JP7205291B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Among wide-width copiers (image forming apparatuses) using roll transfer paper, there is known a folding machine that forms an image on roll transfer paper, cuts the paper into a desired size, and then folds the paper.

As a related technique, a configuration in which a perforating blade is held inside a folding roller has been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Folding machines that can be externally connected to image forming apparatuses exist, but many of them are large-scaled and require a large installation space and usage costs, so there are cases where folding machines are not installed and folded by hand. . When the paper is folded by hand in this way, it is difficult to fold the paper evenly, resulting in non-uniform folding accuracy, such as uneven finishing. In order to avoid this, it is preferable to form a crease (folding line) on the paper surface to guide which position to fold.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration in which a perforating blade is held within a folding roller for the purpose of making a crease. However, since members for forming creases (perforations) are provided in the folding machine, creases cannot be formed without the folding machine. In other words, it cannot be used as a single wide-width copier, which causes problems of installation space and cost.

On the other hand, even if a folding machine is installed, additional folding takes time depending on the thickness of the paper, resulting in poor productivity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing the number of parts and the space occupied by a sheet creasing device.

In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet , a cutting unit that cuts the sheet into a specified size, and a feeder of the sheet. and conveying means for controlling rewinding and conveying of the sheet , wherein the cutting means includes both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet. in the same member, the cutter member is positioned upstream of the image forming section in the sheet conveying direction, and the conveying means is provided after the image is formed by the image forming section. The sheet wound in a roll is rewound, and the cutting means can switch between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, and the image formed by the image forming section and rewound by the conveying means. The cutting operation and the creasing operation are performed by the cutter member with respect to the portion of the sheet .

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and the space occupied by the sheet creasing device.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an image forming apparatus; FIG. It is a perspective view showing composition of a cutting device of an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment; FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure and operation|movement of the cutting device of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state of a cut line and a fold line in a sheet; 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating definition information of the number of crease operations and the crease method according to the thickness of paper according to the second embodiment; 9 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a third embodiment; FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the third embodiment; It is a figure which shows the structure of the cutter member of 4th Embodiment. It is a figure showing other composition of a cutter member of a 4th embodiment.

An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Also, in the following description, a paper medium is exemplified as a sheet, but a sheet made of plastic, cloth, or metal, for example, can also be applied.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1000 is a wide copier that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper based on image data obtained by reading a document. In addition, it may be a printer that forms an image based on image data received from the outside, or a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) that has functions such as a scanner.

The image forming apparatus 1000 includes a document reading section 100 , a paper feeding section 200 , an operating section 400 and an image forming section 500 .

The document reading unit 100 rotates the roller 1 and conveys the document inserted by the user through the insertion slot between the contact sensor 2 and the white roller 3 . The contact sensor 2 uses LEDs (light emitting diodes) to project light onto the document being conveyed, and forms an image of the reflected light on a reading sensor to read the document image information.

The operation unit 400 has a function of receiving a setting operation related to image formation from the user and displaying the state of the image forming operation.

The paper feed unit 200 includes a roll paper rotatably held by a support shaft 32 (hereinafter, the paper medium including the rolled state will be referred to as paper 31), a pair of delivery rollers 34, and a pair of transport rollers 35. , and a cutting device 36 for cutting the paper to a specified size. As will be described later, the cutting device 36 of this embodiment also has a function of forming creases that serve as guides when the paper 31 is folded.

The paper 31 is pulled out by a pair of delivery rollers 34 provided close to each other. A transport roller 35 that rotates together with the delivery roller 34 is provided downstream of the delivery roller 34, and both the delivery roller 34 and the delivery roller 35 transport the paper 31 at a constant speed.

A sensor for detecting the feed length of the paper 31 is provided on the transport path between the cutting device 36 and the transport roller 35 . The cutting device 36 cuts or creases the paper 31 when the conveyed length by the rotation of the delivery roller 34 reaches a specified length after the sensor detects the leading edge of the paper 31 . Note that the timing of cutting by the cutting device 36 and forming the crease is performed after image formation for the reason described later.

The image forming unit 500 includes a photosensitive drum 5 as a latent image carrier, a transfer roller 9 as a transfer member, a charging device 4 , an LED array unit 6 as writing means, a developing unit 7 , and a registration roller 37 . , a fixing device 12, discharge rollers 13 and 14, and the like.

The image forming section 500 transfers and fixes the developed image onto the paper 31 conveyed from the paper feeding section 200, and discharges it to the discharge tray. Specifically, first, the charging device 4 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 5 . An electrostatic latent image is written on the photosensitive drum 5 by the LED array unit 6 irradiating the photosensitive drum 5 with light.

Subsequently, the developing unit 7 develops the formed electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum 5 .

On the other hand, the paper 31 conveyed from the paper feeding section 200 is supplied to the lower portion of the photosensitive drum 5 by the registration rollers 37 .

Next, the toner image is transferred onto the paper 31 by the transfer roller 9 in synchronism with the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 . That is, the toner image on the photoreceptor drum 5 is transferred to the paper 31 at the transfer section 21 between the photoreceptor drum 5 and the transfer roller 9 .

Next, the paper 31 with the toner image transferred thereon is separated from the photosensitive drum 5 and sent to the fixing device 12 . The fixing device 12 applies heat and pressure to the paper 31 to which the toner image has been transferred to fix the toner image on the paper 31 .

In the conventional image forming apparatus, the paper 31 on which the toner image is fixed is discharged outside the apparatus by the discharge rollers 13 and 14 as it is. Become. After image formation by the image forming unit 500 , the image forming apparatus 1000 rewinds the rolled paper 31 , cuts the paper 31 by the cutting device 36 , and creases the paper 31 . After being cut and folded, the paper 31 is discharged out of the machine. The reason for this operation will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the sheet feeding unit 200 and the cutting device 36. As shown in FIG. The cutting device 36 has a cutter member 210 , a cutter support member 220 and a cutter moving member 230 . The cutter member 210 is a member that cuts and creases the paper 31 . The cutter support member 220 is a member that rotatably supports the cutter member 210 .

The cutter moving member 230 moves the cutter member 210 by conveying the cutter support member 220 in a direction (the Y-axis direction in the drawing; hereinafter referred to as the “scanning direction”) orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. The cutter moving member 230 has two rollers 240 , and an endless belt 250 is stretched between these rollers 240 . The cutter support member 220 is fixed at a predetermined position on the endless belt 250, and moves in the scanning direction in conjunction with the movement of the endless belt 250 as the roller 240 rotates forward and backward.

The cutting device 36 of this embodiment is provided at the same position as the existing cutting member, so that there is no need to change the mechanical layout of the conventional image forming apparatus. Due to this layout, that is, the layout in which the cutting device 36 is positioned upstream in the sheet conveying direction from the image forming section 500, the image forming apparatus 1000 transfers the image to the sheet 31, The paper conveyance is stopped, the paper is rewound to the roll tube, and then the paper is conveyed again, creased, and cut.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the image forming apparatus 1000. As shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 1000 includes a body control section 301 that controls each block, and each block operates according to instructions from the body control section 301 . The body control unit 301 includes at least a CPU 351 and a memory 352, and realizes control such as image formation through cooperative operations with each block.

The document reading unit 100, the operation unit 400, and the image forming unit 500 are units as described above. The main purpose of the image processing unit 310 is to process the image data read by the document reading unit 100 and to edit and arrange the images as instructed. The storage 320 is an auxiliary storage device whose main purpose is to input and hold calculation data and image data.

The paper transport unit 330 is a unit that controls the transport of the paper 31, and its main purpose is to feed the installed paper 31 to the transport path, transfer and fix the image, and discharge it outside the apparatus. The paper conveying unit 330 also controls feeding and rewinding of the rolled paper 31 held by the paper feeding unit 200 .

The paper cutting/crease operation unit 340 is mainly intended to control the cutting device 36 arranged on the conveying path, and realizes the operation of cutting or creasing the paper 31 .

4A is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the cutting device 36, and FIGS. 4B to 4D are diagrams for explaining the operation of the cutting device 36. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the cutter member 210 includes a cutting blade 211 that can cut the paper 31 and a crease blade 212 (sheet processing member) that folds the paper 31. flat plate). In this embodiment, one side of the flat plate is the cutting edge 211 and the other side parallel to the cutting edge 211 is the crease edge 212 . The cutting edge 211 is a flat plate end that is tapered and obliquely dropped, and the crease blade 212 is a flat plate end that is not tapered, that is, is not obliquely dropped. is.

The cutter member 210 is supported by a cutter support member 220 via a shaft 213 and arranged so as to be rotatable about the shaft 213 .

In this embodiment, when the cutter support member 220 is moved by the cutter moving member 230, it is possible to switch between using the cutting blade 211 and using the crease blade 212 according to the moving direction. When cutting the paper 31, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cutter support member 220 starts at the edge E1 of the paper 31 and advances toward the other edge E2. When the cutting blade 211 comes into contact with the edge E1 of the paper 31 during this movement, the cutter member 210 rotates about the shaft 213 and tilts from the posture shown in FIG. 4A to the posture shown in FIG. 4B. . By proceeding with this attitude, the cutting blade 211 functions to perform a cutting operation.

On the other hand, when folding the paper 31, as shown in FIG. 4C, the cutter support member 220 moves toward the other end E1 of the paper 31 with the edge E2 of the paper 31 as the initial position. When the crease blade 212 comes into contact with the edge E2 of the paper 31 during this movement, the cutter member 210 rotates about the shaft 213 and inclines to the posture shown in FIG. 4(C). By proceeding in this posture, the crease blades 212 function to form creases.

Further, after cutting and creasing, in order to separate the cutter member 210 from the paper 31, the entire cutting device 36 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4(D). As a result, there is no problem in conveying the sheet after it has been cut or creased. Also, when the cutter member 210 is set to the initial position before cutting or creasing, this separation operation is required.

With such a structure that allows the cutter member 210 to rotate, the blade to be used, that is, the function to be used can be switched by controlling the motion of the cutter support member 220 . Therefore, there is an advantage that an actuator for moving or fixing the cutter member 210 is not required.

The cutter support member 220 may be provided with a stopper member that prevents the rotation of the cutter member 210 so that the angle of inclination of the cutter member 210 is within a certain range.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the state of the paper 31 when the operation shown in FIG. 4 is performed. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the cutting device 36 first cuts the paper 31 by the operation described with reference to FIG. 4(B). Then, the cutting device 36 creases the paper 31 conveyed by the prescribed length by the operation described with reference to FIG. 4C, and then again creases the paper 31 conveyed by the prescribed length. The cutting device 36 repeats this creasing operation a specified number of times, and finally performs a cutting operation (FIG. 4(B)). By repeating such an operation, a sheet of a desired size with folds formed at equal intervals is produced. In addition, by forming a plurality of creases, it becomes a convenient state for performing bellows folding in which mountain folds and valley folds are repeated.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an operation example of this embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 6 is an example of the operation of creating a sheet for bellows folding.

The document reading unit 100 reads the document set by the user (S601). Then, the body control unit 301 acquires the bellows folding size (the size in the bellows-folding state and the sheet size for one sheet) input by the user via the operation unit 400 (S602).

When the image forming unit 500 starts printing (S603), the main body control unit 301 calculates the crease interval and the number of folds from the bellows folding size obtained in S602 (S604).

After that, the image read in S601 is transferred, that is, printed onto a sheet of paper under the control of the image processing unit 310, the image forming unit 500, and the sheet conveying unit 330 (S605: NO loop). After the image is fixed and the printing is completed (S605: Yes), the paper conveying section 330 rewinds the paper 31 to the position before the start of printing (S606).

This rewinding operation is performed to crease after printing. If the paper 31 is creased before image formation and transfer, the paper 31 does not come into uniform contact with the transfer section because grooves are formed in the sheet surface by the folding process. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rewinding operation is performed in order to avoid the problem that the density unevenness occurs at the folding line.

The sheet conveying unit 330 feeds the sheet 31 thus rewound by the length of the "creasing interval" calculated in S604. Then, the paper cutting/crease operation unit 340 starts the operation of forming a crease (hereinafter, this operation is referred to as the "crease operation") (S608).

When the sheet conveying unit 330 conveys the sheet to the folding interval (S609: Yes), the sheet cutting/crease operation unit 340 performs the crease operation (S610).

The body control unit 301 determines whether or not the prescribed number of folds has been exceeded (S611). If not (S611: No), the body control unit 301 separates the cutting device 36 from the paper 31 as described with reference to FIG. ) to the initial position (S612).

The operations of S609 to S612 are repeated, and when the prescribed number of folds is exceeded (S611: Yes), the paper transport section 330 transports the paper 31 to the cutting position (S613: No loop). When the paper 31 is conveyed to the cutting position (S613: Yes), the cutting device 36 performs the cutting operation shown in FIG. 4B (S614).

The paper conveying unit 330 conveys the cut paper 31 to the discharge tray, and the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 ends.

As in the present embodiment, by providing a conventional cutting device with a folding function, it becomes unnecessary to separately provide an external folding machine, and it is possible to reduce the occupied space. In addition, since the paper is creased, workability can be improved even in manual folding work, and the finish can be improved.

(Second embodiment)
When thick paper is folded, it may not be easy to fold, resulting in a poor finish. In the case of such a thick sheet of paper, deepening the crease groove makes it easier to fold. In the second embodiment, a crease operation is performed a plurality of times on one crease according to the thickness of the sheet to deepen the groove of the crease. In the following description, the number of crease operations performed on one crease is referred to as "the number of crease operations".

Also, based on such an aspect, a configuration in which the number of crease operations can be changed according to the thickness of the paper will be described.

In the second embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the number of crease operations is defined for each paper thickness (here, the paper thickness is indicated by the weight per square meter), This relationship table is stored in the storage 320 in advance. As a result, if the thickness of the paper 31 is detected or set by the user, it is possible to form creases suitable for the thickness of the paper 31 .

In the definition shown in FIG. 7A, if creases are not required, setting to 0 (zero) makes it possible to eliminate the crease operation. Also, the number of times may be changed as desired by the user.

However, when the number of crease operations increases, the required time increases accordingly, and it takes longer to discharge the paper. In order to avoid this, it is also possible to use the cutting blade 211 to make creases by dotted lines (perforations). In this case, by repeatedly performing the cutting operation of FIG. 4B and the separating operation of FIG.

In this embodiment, whether or not to use perforations can also be switched by providing a definition as shown in FIG. 7(B). 7B means that the crease operation of FIG. It becomes an operation to create a perforated crease. In the case of the definition of FIG. 7B, it switches between "streak" and "perforation" depending on the thickness of the paper.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation example in the second embodiment. Here, differences from the operation example (FIG. 6) in the first embodiment will be described.

After performing the bellows folding size acquisition process (S602), the body control unit 301 acquires the thickness of the paper 31 specified by the user via the operation unit 400 or the thickness of the paper 31 detected by the sensor ( S801). Then, when printing is started (S603), the main body control unit 301 selects the crease method (“streak” or “perforation”) or crease method according to the paper thickness acquired in S801. The number of operations is determined (S802). When the table of FIG. 7A is stored in the storage 320, the body control unit 301 determines the number of crease operations. When the table of FIG. 7B is stored in the storage 320, the body control unit 301 determines the crease method.

After the paper rewinding process is performed by the paper conveying unit 330 (S607: Yes), the body control unit 301 determines whether or not there is a crease operation (S803). Here, when the table in FIG. 7A is referred to in S802 and the obtained number of crease operations is 0 (zero), the determination result is that there is no crease operation. If there is no crease operation (S803: No), the process proceeds to S613, where the sheet is transported to the cutting position. On the other hand, if crease operation is to be performed (S803: Yes), the process proceeds to S608, and conveyance processing for folding and cutting is started (S608).

When the sheet is conveyed to the position of the crease (S609: Yes), the body control unit 301 determines whether the crease method is perforation (S804). If it is a perforation (S804: Yes), the cutting device 36 performs a crease operation for the perforation (S805). A crease operation using the blade 212 is performed (S806). The cutting device 36 performs the crease operation for the same crease the number of times determined in S802 (S807: No loop).

A series of operations shown in S609, S804 to S807, S611, and S612 are executed for the number of folds calculated in S604 (S611: No loop).

According to the second embodiment, the depth of folds can be changed or perforations can be formed to facilitate folding according to the thickness of the paper.

(Third Embodiment)
In the third embodiment, an aspect will be described in which a folding machine for actually folding sheets is separately provided externally to the image forming apparatus 1000 . As described in the first and second embodiments, even when the image forming apparatus 1000 alone outputs a printed matter, the crease is formed, so the paper 31 can be easily folded by hand. In the third embodiment, in addition to this, even if an external folding machine (hereinafter referred to as an external folding machine) is connected, a mode will be described in which the creases on the paper can be effectively utilized.

With external folding machines, differences in folding accuracy and finishing time occur due to differences in machine performance. Therefore, when a machine with a slow finishing time or a machine with poor folding accuracy is connected, the load of the folding operation can be reduced by forming creases (by deepening the creases) with the cutting device 36 in advance. , can be improved. For example, if the external folding machine can notify the time required to output the printed matter from the specified folding operation and paper length (hereinafter referred to as the finishing time), if the time is very long, the image forming apparatus For 1000, the number of crease operations is set in advance to facilitate folding.

On the other hand, if the external folding machine does not have a function to answer the finish time, the specs of the product already on the market can be checked. Determine the number of crease operations.

If there is no response from the external folding machine and the folding machine is not a known folding machine, the external folding machine will handle everything, and the image forming apparatus 1000 will output the printed matter without crease operation.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration example in the third embodiment. In addition to the configuration described in the first and second embodiments (see FIG. 3), the third embodiment has an external communication section 910 that controls data communication with the external folding machine. It is assumed that conventional communication means is used as the method of data communication. Also, here, it is assumed that the paper discharge port of the image forming apparatus 1000 and the paper supply port of the external folding discharge device are physically connected, and the paper 31 is transferred.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation example of the third embodiment. The basic flow of FIG. 10 is the same as that of FIG. 8, but control by communication with an external folding machine is added. This added control will be explained here.

After starting printing in S603, the body control unit 301 transmits paper information and folding information to the external folding machine via the external communication unit 910 (S901). The sheet information is, for example, information indicating the material and thickness of the sheet 31, and the folding information is, for example, the number of folds per sheet (the number of "folding lines" in FIG. 5) and folding intervals.

The body control unit 301 determines whether or not the estimated finishing time has been received from the external folding machine (S902). Note that the estimated finishing time here is the estimated time from when the external folding machine acquires the paper to when it is ejected, but it is the estimated time required only for the folding operation of the external folding machine. etc. Alternatively, it may be an index value representing the estimated finish time. If the estimated finishing time can be received from the external folding machine (S902: Yes), a correction value for the number of crease operations (=number of crease operations) for one fold is determined based on the received estimated time (S905). For example, when the predicted time is longer than the specified time, that is, when the prediction result indicates that it will take a considerable amount of time for finishing by the external folding machine, the main body control unit 301 sets, for example, "2" as a correction value so as to make deeper creases. Then, the number of crease operations is controlled to be two. On the other hand, when the predicted time is less than the specified time, that is, when the prediction result indicates that finishing by the external folding machine will not take much time, the main body control unit 301 determines "1" as the correction value, and the number of crease operations is reduced. It is controlled to be one time.

After that, the body control unit 301 calculates the interval of folding and the number of times of folding in the same manner as described above (S604), and performs the operations after S605 in FIG.

If the estimated finishing time could not be received from the external folding machine (S902: No), the main body control unit 301 waits for processing until timeout (S903: No). If a timeout has occurred (S903: Yes), and if an index value indicating the folding performance of the external folding machine is stored in the storage 320 (S904: Yes), the body control unit 301 calculates the number of crease operations (correction value) is determined (S906), and the process proceeds to S604. The index value indicating the folding performance is, for example, the number of folds that can be performed per unit time and the additional number of folds according to the thickness of the paper. and the specified time, it is determined whether or not to increase the number of crease operations.

On the other hand, if the index value indicating the folding performance is not stored in the storage 320 (S904: No), the main body control unit 301 treats it as no crease operation (S907), and performs the processes after S605 in FIG. 8 without doing anything. .

In the above description, the aspect of determining whether or not to increase the number of crease operations has been described. However, it is determined whether the crease is to be a streak or a perforation based on the estimated finish time of the folding machine that folds the paper. However, a mode of switching may also be used. In this case, the body control unit 301 makes the crease into a streaked fold when the predicted time is less than the specified time, and makes the fold into a perforated line when the predicted time is longer than or equal to the specified time.

According to the third embodiment, even when an external folding machine is connected, it is possible to crease and output the paper, and reduce the time required for the folding operation according to the performance of the external folding machine.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the fourth embodiment, other variations are exemplified regarding the cutter member.

FIG. 11 illustrates a cutter member 210A using circular blades. By designing in a circular shape, switching between using the cutting blade 211A and the crease blade 212A becomes smoother than in the mode shown in FIG. 4(A). In addition, since the contact area between the paper 31 and the blade is larger than that in the configuration shown in FIG. Further, by dispersing the wear of the members, it is possible to extend the life of the unit.

In the example of FIG. 11, the cutter member 210A is configured to operate according to the movement direction of the cutter support member 220, and the blade to be used is switched according to the conveying direction of the paper 31. FIG. By providing the cutter support member 220 with a cutter stopper member, the structure is such that rotation is stopped at a desired position.

FIG. 12 illustrates a structure on the premise of stopping the rotation of the cutter at an arbitrary angle. A major difference from the configurations shown in FIGS. 4A and 11 is that the cutter member is rotated by a motor and held at an arbitrary timing and at a specific position.

Since the blade to be used can be switched at any time, cutting and creasing operations are possible regardless of the direction in which the paper is transported. In the structure shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 11, the process of "separating the cutting device from the paper and moving it to the crease forming position", which was operated when making multiple creases, is unnecessary.

The cutter member 210B shown in FIG. 12 has the same cutting blade 211B and crease blade 212B on opposite sides of the same member (rectangular flat plate), and has the same function when the unit is rotated halfway. there is In other words, the cutter member 210B has a configuration in which the cutting blade 211B and the crease blade 212B are formed at positions that are symmetrical about a rotating shaft 213B that is supported by the cutter support member 220 . This makes it possible to extend the life of the unit.

In the above-described second and third embodiments, the crease operation is performed a plurality of times on one crease for thick paper, thereby deepening the crease of the crease and making it easier to fold. In addition to this aspect, the crease blade may be pressed against thick paper more strongly than usual, and the pressing force may be adjusted according to the thickness of the paper. That is, in the present embodiment, an image forming apparatus is disclosed in which the amount of crease (the amount of additional folding, the strength of pressing, and the number of times of pressing) can be adjusted according to the thickness of the paper.

A cutting unit corresponds to a configuration including the cutting device 36 , the paper cutting/crease operation unit 340 , and the main body control unit 301 . A conveying unit corresponds to a configuration including the sheet conveying unit 330 and the main body control unit 301 .

According to each of the above embodiments, an image forming apparatus having the following functions can be provided.
- The image forming apparatus alone can crease the paper. Therefore, the installation space can be reduced because an external folding machine is no longer required. In addition, the price of the product itself can be held down by reducing the machine cost.
・Before outputting to the folding machine, fold streaks can be added to shorten the additional folding time and improve productivity.
・Work load and man-hours required for folding work can be reduced compared to when there is no crease. In particular, it is possible to reduce the work load when manually folding the paper, and to improve the finish.

31: paper 32: support shaft 36: cutting device 100: document reading unit 200: paper feeding units 210, 210A, 210B: cutter members 211, 211A, 211B: cutting blades 212, 212A, 212B: crease blades 220: cutter supporting member 230: Cutter moving member 301: Main body control unit 310: Image processing unit 320: Storage 330: Paper transport unit 340: Paper cutting/crease operation unit 400: Operation unit 500: Image forming unit 910: External communication unit 1000: Image forming apparatus

JP-A-11-156794

Claims (8)

an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
a conveying means for controlling feeding and rewinding of the sheet and controlling the conveying of the sheet;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member;
The cutter member is positioned upstream of the image forming unit in the sheet conveying direction,
the conveying means rewinds the sheet wound into a roll after image formation by the image forming unit;
The cutting means can switch between a cutting operation and a creasing operation. An image forming apparatus that performs a cutting operation and a crease operation . an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member ;
The cutting means can switch between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, and adjusts the depth of the creasing according to the thickness of the sheet based on the estimated finishing time of the folding machine that folds the sheet. An image forming apparatus characterized by: an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member ;
The cutting means is capable of switching between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, and based on the estimated finishing time of a folding machine that folds the sheet, the creasing means is made into a crease-like shape according to the thickness of the sheet. , or perforation . an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member ;
The cutting means can switch between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, and adjusts the depth of the creasing according to the thickness of the sheet based on the estimated finishing time of the folding machine that folds the sheet. 1. An image forming apparatus characterized in that, when an estimated finish time cannot be obtained, the operation of forming the crease is not performed . an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member ;
The cutting means is capable of switching between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, and based on the estimated finishing time of a folding machine that folds the sheet, the creasing means is made into a crease-like shape according to the thickness of the sheet. , or perforation, and if the estimated finishing time cannot be acquired, the image forming apparatus does not perform the creasing operation. an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size ;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member ;
The cutting means has a cutter support member capable of switching between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, rotatably supporting the cutter member, and moving in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction,
The cutter member is a rectangular flat plate, and has a configuration in which the sheet processing member is formed on the side opposite to the side on which the cutting blade is formed, and the cutting blade or the sheet is attached to the sheet. An image forming apparatus that is rotated by bringing one of the processing members into contact with the image forming apparatus. an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size;
has
The cutting means
a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member;
The cutting means has a cutter support member capable of switching between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, rotatably supporting the cutter member, and moving in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction,
The cutter member is a circular flat plate, the cutting blade is formed on a part of the circumference, and the sheet processing member is formed on the circumference where the cutting blade is not formed. image forming apparatus. an image forming unit that forms an image on a rolled sheet ;
a cutting means for cutting the sheet into a specified size;
has
The cutting means includes a cutter member having both a cutting blade for cutting the sheet and a sheet processing member for folding the sheet in the same member,
The cutting means can switch between a cutting operation and a creasing operation, rotatably supports the cutter member, and can stop the rotation of the cutter member at an arbitrary position. having a cutter support member that moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of
The cutter member is a rectangular flat plate, and has a configuration in which the cutting blade and the sheet processing member are respectively formed at positions symmetrical about a rotation axis supported by the cutter support member. image forming apparatus.

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