JP7186566B2 - Sheet bundle conveying unit and post-processing device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet bundle conveying unit and a post-processing device for conveying a sheet bundle that has undergone binding processing, folding processing, or the like, toward a predetermined position.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus, a post-processing apparatus, or the like is equipped with a sheet bundle conveying unit that bundles a plurality of sheets on which images have been formed and conveys the sheet bundle that has undergone binding processing, folding processing, or the like, toward a cutting unit or a discharge tray. there is something

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100000 discloses a post-processing device that discharges a bundle of sheets that have undergone binding processing, folding processing, or the like, from a lower position. This post-processing apparatus is provided with a sheet bundle conveying path that is arranged in an S shape from the bottom to the top so that the processed sheet bundle can be taken out in a standing posture rather than in a crouching posture. In this conveying path, a pair of conveying belts are arranged facing each other along an S shape, and the sheet bundle is nipped and conveyed from below to above.

JP 2008-184318 A

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200013, when a sheet bundle conveying path formed by a pair of conveying belts has an S-shaped curved portion, curved inner and outer trajectories are used. Due to the difference in peripheral length, the sheet bundle being conveyed is likely to bend or bend. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-100001, a conveying belt arranged along a curved path is prevented from coming into contact with a binding portion of a sheet bundle, thereby avoiding and absorbing bent or bent portions.

However, since the pair of conveying belts are synchronously driven in one direction by the same drive source, the effect of the difference in circumferential length between the inner track and the outer track of the curved path section on the conveying of the sheet bundle is not eliminated. In particular, as the thickness of the sheet bundle to be conveyed increases, the difference in speed between the pair of conveying belts provided along the inner track and the outer track of the curved path portion increases, resulting in a state in which bending is more likely to occur. In a post-processing apparatus configured to cut the fore edge of a sheet bundle conveyed through the curved path, the fore edge of the sheet bundle to be cut is neatly trimmed due to wrinkles and flexures that occur when passing through the curved path. There is a problem that they do not match. On the other hand, there is a method in which the pair of conveyor belts are driven independently according to the curvature of the curved path, but there is a problem that the apparatus and control are complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent wrinkles and warping of a sheet bundle passing through a curved portion with a simple structure even in a case where a path for conveying a sheet bundle by nipping it with a pair of conveyor belts has a curved portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet bundle conveying unit and a post-processing device capable of conveying a sheet bundle by using the

In order to solve the above-described problems, a sheet bundle conveying unit of the present invention has a conveying path for conveying a sheet bundle in a nipped state by a pair of conveying belts, and a curved path portion is formed in a part of the conveying path. In the sheet bundle conveying unit, a free-rotating rotating body is provided in the curved path portion, and the rotating body protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the conveying belt forming the curved inner track , contacts the surface of the sheet bundle, and rotates .

According to the sheet bundle conveying unit of the present invention, the pressing force exerted on the sheet bundle by the conveying belt forming the curved inner raceway is reduced with respect to the pressing force exerted on the sheet bundle by the conveying belt forming the curved outer raceway. Since the regulating means is provided, the sheet bundle passing through the curved path portion can be smoothly conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side without wrinkling, bending, or the like.

Further, by providing the sheet bundle conveying unit of the present invention in the post-processing apparatus, wrinkles and warping of the sheet bundle do not occur when the sheet bundle reaches the cutting section, so that the sheet bundle can be cut in a state where the edges of the sheet bundle are aligned. .

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming system provided with a post-processing device having a sheet bundle conveying unit; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet bundle conveying unit; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a conveying path of the sheet bundle conveying unit; FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing main parts of a first curved path portion and a second curved path portion of the transport path; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a sheet bundle is conveyed in a first curved path portion; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a sheet bundle is conveyed in a straight path portion; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a sheet bundle is conveyed in a second curved path portion; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the sheet bundle conveying unit;

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image forming system 100 including an image forming apparatus 1 , a first post-processing apparatus 10 , and a second post-processing apparatus 20 having a sheet bundle conveying unit 30 . In the image forming apparatus 1 , the image reading section 4 reads a document sent from the document feeding section 5 , and the image forming section 2 forms the read image on a sheet conveyed from the paper feeding section 3 .

The first post-processing device 10 includes a post-processing section including a binding section, a folding section, and the like. In the binding unit, a plurality of sheets discharged from the image forming unit 2 are sequentially discharged to the binding processing tray 11 via the first pass P1 to the fourth pass P4, and the sheets accumulated on the binding processing tray 11 are discharged. The corners or one side of the bundle are stapled by the first stapler ST1, and the bundle is discharged to the second discharge tray 18.例文帳に追加In the folding section, the sheet bundle is discharged from the third pass P3 to the fifth pass P5 to the folding processing tray 12, moved to the binding position on the folding processing tray 12, and then stapled by the second stapler ST2. Bind the 2 places in the center. After that, the sheet bundle is moved to the folding position and sandwiched between the pair of folding rollers 14 while pushing the center with the thrust plate 13, and the sheet bundle in the state of being folded in two is discharged to the intermediate belt 15.例文帳に追加Further, in order to insert a cover sheet and interleaving sheets into the sheet bundle discharged from the intermediate belt 15 and bind the sheet bundle, a binding process and a folding process are performed. If the binding process, folding process, or the like is unnecessary, the sheet bundle discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is discharged directly to the first paper discharge tray 17 via the first pass P1 and the second pass P2.

The second post-processing device 20 includes a sheet bundle conveying unit 30 , a cutting section 23 and a third sheet discharge tray 25 . In the second post-processing device 20, the sheet bundle that has undergone binding processing, folding processing, or the like in the first post-processing device 10 is conveyed through the sheet bundle conveying unit 30 toward the cutting section 23 that is arranged above. After the fore edge side of the sheet bundle is trimmed by the cutting section 23 , the sheet bundle is discharged to the third paper discharge tray 25 via the discharge belt 24 .

Next, details of the sheet bundle conveying unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. FIG. FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the sheet bundle conveying unit 30 provided in the second post-processing device 20, FIG. 3 shows the cross-sectional structure of the conveying path 22 in the sheet bundle conveying unit 30, and FIG. and a swing structure on the carry-out side. 5 to 7 show how the sheet bundle is conveyed in each part of the conveying path 22 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG.

The sheet bundle conveying unit 30 includes a carry-in path 21 for receiving the sheet bundle through the intermediate belt 15 shown in FIG. 23 is provided. The transport path 22 has a curved path portion that is partially curved. As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet bundle T conveyed through the carry-in path 21 and the conveying path 22 is set so that the binding side T1 folded in two is on the downstream side and the fore edge side T2 is on the upstream side. .

The carry-in path 21 is composed of a first carry-in belt 21a that contacts the lower surface of the sheet bundle T discharged from below the post-processing device 10, and a second carry-in belt 21b that comes into contact with the upper surface of the sheet bundle T. As shown in FIG. The pair of carry-in belts consisting of the first carry-in belt 21a and the second carry-in belt 21b are arranged in parallel in two rows along the sheet bundle T carry-in direction. Since each carry-in belt pair has the same configuration, one carry-in belt pair will be described. The first carry-in belt 21a includes a carry-in pulley B2 provided adjacent to a pulley that spans the downstream side of the intermediate belt 15 arranged in the post-processing device 10, and a gentle upward movement from the carry-in pulley B2. It is bridged between the carry-in pulley B1 provided at a position inclined to the side. The second carry-in belt 21b is stretched over carry-in pulleys B3 to B7 that are rotatably supported so as to be in contact with the first carry-in belt 21a, and has a plurality of guide rollers for guiding the sheet bundle T toward the first carry-in belt 21a. 28 are arranged. The carry-in pulleys B1 and B3 are interlocked with drive pulleys A2 and A3 that drive the first and second carry-in belts 21a and 21b, respectively, but the other carry-in pulleys are rotatably arranged.

The conveying path 22 is composed of a first conveying belt 22a in contact with the lower surface of the sheet bundle T and a second conveying belt 22b in contact with the upper surface of the sheet bundle T. As shown in FIG. The pair of conveying belts consisting of the first conveying belt 22a and the second conveying belt 22b are arranged in parallel in two rows along the sheet bundle T conveying direction. Since each conveying belt pair has the same configuration, one conveying belt pair will be described. The conveying path 22 includes a first curved path portion 31 that curves upward from the downstream side of the carry-in path 21 and a straight path that extends substantially linearly from the first curved path portion 31 toward the cutting portion 23 above. The portion 32 and a second curved path portion 33 that curves horizontally from the upper end of the straight path portion 32 to the cutting portion 23 form an S shape. In this embodiment, the linear path portion 32 extends in the vertical direction, but it may be inclined depending on the configuration of the device and the space inside the device.

The first conveying belt 22a is stretched so as to circulate between a conveying pulley C10 arranged adjacently downstream of the carry-in pulley B1 and a conveying pulley C12 arranged upstream of the cutting section 23. there is The first curved path portion 31 includes transport pulleys C<b>5 and C<b>10 , a transport pulley C<b>9 connecting the transport pulley C<b>10 to the straight path portion 32 , and a regulation roller 27 . The straight path portion 32 includes transport pulleys C9 and C8 and at least one urging roller 26 that urges the first transport belt 22a toward the second transport belt 22b. A plurality of guide rollers 34 arranged along the inner track are arranged in the second curved path portion 33 .

The second conveying belt 22b is stretched between a conveying pulley C5 facing the conveying pulley C10 and a conveying pulley C2 facing the pulley C12 via a regulation roller 27 and a guide roller . A plurality of guide rollers 35 are arranged between the transport pulleys C5 and C1 to bring the second transport belt 22b into contact with the first transport belt 22a along the straight path portion 32. As shown in FIG. The transport pulleys C1 and C7 are interlocked with drive pulleys A5 and A6 that drive the first and second transport belts 22a and 22b, respectively, but the other transport pulleys are rotatably arranged.

FIG. 4 shows the swing mechanism of the transport pulley C10 in the first curved path portion 31 and the swing mechanism of the transport pulley C2 in the second curved path portion 33. As shown in FIG. In the first curved path portion 31, the rotation shaft of the transport pulley C10 is attached to one end of the first swing bracket BR1, and the first swing bracket BR1 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 50. As shown in FIG. A tension spring 51 is provided at the other end of the first swing bracket BR1. It is hung on a pin 53 provided. As a result, the conveying pulley C10 is always urged toward the conveying pulley C5, so that the first conveying belt 22a can be brought into pressure contact with the second conveying belt 22b. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the binding portion T1 side of the sheet bundle T enters between the first and second conveying belts 22a and 22b, the first bracket BR1 is pushed against the biasing force of the tension spring 51. It rotates downward in the figure with the support shaft 50 as a fulcrum, and swings in a direction in which the conveying pulley C10 is separated from the conveying pulley C5. In this manner, the binding side T1 of the sheet bundle T is inserted between the conveying pulleys C5 and C10 and the conveying pulley C10 is separated, thereby facilitating the entry of the sheet bundle T, and after the entry, the tension spring 51 is attached. Since the sheet bundle T is pressed by force, the sheet bundle T having a predetermined thickness can be conveyed while being reliably nipped by the pair of conveying belts 22a and 22b (FIGS. 5(b) and 5(c)).

In the straight path portion 32, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of guide rollers 35 are arranged at positions facing each other with the first conveyor belt 22a and the second conveyor belt 22b interposed therebetween. Spring-biased urging rollers 26 are arranged at predetermined intervals. Since the first conveying belt 22a can be pressed toward the second conveying belt 22b by the urging roller 26, the sheet bundle T can be reliably nipped and conveyed upward.

In the second curved path portion 33, the rotary shaft of the transport pulley C2 is attached to one end of the second swing bracket BR2, and the second swing bracket BR2 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 60. As shown in FIG. A tension spring 61 is provided at the other end of the second swing bracket BR2, and both ends of the tension spring 61 are connected to a pin 62 provided at the other end of the second swing bracket BR2 and the housing. It is hung on the pin 63 . As a result, the conveying pulley C2 is always urged toward the conveying pulley C12, so that the second conveying belt 22b can be brought into pressing contact with the first conveying belt 22a. As shown in FIG. 7, when the binding side T1 of the conveyed sheet bundle T enters between the conveying pulleys C2 and C12, the second bracket BR2 moves against the biasing force of the tension spring 61 with the support shaft 60 as a fulcrum. , and swings in a direction separating the conveying pulley C2 from the conveying pulley C12. That is, when the sheet bundle T enters, the conveying pulley C2 swings, and after entering, the sheet bundle T is conveyed while being nipped by the first and second conveying belts 22a and 22b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of carry-in belts 21a and 21b and the pair of carrier belts 22a and 22b are arranged on a single drive source (driving motor) MT, carrying-in route 21 and carrier route 22, respectively. It is driven by a plurality of guide pulleys and a drive belt BE that transmits the rotation of the drive motor MT to the plurality of guide pulleys of each of the carry-in path 21 and the transport path 22 . In order to drive the pair of carry-in belts 21a and 21b and the pair of conveying belts 22a and 22b toward the cutting section 23 in the conveying direction of the sheet bundle T, the drive motor MT is rotated forward. The forward rotation of the drive motor MT is transmitted to the drive pulley A1, and from this drive pulley A1 to the drive pulleys A2 to A8 via the drive belt BE. The pair of carry-in belts 21a and 21b are driven by the rotation of a carry-in pulley B1 coaxial with the drive pulley A2 and a carry-in pulley B3 coaxial with the drive pulley A3. The pair of transport belts 22a and 22b are driven by the rotation of a transport pulley C1 coaxial with the drive pulley A5 and a transport pulley C7 coaxial with the drive pulley A6.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first curved path portion 31 and the second curved path portion 33 each have a curved path with respect to the pressing force applied to the sheet bundle T by the conveyor belt forming the curved outer path. A regulating means is provided for reducing the pressing force on the sheet bundle T by the conveying belt forming the inner track. The regulating means is guide rollers disposed in the first curved path portion 31 and the second curved path portion 33, and is composed of a rotating body (regulating roller) 27 that contacts the surface of the sheet stack T and rotates freely. . The regulating roller 27 has a regulating portion that keeps the nip surface of the conveying belt forming the inner track and the sheet bundle T in a non-contact state or a low contact pressure state. This restricting portion is formed by a disc-shaped flange portion 27b that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the roller body 27a on which the first conveying belt 22a or the second conveying belt 22b hangs, contacts the surface of the sheet bundle T, and rotates. The flange portion 27b is formed with a small thickness so that the contact surface with the sheet bundle T is smaller than the width of the conveying belt. Therefore, in the first curved path portion 31, the flange portion 27b contacts the upper surface of the sheet bundle, but the second conveying belt 22b does not contact the upper surface of the sheet bundle, or even if it does, the contact pressure is low. becomes. Therefore, the sheet bundle T can be conveyed along the first curved path portion 31 by the driving force received by the lower surface of the sheet bundle T in contact with the first conveying belt 22a. That is, the speed difference between the first conveyor belt 22a and the second conveyor belt 22b due to the difference in circumferential length between the outer track and the inner track of the first curved path portion 31 is eliminated, and wrinkles, bending, etc., are eliminated regardless of the thickness of the sheet bundle. can be conveyed toward the straight path portion 32 in a state in which no

In the straight path portion 32, since there is no speed difference between the first conveyor belt 22a and the second conveyor belt 22b, the biasing roller 26 that biases the first conveyor belt 22a toward the second conveyor belt 22b, The sheet bundle can be conveyed toward the second curved path portion 33 while being nipped between the plurality of opposing guide rollers.

Two regulating rollers 27 are arranged along the inner track of the second curved path portion 33 . Since the first curved path portion 31 communicates with the straight path portion 32 from the carry-in path 21 sloping upward, the curved shape is gentle. Since the path portion 33 is oriented substantially horizontally from the straight path portion 32, the regulation rollers 27 are arranged at two locations. Contrary to the first curved path portion 31 , the second curved path portion 33 has the regulating rollers 27 arranged along the lower surface of the sheet stack T. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the lower surface of the sheet bundle T and the first conveying belt 22a are in a non-contact state or a low contact pressure state, and can be conveyed mainly by the driving force of the second conveying belt 22b. As a result, the speed difference between the first conveyor belt 22a and the second conveyor belt 22b due to the difference in circumference between the inner track and the outer track of the second curved path portion 33 is eliminated. The sheet can be conveyed toward the cutting section 23 in a state in which bending or the like does not occur.

One or more regulating rollers 27 are provided according to the curvature and length of the first and second curved path portions 31 and 33, the driving ability of the transport belt, and the like, so that the sheet bundle can be transported more smoothly. can. Note that all the guide rollers arranged in each curved path portion may be replaced with regulation rollers.

In this embodiment, disc-shaped guide rollers 28 are provided along the inner tracks of the first and second curved path portions 31 and 33 as means for regulating contact between the sheet bundle T and the conveying belts 22a and 22b. Although the regulating roller 27 provided with the flange portion 27b is used, the regulating roller 27 may be supported by a spring bias, or may be configured to be movable to a predetermined position by being operated by the operating portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in the first and second curved path portions 31 and 33, the regulating roller 29 is formed only by the flange portion 27b of the regulating roller 27 at a position not forming the track of the conveying belts 22a and 22b. , the sheet bundle T can be conveyed and guided without coming into contact with the conveying belts 22a and 22b. By providing such a regulating means, it is possible to perform optimum conveyance according to the thickness of the sheet bundle, the curvature of the curved path portion, and the like.

Moreover, instead of rotating bodies such as rollers, protrusions having steps may be provided on the conveying belt surface. Alternatively, an air outlet may be provided along the inner track of the curved path portion, and the air discharged from the outlet may weaken the contact of the sheet bundle conveyed along the conveying belt. be.

A1 to A7 drive pulley B1 to B6 carry-in pulley C1 to C13 transport pulley MT drive motor T sheet bundle 1 image forming device 2 image forming section 3 paper feeding section 4 image reading section 5 document feeding section 10 first post-processing device 11 binding processing Tray 12 Folding processing tray 13 Veneer 14 Folding roller pair 15 Intermediate belt 17 First paper discharge tray 18 Second paper discharge tray 20 Second post-processing device 21 Carry-in path 21a, 21b Carry-in belt 22 Transport path 22a, 22b Transport belt 23 Cutting unit 24 Ejection belt 25 Third paper ejection tray 26 Biasing roller 27 Regulating roller 27a Roller main body 27b Flange portion (regulating portion)
28 guide roller 29 regulation roller 30 sheet bundle conveying unit 31 first curved path portion 32 straight path portion 33 second curved path portion 34 guide roller 35 guide roller 50 support shaft 51 tension springs 52, 53 pin 60 support shaft 61 tension spring 62 , 63 pin 100 imaging system

Claims (8)

A sheet bundle conveying unit in which a conveying path for conveying a sheet bundle in a nipped state is formed by a pair of conveying belts, and the conveying path includes a curved path section that is curved in a part of the conveying path,
A sheet bundle conveying unit in which a free-rotating rotating body is provided in the curved path portion, the rotating body protruding from an outer peripheral surface of a conveying belt forming a curved inner track , and rotating in contact with the surface of the sheet bundle . 2. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein in the curved path portion, the rotor keeps the sheet bundle in a non-contact state or a low contact pressure state between the outer circumferential surface of the conveying belt forming the inner track and the sheet bundle. 3. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body has an outer peripheral portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the conveying belt forming the curved inner track toward the conveying belt forming the curved outer track . The conveying path includes a straight path portion extending in the vertical direction, and a first curved path and a second curved path extending curvedly from upper and lower ends of the straight path portion. 3. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein the second curved path forms an S shape. 3. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein one or more rotating bodies are provided according to the curvature of the curved path portion. 3. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1 , wherein the conveying path receives the sheet bundle from one curved path portion and discharges the sheet bundle from the other curved path portion via the straight path portion. 3. The sheet bundle conveying unit according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of conveying belts are driven by a single drive source. A post-processing apparatus comprising: the sheet bundle conveying unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7; and a cutting section that cuts the edge side of the sheet bundle conveyed through the conveying path.

Images