JP6955697B2 - Conveyor device, image forming device and post-processing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting a medium to be transported, an image forming device including a transport device, and a post-processing device.

For example, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer, when transporting a transported medium such as paper or an OHP sheet, the amount of tilt (skew amount) or the amount of lateral displacement in the width direction of the transported medium is detected. A technique for correcting the conveyed medium to the correct position and orientation is adopted.

As a transport device for performing this type of position correction, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-88263) uses a photo sensor or a CIS (contact image sensor) to detect the amount of misalignment of a recording medium. A device has been proposed.

By the way, if a position detecting means such as a photo sensor or a CIS is provided on a movable part such as a cover that opens and closes with respect to the main body of the device, the position of the position detecting means shifts before and after moving the movable part. Sometimes. In this case, it is necessary to correct the amount of displacement of the transported medium to be detected according to the amount of displacement of the position detecting means.

However, conventionally, no such problem has been studied, and the amount of deviation of the position detecting means due to the movement has not been grasped.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a transport device including a position detecting means for detecting the position of the transported medium and a transporting means for transporting the transported medium, the fixing portion and the position detecting means. Is provided, and the position detection means is arranged at a position where the position of the conveyed medium can be detected, and the position is fixed between the first position and the second position different from the first position. A movable portion that is movable with respect to the portion is provided, and an index portion that serves as a reference position for calculating the amount of misalignment of the position detecting means at the first position is provided in the fixed portion. ..

According to the present invention, since the fixed portion is provided with an index portion that serves as a reference position for calculating the amount of misalignment of the position detecting means, the misalignment of the position detecting means occurs with the operation of the movable portion. However, the amount of misalignment of the position detecting means can be calculated from the relative position of the position detecting means with respect to the index unit.

It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic of the holding roller pair and the peripheral part. It is a schematic view of a pair of sandwiching rollers and a peripheral portion thereof, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a side view. It is a perspective view of a pair of sandwiching rollers and a drive mechanism for driving them. It is a figure for demonstrating the position correction operation, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure for demonstrating the position correction operation, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure for demonstrating the position correction operation, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure for demonstrating the position correction operation, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure for demonstrating the position correction operation, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a side view. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of calculating the misalignment of paper. It is a figure for demonstrating the correction amount in the width direction. It is a figure for demonstrating the pick-up operation of a pinch roller pair. It is a control flow diagram which shows the flow up to the 1st correction. It is a block diagram of the control part which controls the holding roller pair. It is a control flow diagram which shows the flow of the 2nd correction. It is a schematic block diagram of the transport device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which the movable part is open. It is a top view which shows typically the positional relationship between an index part and each CIS. It is a block diagram of the control part concerning the calculation of the misalignment amount of CIS and the correction of a transport reference position. It is a flow chart which shows the flow from setting a transport reference position to correction. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting method of the transport reference position. It is a figure which shows the deviation of the transport reference position with the position deviation of CIS. It is a figure for demonstrating the relative position of CIS with respect to an index part. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation method of the misalignment amount of CIS and the correction method of a transport reference position. It is a figure which shows the structure which provided the opening which can be opened and closed in the movable part. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the inkjet type image forming apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the after-treatment device.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing for explaining the present invention, components such as members and components having the same function or shape are once described by giving the same reference numerals as much as possible, and then the description thereof will be described. Omit.

First, the overall configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a copying machine as an image forming apparatus, 2 is a charging unit that charges the surfaces of a plurality of (4 in this case) photoconductors 5, and 3 is an exposure that irradiates exposure light L onto each photoconductor 5. Units 4 are development units that form a toner image (image) on each photoconductor 5, 6 is a primary transfer unit (intermediate transfer belt) on which the toner image formed on the photoconductor 5 is primarily transferred, and 7 is a toner. The secondary transfer unit (secondary transfer roller) that transfers the image from the primary transfer unit 6 to the paper P, 12 to 14 are the paper feed units (paper cassette) in which the paper P is stored, and 20 is the unfixed on the paper P. A fixing device for fixing an image, 21 is a fixing roller provided in the fixing device 20, 22 is a pressure roller provided in the fixing device 20, 30 is a conveying device for conveying the paper P along a conveying path, and 31 is a paper. A pair of holding rollers (correction rollers) that correct the posture and position of the paper P while transporting P are shown. The sandwiching roller pair 31 may have a function as a timing roller for adjusting the transfer timing of the paper P to the secondary transfer unit 7 (changing the transfer speed) in addition to the function as a correction roller. Further, a timing roller may be separately arranged on the downstream side of the holding roller pair 31 in the transport direction.

The operation of the copying machine 1 during normal image formation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
First, the surface of each photoconductor 5 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging unit 2 (charging step). Next, the exposure light L is irradiated from the exposure unit 3 to the surface of each photoconductor 5 based on the image information obtained from a reader, a computer, or the like, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of each photoconductor 5. (Exposure process). Then, toners of different colors (for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are supplied from the developing unit 4 to the surface of each photoconductor 5, and a toner image of each color is formed (development step).

After that, the toner images of each color formed on each photoconductor 5 are primary transferred so as to overlap the primary transfer unit 6 to form a color image, and then the secondary transfer unit 7 transfers the toner image to the paper P. Will be done.

The paper P is conveyed from the paper feed units 12 to 14 selected manually or automatically. For example, when one of the paper feed units 12 and 13 arranged in the copying machine 1 is selected, the paper feed roller 41 feeds the paper P toward the first curved unit 200 (see FIG. 2) of the transport path. Will be sent. On the other hand, when the paper feed unit 14 arranged outside the copying machine 1 is selected, the paper P is fed by the paper feed roller 41 toward the second curved portion 300 (see FIG. 2) of the transport path. .. The first song section 200 and the second song section 300 merge at the confluence section X and are continuous with the third song section 400 of the transport path. Therefore, the paper P fed from any of the paper feeding units 12 to 14 passes through the merging unit X and reaches the third curved unit 400. After that, the paper P passes through the linear transport path 500 and reaches the position of the holding roller pair 31 forming the matching portion 51. Then, the sandwiching roller pair 31 corrects the position of the paper P in the width direction and the skew direction, and the paper P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer unit 7.

The paper P is transferred to the fixing device 20 after the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 7. The paper P conveyed to the fixing device 20 is fed between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22, and the toner image is fixed by applying heat and pressure. Then, the paper P is discharged from the copying machine 1.

When double-sided printing is performed, the toner image is transferred to one side (front side) of the paper P through the charging step, the exposure step, and the developing step as described above, and the fixing process is performed by the fixing device 20. After being broken, the paper P is conveyed to the reverse transfer path 600 (see FIG. 1) without being ejected from the copying machine 1. The paper P conveyed to the reverse transfer path 600 is switched back (reversed in the transfer direction) in the reverse transfer path 600, passes through the first curved section 200, the third curved section 400, and the straight transfer path 500, and is secondary again. It is conveyed to the transfer unit 7. Then, the toner image for the back surface formed through the charging step, the exposure step, and the developing step is transferred to the paper P, and after the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 20, the paper P is discharged from the copying machine 1. ..

Although the series of image forming processes has been described above, it is also possible to select any one of all the photoconductors 5 to form a monochromatic image or to form a two-color or three-color image. be.

Next, the transport device 30 according to this embodiment will be described in detail. In the following description, the "upstream side in the transport direction" in the transport path is referred to as the "upstream side", and the "downstream side in the transport direction" is referred to as the "downstream side".

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the holding roller pair 31 and its surroundings, and FIG. 3B is a side view thereof.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transport device 30 has a plurality of CIS 100-102 as position detecting means for detecting the position of the paper P, a function as a transport means for transporting the paper P, and a position for correcting the position of the paper P. It is provided with a holding roller pair 31 that also functions as a correction means. The plurality of CIS 100 to 102 are the first CIS (first position detecting means) 100, the second CIS (second position detecting means) 101, and the third in order from the upstream side (right side in the figure) of the linear transport path 500. It will be referred to as CIS (third position detecting means) 102. The first CIS 100 and the second CIS 101 are arranged on the upstream side of the pinching roller pair 31 and on the downstream side of the transport roller pair 44 as the transport means located one upstream side of the pinching roller pair 31. There is. On the other hand, the third CIS 102 is located on the downstream side of the sandwiching roller pair 31 and on the upstream side of the secondary transfer unit 7 {see FIG. 3 (b)}. Further, the CIS 100 to 102 are arranged parallel to the width direction of the paper P (the direction orthogonal to the transport direction), and their relative positions with respect to the transport direction of the paper P and 31 pairs of holding rollers are equal to each other. The positional relationship with the surrounding members is predetermined.

In recent years, CIS has used a small LED (Light Emitting Diode) as a light source for the purpose of downsizing the device, and has used a contact image sensor (Contact Image) that directly reads an image with a linear sensor via a lens. It is called a Sensor). Each CIS 100 to 102 can detect a side end Pa {see FIG. 3A} on one end side in the width direction of the paper P by a plurality of line sensors provided in the width direction of the paper P. .. The position detecting means is not limited to CIS, and may be any one capable of detecting the side edge Pa of the paper P, such as a plurality of photo sensors arranged along the width direction of the paper P.

The sandwiching roller pair 31 has a width direction correction {correction for the width direction misalignment α shown in FIG. 3 (a)} and an oblique correction {correction for the skew misalignment β shown in FIG. 3 (a)}. It functions as a matching unit 51 that performs a matching operation. Therefore, the sandwiching roller pair 31 is located in the paper transport surface (conveyed medium transport surface) corresponding to the W direction (oblique direction) in FIG. 3A centering on the shaft portion 104a provided at the center position in the axial direction. It is configured to be rotatable in the rotation direction}, and is also configured to be movable in the S direction {direction corresponding to the paper width direction (conveyed medium width direction)} in the figure. The sandwiching roller pair 31 may be configured to rotate in the W direction about a position on the end side in the axial direction.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the holding roller pair 31 and the drive mechanism for driving the holding roller pair 31.
As shown in FIG. 4, the sandwiching roller pair 31 is a roller pair having a plurality of roller portions divided in the axial direction, and is rotationally driven by a first drive motor 61 as a drive means (first drive means). It is composed of a drive roller 31a and a driven roller 31b that rotates in response to the rotational drive of the drive roller 31a. The sandwiching roller pair 31 conveys the paper P by rotationally driving the paper P while sandwiching the paper P. The sandwiching roller pair 31 may be a roller pair having one roller portion extending continuously in the axial direction without being divided in the axial direction.

The first drive motor 61 is fixed to the frame of the transfer device 30. A drive gear 61a is provided on the motor shaft of the first drive motor 61, and the drive gear 61a meshes with the gear portion 105a of the frame-side rotation shaft 105 that rotates together with the drive roller 31a of the sandwiching roller pair 31. As a result, when the first drive motor 61 is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the drive roller 31a of the sandwiching roller pair 31 via the drive gear 61a and the gear portion 105a of the frame-side rotating shaft 105.

The frame-side rotating shaft 105 is moved by the upright portion 104b of the base portion 104 so that it can be similarly moved in the S direction as the holding roller pair 31 moves in the S direction (direction corresponding to the paper width direction) in FIG. It is held possible. The gear portion 105a of the frame-side rotating shaft 105 is formed sufficiently long in the axial direction so that the meshing with the drive gear 61a is maintained even if the frame-side rotating shaft 105 moves in the S direction.

The frame-side rotating shaft 105 and the driving roller 31a of the sandwiching roller pair 31 are connected so as to be drive-transmitted via the coupling 106. The coupling 106 is composed of a coupling (shaft joint) such as a constant velocity joint or a universal joint. As a result, even if the axis angle with respect to the frame-side rotation axis 105 changes with the rotation of the holding roller pair 31 in the W direction (rotation direction in the paper transport surface corresponding to the skew direction) in FIG. 4, the rotation speed The driving force can be transmitted without any change.

The driving roller 31a and the driven roller 31b of the sandwiching roller pair 31 are rotatably held around their respective axes by a holding member 72 formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape. Further, the drive roller 31a and the driven roller 31b are each movably held in the S direction (axial direction) with respect to the holding member 72.

The holding member 72 is rotatably supported in the W direction about the shaft portion 104a with respect to the base portion 104 that functions as a part of the frame of the transport device 30 (copier 1). Further, on one end side in the width direction of the base portion 104, a second drive motor 107 is provided as a second drive means for rotationally driving the holding member 72 in the W direction around the shaft portion 104a. A gear portion is formed on the surface of the motor shaft 107a of the second drive motor 107, and this gear portion meshes with the gear portion 72a formed on one end side in the width direction of the holding member 72. As a result, when the second drive motor 107 is rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions, the holding member 72 and the holding roller pair 31 held by the holding member 72 rotate in the W direction about the shaft portion 104a. Further, the motor shaft 107a of the second drive motor 107 is provided with a known encoder so as to indirectly detect the amount of rotation in the W direction and the forward / reverse direction with respect to the reference position of the holding roller pair 31. Has been done. Further, a sufficient gap is provided between the support column portion 72b on one end side of the holding member 72 and the gear portion 72a, and even if the drive roller 31a and the driven roller 31b slide to one end side in the width direction, These rotating shafts are configured so as not to interfere with the gear portion 72a.

Further, the frame of the transport device 30 (copier 1) is provided with a third drive motor 108 as a third drive means for moving the sandwiching roller pair 31 in the S direction. A pinion gear is formed on the motor shaft 108a of the third drive motor 108, and this pinion gear meshes with a rack gear portion 109 provided on the other end side in the axial direction of the frame-side rotating shaft 105. The rack gear portion 109 is provided so as to be rotatable relative to the frame-side rotating shaft 105, and is configured so that even if the frame-side rotating shaft 105 rotates, it can slide in the S direction without rotating.

The driving roller 31a and the driven roller 31b of the sandwiching roller pair 31 are connected to each other via a connecting member 110 so that they can move together in the S direction. The connecting member 110 is arranged between the coupling 106 and the holding member 72, and is sandwiched by retaining rings 111 provided on the rotating shafts of the driving roller 31a and the driven roller 31b. With such a configuration, when the third drive motor 108 is rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions, the holding roller pair 31 moves in the S direction. Further, a known encoder is provided on the motor shaft 108a of the third drive motor 108 so that the amount of movement in the S direction and the forward and reverse directions with respect to the reference position of the holding roller pair 31 are indirectly detected. Has been done.

Hereinafter, the correction operation for correcting the position of the paper will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5 to 15.

The paper P sent out from the paper feeding unit to the conveying device 30 is conveyed further downstream by the conveying roller pair 44 and passes through the first CIS 100 (FIG. 3). Then, when the tip end portion Pb of the paper P reaches the second CIS 101 (FIG. 5), the position of the paper P is detected (hereinafter, this is referred to as "first detection"). Then, based on the result of this first detection, the amount of misalignment in the width direction of the paper P and the amount of misalignment in skew are calculated.

Specifically, the calculation of the amount of misalignment in the width direction of the paper P based on the result of the first detection is the position in the width direction of the paper P detected by the second CIS 101 (the side end portion Pa in the width direction of the paper P). Position) and the transport reference position K shown by a straight line parallel to the transport direction in FIG. 10 are compared. That is, the distance K1 in the width direction between these positions is calculated as the amount of misalignment α in the width direction of the paper P.

Next, the amount of skew misalignment of the paper P can be calculated from the difference in the edge position in the width direction of the paper P detected by each of the first CIS100 and the second CIS101. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when the tip portion Pb of the paper P reaches the second CIS 101, the distance K1 and the distance K2 in the width direction from the transport reference position K become the first CIS 100 and the second CIS 101. Detected by CIS101. Since the distance M1 in the transport direction between the first CIS 100 and the second CIS 101 is predetermined, the position of the skew of the paper P with respect to the transport direction is determined by tanβ = (K1-K2) / M1. The amount of deviation β is obtained.

Based on the misalignment amount α in the width direction of the paper P and the misalignment amount (skew angle) β of the skew obtained as described above, the width direction correction and the skew correction of the paper P are performed by the holding roller pair 31. (This is hereinafter referred to as "first correction"). The correction amount of the skew correction is the skew angle β. The correction amount in the width direction is calculated based on the displacement amount α in the width direction and the skew angle β. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the skew-corrected paper P'with a skew angle β changes the amount of misalignment in the width direction from α to α'. This misalignment amount α'is calculated and used as the correction amount α'in the width direction by the sandwiching roller pair 31 (however, the correction amount α'changes depending on which position the skew angle correction is corrected based on. do.).

Here, the sandwiching roller pair 31 is arranged at the reference position shown in FIG. 3A before the first detection. Then, by the time the paper P is conveyed to the holding roller pair 31, the holding roller pair 31 performs a pick-up operation in which the paper P moves in the direction opposite to the direction of the first correction by the amount of movement by the first correction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the sandwiching roller pair 31 rotates about the shaft portion 104a in the direction of the arrow W1 by an angle β and in the direction of the arrow S1 before sandwiching the paper P. Translate by the distance α'. As a result, the shaft portion 104a moves to the position of the shaft portion 104a'. The holding roller pair 31 performs such a picking operation after the first detection until the holding roller pair 31 sandwiches the paper P (FIG. 5).

Then, when the tip portion Pb of the paper P reaches the sandwiching roller pair 31, the sandwiching roller pair 31 sandwiches the paper P (FIG. 6). At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the transport rollers vs. 44 on the upstream side of the sandwiching rollers vs. 31 are separated from each other so that the paper P is not sandwiched.

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the first correction is started, the sandwiching roller pair 31 sandwiches and conveys the sheet P, and adjusts to the amount of misalignment of the sheet P obtained from the first detection result. Based on this, the position in the oblique direction of the paper P is corrected by rotating in the direction of the arrow W2 about the shaft portion 104a, and the position in the width direction of the paper P is corrected by translating in the direction of the arrow S2. do. As a result, the first correction by the holding roller pair 31 is completed, and the position of the paper P is corrected (FIG. 7).

The control flow up to the first correction is shown in FIG. 13, and a block diagram of the control unit related to the first correction is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, first, the first CIS 100 and the second CIS 101 detect the paper P (step N1), and the misalignment amount α in the width direction and the misalignment amount β of the paper P are determined. It is calculated (step N2). Then, the correction amount α'in the width direction is calculated based on the calculated misalignment amounts α and β (step N3), and the correction amount of the first correction (oblique correction amount β and the correction amount α'in the width direction) is calculated. ) Is determined.

Based on this correction amount, the encoder count number is calculated by each encoder (see FIG. 14) (step N4).

Then, the determined count number is input to the controller for driving the sandwiching roller pair 31. Then, the second drive motor 107 and the third drive motor 108 are driven by the respective motor drivers according to the input count number, and the holding roller pair 31 rotates in the rotation direction (W direction) in the paper transport surface. The pick-up operation is performed by moving in the width direction (S direction) or in the width direction (S direction) (step N5). Then, after the sandwiching roller pair 31 sandwiches the paper P, by driving the motors 107 and 108, the sandwiching roller pair 31 rotates or moves in the direction opposite to the picking operation while conveying the paper P, and the first correction is performed. It is performed (step N6). At the time of the pick-up operation and the first correction, the position information of the holding roller pair 31 is fed back from moment to moment by the encoder, and the holding roller pair 31 is controlled to move by a predetermined movement amount. As a result, the position of the holding roller 31 after the completion of the first position correction becomes closer to the reference position. However, it does not always return to the reference position by the second correction described later.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the position correction (first correction) of the paper P is performed based on the misalignment amount of the paper P obtained from the detection results of the first CIS 100 and the second CIS 101. The correction alone may not be sufficient for the position accuracy required for the paper P.

That is, after the first detection, when the paper P is sandwiched between the sandwiching rollers 31 and the paper P is subjected to a force from the sandwiching rollers 31 to the paper P, the position of the paper P may be further displaced. Further, it is also conceivable that the position of the paper P may be displaced when the position of the paper P is corrected by the holding roller pair 31 or when the paper P is conveyed to the downstream side. Further, a correction error at the time of the first correction may be considered.

Therefore, in the transport device of the present embodiment, after the first correction, the second correction for further correcting the position of the paper P is performed. Hereinafter, the second correction will be described.

When the tip Pb of the paper P reaches the third CIS 102 after the first correction (FIG. 8), the position of the paper P is detected again by the third CIS 102 and the second CIS 101 (this is referred to as the following). , "Second detection"). Then, based on the result of this second detection, the amount of misalignment of the paper P is calculated.

The calculation of the misalignment amount of the paper P based on the result of the second detection is the same method as in the case of the first detection, and the detection results of the two CIS provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper P. It is done based on. That is, the amount of misalignment α in the width direction is obtained from the position in the width direction (the position of the side end Pa in the width direction) of the paper P obtained by the third CIS 102. Further, the amount of skew misalignment of the paper P is calculated from each position in the width direction of the paper P obtained by the second CIS 101 and the third CIS 102 and the transport direction distance between the CIS 101 and 102. (In the second detection, the second CIS 101 replaces the first CIS 100 at the time of the first detection, and the third CIS 102 replaces the second CIS 101 at the time of the first detection, respectively, to position the paper P. It will be detected.)

Then, based on the amount of misalignment of the paper P calculated from the result of the second detection, the holding roller pair 31 moves in the direction of the arrow S3 shown in FIG. 8A while conveying the paper P, and the shaft portion. The second correction is performed by rotating in the direction of the arrow W3 about 104a.

FIG. 15 shows a control flow of the second correction.

In the second correction, first, the paper P is detected by the second CIS 101 and the third CIS 102 (step N11), and the position shift amount of the paper P (position shift amount in the width direction and the position shift amount in the width direction) are performed in the same manner as in the first correction. The amount of skewed misalignment) is calculated (step N12). Then, the correction amount is calculated from the calculated misalignment amount (step N13), and the encoder count number is calculated (step N14). Then, the second drive motor 107 and the third drive motor 108 are driven by the respective motor drivers according to the calculated encoder count number, and the second correction is performed (step N15).

In the second correction, the position information of the paper P is detected every moment by the second CIS101 and the third CIS102 after the correction is started. Then, the misalignment amount of the paper P is calculated based on the position information and fed back to the control unit, and the position correction amount (encoder count number) of the paper P is corrected every moment. By performing this feedback control, it is possible to reduce the misalignment of the paper P that occurs during the second correction, the correction error during the second correction, and the like, and it is possible to perform correction with higher accuracy. .. However, without performing this feedback control, the second correction may be performed by the correction amount calculated when the tip end portion of the paper P first reaches the third CIS 102.

As described above, the paper P to which the first correction and the second correction have been performed is conveyed toward the secondary transfer unit 7 by the sandwiching roller pair 31. When the paper P reaches the secondary transfer unit 7 (FIG. 9), the sandwiching roller pair 31 is separated from the paper P and returns to the reference position again in preparation for the position correction and transportation of the next paper P {FIG. 9 (a). ), It returns to the reference position by moving in the direction of arrow S4 and rotating in the direction of arrow W4 about the shaft portion 104a}.

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram of a transport device according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 16, in the transport device 30 according to the present embodiment, in order to facilitate maintenance work and the like, a sandwiching roller pair 31, three CIS 100-102, transport guides 120a and 120b, and a secondary transfer unit (secondary transfer unit). The transfer roller) 7 and the like are configured to be detachably attached to and detachable from the copying machine main body (image forming apparatus main body) as one unit. Further, as shown in FIG. 17, in the transport device 30 according to the present embodiment, in order to facilitate the work of removing the jammed paper in the transport device 30, the upper portion in the drawing is relative to the lower portion. It is configured to be openable and closable. That is, the transport device 30 has a fixed portion (lower portion that is not opened / closed) 32, a first position in the closed state shown in FIG. 16 and an open state shown in FIG. 17 with respect to the fixed portion 32. It is composed of a movable portion (upper portion to be opened / closed) 33 that can be moved to and from the second position of the above.

The fixing portion 32 is provided with a holding roller pair 31, a lower transport guide 120b, and a secondary transfer portion 7. On the other hand, the movable portion 33 is provided with an upper transport guide 120a and each CIS 100 to 102. The movable portion 33 is configured to be swingable in the vertical direction about a support shaft 36 fixed to the fixed portion 32. Further, the movable portion 33 is provided with a cover member 34 that covers the upper portion of the transport guide 120a and the upper portion of each CIS 100-102, and a handle portion 35 is provided on the upstream side of the cover member 34. The user can open the movable portion 33 (the state shown in FIG. 17) by pushing up the handle portion 35 by hand and swinging the movable portion 33 upward around the support shaft 36. As a result, the upper transport guide 120a and the CIS 100-102 move to a retracted position that is separated upward from the lower transport guide 120b, so that paper jam processing work and the like can be easily performed.

However, in a configuration in which the CIS is provided in the movable portion as in the transfer device according to the present embodiment, the position of the CIS may deviate from the position before opening and closing by opening and closing the movable portion. When the CIS misalignment occurs, an error also occurs in the amount of the misalignment of the paper obtained from the CIS detection result, so that the accuracy at the time of correcting the position of the paper is lowered.

Therefore, in the transport device according to the present embodiment, in order to prevent a decrease in the position correction accuracy of the paper due to the misalignment of the CIS as described above, the amount of the misalignment of the CIS is grasped, and the paper is based on this. The transport reference position is corrected. This will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 16, in the transport device 30 according to the present embodiment, the fixing unit 32 is provided with an index unit 37 which is a reference position for calculating the amount of misalignment of each CIS 100 to 102. Specifically, the index unit 37 is made of a white sheet, and is attached to the upper surface of the lower transport guide 120b with a double-sided adhesive tape or the like.

FIG. 18 is a plan view schematically showing the positional relationship between the index unit 37 and each CIS 100 to 102. In FIG. 18, contrary to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, each CIS 100 to 102 is arranged on the lower side of the figure with respect to the transport path, but it will be described as basically the same configuration.
As shown in FIG. 18, the index unit 37 is arranged at a position facing each of the CIS 100 to 102. Here, the positions where the CIS 100-102 face each other are arranged at the first position where the movable portion 33 is in the closed state shown in FIG. 16, and the CIS 100-102 are arranged at the detection positions where the position of the paper can be detected. This is the position where each CIS 100-102 faces the lower transport guide 120b (fixed portion 32) in the state of being closed. Further, the index unit 37 is arranged outside the transport area (maximum transport area) D through which the paper P having the maximum width that can be transported passes so that the CIS 100-102 does not interfere with detecting the position of the paper. Has been done.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the control unit relating to the calculation of the CIS misalignment amount and the correction of the transport reference position.
As shown in FIG. 19, the control unit 52 has a recording unit 53 that records the relative position of each CIS 100 to 102 with respect to the paper transport reference position and the index unit 37, and the paper transport that calculates the amount of misalignment of the paper with respect to the transport reference position. The misalignment calculation unit 54, the detection misalignment calculation unit 55 that calculates the misalignment amount of each CIS 100 to 102, and the transport reference correction unit 56 that corrects the transport reference position based on the misalignment amount of each CIS 100 to 102. Be prepared.

Hereinafter, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 20, detailed processing and functions in the control unit 52, and a flow from setting the transport reference position to correcting it will be described.

First, the transport reference position is set. The transport reference position is set before the start of use of the copying machine (for example, an adjustment step before shipment), and the transport reference position is set according to the relative positional relationship with each CIS 100 to 102. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21, a reference sheet 60 as a transfer reference setting member is placed at a position facing each CIS 100 to 102, and a straight end portion 60a extending in the paper transport direction of the reference sheet 60 is provided. It is detected by each CIS 100 to 102. Then, the width direction distances L1 to L3 from the end of each CIS 100 to 102 to the straight end 60a of the reference sheet 60 are recorded in the recording unit 53 as position information for determining the transport reference position. As a result, the position of the straight end portion 60a of the reference sheet 60 is set as the transport reference position K. After the transport reference position is set, the reference sheet 60 is no longer needed and is removed.

After that, when the copying machine is started to be used, the position of the paper is usually corrected based on the transfer reference position set above. When the paper is conveyed, the transfer position deviation calculation unit 54 calculates the amount of the position deviation of the paper with respect to the transfer reference position based on the position information of the paper detected by each CIS 100-102. Then, the holding roller pair 31 corrects the position of the paper based on the calculated amount of the misalignment of the paper. The detailed position deviation calculation method and correction operation are as described above.

Here, when the opening / closing operation of the movable portion 33 is performed, it is conceivable that the positions of the CIS 100 to 102 are deviated from the positions before opening / closing. If, as shown in FIG. 22, the positions of the CIS 100 to 102 are displaced by γ1 to γ3 in the width direction (upper part of the figure), the position of the transport reference position K (the end of each CIS 100 to 102) is accompanied by this. Since the positions of the distances L1 to L3 in the width direction from the portion) are also shifted by the same amount, the transport reference position K is the position of the alternate long and short dash line K'. However, since the position correction of the paper cannot be performed with high accuracy as it is, it is necessary to calculate the deviation amounts γ1 to γ3 of each CIS 100 to 102 and correct the transport reference position by the deviation amount.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, before the opening / closing operation of the movable portion 33 is performed (for example, after the setting of the transport reference position and during the adjustment time before the start of paper transport), the CIS 100 to 102 for the index unit 37 The relative position is detected, and this is recorded as the initial position (position before opening / closing) of each CIS 100 to 102. Specifically, with the movable portion 33 closed and each CIS 100-102 facing the index portion 37, the position of the index portion 37 is detected by each CIS 100-102, and the end portion of each CIS 100-102 shown in FIG. 23. The recording unit 53 records the width direction distances T1 to T3 from the to the corresponding index unit 37.

After that, when the movable portion 33 is opened / closed, the relative position (position after opening / closing) of each CIS 100 to 102 with respect to the index portion 37 is detected again and recorded. That is, as shown in FIG. 24, the recording unit 53 is made to record the width direction distances T1'to T3' from the end of each CIS 100 to 102 to the corresponding index unit 37 after the opening / closing operation.

Then, based on the first recorded relative position information (T1 to T3) and the newly recorded relative position information (T1'to T3'), the detection position deviation calculation unit 55 sets each CIS 100 to the index unit 37. The displacement amounts γ1 to γ3 of 102 are calculated. The misalignment amounts γ1 to γ3 of each CIS 100 to 102 are calculated by the following equations (1) to (3). The amount of misalignment γ1 to γ3 is not always the same. For example, when each CIS 100 to 102 is displaced in the skew direction of the paper, the respective displacement amounts γ1 to γ3 have different values.

γ1 = T1-T1'... Equation (1)
γ2 = T2-T2'・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Equation (2)
γ3 = T3-T3'・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Equation (3)

Then, based on the calculated misalignment amounts γ1 to γ3 of each CIS 100 to 102, the transport reference correction unit 56 corrects the above-mentioned width direction distances L1 to L3 which are the recorded position information of the transport reference position. Specifically, as shown in the following equations (4) to (6), the corrected width direction distance L1 is obtained by subtracting the displacement amounts γ1 to γ3 of each CIS 100 to 102 from the width direction distances L1 to L3. '~ L3' is obtained.

L1'= L1-γ1 ... Equation (4)
L2'= L2-γ2 ... Equation (5)
L3'= L3-γ3 ... Equation (6)

In this way, by correcting the width direction distances L1 to L3, which are the position information of the transport reference position, the corrected width direction distances L1'to L3' are updated as new position information and recorded in the recording unit 53. Will be done. As a result, the transport reference position is corrected to the correct position (the position of the alternate long and short dash line K).

After that, when the movable portion 33 is further opened and closed, the relative position information (T1 "to T3") of each CIS 100 to 102 with respect to the index portion 37 is acquired again, and is acquired immediately before this. Based on the relative position information (T1'to T3'), the amount of misalignment of each CIS 100 to 102 is newly calculated using the above equations (1) to (3). Then, based on the calculated misalignment amount of each CIS 100 to 102, the above-mentioned updated width direction distances L1'to L3', which are the position information of the transport reference position, are corrected by using the above equations (4) to (6). do.

After that, each time the movable portion 33 is opened / closed, the relative position information of each CIS 100 to 102 with respect to the index unit 37 is reacquired, and the relative position information of each CIS 100 to 102 is compared with the relative position information acquired immediately before. The amount of misalignment is calculated, and the previous transfer reference position information is corrected based on the calculated amount of misalignment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the fixed portion is provided with an index portion that serves as a reference position for calculating the amount of displacement of the CIS, the displacement of the CIS occurs with the opening / closing operation. Even so, the amount of displacement of the CIS can be calculated from the relative position of the CIS with respect to the index unit. As a result, the transport reference position can be corrected, so that the misalignment detection error of the paper due to the misalignment of the CIS can be reduced, and the position correction of the paper can be performed with high accuracy.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, in the present embodiment, a plurality of CIS 100 to 102 are attached to a single transport guide 120a integrally molded. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the variation in the position of each CIS 100-102 due to the mounting error of the members as compared with the case where each CIS 100-102 is attached to a separate member, and the paper position detection can be performed. It is possible to improve the accuracy.

On the other hand, the sandwiching roller pair 31 is provided in the fixed portion 32, which is a separate module from the movable portion 33 in which each CIS 100 to 102 is provided. With such a configuration, the vibration generated when the holding roller pair 31 operates is less likely to be transmitted to the CIS 100-102, and the deterioration of the detection accuracy of the CIS 100-102 due to the vibration can be suppressed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25, an opening 40 that can be opened and closed by the lid member 39 may be provided at a position corresponding to each CIS 100 to 102 of the cover member 34. In particular, as shown in FIG. 25, by providing the opening 40 above the portion where the fixing member 38 for fixing each CIS 100 to 102 to the transport guide 120a is provided, the CIS 100 to 102 can be attached through the opening 40. The removal work can be easily performed.

Although the embodiment of the transport device according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. ..

In the above configuration, the present invention is applied to a transport device for transporting paper, but the present invention includes paper (including plain paper, thick paper, thin paper, coated paper, label paper, envelopes, etc.) and transparencies. It can also be applied to a recording medium on which an image such as an OHP film is printed, or a transport device for transporting a sheet such as a document. Further, the present invention is applicable not only to a sheet such as a recording medium or a document, but also to a transport device for transporting a transport medium such as an electronic substrate.

Further, the transport device according to the present invention is not limited to the one mounted on the color image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, but also the one mounted on the monochrome image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus other than the electrophotographic method (for example, , An inkjet type image forming apparatus, an offset printing machine, or the like).

FIG. 26 shows an example of a transfer device mounted on an inkjet image forming device.
The image forming apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 26 includes an image forming unit 701 including a plurality of ejection heads 705 for ejecting ink by an inkjet method, a paper feeding unit 702 for supplying paper, a conveying device 706 for conveying paper, and an image. It is provided with a drying unit 703 for drying the paper on which the paper is formed, and a paper discharging unit 704 for discharging the dried paper. The transport device 706 includes a plurality of CIS 708 to 710 as position detecting means for detecting the position of the paper in the transport path from the paper feeding unit 702 to the image forming unit 701, and the paper based on the detection results of each CIS 708 to 710. It is provided with a holding roller pair 711 as a position correction means for performing position correction. The paper supplied from the paper feed unit 702 is conveyed by the holding roller pair 711, and after the position correction in the width direction or the skew direction is performed based on the detection results of each CIS 708 to 710, the paper is delivered to the image forming unit 701. Is transported. Then, the image forming unit 701 forms an image by ejecting inks of each color from the ejection head 705 onto the paper. Then, the paper is dried in the drying section 703 and then discharged to the paper ejection section 704.

Even in such an inkjet image forming apparatus 700, if CIS 708 to 710 are provided on a movable portion such as a cover member, it is conceivable that the movement of the movable portion causes a displacement of CIS 708 to 710. Therefore, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the positional deviation of each CIS 708 to 710 is calculated by providing the index unit 37 as a reference position for calculating the displacement amount of each CIS 708 to 710 in the fixed portion. Will be able to. As a result, the misalignment detection error of the paper due to the misalignment of the CIS can be reduced, and the position correction of the paper can be performed with high accuracy.

Further, the transport device according to the present invention can also be applied to a post-processing device that performs post-treatment on the paper discharged from the image forming device.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a transfer device mounted on the aftertreatment device.
The post-processing device 900 shown in FIG. 27 includes a receiving unit 901 that receives the paper ejected from the image forming apparatus 1, a transport device 902 that conveys the received paper, and a center-folding process, a binding process, or a punch process on the paper. The main configuration is a post-treatment unit 903 that performs post-treatment such as, and a discharge unit 904 that ejects paper.

The paper received from the receiving section 901 into the post-processing device 900 is either the first transport path 210 passing through the post-processing section 903 by the plurality of transport roller pairs (transport means) 905 provided in the transport device 902, or the post-processing. It is transported to the second transport path 220 that continues to the discharge section 904 without passing through the section 903. Further, the transfer device 902 includes a plurality of CIS 906 to 908 as position detection means for detecting the position of the paper, and each CIS 906 on the upstream side of the branch portion Y where the first transfer path 210 and the second transfer path 220 branch. It is provided with a pair of holding rollers and 909 as position correction means for correcting the position of the paper based on the detection results of ~ 908. The paper is conveyed by the sandwiching roller pair 909, and after the position correction in the width direction or the skew direction is performed based on the detection results of each CIS 906 to 908, the paper is transferred to the first transfer path 210 or the second transfer path 220. Be transported.

Here, each CIS 906 to 908 is held by a movable portion 910 provided so as to be movable with respect to the main body of the aftertreatment device, and the movable portion 910 is held in the horizontal direction (for example, orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 27) at the time of maintenance or the like. By moving to the front side in the direction), each CIS 906 to 908 can be exposed from the main body of the aftertreatment device. In such a configuration, it is conceivable that the displacement of CIS906 to 908 occurs due to the operation of the movable portion 910. Therefore, in the same manner as the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, the amount of displacement of each CIS906 to 908 can be calculated. An index portion 37 serving as a reference position may be provided on a fixed portion such as a transport guide. As a result, the misalignment of each CIS 906 to 908 can be calculated, and the misalignment detection error of the paper due to the misalignment of the CIS can be reduced.

1 Copier (image forming device)
30 Conveyor device 31 Holding roller pair (position correction means)
32 Fixed part 33 Movable part 34 Cover member 37 Indicator part 40 Opening part 52 Control part 53 Recording part 54 Transport position deviation calculation part 55 Detection position deviation calculation part 56 Transport standard correction part 900 Post-processing device K Transport reference position P Paper (covered) Transport medium)

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-88263

Claims (10)

A position detecting means for detecting the position of the medium to be conveyed, and
A transport device including a transport means for transporting the medium to be transported.
Fixed part and
Between the first position where the position detecting means is provided and the position detecting means is arranged at a position where the position of the conveyed medium can be detected and a second position different from the first position. With a movable part that is movable with respect to the fixed part,
A transport device characterized in that an index portion serving as a reference position for calculating the amount of misalignment of the position detecting means at the first position is provided in the fixed portion. The transport device according to claim 1, further comprising a detection position deviation calculation unit that calculates the amount of position deviation of the position detection means with respect to the index unit based on the position detection result of the index unit by the position detection means. As a reference position for calculating the misalignment amount of the conveyed medium, the transport reference position set by the relative positional relationship with the position detecting means is corrected based on the calculated misalignment amount of the position detecting means. The transport device according to claim 2, further comprising a transport standard correction unit. A position detecting means for detecting the position of the medium to be conveyed, and
As a reference position for calculating the amount of misalignment of the transported medium, a recording unit that records a transport reference position set by a relative positional relationship with the position detecting means, and a recording unit.
A transport position deviation calculation unit that calculates the amount of displacement of the conveyed medium with respect to the transfer reference position based on the position detection result of the conveyed medium by the position detecting means.
A transport device including a transport means for transporting the medium to be transported.
Fixed part and
Between the first position where the position detecting means is provided and the position detecting means is arranged at a position where the position of the conveyed medium can be detected and a second position different from the first position. Then, the movable part that can move with respect to the fixed part,
An index unit provided at a position of the fixed portion facing the position detecting means when the movable portion is in the first position, and an index portion.
A detection position deviation calculation unit that calculates the amount of position deviation of the position detection means with respect to the index unit based on the position detection result of the index unit by the position detection means.
A transport device including a transport reference correction unit that corrects the transport reference position based on the calculated position deviation amount of the position detecting means. A plurality of the position detecting means are provided.
The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each position detecting means is attached to a single member. Claims 1 to 5 include a position correction means that functions as the transport means and corrects the position of the transport medium based on the amount of misalignment of the transport medium obtained from the detection result of the position detection means. The transport device according to any one item. The transport device according to claim 6, wherein the position correction means is provided in the fixed portion. The movable portion includes a cover member that covers the position detecting means.
The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an opening / closing opening is provided at a position corresponding to the position detecting means of the cover member. An image forming apparatus comprising the conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A post-processing device that performs post-processing on the transported medium discharged from the image forming device.
An aftertreatment device comprising the transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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