JPS6115017B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a long paper processing device, and more particularly to a device for folding and stacking continuous paper used in high-speed printers.

Normally, the length of one sheet (one page) of printing paper for line printers is determined based on the perforation, and it is folded into a fan shape along the perforation. fold paper”
(hereinafter referred to as paper).

Such paper is supplied in a folded state from a paper supplier, and after printing with a line printer, it is folded again to the same size as the original, and is cut as necessary for use. Note that equipment that has the function of folding printed paper and storing the folded paper is called a "stacker".

The paper supplied by paper suppliers has a so-called "fold" pattern due to perforations and forced folding. However, when printing with a line printer, etc., it is used in an enlarged state, so the above-mentioned folding pattern is somewhat lost, and when folding it again with a stacker, it becomes difficult to fold it normally according to the original folding pattern. Incomplete folding, or jamming, may occur.

By the way, the present applicant has previously proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-8949 that a type of laser recording device is capable of high-speed printing and has a high print quality in place of the conventionally used impact printers such as line printers. We proposed a new non-impact printer that has high performance and low noise.

That is, the laser beam is modulated in light intensity according to output data from a computer, etc., and the laser beam is scanned while forming an image on the surface of the photosensitive drum by a scanning means to perform exposure. An electric potential image is obtained, it is visualized by developing it with toner, the visible image is transferred to paper, and the transferred toner is fixed on the paper by heating or pressure to perform printing.

In general, in electrophotographic technology, heating or pressure, or both heating and pressure may be used as a means of fixing the toner transferred to the paper, and when such fixing technology is applied to the paper, the folding of the paper It is even easier to lose one's habits. For example, it is like applying an iron to the creases formed along the perforations, and the creases disappear as the residual moisture contained in the paper fibers evaporates.

Regarding the above-mentioned drawbacks due to the disappearance of paper folds, the present applicant has already reported in JP-A-53-85431 (paper loading device) and JP-A-53-85432 (paper folding device) that papers with paper folds disappear. However, we have already proposed a device that can fold the paper along perforations accurately and at high speed.

The present invention overcomes other deficiencies in prior art devices as described below.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the function of a conventional stacker, and is a sectional view taken in a plane perpendicular to the paper. 1 is a continuous sheet of paper to be folded, 2 is a folded sheet of paper, 3 is a feed roller for paper feeding,
4 is a pressure roller for paper feeding, 5 is a paper holder, 6
Reference numerals ₁ , 6 _{, 2} , and 6 ₃ denote belt suspension pulleys, which are rotatably supported by side plates (not shown). 7
A belt 8 is suspended over the pulleys 6 ₁ , 6 ₂ , 6 ₃ and stretched in a triangular shape so as to form at least two different slopes A and B and come into frictional contact with the continuously fed paper 1 . 9 is a detector for detecting the folding position of the paper, and 10 is a wing plate made of an elastic body integrally attached to the pulley ₆₁ .

Next, the process of folding sheets in this stacker will be explained. First, as a preparatory work, paper 1 is sandwiched between rollers 3 and 4, and then rollers 3 and
The portion of the paper on the leading edge side from 4 is folded in the state 2 of about two sheets along the perforations in the same direction as the pre-folded fold, and placed on the paper holder 5.

Next, the paper holder 5 is raised to the start position, and the end guides 8 are aligned with both left and right ends of the fold of the folded paper 2 on the holder 5.

Next, when power is supplied to the stacker drive motor (not shown), folding of the paper 1 starts.
That is, the paper 1 fed to the stand 5 side by the rotation of the feed roller 3 and the pressure roller 4 is folded in advance during the preparation work, and one end of the paper 2 is regulated by the right end guide 8 in the case of FIG. A so-called "waist" is formed in the sheet 1, and as the paper 1 is fed, it moves leftward in the figure from the solid line state a to the chain line state b in FIG. do. The left side belt 7 is rotated clockwise by a drive mechanism (not shown) at a rotation speed slightly faster than the paper feeding speed of the feed roller 3, and the paper 1 that comes into contact with it is transported downward while sliding due to frictional force. Therefore, paper 1 changes from state b to state c. Furthermore, the paper 1 is placed on the second inclined surface B of the belt 7.
The sewing machine is forcibly and reliably pushed into the wedge space formed by the inclined surface B and the top surface of the already folded paper on the table 5 in the order of state c to state d→e→f along the left end guide 8. At the same time as the eyes collide, "waist"
This drag force disappears, and the sheet is lightly struck and pressed from above by the blades 10 made of an elastic body attached to the roller ₆₁ , so that the sheet is folded accurately and reliably along the perforations.

At the same time as the left side of the paper is folded, the paper 1 is continuously fed, curved as shown in state f, and moved rightward toward the right belt 7. From then on, the paper 1 is folded by the right belt 7 in the same way as in the left side folding process. The right side is folded. When the left and right folding of the paper is performed alternately by the left and right belts 7 and the paper 1 is sequentially folded and stacked on the paper holder 5, the paper detector 9 is detected in accordance with the height of the top surface of the paper 2. When activated, a command to lower the paper holder 5 is issued, and the paper holder 5 is controlled so that the paper holder 5 is successively lowered and the upper surface of the folded paper 2 is always at a substantially constant position.

In the above, the first inclined surface A and the second inclined surface B of the belt 7 use the frictional force generated by the frictional contact between the surface of the belt 7 and the surface of the paper, and the stiffness of the paper to stabilize the paper. It is used to perform the work of pushing it downward and folding it in from the perforation. Therefore, the surface of the belt must be able to generate high frictional force without damaging the surface of the paper, especially the printed surface. That is, it is desirable to have an uneven shape similar to the tooth surface of a timing belt, and to be made of an elastic material such as polyurethane.

Incidentally, in this type of stacker, the sheets 1 have various sizes, and it is desirable that the stacker be configured to fold all standard-sized sheets. In general, the width or horizontal dimension of paper is determined by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
It has been standardized into metric sizes, which are represented by standards and JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards), and inch sizes, which are commonly used in the United States. However, the length of paper, that is, the vertical dimension, is usually expressed in inch size, not in metric values. For example, regarding length
There are six types of ISO standards: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 (inches), and the ones commonly used in the United States are 31/2, 51/2, 7, and 8 inches.
There are five types: 1/2, 11 (inch), and JIS standards include 9, 101/2, and 14 (inch) for 6 inches or more in addition to the above.

Furthermore, the paper is folded from the perforations and supplied by the above-mentioned paper suppliers of various lengths.
Paper sheets with a length of an inch or less are generally supplied folded in units of two pages.

In other words, the standard folded size (folded length) of the paper
is 7, 8, 8 1/2, 9, 10, 10 1/2, 11, 12, 14
It can be said that there are nine types of (inch).

Therefore, in a stacker having a folding mechanism as shown in Fig. 1, it is possible to fold sheets of different lengths, that is, vertical dimensions, by changing the distance between the left and right end guides 8, but the following It has been difficult to fold all standard size sheets due to the following two drawbacks.

One drawback is that the left and right end guides 8.
The problem is that the belt 7 can only move between the two rollers 6 ₁ and 6 ₂ forming the second inclined surface B of the belt 7, and its variable range is limited. That is, it is difficult to change the distance between the left and right end guides 8 to accommodate the entire folded size range from 7 inches to 14 inches.

Another drawback is that by moving the end guides 8, the contact area of the second inclined surface B of the belt 7 that makes surface contact with the paper 1 changes, so the paper folding ability changes depending on the paper size. Moreover, if sufficient frictional force is not available, it may result in misfolding or jamming.

As described above, in the conventional paper folding device, it is difficult to reliably fold all standard-sized papers simply by moving the end guide in accordance with the folding size of the paper.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional devices, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper folding device that can perform accurate and good folding for various folding dimensions.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 101 is a sheet of paper that is continuously fed;
102 is a sheet of paper in a folded state; 103 is a paper holder for loading and accommodating the paper 102 in a folded state;
104 is a paper 10 that is folded on a paper holder 103;
105 is a feed roller that feeds the paper 101 downward; 106 is a feed roller that presses the paper 101 between the feed roller 105 and feeds the paper 101 downward; A pressure roller 107 that can be freely moved toward and away from the paper 107 forces the fed paper 101 to the end guide 104.
A belt member such as a double timing belt with both teeth having a friction surface that can be pushed and folded toward
08 is a first pulley for driving the belt, 109 is a belt member stretched between it and the first pulley 108;
A second slope forming the first slope L1 on the belt 108
110 is a third pulley that forms the belt second inclined surface L2 between the second pulley 109, and 111 and 112 are the first pulley 108 and the second pulley.
The belt portion 1 stretched between the pulley 109 of
A fourth pulley and a fifth pulley are arranged to stretch the belt member between them so as to be parallel to 07, and 113 is a sixth pulley that applies appropriate tension to the belt member 107 to rotate it. 114 is a movable plate that pivotally supports the sixth pulley 113 and adjusts the position of the sixth pulley 113 so that an appropriate tension is applied to the belt member 107; 115 is a movable plate whose rotation center axis is coaxial with the third pulley 110; The blade plate is made of an elastic material that rotates in a predetermined direction in synchronization with the rotation of the belt member 107, and is made of an elastic material that ensures that the folded paper 102 will not be damaged by tapping the vicinity of the fold of the paper 102.

116 is the feed roller 105 and the belt 10
A power transmission mechanism ₁₁₆ consisting of a timing belt and gears is connected to the first pulley 108 on which the belt 7 is stretched.
117 is an electric circuit that controls starting and stopping of the drive motor 116 and supplies power; 118 is the second
- A moving side plate supporting the fourth pulleys 109 to 111 by bearings, 119 is a stay of the moving side plate 118 and a moving stay to which the end guide 104 is attached, 120 is between the first pulley 108 and the second pulley 109 Belt member portion 107 stretched over
a guide shaft installed parallel to ₁ and movably supporting the movable side plate 118 along it;
Reference numeral 21 indicates a through hole drilled along the guide shaft in the side plate 201 (FIG. 4) of the apparatus, and reference numeral 122 indicates a paper holder 10 to keep the top of the folded paper 102 in a predetermined position.
3 to detect the upper position of the paper 2 folded on top of the paper holder 103 and output a signal to control the elevating mechanism (not shown) of the paper holder 103. A pair of folding position detectors with optical axes set slightly tilted from parallel; 123 indicates paper 1;
124 is an entrance guide installed near the entrance of the device; 125 is a folding position detector 1;
This upper limit switch is attached to the moving side plate 118 so as to operate slightly above the detection level of 22, and is for preventing an upward overrun of the paper tray 103.

126 indicates the direction in which the paper 101 enters, and 127 indicates the rotation direction of the belt member 107. θ ₁ is the elevation angle of the first inclined surface L1 of the belt member 107, and θ ₂ is the second
The elevation angle of the inclined surface L2 is shown. L3 indicates the third inclined surface and the quality of that surface. L4 is the length (vertical dimension) of the sheet to be folded.

In Fig. 2, when folding a sheet of length L4,
First, as a preparatory work, left and right end guides 10
4 and 104 in parallel to both end positions of L4. Next, the pressure mechanism (not shown) of the pressure roller 106 that is in pressure contact with the feed roller 105 is released, and the paper 101 is placed between the rollers 105 and 106.
The leading end of the paper is set on the paper holder 103 with the paper interposed therebetween. After that, the paper 10 is pressed by the pressure roller 106.
Press 1. Then, when the sheet holder 103 is raised, the folding position detector 122 is activated, and the raising stops at a predetermined position. The preparation work is thus completed.

Next, when the printing device (not shown) starts operating, power is supplied from the electric circuit 117 to the drive motor 116, and the power transmission mechanism ₁₁₆₁ moves the feed roller 105 counterclockwise and the first pulley 108.
The left and right belt members 107 are rotated in the direction of arrow 127, respectively. Therefore, the paper 101 is transferred to the paper holder 1 by the feed roller 105.
03, and folding is started.

The paper folding process in the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is exactly the same as the paper folding process in the apparatus shown in FIG. That is, since one folded end (right end) of the paper is regulated by the right end guide 104, as the paper is fed from the feed roller 105, it forms a waist and moves along the first inclined surface L of the left belt member 107.
1,107 Contact ₁ . And that slope L1
The paper 101 that has come into contact with the belt member 107 is pushed toward the second inclined surface L2 along the first inclined surface L1 by the belt member 107 rotating in the direction of the arrow 127. The paper that has entered the second inclined surface L2 is folded toward the left end guide 104, and at the same time as it hits the end guide 104, the stiffness of the paper disappears at the perforation, and the blade rotates coaxially with the third pulley 110. 115 from above, it is folded from the perforation. Simultaneously with the folding of the left side of the paper, the paper 1 continues to be fed, and the right belt member moves in a curved manner in the 107 direction, and the left side of the paper is folded by the cooperative action of the belt and the blades 115 in the same manner as on the left side. In this way, the paper 1 is folded one after another by repeating left and right folding. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the first inclined surface L1 is set at an angle of θ ₁ =approximately 45° with respect to the horizontal, and the second inclined surface L2 is set at an angle of θ ₂ =approximately 20° with respect to the horizontal. Moreover, by using commercially available standard double timing belts as the belt members 107, reliable folding is possible.

In the highly reliable stacker provided by the present invention, even if the size of the paper to be folded changes, the first slope L1 and the second slope L2 of the belt member 107 are formed at a predetermined angle. In addition, the second inclined surface L2 is kept constant at a predetermined length or more, so that the performance can be sufficiently exhibited.

In other words, the book stacker is configured so that sheets of different sizes can be folded; for example, FIG.
A dimension L shorter than the paper length L4 shown in the diagram
This figure shows the state in which sheets of paper No. 4' are folded and stacked. In FIG. 3, L1' is the movable side plate 118
by moving the second pulley 109 upward along the guide shaft 120 to move the second pulley 109 to the first pulley 10.
Belt member 1 shortened by making it closer to 8
07, by this adjustment, the third inclined surface L3 in FIG. 2 becomes longer by that amount, as shown in L3' in FIG. 3. Also, the second inclined surface L
2, its length and angle do not change.

That is, before the adjustment shown in FIG. 2 and after the adjustment shown in FIG. is always kept constant as L1+L3=L1'+L3'=, and the length of the second slope L2 is constant. Therefore, even if the movable side plates 118 are moved parallel to the desired position along the guide shaft 120 according to the folded size of the paper, the belt member 1
07 and 107 are always stretched with constant tension without loosening.

Therefore, the present invention provides two different first and second positions of the belt members 107 and 107 by adjusting the position of the movable side plate 118 according to the change in paper size.
The slopes L1, L1' and L2 of are always at a predetermined angle θ
1 and θ2, respectively, and the second inclined surface L
Since the length of the stacker 2 is always constant, it is possible to obtain a stacker that can reliably and stably fold all standard size sheets, and the so-called purpose is well achieved.

Further, the folding position detector 122 is connected to the movable side plate 11.
8, and even if the size of the paper changes and the folding position of the paper on the paper holder changes, the elevating mechanism of the paper holder 103 can be controlled. Note that a detection failure of the position detector 122 occurred and the paper holder 103
In order to prevent the paper from continuing to rise, the paper holder 103
It is desirable to install an upper limit switch 125 on the movable side plate 118 to detect an overrun.

FIG. 4 shows an overall perspective view of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in which 201 is a side plate of the apparatus, 202 is a back plate, and 203 is a stay of the side plate 201. 204 is a pressure release knob of the pressure roller 106, 205 is a worm ₂₀₅₁ fixed to the shaft,
Knob for moving the movable side plate 118 in parallel, 2
06 is a timing belt that transmits the power obtained by turning the translation knob 205; 207 is a block that is attached to the movable side plate 118 and moves along the guide shaft 120; and 208 is a belt that is connected between the timing belt 206 and the block 207. A timing belt for transmitting power; 209 is a worm wheel; 210 is a bevel gear; 211 and 212 are pulleys for tensioning the timing belt 206 substantially parallel to the upper end slope of the side plate 201; 213 is a pulley 2
This is a pointer whose base is fixed to the belt portion between 11 and 212, and the tip of the pointer 213 is shown in the scale window of the folding dimension display panel, which is not shown in the figure.

When the knob 205 is turned, the worm 205 ₁ → worm 209 → bevel gear 210 rotates and the belt 20
6 rotates. Furthermore, the belt 208 also rotates in synchronization with this. As a result, the blocks 207, 207 attached to the belts 208, 208, respectively, move upwardly or downwardly along the guide shaft 120. As the blocks 207, 207 move, the movable side plates 118, 118 of the left and right belt mechanisms integrated with the blocks also move upward or downward, so that the distance L4 between the left and right end guides 104, 104 can be varied. .

Therefore, while watching the pointer 213, adjust the folding dimensions L4, L4' as desired by turning the knob 205 to the left or right until the pointer 213 matches the desired folding length position on the scale of the folding dimension display panel. You can. Note that it is also possible to use a motor as a power source for turning the knob 205.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the paper folding process in a conventional example, FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view. 101 is paper, 10
3 is a paper holder, 104 is an end guide, 105 is a feed roller, 106 is a pressure roller, 107 is a belt member, 108, 109, 110, 111.
112 and 113 are the first, second, third, fourth, and
5th and 6th pulleys, 114 is a moving plate, 115 is a blade, 116 is a drive motor, 117 is an electric circuit,
118 is a moving side plate, 119 is a moving stay, 120
is a guide shaft, 121 is a hole, 122 is a position detector, 123 is a jam detector, 124 is an entrance guide roller, 125 is an upper limit switch, 12
6 is the approach direction, 127 is the rotation direction, L1, L2,
L3 is the first, second, and third inclined surfaces in order, and L4 is the folded length of the paper.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The paper is stretched on a tensioning means so that the inclination angle with the top surface of the paper gradually decreases to form a curved inclined surface, and the paper is guided so as to contact the paper and fold the paper. a drive means for rotating the endless conveyance belt in a predetermined direction; a guide member for regulating the edge position of the sheet to be folded; and a drive means for rotating the endless conveyance belt in a predetermined direction; A paper folding device comprising: a moving means for moving the stretching means while maintaining a bent inclined surface in accordance with the movement of the guide member. 2. The bent state inclined surface consists of a first inclined surface with a large inclination angle and a second inclined surface with a small inclination angle, and the second inclined surface moves to a position where an appropriate inclination angle for folding is obtained. , claim 1
The paper folding device described in Section. 3. The endless conveyor belt has at least the inscribed first,
The first and second inclined surfaces are supported in an extended manner by second and third guiding means, and the second and third guiding means forming the second inclined surface are associated with each other. The paper folding device according to claim 2, which moves by moving. 4. The moving means includes a moving side plate on which the second and third guide means are supported, an attachment means for attaching the guide means, and a support that guides and supports the moving side plate so that it moves parallel to the first inclined surface. 4. The paper folding device according to claim 3, further comprising a member, wherein the guide means and the second inclined surface move in parallel. 5. The moving means has a paper folding position detector,
The paper folding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is configured to detect the position of the uppermost surface of the paper to be folded. 6. According to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the endless conveyance belt, the guide member, and the moving means are arranged and configured in the same shape at substantially symmetrical positions with respect to the paper feeding direction. Paper folding device as described.