 31 without performing the folding process in the folding unit 31. FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the binding unit 32 is also provided with a binding switchback path 65 communicating with the folding switchback path 41 in the upper stage, and a transport roller 69 on the entrance side and a discharge roller 70 on the exit side. ing. The binding switchback path 65 functions as a path for switching back to form an image on the back side of the image forming unit 2. If necessary, both sides such as thick sheets and sheets not suitable for binding processing are located above the tray unit 33. The paper can be discharged to the escape tray 34 by the discharge roller 70. In the switchback path 35, the folding switchback path 41, and the binding switchback path 65, the upper cover of each unit may be used as a switchback path.

  Below the binding switchback path 65, a binding transport path 67 communicating with the folding transport path 43 of the folding unit 31 is provided. At the entrance side of the binding conveyance path 67, a binding carrying-in roller 72 and a carrying-out roller 74 for discharging a sheet to the processing tray 76 or the collecting tray 90 are provided. When the sheets discharged from the discharge rollers 74 are temporarily placed on the processing tray 76 to form a bundle, the sheets discharged by the bundle discharge rollers 86 also functioning as a bundle are nipped counterclockwise ( The sheet is conveyed until the sheet comes into contact with the reference surface 79 by rotating the writing roller 78 which rotates counterclockwise in cooperation with the rotation. At the same time, a pair of alignment plates 84 located in the sheet width direction of the processing tray 76 are brought into contact with the sheet side edges to align the sheets.

This is repeated until the number of sheets to be bound is reached. When the number of sheets to be bound has been reached, the stapler 80 is moved to a predetermined position on the moving table 82 to perform the binding process. The sheet bundle bound at the designated location by the stapler 80 is moved to the stacking tray 90 side of the reference surface 79 (not shown), and the lifting / lowering bundle discharging roller 86a is received by the lower bundle discharging roller 86b received on the discharging side of the processing tray 76. The sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 90 by pressing.

[Tray unit 33]
The sheet bundle discharged by the bundle discharge roller 86 or the next sheet is accumulated in the tray unit 33 having the accumulation tray 90 which moves up and down. The stacking tray 90 is configured so that a lifting pinion 98 of the stacking tray 90 engages and rotates with a lifting rack 100 which forms a part of a lifting rail 99 which is a moving rail described later, and moves up and down. The elevating pinion 98 is driven by an elevating motor 95 located at an elevating motor installation section 94 below the stacking tray 90 via a transmission gear 97 and the like.

As described above, the range of lifting and lowering of the stacking tray 90 shown in FIG. 3 is within the L1t range because the sheet processing apparatus B including the binding unit 32 is located within the L1a cylinder from the side of the apparatus frame 29. Has become. The extension range of the stacking tray 90 can be extended by providing the extension rail 101 shown in FIG. 2, and the amount of sheets stacked can be increased. The extension rail 101 is attached to the apparatus frame 29 of the image forming apparatus A and the extension rail attaching section 103 that is received in the sheet processing apparatus B.

  Hereinafter, a corner cut / punch unit 30 which constitutes a part of the sheet processing apparatus B and is a corner cut apparatus (corner cut / punch apparatus) according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view of the corner cut / punch unit 30 disposed between the folding unit 31 and the image forming apparatus A. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corner cut / punch unit 30, and FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the relationship between the support frame 38 and the sheet. 7 to 13 are explanatory diagrams of each mechanism.

In the following description, the front side is indicated by F and the rear side is indicated by R, and F and R are added to the end of reference numerals indicating elements and configurations. For example, the support frame 38F indicates a front-side support frame, and the support frame 38R indicates a rear-side support frame. In addition, in some cases, the elements common to the front side or the rear side may be omitted from the notation of F or R to simplify notation.

[Movement of the support frame 38 in the sheet width direction]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view. The corner cut / punch unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in this figure, a support frame 38 supporting the cutting blade 40, the punch blade 42, and the embossed portion 44 is provided as a pair facing the front side which is the front side of the apparatus and the rear side which is the back side. Have been. That is, the front-side support frame 38F supports the front-side cutting blade 40F, the front-side punch blade 42F, the front-side embossed portion 44F, the front-side frame motor 38MF that moves these, and the front-side sheet sensor 105F on the sheet loading side. ing. A front-side moving belt 71F that moves in and out of the front-side support frame 38F in a direction (entering direction) intersecting with the sheet conveying direction is bridged between the pulleys. As shown in FIG. 5, the front-side moving belt 74F is moved by a front-side frame motor 38MF in a direction toward and away from the seat center.

The rear side also has the same configuration. The rear side support frame 38R has a rear side cutting blade 40R, a rear side punch blade 42R, a rear side embossed portion 44R, a rear side frame motor 38MR for moving these, and a sheet. A rear seat sensor 105R is supported on the loading side. A rear-side moving belt 71R that moves in and out of the rear-side support frame 38R in a direction (entering direction) intersecting with the sheet conveying direction is bridged between pulleys. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear-side moving belt 71R is moved by the rear-side frame motor 38MR in a direction toward and away from the seat center.

On the sheet carry-in side of the corner cut / punch unit 30, a cut-in carry-in roller 36 that takes in and conveys the sheet into the unit is provided so as to be rotationally driven by a carry-in roller drive motor 36M. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the corner cut / punch unit 30 shown in FIG. 4. In this case, the front support frame 38F has a space between the front cutting blade frame 58F and the front receiving blade frame 59F by the front connecting portion 77F. It can be seen that it is configured to be connected and fixed with the.

A front-side sliding guide 68F is fixed to the front-side supporting frame 38F. The front-side sliding guide 68F is attached to a front-side moving belt 71F that is bridged between a front-side moving belt pulley 73F and a front-side driven pulley 75F. Fixed. The front slide guide 68F is configured to slide the guide lot 66 right and left in the drawing, whereby the front moving belt 71F reciprocates by the forward / reverse rotation of the front frame motor 38MF to support the front side. The frame 38F is also configured to enter and retract with respect to the sheet.

On the other hand, a rear-side sliding guide 68R is also fixed to the rear-side supporting frame 38R, and the rear-side sliding guide 68R is attached to a rear-side moving belt 71R bridged between a rear-side moving belt pulley 73R and a rear-side driven pulley 75R. Fixed. The rear slide guide 68R is configured to slide the guide lot 66 left and right in the drawing, whereby the rear moving belt 71R reciprocates by the forward / reverse rotation of the rear frame motor 38MR, thereby supporting the rear side. The frame 38R is also configured to enter and retract with respect to the sheet.

[Relationship with sheet of support frame 38]
Next, referring to FIG. 6, the relationship between the support frame 38 and the cutting of the sheet corner by the cutting blade 40 will be described. The cutting of the corners, the embossing, and the punching of the punch holes according to the sheet conveyance will be described with reference to FIG.

As described above, the front-side support frame 38F and the rear-side support frame 38R are arranged to face each other in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction. The front support frame 38 is fixedly provided with a front seat sensor 105F for detecting a front end and a side edge of the front of the seat.

[Sheet sensor 105 of support frame 38]
The front-side sheet sensor 105F further includes a front-side front-end sensor 106F that detects the arrival of the sheet, and a front-side support frame 38F that moves toward the center of the sheet according to the size of the sheet in the width direction. Two front seat side edge sensors 107F which are further moved toward the center and detect the front side edge of the seat later are provided. Then, the front sheet side edge sensor 107F moves toward the center of the sheet, and the position where the front side edge of the sheet is detected coincides with the front end cut (FLC) position of the sheet. I have. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the front end of the seat can be formed in a convex curved shape.

  Also, the rear support frame 38R has exactly the same configuration except for the opposing arrangement in the movement direction. Therefore, description thereof will be omitted, but the rear end of the seat can be formed into a convex curved shape. . Further, it is also possible to detect whether or not the sheet is conveyed at an angle by the front-side sheet front-end sensor 106F and the rear-side sheet front-end sensor 106R.

Accordingly, for example, when the corner of the sheet reaches the front support frame 38F first, only the front cut blade 40F is operated to form the front end cut FLC. The sheet is slightly conveyed so that the rear corner of the sheet is at a proper corner cut position of the rear support frame 38R, and then the rear cut blade 40R is operated. Accordingly, even if the sheet is bent (skewed) within the allowable range and conveyed, the corner cut does not shift. This operation can be achieved by the support frame 38 and the cutting blade 40 being arranged opposite to each other and capable of being driven independently.

  By the way, the bending (skew) of the seat is determined by judging the arrival time of the front end and the rear end of the seat. When the bending (skew) exceeds the limit of the allowable range, The apparatus may be stopped or a user may be warned that corner cutting of a corner cannot be performed.

  Also, with respect to the rear end of the sheet, since the cut range of the same cutting blade 40 is configured back to back with a line parallel to the traveling direction passing through the center of the cutting blade 40, the front side rear end cut (FEC) A rear-side rear end cut (REC) is possible. Further, a front punch blade 42F is provided on the front support frame 38F, and a rear punch blade 42R is provided on the rear support frame 38R. With this apparatus, a punch hole can be formed on the rear end side of the sheet. I have.

[Connecting portion of support frame 38]
By the way, as described above, the cutting frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 of the support frame 38 are fixedly connected to each other with a predetermined space at the connecting portion 77, but this connecting portion 77 is the most in the sheet width direction. It is located outside. In FIG. 6, the area in the sheet width direction of the connecting portion is shown as a connecting area JA by diagonal lines. The cutting blades 40 (front side cutting blades 40F, rear side cutting blades 40R) are located inside this range in the sheet width direction (closer to the sheet width center). Further, a punch blade 42 (a front punch blade 42F and a rear punch blade 42R) is located downstream of the connection area JA in the sheet conveying direction. Therefore, when the punch holes are punched, the support frames 38 (the front-side support frame 38F and the rear-side support frame 38R) can move toward the center of the sheet without the connecting portion colliding with the sheet.

In addition, when the sheet is cut at the corners of the leading edge and the trailing edge in FIG. 6 by the leading edge cutting blade 109 (109F, 109R) of the cutting blade 40 shown in FIG. RLC is cut and formed. When the sheet is cut by the rear end cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R), the sheet is cut and formed into a front side rear end cut FEC and a rear side rear end cut REC.

  Further, the leading edge cutting blade 109 (109F, 109R) and the trailing edge cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R) of the cutting blade 40 shown in FIG. That is, more specifically, the leading edge cutting blade 109 (109F, 109R) and the trailing edge cutting blade 111 (111F, 111R) are configured substantially line-symmetrically with respect to the center line CL of the cutting blade 40 in the sheet conveyance direction as a reference line. With such a configuration, both corners of the leading end and the trailing end of the sheet can be cut into the illustrated curved shape (convex R shape). This point will be described again with the sheet corner cutting and punching operations.

  In this embodiment, both corners of the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet are cut into a curved shape (convex R shape) as shown in the figure. The shape may be a blade, and the point is that it can be configured so as to be back-to-back, more specifically, substantially line-symmetric with respect to the center line CL as a reference line.

The components and components of the corner cut / punch unit 30 will now be described with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 7 is a perspective view from the cutting blade frame 58 side, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view from the receiving blade frame 59 side. The support frame 38 is composed of a cutting blade frame 58 and a receiving blade frame 59, and the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 are made of a U-shaped sheet metal member (channel member).

[About the cutting blade frame 58]
As shown in FIG. 7, the cutting blade frame 58 is provided with a cutting blade 40 and a punching blade 42, and a cutting blade guide 113 and a punching blade guide 115 for guiding them up and down. Further, an emboss receiver 81 is provided as a receiver for the embossed portion 44 at a position on the inner side in the sheet width direction.

  The cutting blade frame 58 is narrowed so that the outside in the sheet width direction is narrowed, and a moving lever 120 that slides on the back side of the cutting blade frame 58 is provided at this end. A moving bar 117 penetrating the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 is provided at a moving lever tip 122 of the moving lever 120, and the moving bar 117 slides on a moving bar guide 118 provided on the cutting blade frame 58. It has become.

The lower end of the moving lever 120 is engaged with a cylindrical moving cam 125. The rotation of the moving cam 125 causes the moving lever 120 to move up and down (raise and lower), whereby the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 move up and down toward the receiving blade frame 59 to cut the corners of the sheet and punch the punch holes. I do. As is apparent from this figure, the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade are moved up and down at the same timing by the moving lever 120, but the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade do not act on the sheet at the same time due to the relation of the sheet. It is devised so that it may have a good positional relationship. These will be described later together with the movement of the sheet.

[About the connecting part 77]
At an end of the cut blade frame 58 located outside in the sheet width direction, a connecting portion 77 is provided for connecting and receiving the receiving blade frame 59 with a space of an interval space 77a capable of conveying a sheet. The connecting portion may be formed by connecting the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 with a metal block body as a spacer by screwing, or by connecting a bent sheet metal therebetween. It is only necessary that the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 are fixedly connected to each other without displacement, and the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are fixed so as to be inserted into the receiving blade frame 59 without deviation.

[Reception blade frame 59]
Next, the receiving blade frame 59 constituting the lower side of the support frame 38 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view in which the support frame 38 of FIG. 7 is turned upside down as illustrated. The illustrated receiving blade frame 59 has an embossed portion 44 for forming a mark by forming irregularities on a sheet, a cut receiving blade 145 and a punch receiving blade 147. These are arranged so as to correspond to the emboss receiver 81, the cutting blade 40, and the punch blade 42 of the cutting blade frame 58. In particular, the cutting blade 40 is inserted through the cutting receiving blade 145, and the punch blade 42 is inserted through the punch receiving blade 147. Is positioned at

  The receiving blade frame 59 is provided with a cylindrical moving cam 125 for raising and lowering the embossed portion 44, the cutting blade 40, and the punch blade. The cam support shaft 126 of the moving cam 125 is supported by the receiving blade frame 59. The transmission gear 127 on the opposite side is also supported by the receiving blade frame 59, but is omitted in the drawing. Similarly to the moving cam 125, a moving motor 130 that rotates forward and reverse via a worm gear 129 is also mounted on the motor mounting portion 132 of the receiving blade frame 59.

[Moving Configuration of Embossing Section 44]
The emboss portion 44 is supported by two upper and lower emboss moving levers 134 penetrating in the sheet conveying direction. The embossing movement lever 134 is slidable by upper and lower embossing movement lever guides 136 provided on the receiving blade frame 59. The embossing movement lever 134 is provided on a rotation arm 138 that rotates about a rotation arm shaft 140 provided on the receiving blade frame 59, and the cam engaging portion 142 at the other end of the rotation arm 138 moves in a cylindrical shape. It is engaged with the cam 125.

Therefore, when the movable cam 125 rotates, the rotating arm 138 moves up and down, and the embossed portion 44 is pressed toward the embossed receiving member 81 on the cutting blade frame 58 side, so that embossing can be marked on the sheet. The cam engaging portion 142 is engaged (fitted) with the cam groove of the moving cam 125 with a phase difference of about 90 degrees from the engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 described above. The relationship between the forward / reverse rotation of the moving cam 125 and the moving lever 120 and the rotating arm will be described with reference to FIG. Further, a portion of the receiving blade frame 59 located outside in the sheet width direction has the receiving blade frame sliding portion 151 of the moving lever 120 that moves the above-described cutting blade 40 and punch blade 42 up and down. Also has a cutting blade frame sliding portion 150, and the moving lever 120 moves up and down along these.

[Arrangement of cutting blade 40, punch blade 42, and embossed portion 44]
FIG. 9 is a transparent plan view showing the arrangement of the front-side support frame 38 including the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 described above. 9 indicate the moving direction of the support frame 38, and the left arrow indicates the sheet conveying direction. According to the moving direction of the support frame 38, the moving lever 120, the moving cam 125 and the connecting portion 77, and then the cutting blade 40 and the punching blade 42 overlap with each other in the sheet conveying direction. 44 are located. The cutting blade 40 has a front cutting blade 109 and a rear cutting blade 111 arranged back to back. More specifically, the leading edge cutting blade 109 and the trailing edge cutting blade 111 are substantially symmetrical with respect to the front side cutting center FCC passing through the cutting edge center 110. Thereby, the corner of the sheet is cut at one place.

Further, the cutting blade 40 is located on the inner side in the sheet width direction of the joint JA, in which the connecting portion 77 for fixing and connecting the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 is located, and the punch blade is located downstream of the JA. 42 are provided. Therefore, as will be described later, when a punch hole is punched in the sheet with the punch blade 42, the support frame 38 is moved to the width of the sheet if the connecting portion 77 does not come into contact with the side edge of the sheet. Can move in the direction. In other words, if the corner of the sheet is between the connecting portion 77 and the punch blade 42, the punch hole can be punched at an arbitrary position in the sheet width direction. The moving lever 120, which is partially shown by oblique lines at the lower end of the drawing, is not shown in the middle, but can slide over the corners of the cutting blade frame sliding portion 150 and the receiving blade frame sliding portion 151. A guide screw 124 is attached to the boss.

[Description of Cut Blade 40 and Punch Blade 42 from Each Direction]
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the support frame 38 viewed from the punch blade 42 side. As can be seen from this figure, the punch blade 42 and the cutting blade 40 are arranged so as to overlap in the transport direction of the sheet. The receiving blade frame 59 is provided with a cut receiving blade 145 and a punch receiving blade 147 that receive these. The engaging portion of the moving lever 120 engages with the cam groove 155 of the moving cam 125, and the punch blade 42 and the cutting blade 40 move up and down by the forward and reverse of the moving cam 125. Also, in the embossed portion 44, the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 is engaged with the moving cam 125, and the embossed portion 44 moves up and down by the rotation of the moving cam 125.

  FIG. 11 is a view of the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 of FIG. The moving lever 120 is slidable on the moving blade sliding groove 121 by the guide screw 124 on the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59. Also in this figure, the cut blade 40 is provided with a cut area CA so as to overlap the connecting portion 77 and the connecting area JA, and a punch area PA that can be punched by the punch blade 42 is set at a position that does not overlap with the connecting area JA. Have been. The cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are arranged so as to overlap in the sheet conveying direction as shown in FIG.

[Configuration of cam groove 155 of moving cam 125]
Next, the moving lever 120 that moves the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 up and down and the cylindrical moving cam 125 that moves the rotating arm 138 that moves the embossing section 44 up and down will be described. FIG. 13 is an expanded plan view of the cam groove 155 formed in the cylindrical moving cam 125 for explanation. In this figure, the upper side divided by an arrow on the left side of the drawing shows the cut / punch groove range CP in which the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are moved up and down, and the lower stage is the embossed groove range EN in which the embossed portion 44 is moved up and down. I have.

More specifically, a cutting blade / punch blade moving groove 157 is provided in the cut / punch groove range CP to be engaged with the engaging portion 123 (double circle in the drawing) of the moving lever 120. On the other hand, in the lower emboss groove range EN, an emboss portion moving groove 160 that engages with the cam engaging portion 142 (indicated by a circle in the figure) of the rotating arm 138 is provided. The engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 and the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 are engaged with the cut / punch start position (PS / CS) and the embossed portion start position (ES) out of phase by 90 degrees. ing.

[Movement of cutting blade 40 and punch blade 42]
As described above, the moving motor 130 that rotates the moving cam 125 switches the driving direction between when the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 are moved up and down and when the embossed portion 44 is moved up and down. First, when moving the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42, the moving motor 130 is driven so that the moving cam 125 is rotated clockwise. With this rotation, the moving cam 125 rotates in the direction of the arrow from the illustrated PS / CS position to the PE / CE position.

With this movement, the engaging portion 123 (double circle in the figure) of the moving lever 120 moves down the cutting blade / punch blade moving area 159. As a result, the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 also cut the corners of the sheet and punch holes. On the other hand, when the engaging portion 123 of the moving lever 120 is in the cutting blade / punch blade moving region 159, the embossed portion moving groove 160 engaged with the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 (indicated by a circle in the figure) The embossed portion immovable region 161 in a substantially linear state is provided, and the embossed portion 44 is in a standby state at a position where it does not contact the sheet.

[Pressing movement of embossed portion 44]
Next, the operation of the moving cam 125 that moves the embossed portion 44 will be described. When moving the embossed portion 44, the moving motor 130 is driven so that the moving cam 125 is rotated counterclockwise. With this rotation, the moving cam 125 rotates in the direction of the arrow from the ES position shown in FIG. 13 to the EE position. With this movement, the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 (indicated by a cross in the circle in the figure) descends in the emboss groove range EN, and the embossed portion 44 is also pressed against the sheet, thereby marking the sheet.
On the other hand, when the cam engaging portion 142 of the rotating arm 138 is in the embossed portion moving area 162, the cutting blade / punch blade moving groove 157 with which the engaging portion 123 (double circle in the drawing) of the moving lever 120 engages is substantially formed. The cut blade / punch blade immovable region 158 is in a straight line state, and the cut blade 40 and the punch blade 42 do not move up and down.

In this manner, in the embodiment of the present invention, one moving cam 125 is rotated forward and backward by one moving motor 130, whereby the cutting blade 40 / punch blade 42 and the embossed portion 44 can be selectively moved. The drive configuration is rationalized.

[Procedure for applying corner cut, punch and emboss]
With the corner cut / punch unit 30 configured as described above, the front and rear corners of the sheet are corner-cut into a convex round shape, a punch hole is preceded on the rear end side, and the sheet is embossed. 14 to 17 will be described along the sheet conveyance with reference to FIGS.

[Sheet loading and corner cutting]
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the corner of the leading end of the sheet is cut by the loading of the sheet and the cutting blade. In FIG. 14, the sheet is carried in (the sheet is indicated by a broken line in the drawing from the left side) in FIG. At 109R, the rear-side front end cut RLC is performed on the sheet. Before the sheet is carried in, the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R move to a position close to the sheet according to the size of the sheet. At this position, the front-side sheet front-end sensor 106F and the rear-side sheet front-end sensor 106R, which have already been described with reference to FIG. 6, wait for the sheet to be carried in. These sensors detect that the sheet is not skewed by a predetermined amount or more. And stop the sheet.

After the seat stops, the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R are further moved inward in the seat width direction, and the front seat side edge sensor 107F and the rear seat side edge sensor 107R detect the seat side edge. At the end of the detection (falling of the sensor signal), the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R are stopped. At this position, the front side cutting blade 40F and the rear side cutting blade 40R are moved by the moving cam 125 so that the front and rear corners of the front end of the sheet are convexly curved, and the front side front cutting FLC is applied to the sheet as shown in the figure. And the rear end cut RLC is formed. After this leading edge cut, the sheet is conveyed again.

[Adding embossed seal]
Next, a state in which embossing is performed on both sides of the sheet in the width direction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 shows two embossed states, FIG. 15 (a) shows embossing on the rear side of the apparatus, and FIG. 15 (b) shows an embossing state on the front side of the apparatus. It is.

FIG. 15A illustrates a counter that interlocks with the sheet conveyance after the front end of the sheet on which the rear side front cut RLC has been performed is detected by the rear side support frame 38R, for example, by the rear side sheet front / rear sensor 106R. The sheet is stopped at an arbitrary predetermined position (the front end, the middle, and the rear end). After the stop, the moving cam 125 is rotated to press the embossed portion 44 against the sheet. In FIG. 15A, the embossed portion 44 is engraved near the rear end of the sheet on the rear side.

The range in which embossing can be performed by the corner cut / punch unit 30 is from the side edge of the sheet to the position inward by Le1. If the seat is further inside (inward movement of Le2 or more in the drawing), the sheet collides with the rear-side connecting portion (spacer) 77R. This is the same for the front-side support frame 38F described below. Then, the sheet is imprinted again by the embossing section 44 and is conveyed downstream.

  Next, FIG. 15B illustrates a counter interlocked with sheet conveyance after the front end of the sheet on which the front end cutting FLC is performed is detected by, for example, the front side front end sensor 106F by the front side support frame 38F. Is counted, and the sheet is stopped at any predetermined position (front end, middle, rear end). After the stop, the moving cam 125 is rotated to press the embossed portion 44 against the sheet. In FIG. 15A, the sheet is stamped near the front end of the sheet by the embossed portion 44, and after the stamping is completed, the sheet is conveyed again to the downstream side. In this embodiment, the mark is formed by forming an uneven pattern on the sheet surface by engraving with the embossed portion 44. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, it goes without saying that any mark can be added to the sheet.

[Corner cut at rear end of sheet]
Next, a state in which the corner of the rear end of the conveyed sheet is cut will be described with reference to FIG. A position corresponding to the trailing edge of the embossed sheet is detected by the front sheet leading edge sensor 106F of the front supporting frame 38F and the rear sheet leading edge sensor 106R of the rear supporting frame 38R (the sheet trailing edge). Then, a counter interlocked with the sheet conveyance after that is counted, and the sheet is stopped at a position where the sheet rear end corresponds to the front-side rear-end cutting blade 111F and the rear-side rear-end cutting blade 111R of the cutting blade 40. As a result, the front-side rear end cut FEC and the rear-side rear end cut REC are performed on the sheet. As shown in FIG. 16, the front side cutting blade 40F and the rear side cutting blade 40R are both provided on the inner side in the sheet width direction with respect to the front side connecting portion 77F and the rear side connecting portion 77R. The front and rear corners of the seat can be curved and cut without collision. After the front side rear end cut FEC and the rear side rear end cut REC are executed, the sheet is conveyed again and conveyed to the downstream side (left side in the figure).

[Punching and unloading of punch holes to the rear end of the sheet]
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which punch holes are punched by the punch blade near the rear end side of the sheet following FIG. The position shown in this figure is after the (sheet rear end) is detected by the front seat front / rear sensor 106F of the front support frame 38F and the rear seat front / rear sensor 106R of the rear support frame 38R described in FIG. Is set by counting a counter interlocked with the sheet conveyance. The setting position is set such that the rear end (Sheet end) of the sheet is on the downstream side outside the connection area JA. With this setting, the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R can move inward of the sheet width (movement of the front punch range FPL and the rear punch range RPL in the drawing). In addition, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cutting blade 40 and the punch blade 42 can be simultaneously moved by the same drive source, and the drive source can be shared and streamlined. be able to. After punching a punch hole in the sheet, the sheet is conveyed again and discharged. The next sheet (the dashed line Next Sheet shown in the figure) is carried in with this carry-out.

As described above, the front-side punch holes FP and the rear-side punch holes RP formed by the front-side punch blades 42F and the rear-side punch blades 42R are formed at arbitrary positions in the movement range of the front-side support frame 38F and the rear-side support frame 38R. be able to. Although the front-side and front-end sensors 106F and 106R of the front-side support frame 38F and the rear-side sheet front and rear-end sensors 106R of the rear-side support frame 38R have been described as the sheet detection sensors, the front and rear ends of the other fixed sheets have been described. The detection may be performed by a fixed sensor capable of detecting the rear end (for example, the unit carry-in sensor Sen1 in FIG. 4).

[Output sheet of corner cut / punch unit 30]
FIG. 18 shows a sheet processed by the corner cutting / punching and embossing method shown in FIGS. FIG. 18 shows a sheet that has been subjected to corner cutting, embossing, and punching by a cutting blade, a punch blade, and an embossed portion.

First, FIG. 18A shows a sheet on which corner cutting, embossing, and punching at both corners at the front and rear ends of the sheet are performed. That is, this sheet is provided with a front-side front cut blade FLC, a rear-side front cut RLC, a front-side embossed stamp FEM, and a rear-side embossed stamp REM. Further, a front punch hole FP and a rear punch hole RP are punched at the rear end, and a front rear cut FEC and a rear rear cut REC are formed at the rear end of the sheet. By being able to be processed in this manner, a sheet that is less likely to bend at the corners of the sheet and that is easy on the eyes can be produced, and a unique sheet that can be issued with an invoice by filing binding or marking can be generated.

  Next, FIG. 18B is a sheet in which the sheet shown in FIG. 18A is cut in a curved shape by a cutting blade at the edge in the width direction at the center of the sheet. That is, a notch of a front side edge cut FSC by the cutting blade 40 and a rear side edge cut RSC of the rear side are formed in the front side edge of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction. This cut can be generated by making cuts in the front and rear side edges by moving the rear end cut blade 109 and the rear cut blade 111 of the cutting blade 40 to the sheet. It also shows the position. Further, the sheet in this figure is provided with two front-side punch holes FP and two rear-side punch holes RP, and a four-hole file or the like is also possible.

  FIG. 18C shows a sheet in which a curved cut is made at the edge in the width direction of the folding line when the sheet of FIG. 18A is folded in three. That is, two cuts at the front side edge cut FSC by the cutting blade 40 and two cuts at the rear side edge cut RSC at the rear side are made at the front side edge of the sheet in the sheet conveyance direction. This side edge cut is the same as in FIG. Also, three punch holes are formed (one at the front punch hole FP and two at the rear punch hole RP). As described above, the corner cut / punch unit 30 of this embodiment can perform various sheet processing with a compact mechanism.

[Other Embodiments 1 and 2 of Cutting Blade]
FIGS. 19 and 20 to be described below show another embodiment showing a modification of the arrangement of the cutting blade, the punch blade and the embossed portion arranged on the support frame shown in FIGS. 4 to 17.
First, as another embodiment 1, FIG. 19 (a) shows that the center of the cutting blade 172, the punching blade 173, and the embossed portion 174 are arranged in a line in the sheet width direction, and all show a front-side support frame 170. And the rear side has the same configuration. Although the cutting blade and the punch blade are moved up and down with the same drive and the same timing so far, the cutting blade 172, the punch blade 173, and the embossed portion 174 are not particularly illustrated. Each is driven independently. The connection area JA of the connection portion (spacer) 171 is set at a position where the movement of the punch blade 173 in the sheet width direction is not hindered. Even with this configuration, corner cutting, punching of punch holes, and embossing can be performed.

FIG. 19B shows another embodiment 2 in which the punch blade 178 is shifted from the cut blade 177 to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. These are also driven independently, including the embossed portion 179, and the connection area JA of the connection portion (spacer) 176 is set at a position where the movement of the punch blade 178 in the sheet width direction is not hindered. Even with this configuration, corner cutting, punching of punch holes, and embossing can be performed.

[Other Embodiments 3 and 4 of Cutting Blade]
Heretofore, as shown in FIG. 6, the support frames 38 are provided as a pair facing each other in the sheet width direction (direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction) like the front support frame 38F and the rear support frame 38R. Another modified example different from this is shown in FIG. 20, in which a cutting blade 182 and a punching blade 183 are arranged on one support frame 180 and moved in the entire range in the sheet width direction (the direction of the arrow in the drawing). Things. Above the cut blade 182 in the figure, a fixed portion is connected by a connecting portion (spacer) 181 having a connecting area JA. According to this, since one support frame 180 moves in the sheet width direction, the processing speed is reduced, but the mechanism of the corner cut punch can be simplified.

In other words, FIG. 20A shows a third embodiment in which one punch blade 183 is shifted downstream of one cut blade 182. That is, the cutting blade 182 has a cutting blade at each of its four corners, whereby a front-side cutting edge FLC, a front-side cutting edge FEC, a rear-side cutting edge RLC, and a rear-side cutting edge REC can be formed on a sheet. In addition, since the punch blades 183 are also offset, punch holes can be formed at arbitrary positions on the sheet.

Next, FIG. 20 (b) shows that the cutting blade is divided into two at the center by one supporting frame 185 by a cutting blade 187 and a cutting blade 188, and is arranged so as to overlap the punch blade 189 on the downstream side. . This is also independent of the drive. On the other hand, the front-side front cut FLC, the front-side rear end cut FEC and the rear-side front end cut RLC, and the rear-side rear end cut REC, in which the corners of the sheet have been cut, have a back-to-back relationship. With the center line in the direction of movement of the support frame 185 as a reference line, the cutting blades are set in a substantially line-symmetric relationship. Similarly, the punch blade 189 does not overlap with the connection range JA of the connection portion (spacer) 186, so that a punch hole can be punched at an arbitrary position in the sheet width direction.

[Another embodiment of the cutting / punching method]
FIG. 21 shows another embodiment in which a part of the cutting / punching method is changed. FIG. 21 shows a state in which a punch hole is punched near the rear end side of the sheet first, and then the sheet is switched back to cut the corner. FIG. In the cutting / punching method shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, the sheet is always conveyed to the downstream side. However, in the method shown in FIG. 21, the punch blade 42F and the punch blade The punching of the punch holes (the punching of the front side punching holes FP and the rear side punching holes RP) is executed by 42R. At this time, if the rear end of the sheet is brought into contact with the front side connecting portion 77F and the left side surface of the rear side connecting portion 77R of the sheet to correct the skew and then the punch hole is punched, the punch can be further improved. Position accuracy is improved.

Thereafter, the support frame 38 is temporarily retracted in the sheet width direction. Thereafter, the sheet that has been subjected to the punching process is switched back, and both corners on the rear end side of the sheet are aligned with the front rear end cutting blade 111F and the rear rear end cutting blade 111R. After confirming this alignment, the front side cutting blade 40F and the rear side cutting blade 40R are moved to the sheet surface to cut corners. The cut blade 40 sheet is discharged. At this time, when the switchback of the seat is confirmed by the sensor, the positional accuracy of the corner cut is further improved.

[Description of control configuration]
A system control configuration of the image forming apparatus A including the sheet processing apparatus B including the corner cut / punch unit 30 as the above-described corner cut / punch apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The image forming apparatus system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a sheet processing of a sheet processing apparatus B including an image forming control unit 200 of an image forming apparatus A, a corner cut / punch unit 30, a folding unit 31, a binding unit 32, and a tray unit 33. A control unit 205 (control CPU) is provided. The image forming control unit 200 includes a paper feed control unit 202 and an input unit 203. From the control panel 204 provided in the input unit 203, a "print mode", "corner cut mode", "sheet side edge cut mode", "punch mode", "emboss mode", "sheet folding mode", "sheet binding mode", etc. And a sheet processing mode that combines these settings.

  The sheet processing control unit 205 is a control CPU that operates the sheet processing apparatus B according to the above-described designated sheet processing mode. The sheet processing control unit 205 includes a ROM 206 that stores an operation program, and a RAM 207 that stores control data. The sheet processing control unit 205 includes, for example, a unit carry-in sensor Sen1 for detecting a sheet conveyed near the cut-in carry-in roller 36 as shown in FIG. A unit discharge sensor Sen2 for detecting sheet discharge near the exit of the cut / punch unit 30 is connected. Further, a front-side sheet front-rear end sensor 106F provided on the front-side support frame 38F and detecting the front and rear ends of the sheet, and a front-side sheet side edge sensor 107F for detecting a side edge of the sheet on the front side are connected. Similarly, a rear seat front-end sensor 106R and a rear seat side edge sensor 107R are also connected to the rear support frame 38R. Alternatively, although not shown, a sheet level sensor or the like for detecting a sheet level for detecting the sheet stacking amount on the stacking tray 90 is connected, and signals from various sensor input units 208 are input.

    Next, the sheet processing control unit 205 includes a sheet conveyance control unit 210 that controls sheet conveyance of each of the corner cut / punch unit 30, the folding unit 31, the binding unit 32, and the tray unit 33. Further, the sheet processing control unit 205 includes a corner cut / punch control unit 211 that controls the corner cut / punch unit 30 to perform both corner cutting at the rear end of the sheet, cutting at the side edge of the sheet, leading punch holes, and embossing. A sheet folding control unit 212 for controlling the sheet to be folded, a processing tray control unit 213 for controlling the alignment plate 84 when the sheet is placed on the processing tray 76 for binding by the binding unit 32, and the like. A stapler control unit 214 that controls a stapler 80 that performs a binding process on a bundle of sheets placed on the tray 76, and controls a stacking tray 90 according to the stacking amount of sheets that have been subjected to various types of sheet processing and unprocessed sheets at the final stage. The stacking tray raising / lowering control unit 215 is provided.

  In particular, the corner cut / punch control unit 211 (control unit) for controlling the corner cut / punch unit 30 according to the present invention is also connected to the sheet transport control unit 210 for the sheet to be carried into the corner cut / punch unit. The drive of the carry-in roller drive motor 36M is controlled. The corner cut / punch control unit 211 similarly moves the front side frame motor 38MF and the rear side support frame 38R that drive the front side support frame 38F to move in the width direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction. To control the rear side frame motor 38MR. Accordingly, the support frame 38 is moved to a position close to the sheet width according to the sheet size, and the sheet is stopped waiting for the carry-in of the sheet. After the stop, the support frame 38 is again moved inward (toward the center) in the sheet width direction, and control is performed so that the approach operation of the support frame 38 is stopped by detecting the side edge of the sheet.

Further, the corner cut / punch control unit 211 moves the front side cutting blade 40F, the front side punching blade 42F, and the front side embossed portion arranged on the front side support frame 38F so as to move up and down with respect to the sheet surface. A front side (cam) moving motor 130MF for driving the side moving cam 125 and a rear side (cam) moving motor 130MR for driving the rear side in the same manner also control forward / reverse rotation / stop. The rotation control of the front side (cam) moving motor 130MF and the rear side (cam) moving motor 130MR is performed by driving the moving cam 125 as shown in FIG. 13 to cut a sheet corner, punch a punch hole, and emboss. Make a stamp. These operations are performed in accordance with the processing steps for processing the sheet shown in FIGS. 14 to 17 and the processing shown in FIG. 21 as another processing step in which the sheet is switched back.
The sheet processing control unit 205 includes a stacking tray raising / lowering control unit 215 that controls the raising / lowering motor 95 based on a detection signal from a paper surface level sensor, although not particularly shown.

[Sheet processing mode]
The sheet processing control unit 205 of the present embodiment configured as described above allows the sheet processing apparatus B to provide, for example, (1) “print mode”, (2) “corner cut mode”, and (3) “sheet side edge cut mode”. , (4) “punch mode”, (5) “emboss mode”, (6) “sheet folding mode”, (7) “sheet binding mode”, and the like. Hereinafter, this processing mode will be described.

(1) "Printout mode"
The sheet on which an image is formed is received from the main body discharge roller 16 of the image forming apparatus A, and the sheet is transferred to the stacking tray 90 by the bundle discharge roller 86 via the cut-in carry-in roller 36, the binding carry-in roller 72, and the carry-out roller 74. House one by one.

(2) “Corner cut mode”
Upon receiving the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is moved to the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet front end sensor 106F detects the leading end of the sheet to be carried in, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where the sheet is not detected), and receives the sheet on which the image is formed from the main body discharge roller 16. After detecting the leading edge of the sheet, a position where the support frame 38 is cut into a curved corner of the sheet (for example, a position where the support frame 38 is stopped when the front-side sheet side edge sensor 107F in FIG. 6 is changed from ON to OFF). Then, the cutting blade 40 is moved downward to cut the front end side of the sheet to form a front end cut FLC and a rear end cut RLC shown in FIGS. 6 and 14 on the sheet. Similarly, a front-side rear end cut FEC and a rear-side rear end cut REC shown in FIGS. 6 and 16 are formed on the rear end side of the sheet. Thus, in this corner cut mode, the sheet is cut from one corner to four corners in a curved or inclined manner. The sheet whose four corners are cut by this corner cut mode is shown in FIG.

(3) "Sheet side edge cut mode"
Upon receiving the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is moved to the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet front end sensor 106F detects the leading end of the sheet to be carried in, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where the sheet is not detected), and receives the sheet on which the image is formed from the main body discharge roller 16. After the detection of the leading edge of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed downstream by a distance corresponding to the folding position which is a predetermined range, and the support frame 38 is stopped. Thereafter, when the cutting blade 40 is moved downward, a front side edge cut FSC and a rear side edge cut RSC are formed on the sheet. By executing the sheet side edge cut mode, a sheet having a side edge cut in the middle in the conveyance direction in FIG. 18A and a side edge cut at a position corresponding to the tri-fold position in FIG. Can be processed.

(4) "Punch mode"
The sheet on which an image is formed is received from the main body discharge roller 16 of the image forming apparatus A, and when the rear end of the sheet passes through the connection area JA which is the range of the connection portion 77 of the support frame 38, the front support frame 38F and the rear The side support frame 38R is moved inward in the sheet width direction (center direction) and stopped at an arbitrary position where a punch hole is to be formed. Thereafter, the front-side punch blade 42F and the rear-side punch blade 42R are lowered to the sheet surface, and a front-side punch hole FP and a rear-side punch hole RP are punched near the rear end of the sheet. By executing the punch mode, punch holes can be formed at arbitrary positions such as two holes in FIG. 18A, four holes in FIG. 18B, and three holes in FIG. 18C.

(5) "Emboss mode"
Upon receiving the sheet size information from the image forming apparatus A, the support frame 38 is moved to the vicinity of the sheet side edge (for example, in FIG. 6, the front side sheet front end sensor 106F detects the leading end of the sheet to be carried in, but the front side sheet side edge The sensor 107F moves to a position where the sheet is not detected), and receives the sheet on which the image is formed from the main body discharge roller 16. After detecting the leading edge of the sheet, the position where the mark is formed by embossing is stopped. Further, the support frame 38 is positioned in the embossable area Le1 shown in FIG. 15 also in the sheet width direction. Thereafter, the embossed portion 44 is pressed against the sheet surface to form an embossed mark between the embossed portion 81 and the embossed portion 81. By executing the embossing mode, as shown in FIG. 18, a sheet having a front side embossed stamp FEM and a rear side embossed stamp REM is generated. It is to be noted that, as described above, it is also possible to apply a red seal mark using a stamp instead of embossing the stamp, and it is sufficient if the mark can be applied to the sheet.

(6) "Sheet folding mode"
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the sheet from the conveyance path 37 of the corner cut / punch unit 30 is conveyed to the substantially cylindrical folding part 50 of the folding unit 31 to perform simple sheet folding, and The folded sheet is discharged to the front side of the apparatus that intersects the sheet conveying direction.

(7) “Sheet binding mode”
The sheet on which an image is formed from the main body discharge roller 16 is temporarily placed on the processing tray 76 of the binding unit 32 via the corner cut / punch unit 30 and the folding unit 31 to form a bundle, and the bundle is stapled by the stapler 80. After binding, the sheets are stacked on the stacking tray 90.

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the following effects can be obtained.
1. A corner cutting / punching device that enters a conveying path 37 of a conveyed sheet from an intersecting direction and cuts a corner of the sheet and punches the sheet. A punch that includes a support frame 38 having a cut receiving blade 145 that receives the cut blade, and a drive unit (moving belt 71, frame moving motor 38M) that moves the support frame into and out of the transport path, and punches a sheet. This is a corner cutting / punching device in which a blade 42 and a punch receiving blade 147 for receiving the punch blade are arranged on the support frame 38.
According to this, the cutting blade and the punch blade for cutting the corners of the leading and trailing edges of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner are supported by the support frame that enters and retracts in the cross direction in the sheet conveying path, so that corner cutting and punching can be performed. It is possible to provide a corner cutting / punching device which can be performed and is relatively lightweight and small.

2. The support frame 38 includes a receiving blade frame 59 that supports the cut receiving blade 145 that is opposed to the cutting blade frame 58 that supports the cutting blade 40 at an interval, and the cutting blade frame and the receiving blade frame are formed of a sheet. 2. The corner-cut punching device according to the above item 1, wherein the corner-cut punching device is fixedly connected to a connecting portion 77 on an end portion side in the width direction.
According to this, the cutting blade frame 58 and the receiving blade frame 59 constituting the supporting frame 38 are connected at the end in the sheet width direction, and the positions of the cutting blade and the cutting receiving blade, the punch blade and the punch receiving blade are set. Does not shift due to aging.

3. The punch blade 42 is provided on the cutting blade frame 58 on the downstream side of the cutting blade 40 in the sheet transport direction, and the punch receiving blade 147 is provided on the receiving blade frame 59 on the downstream side of the cut receiving blade 145 in the sheet transport direction. 3. The corner cutting and punching apparatus according to the above item 2, wherein
According to this, it is possible to cut the corners of the front and rear ends of the sheet and punch the punch holes while feeding the sheet in the downstream direction.

4. 3. The punch frame 42 and the punch receiving blade 147 according to the above item 3, wherein the punch frame 42 and the punch receiving blade 147 are arranged on the support frame 38 at a position outside an extension range (connection area JA) of the connection section 77 in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction. This is a corner cut punch device.
According to this, since the punch blade and the punch receiving blade are provided at the position of the support frame 38 avoiding the connecting portion, the punch hole can be formed at almost any position in the sheet width direction.

5. 5. The corner cutting / punching device according to the item 4, wherein the support frames 38 are arranged as a pair facing each other in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction.
According to this, since the support frame 38 that supports the cutting blade and the punch blade is provided as a pair in the sheet width direction, corner cutting and punching of punch holes can be performed relatively quickly.

6. The support frame further includes a mark applying section (emboss section 44) for applying a mark by pressing the sheet surface and an application receiving section (emboss receiver 81) at a position opposing the mark applying section. The corner cutting / punching apparatus according to the above item 1, wherein the receiving portion is disposed closer to the inside in the sheet width direction than the cut blades 40 and 145.
According to this, it is possible to perform corner cutting of the front and rear ends of the sheet, punching of punch holes, and addition of marks to the sheet, thereby enabling various processing and decoration on the sheet.

7. 7. The corner cutting / punching apparatus according to the item 6, wherein the mark applying section comprises an embossed section 44 which presses the sheet to form an uneven pattern on the sheet surface, and the applied receiving section comprises an embossed receiving section 81. It is.
According to this, it is possible to perform an embossing process on the sheet in addition to the corner cutting and punching.

8. A corner cutting and punching device that enters a conveying path of a conveyed sheet from a cross direction to cut a corner of the sheet and perforate the sheet,
A support frame 38 having a cutting blade 40 for cutting the corner of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner and a cut receiving blade 145 for receiving the cutting blade;
A drive unit (moving belt 71, frame moving motor 38M) for moving the support frame into and out of the transport path is provided, and the support frame 38 further receives a punch blade 42 for punching a sheet and the punch blade. The corner cutting / punching device includes a punch receiving blade 147, an embossed portion 44 for pressing a sheet to form an uneven pattern on the surface, and an embossed receiving portion 81 for receiving the embossed portion.
According to this, the cutting blade, the punch blade, and the embossed portion 44 for cutting the corners of the leading and trailing edges of the sheet in an inclined or curved manner are supported by the support frame that enters and retracts in the cross direction in the sheet conveying path. It is possible to provide a small-sized corner-cut / punch device that can perform various processes such as cutting, punching, and embossing on a sheet, and that is relatively lightweight and includes an embossed portion.

9. An image forming unit 2 for forming an image on a sheet, a corner cut / punch device (corner cut / punch unit 30) for cutting and punching a corner of the sheet from the image forming unit, and the corner cut / punch device An image forming apparatus having the configuration according to any one of the above 1 to 8.
According to this, an image forming apparatus having the effects described in the above items can be provided.

10. An image forming section 2 for forming an image on a sheet, a reading section (image reading apparatus 20) for reading an image of a document above the image forming section 2, and a section between the reading section and the image forming section. The image forming apparatus according to the item 9, wherein the image forming apparatus has a sheet discharge space, and a corner cut / punch device (corner cut / punch unit 30) having the configuration described in the above items 1 to 8 is arranged in the sheet discharge space.
According to this, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with a corner cut / punch device having the above-described effects 1 to 8, which is also applied to a so-called in-body type.

  In the description of the effects of the above-described embodiment, for each part of the present embodiment, the members corresponding to the respective constituent elements in the claims are shown in parentheses or the reference numerals are used to indicate the relationship between the two. Clarified.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the present invention, and all technical matters included in the technical concept described in the claims are described in the present invention. The subject of the invention. Although the embodiments described above show preferred examples, those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification. And these are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

A image forming apparatus B sheet processing apparatus 30 corner cut / punch unit (corner cut / punch apparatus)
31 folding unit 32 binding unit 33 tray unit 37 transport path 38 support frame 40 cutting blade 42 punching blade 44 embossed part 58 cutting blade frame 59 receiving blade frame 71 moving belt 77 connecting part 77a interval space 109 leading edge cutting blade 110 cutting blade center 111 Trailing edge cutting blade 120 Moving lever 125 Moving cam (cylindrical cam)
130 Moving motor 138 Rotating arm 145 Cut receiving blade 147 Punch receiving blade 155 Cam groove 210 Sheet transport control unit 211 Corner cut / punch control unit (control unit)
JA Connection area CA Cut blade area PA Punch blade area FLC Front side front cut RLC Rear side front cut FEC Front side rear end cut REC Rear side rear end cut FEM Front side embossed mark REM Rear side embossed mark FSC Front side edge cut RSC Rear Side edge cut

Claims (10)

A corner cutting and punching device that enters a conveying path of a conveyed sheet from a cross direction to cut a corner of the sheet and perforate the sheet,
A support frame having a cutting blade that cuts the corners of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape and a cut receiving blade that receives the cutting blade,
A drive unit for moving the support frame into and out of the transport path,
A corner cutting / punching device, wherein a punch blade for punching a sheet and a punch receiving blade for receiving the punch blade are arranged on the support frame. The support frame includes a cutting blade frame that supports the cutting blade.
The cutting blade frame comprises a receiving blade frame that supports a cutting receiving blade that is opposed to the cutting blade frame at an interval, and the cutting blade frame and the receiving blade frame are fixedly connected at a connecting portion on an end side in the sheet width direction. The corner cutting and punching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The punch blade is provided on the cutting blade frame on the downstream side of the cutting blade in the sheet conveying direction, and the punch receiving blade is provided on the receiving blade frame on the downstream side of the cut receiving blade in the sheet conveying direction. 3. The corner cut punch device according to 2. 4. The corner cutting device according to claim 3, wherein the punch blade and the punch receiving blade are arranged on the support frame at a position outside an extended range of the connecting portion in a direction intersecting a sheet conveying direction. Punch device. The corner-cut punch device according to claim 4, wherein the support frames are arranged as a pair facing each other in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction. The support frame further includes a mark applying portion for applying a mark by pressing the sheet surface, and an application receiving portion at a position opposed to the mark application portion. The mark applying portion and the application receiving portion are provided with the cutting blade and the cutting receiving blade. 2. The corner cutting and punching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the corner cutting and punching apparatus is disposed closer to the inside in the sheet width direction. The corner cutting / punching apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the mark applying section comprises an embossed section which presses the sheet to form an uneven pattern on the sheet surface, and wherein the applied receiving section comprises an embossed receiving section. A corner cutting and punching device that enters a conveying path of a conveyed sheet from a cross direction to cut a corner of the sheet and perforate the sheet,
A support frame having a cutting blade that cuts the corners of the sheet into an inclined or curved shape and a cut receiving blade that receives the cutting blade,
A drive unit for moving the support frame into and out of the transport path,
The support frame further includes a punch blade that pierces the sheet, a punch receiving blade that receives the punch blade, an emboss portion that presses the sheet to form an uneven pattern on the surface, and an emboss receiving portion that receives the emboss portion. A corner cutting and punching device. An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a corner cutting / punching device that cuts and punches a corner of a sheet, wherein the corner cutting / punching device has a configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 8. . An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet;
A reading unit for reading an image of a document above the image forming unit;
A sheet discharge space between the reading unit and the image forming unit;
9. An image forming apparatus, wherein a corner cut / punch device having the configuration according to claim 1 is arranged in the sheet discharge space.

Images