JP2001220055A - Sheet processing device and image forming device provided with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the processing time in two section binding mode. SOLUTION: When the rear end side and the right and left end sides of sheet bundles accumulated on an intermediate processing tray 130 are aligned by a rear end stopper part 131 and side stoppers 141, 142, respectively, and a predetermined position in the direction of width on the rear end side of the sheet bundles is bound in two sections, the side stoppers 141, 142 are simultaneously moved in the direction opposite to the direction in which a stapler 101 moves toward a second section when the second section is bound after the first section is bound by the stapler 101 to move the sheet bundle by a predetermined amount L1 in the direction of width. Consequently, a required travel amount L2 of the stapler 101 is shorted by the travel amount L1 of the sheet bundle for a binding pitch L of the sheet bundle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus having the same, and more particularly, to an improvement in an operation for binding a predetermined position of a sheet bundle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional sheet processing apparatus of this kind, which performs staple processing at two or more places on a sheet, a large number of such apparatuses have already been known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 27, the operation in the two-point binding mode will be briefly described.

[0005] Sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus (not shown) are discharged one by one to a processing tray 1,
To form the aligned sheet bundle _Pn . When a predetermined number of sheets are discharged and aligned, the waiting stapler 3 first staples the first location (X1),
The rear end of the sheet is moved substantially parallel in the direction of the arrow to staple the second position (X2), and then the sheet bundle is moved to another tray as needed.

[0004]

However, according to the conventional example described above, if the stapler does not move to the desired binding pitch L, the second position cannot be stapled. It is necessary to increase the moving speed of the stapler, which may increase the complexity and cost of the apparatus. Further, in order to prevent a decrease in productivity, the binding pitch is also determined by the moving speed of the stapler, so that a wider binding pitch could not be obtained. Further, in order to obtain a wide binding pitch, the stapler needs to move by the pitch, which causes a problem that the size of the apparatus is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing apparatus capable of improving the efficiency of sheet processing operations while reducing the size and production cost of the apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a binding means for moving along an edge of a sheet bundle and binding a predetermined position of the sheet bundle. Moving means for moving the sheet bundle in a direction opposite to the moving direction to the binding position by the binding means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intermediate processing tray for temporarily accumulating sheets to be conveyed, a rear end aligning means for aligning a rear end side of the sheets stored in the intermediate processing tray, and an intermediate processing tray. A right and left end aligning unit that aligns the left and right ends in the width direction of the sheets stored in the tray; and the binding unit that binds the sheet bundle aligned by the rear end aligning unit and the left and right end aligning unit; The right and left end aligning means is configured to move the sheet bundle in which the rear end side and the left and right end sides of the sheet bundle stacked on the intermediate processing tray are aligned in the sheet width direction with respect to the intermediate processing tray. Characterized by having

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first and second aligning members are arranged so that the right and left end aligning means are opposed to each other so as to regulate the left and right ends in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray. Wherein the moving means moves the first and second alignment members substantially simultaneously in the sheet width direction with respect to the intermediate processing tray, and moves the aligned sheet bundle to a binding position by the binding means. Moving in the direction opposite to the moving direction of.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes:
The movement of the aligned sheet bundle is performed substantially simultaneously with the movement to the binding position by the binding means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes:
It is characterized in that the aligned sheet bundle is moved individually to the binding position by the binding means.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a discharge means capable of holding and discharging the sheet bundle accumulated on the intermediate processing tray, and wherein the moving means is configured to output the sheet bundle while the binding means is moving. To hold the sheet bundle in a sandwiched state.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes:
A first rack gear and a pinion gear connected to the first alignment member; and a second rack gear and a pinion gear connected to the second alignment member.
Rack gears and pinion gears, and first and second drive means capable of independently driving the first and second rack gears and pinion gears, respectively. The first and second alignment members can be independently moved along the sheet width direction with respect to the intermediate processing tray by the engagement.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet processing apparatus according to the first to sixth aspects, an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming means is transmitted to the sheet processing apparatus. Discharging means for discharging the main body.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus having the same will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus (copying apparatus) including a sheet processing apparatus.

In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus (copier)
An original mounting table 401 such as a platen glass for reading a copy source original D automatically fed, a light source 40
Document reading unit 400 including a lens 2 and a lens system 403
Sheet feeding unit 500 for image forming sheets P, image forming unit 600, sheet processing apparatus 1 for processing and stacking image-formed sheets P on which images are formed and discharged from discharge roller pair 302, etc. Is provided.

In the sheet feeding section 500, cassettes 501 and 5 which store sheets P and are detachably attached to the apparatus main body.
02 and the deck 504 placed on the pedestal 503
Is provided. The image forming section 600 includes a cylindrical photosensitive drum 601 and a primary charger 60 around the photosensitive drum.
2. Exposure unit 603, developing unit 604, transfer charger 60
5, a charging device 606 for separation, a cleaner 607, and the like are provided, and a transport device 3 is provided downstream of the image forming unit 600.
A fixing device 608 is disposed via the first fixing device 601.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 300 having the above configuration will be described.

When a paper feed signal is output from the control device 310 in the apparatus main body, the cassettes 501 and 50 of the paper feed unit 500 are output.
Sheet feeding from the second or deck 504 is started. On the other hand, the original D placed on the original
Is read by the light from the light source 402 and the lens system 4
The light is irradiated on the surface of the photoconductor drum 601 through the photoconductor 03. The photoreceptor drum 601 is charged in advance by a primary charger 602, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the drum surface by the irradiation of the reading light, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the toner of the developing device 604. Thus, a corresponding toner image is formed.

The sheet P fed from the sheet feeding section 500
Is fed to the image forming unit 600 with skew corrected by the registration rollers 505 and timed. Next, in the image forming section 600, the photosensitive drum 60
After the one-sided toner image is transferred onto the sheet P by the transfer charger 605, the sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is charged in the opposite polarity by the separation charger 606, and the photosensitive drum is charged. 601 plane. Then, sheet P
Is transported to the fixing device 608 by the transport device 301,
The transferred image is permanently fixed by the fixing device 608. And
The sheet P on which an image has been formed in this manner is transferred to the discharge roller pair 3
02 is discharged to the sheet processing apparatus 1 side.

(Overview of Overall Sheet Processing Apparatus) Subsequently, a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is an overall sectional view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In the figure, an inlet roller pair 2 is provided at the inlet side of the sheet processing apparatus (finisher) 1 and is discharged from the outlet roller pair 302 of the image forming apparatus 300 by the inlet roller pair 2. The incoming sheet P is accepted. The received sheet P is conveyed by the first conveying port pair 3, and the passage is detected by the sheet detection sensor 31 provided on the entrance side, and the sheet P is conveyed by the punch unit 50 provided on the way of conveyance. Sheet P
A hole is drilled near the rear end. Further, a relatively large-diameter buffer roller 5 is disposed in the middle of conveyance, and the sheet P is pressed against the roll surface by the pressing rollers 12, 13, and 14 arranged around the outside of the buffer roller 5. Conveyed.

A first switching flapper 11 for selectively switching between the non-sort path 21 and the sort path 22 is provided on the outer periphery of the buffer roller 5, and the sort path 22 and the sheet P are temporarily transferred. A second switching flapper 10 for switching with a buffer path 23 for storing is provided. Then, the sheet P in the non-sort path 21 is detected by the sensor 33,
The sheet P in the buffer path 23 is detected by the sensor 32. The sort path 22 is provided with a second conveying roller pair 6 that conveys the sheet P.

The intermediate processing tray unit 129 includes an intermediate processing tray 130, temporarily accumulates the sheets P, aligns the accumulated sheets P, and performs stapling by the stapler 101 of the stapling unit 100 (binding means). Provided to do. On the discharge end side of the intermediate processing tray 130, one of the discharge rollers constituting the bundle discharge roller pair, namely, the fixed lower discharge roller 18
0a is arranged. The first discharge roller pair 7 is disposed on the sort path 22 and transfers the sheet P to the intermediate processing tray 13.
0, and the second discharge roller pair 9
Is disposed on the non-sort path 21 and discharges the sheet P onto the sample tray 201.

The upper discharge roller 180b is provided on the swing guide 1
50, and when the swing guide 150 reaches the closed position, the sheet P on the intermediate processing tray 130 is discharged onto the stack tray 200 by being pressed against the lower discharge roller 180a. I do. The bundle stacking guide 40
Trailing edge of a bundle of sheets stacked on stack tray 200 and sample tray 201 (rear end in bundle discharge direction)
And also serves as the exterior of the sheet processing apparatus 1.

(Detailed Description of Staple Unit)
The staple unit (binding means) 100, which constitutes one of the main parts of the present invention, is particularly shown in FIGS. 3 (a side view corresponding to the main cross section), FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

A stapler (binding means) 101 is fixed on a movable table 103 via a holder 102.

The moving table 103 has a set of stud shafts 104 and 105 fixed parallel to the trailing edge of the sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray 130. Each of the stud shafts 104 and 105 has , Rolling rollers 106 and 10 respectively
7 are rotatably assembled, and each of the rolling rollers 10
6, 107 are a series of hole-shaped guide rails 108a, 108b, 10 drilled in parallel with the fixed base 108.
8c movably engaged.

Each of the rolling rollers 106, 107 has a flange 106a, 107a having a diameter larger than the hole width of a series of hole-shaped guide rails 108a, 108b, 108c, while a moving table 103 for holding the stapler 101. A support roller 109 is provided at three places on the lower surface side of the moving table 103. The moving table 103 is provided with a series of hole-shaped guide rails 108a and 108a.
It moves on the fixed base 108 along 8b and 108c.

Here, the series of hole-shaped guide rails 10
8a, 108b and 108c, as shown in FIG.
A main guide rail hole portion 108a and a left end guide rail hole portion 108 which is branched from the left end side of the hole portion and parallel to the left end portion.
b, and a right end guide rail hole portion 108c which branches off from the right end side and is parallel. Therefore, due to such a rail shape, when the stapler 101 is located on the left end side, the rolling roller 106 is moved to the rail hole portion 1.
08b, the rolling roller 107 is in the rail hole portion 1
08a is moved into the left end, respectively, and is maintained in a right-tilted posture in which it is tilted to the right side by a predetermined angle.
When located at the intermediate portion, each rolling roller 106, 107
Are maintained in a non-inclined, parallel posture in the rail hole portion 108a, and when the roller is located on the right end side, the rolling roller 107 is placed in the right end of the rail hole portion 108c. Are respectively moved into the right ends of the rail hole portions 108a, and are maintained in a left-tilted posture in which the rails are inclined leftward by a predetermined angle. The operation of changing the posture is performed by an operation cam (not shown). Further, the stapling unit 100 is provided with a position sensor (not shown) for detecting the home position of the stapler 101. In a normal case, the stapler 101 is waiting at the home position on the left end side.

(Detailed Description of Stapler Moving Mechanism)
The moving beam of the stapler 101 will be described.

One of the rolling rollers 106 of the moving table 103
The pinion gear 106b below the flange 106a
Are formed integrally, and a belt pulley 106c is integrally provided above. The pinion gear 106b
The rack gear 110 is connected to the output pulley of the drive motor M100 on the base surface via a drive belt stretched between the belt pulley 106c and the rack gear 110 fixed to the fixed base 108 along the rail hole. Are engaged
The movable table 103 is movable in the sheet width direction together with the stapler 101 in accordance with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor M100.

The stud shaft 111 extending downward from the lower surface of the moving table 103 is provided with a stopper knocking roller 112. The stopper knocking roller 112 will be described in detail later. Rear end stopper (rear end aligning means) 131 and stapler 101
In order to avoid collision with the rear end stopper 131, the rear end stopper 131 is rotated.

(Detailed Description of Rear End Stopper) Next, a description will be given of the rear end stopper 131 which abuts and supports the rear edge of the sheet P on the intermediate processing tray 130.

The rear end stopper portion 131 is formed so as to rise perpendicularly to the stacking surface of the intermediate processing tray 130, and abuts and supports the rear end edge of the sheet P.
The abutting support surface 131a is configured to be swingable downward on the arrow centering on the pivot pin 131b on the lower surface side of the intermediate processing tray 130. Further, the main link 132, which is pressed by the contact of the stopper depressing roller 112, is operated.
Is provided with a cam surface 132a, is positioned against the abutment plate 136, and is capable of pivoting around a shaft 134 fixed to a frame (not shown) against a tension spring 135. Have been. Then, the upper end pin 132
b, one end is connected to the rear end stopper 131 by a pin 1
The other end of the connection link 133 pivotally supported at 31c is slidably connected to the long hole.

Accordingly, in this case, with the movement of the movable table 103, with respect to the rear end stopper portion 131 located in an interference relationship with the stapler 101, the stopper falling roller 112 of the movable table 103 moves the cam surface 132 a of the main link 132. By pressing, it swings to the non-interference position shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, thereby avoiding collision with the stapler 101. Then, after the stapling process described later is completed, when the movable table 103 returns to the home position, the rear end stopper 131 also returns to the original state. here,
In order to keep the rear end stopper 131 at the avoidance position during the operation of the stapler 101, a plurality of stopper falling rollers 112 (here, 3
) Are arranged.

On both sides of the holder 102 for holding the stapler 101, a staple stopper (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3) 113 having a support surface having the same shape as the abutting support surface 131a of the rear end stopper 131 is provided. This enables the rear edge of the sheet to be supported even when the rear end stopper 131 is at the avoidance position.

(Overview of Intermediate Processing Tray Unit) Next, the intermediate processing tray unit 129 including the intermediate processing tray 130 will be described with reference to FIG.

The intermediate processing tray unit 129 includes an intermediate processing tray 130, a rear end stopper 131, left and right end aligning means 140, a swing guide 150, a pull-in paddle 160, and a bundle discharge roller pair 180.

The intermediate processing tray 130 is inclined by positioning the downstream side (upper left side in the figure) upward and the upstream side (lower right side in the figure) downward with respect to the sheet bundle discharge direction. , And the lower end, which is the upstream side,
The above-mentioned rear end stopper portion 131 is arranged, and a retractable paddle 160 which will
In addition, a pull-in paddle 160, a bundle discharge roller pair 180, and a swing guide, which will be described later, are provided at an upper end on the downstream side, specifically, in an upper region of the unit configuration. 150 are arranged.

The sheet P discharged from the first discharge roller pair 7 has its rear end edge abutting against the rear end stopper 131 due to its own weight and the action of a retraction paddle 160 described later. It slides on the intermediate processing tray 130 until it hits the surface 131a.

Further, at the upper end of the intermediate processing tray 130, one lower discharge roller 180a constituting the bundle discharge roller pair 180 described above is arranged, and at the front end of the lower surface of the swing guide 150, Lower discharge roller 180a
180b of the other upper discharge port 180b which comes into contact with and is freely separated from
Are arranged, and each of these discharge roller pairs 180a, 1
The drive motor 80b can be rotated forward and backward by a drive motor M180.

(Detailed Description of Left and Right End Aligning Means) Next, the left and right end aligning means 140 which constitutes the other main part of the present invention
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

The left and right end aligning means 140 is provided for the processing tray 13.
1 that aligns the left and right ends in the width direction of the sheet accommodated in 0
A pair of first and second side stoppers (alignment members) 141,
142, and moving means 145 for moving the sheet bundle whose rear end side and left and right end sides are aligned with respect to the processing tray 130 in the sheet width direction.

The first and second side stoppers 141, 141
142 is independently disposed on the surface of the processing tray 130 so as to oppose a lower portion and an upper portion (corresponding to both side ends of the sheet P) in the drawing, and has a first side stopper 141 on one lower side. And second second side stoppers 142 on the upper side of the other are alignment surfaces 141a and 142a perpendicular to the surface of the processing tray 130 for pressing and supporting the sheet side end surface, respectively, and the sheet. And rack gear portions 141b and 142b for supporting the back surface. The rack gear portions 141b and 142b
It is arranged on the lower surface side through a pair of guide grooves 130a and 130b parallel to the vertical direction (corresponding to the width direction of the sheet P) which is cut out on the surface.

The moving means 145 is connected to the first rack gear portion 141 connected to the first side stopper 141.
b and the pinion gear 143, the second rack gear portion 142 b and the pinion gear 144 linked to the second alignment member 142, and the first and second rack gear portions 14.
1b, 142b and the first and second drive motors M14 capable of independently driving the pinion gears 143, 144, respectively.
1, M142. The first and second alignment members 141 and 142 are moved in the sheet width direction with respect to the processing tray 130 by the engagement of the first and second rack gear portions 141b and 142b and the pinion gears 143 and 144, respectively. It is possible to move independently along.

That is, in summary, each of the alignment surfaces 141a, 141a
The rack gears 141b and 142b are mounted on the lower surface of the rack gear 2a so as to be movable in the alignment direction.

The rack gears 141b, 142
b, each drive motor M141, M142
The respective pinion gears 143 and 144 that are driven so as to be able to rotate forward and backward are meshed with each other, whereby the first and second side stoppers 141 and 142 can be moved in the alignment direction. Here, a position sensor (not shown) for detecting the home position of each of the first and second side stoppers 141 and 142 is disposed.
Reference numeral 41 denotes a lower end, and the second side stopper 142 stands by at each home position set at the upper end.

(Detailed Description of Swing Guide) Next, the swing guide 150 will be described.

The swing guide 150 is located at the front end of the lower surface corresponding to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, as described above.
The upper discharge port 180b that contacts the lower discharge roller 180a of the bundle discharge roller pair 180 is pivotally mounted, and the support pad 1 at the rear end of the lower surface corresponding to the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.
It is pivotally supported at 51 and is swingably supported by the driving drive of the rotating cam 152 by the drive motor M150. Here, the upper discharge roller 180b is brought into contact with the lower discharge roller 180a. The closed state is a home position, and a position sensor (not shown) for detecting the home position is provided.

In the normal case, when each sheet P is discharged onto the processing tray 130, the sheet P is opened (the lower discharge roller 180a is positioned relative to the upper discharge roller 180b).
Are separated, and the operation is shifted to the upward swing of the swing guide 150) so that the operations of discharging and aligning the sheet P and the retracting paddle operation described below can be performed without any trouble. When discharging the sheet bundle that has been processed on the tray 130 onto the stack tray 200,
The state shifts to the closed state (the upper discharge roller 180b abuts against the lower discharge roller 180a and the swing guide 150 swings downward).

(Detailed Description of Retraction Paddle) Next, the retraction paddle 160 will be described.

The pull-in paddle 160 is located above the processing tray 130 and is fixed to the drive shaft 161. The draw paddle 160 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 6 at an appropriate timing by a drive motor M160. The length of the paddle is set to be slightly longer than the distance to the surface of the processing tray 130, and the home position is a position where the first discharge roller pair 7 does not hinder the discharge of the sheet P onto the processing tray 130. (Position indicated by solid line in FIG. 6)
Is set to

When the sheet P is discharged onto the processing tray 130 in this state, the pull-in paddle 160
Is rotated counterclockwise, so that the processing tray 1
The sheet P ejected onto the sheet 30 and the trailing edge of the sheet P are pulled in until they abut against the abutting support surface 131a of the trailing end stopper 131. Thereafter, after waiting for a predetermined time, a position sensor (not shown) is used. It stops at the detected home position position with good timing.

(Detailed Description of Stack Tray and Sample Tray) Next, the stack tray 200 and the sample tray 201 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The stack tray 200 and the sample tray 201 can be selectively used depending on the situation. The stack tray 200 arranged below is selected when receiving a sheet bundle for copy output, printer output, etc. Is selected when receiving sheets for sample output, interrupt output, output when the stack tray overflows, function output, output when jobs are mixed, and the like.

The stack tray 200 and the sample tray 201 are held by tray base plates 202 and 203, respectively, and are fixed to the base plates 202 and 203 via mounting frame plates 204 and 205, respectively. M200, M20
In this case, each of them can be independently driven in the up-and-down direction, and in this case, both are configured in substantially the same manner. Is described only.

That is, a pair of frames 250, 250 is provided at both ends of the sheet processing apparatus 1 in the vertical direction, and a guide rail portion in the vertical direction is provided for each of the frames 250, 250. Rack gear members 251 and 251 are also mounted. And
A rear end portion extending from one of the tray base plates 202 (corresponding to the left end side with respect to the sheet width direction);
The mounting frame plate 20 facing this (also corresponding to the right end side)
The pair of guide rollers 206 and 207 are rotatably provided on the rear end portion extended from 4 respectively, and the guide rollers 206 and 207 are inserted into the corresponding guide rail portions, respectively. The tray 200 is held so as to be able to move up and down, and the restricting member 208 is engaged with the folded edge of one frame 250 to restrict and restrict the play in the sheet width direction.

On the other hand, the rotation output of the stepping motor M 200 is transmitted to the drive shaft 213 via the timing belt 211.
To the pulley 212. And the drive shaft 21
3 is provided with a ratchet wheel 215 urged by a spring 216 and capable of sliding only in the axial direction. The ratchet wheel 215 is unidirectionally engaged with a drive gear 214 on the shaft. Further, the idler gear 2 disposed at both ends on the driven shaft 217 is
One of the gears 18.218 is meshed, and the idler gears 218, 218 mesh with the rack gear members 251, 251 via lifting gears 219, 219, respectively. That is, the stack tray 200 can be moved up and down via a drive system including these gear trains.

The drive gear 21 on the drive shaft 213
Ratchet wheel 215 which is unidirectionally biasedly engaged with the wheel 4
Is provided when the stack tray 200 is lowered so that, for example, the drive system is not broken by foreign matter or the like. Here, a required amount of biasing force is applied to the spring 216. The stack tray 200
Only when the vehicle rises, it counters the urging force of the spring 216 in response to a preset condition and protects by idling, so if this idling condition, that is, an abnormality occurs, stepping is immediately performed. Motor M20
In order to stop driving of the idler gear 218, a clock slit or the like formed in the flange portion of the idler gear 218 can be detected by the sensor S201. Note that the sensor S201 is also used for step-out detection during normal operation.

Next, the arrangement of each sensor for controlling the vertical position of the stack tray 200 and the sample tray 201 will be described.

The sensor S202 is connected to the sample tray 201.
And detects that the sample tray 201 is located in a range belonging to an area from the upper limit position detection sensor S203a of the sample tray 201 to the sheet surface detection sensor S205 of the processing tray. Sensor S203
b indicates that the sample tray 201 has been moved from the second discharge roller pair 9 to the sample tray 201.
This is a sensor for detecting that the number of sheets P discharged upward has reached a predetermined number. Here, the sensor is disposed at a position corresponding to the number of stacked sheets 1000 from the non-sorted sheet surface detection sensor S204.

The sensor S203c is a sensor for detecting that the number of sheets P discharged from the processing tray 130 onto the sample tray 201 has reached a predetermined number.
It is arranged at a position equivalent to 000 sheets. Sensor S203d
Is a sensor for limiting the height of the stacking amount when the stack tray 200 receives the sheets P from the processing tray 130, and is disposed at a position corresponding to the number of stacked sheets 2000 from the sheet surface detection sensor S205. Sensor S2
03e is a sensor for setting the lower limit position of the stack tray 200. The stack tray 200 and the sample tray 201 are provided with sheet presence / absence detection sensors 206a and 206b, respectively.

Of these sensors, only the sheet surface detection sensors S204 and S205 are of a light transmission type that detects the presence or absence of the sheet P by transmitting light from one side edge to the other side edge. Here, each sheet surface detection sensor S20 is used as the sheet surface detection method.
4, when the respective trays 200 and 201 are raised from the lower part of S205 to a position covering the trays, the initial state is reached, and the tray 200 is lowered until the sensor optical axis appears after the sheets are stacked.
Thereafter, the ascent is repeated until the sensor optical axis is covered again.

Next, the sheet P in the sheet processing apparatus
Will be described for the case where the sheet size is A4.

(Flow of Sheet P in Non-sort Mode)
When the user specifies the non-sorting setting of the discharge mode of the image forming apparatus, the first switching flapper 11 of the sheet processing apparatus 1 receives the sheet P on the non-sorting path 21 side as shown in FIG. In this state, the entrance roller pair 2, the first transport roller pair 3, and the buffer roller 5 are respectively driven to rotate, and
The sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 300 is taken into the apparatus and conveyed to the non-sort path 21.
Then, when the rear end of the sheet P is detected by the non-sort path sensor 33, the second discharge roller pair 9 is driven to rotate at a speed suitable for stacking, and discharges and stacks the sheet P onto the sample tray 201. .

(Flow of Sheet P in Staple Sort Mode) When the user designates the staple sort as the discharge mode setting of the image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. The switching flapper 11 and the second switching flapper 10 move the sheet P to the sort path 22 side.
In this state, the entrance roller pair 2, the first transport roller pair 3, and the buffalo
Each of the rollers 5 is driven to rotate, and the sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 300 is taken into the apparatus and conveyed to the sort bus 22. Then, when the rear end of the sheet P passes through the roller 14 at the final stage, the sheet P is discharged onto the processing tray 130 by the knurled belt 8 and the roller 7b of the discharge roller 7a constituting the first discharge roller pair 7. In this case, since the swing guide 150 is opened upward, the upper discharge roller 108b is separated from the lower discharge roller 180a of the bundle discharge roller pair 180, and the retreat tray 170 is protruded to the protruding position. As described above, the sheet P is transferred from the processing tray 13
Even when the sheet P is discharged to the upper side, the leading end of the sheet P does not sag or the return failure described below does not occur, and the alignment of the sheet P on the processing tray 130 is favorably improved.

The sheet P discharged onto the processing tray 130
Starts to return to the rear end stopper 131 side due to its own weight, and in addition to this, the return operation is promoted as the paddle 160 stopped at the home position rotates counterclockwise. When the rear end of the sheet P is stopped against the rear end stopper 131, the rotation of the paddle 160 is also stopped, and the first and second side stoppers 141 and 14 are then stopped.
2, the sheet bundle is stacked on the stack tray 200 by the binding of the sheet bundle by the stapling operation, and the discharge operation by the bundle discharge roller pair 180 with the swing guide 150 closed. You.

In the meantime, the sheet P discharged from the image forming apparatus 300 during the period is, as shown in FIG.
The switching operation of the switching flapper 10 causes the buffer roller 5
At a point where the leading edge of the next sheet P has advanced a predetermined distance from the entrance sensor 31 when the leading end of the next sheet P has advanced a predetermined distance from the entrance sensor 31, as shown in FIG. As shown, the rotation of the buffer roller 5 causes the first sheet P1 to be two times larger than the _first sheet P1.
In a state in which the direction of the sheet P ₂ day sheets are superposed in advance by a predetermined length, as shown in FIG. 14, but wound around the buffer roller 5 again, further, as shown in FIG. 15, three days sheet is than wrapped buffer roller 5 Similarly for P _3, then re-switch the second switching flapper 10, three sheets P ₁ of superposed by thus shifting the tip at a time a predetermined length, P ₂ , P ₃
To the sort path 22.

At this point, the sheet bundle discharging operation has been completed. Here, as shown in FIG. 16, while the swinging guide 150 is closed, the bundle discharging unit that rotates forward in the discharging direction is discharged. outlet one roller pair 180a of 3 Like · 180b comes is the transfer sheet P _1, P _2, once receiving the P _3. Then, as shown in FIG. 17, the end of the three sheets P
At the time when the sheet passes through the pair of discharge rollers 7a and 7b and comes into contact with the surface of the processing tray 130, the pair of bundle discharge rollers 180a and 180
0b is reversed and the three sheets P received are returned, and the end of the three sheets P is
Before being abutted against the 31st surface, for example, as shown in FIG. 18B, a gap a is left between the end of the three sheets P having the gaps b and b and the trailing end stopper 131 surface. 18B, the swing guide 150 is opened and the bundle discharge roller pair 180a, 180b is opened, as shown in FIG.
The gap is separated (FIG. 18A). Then, the fourth and subsequent sheets P are discharged onto the processing tray 130 through the sort path 22 in the same manner as the operation of the first copy. For the third copy and thereafter, the same operation as that of the second copy is repeated, the sheets are stacked on the stack tray 200 corresponding to the set number of copies, and the process ends.

As described above, in the plurality of superimposed conveyances, each sheet P is offset in the conveyance direction. That is, the sheet P ₂ relative to the seat P ₁ is offset to the downstream side, the sheet P ₃ is offset to the downstream side with respect to the sheet P _2. Here, the offset amount between the sheets P and the separation of the roller of the swing guide 150 (up).
The start timing is the bundle discharge roller pair 180a, 180b
It is related to the settling time of the sheet P depending on the returning speed. That is, it is determined by the processing capacity of the image forming apparatus 300, and in the present embodiment, the sheet P is conveyed at 750 mm / s, the offset amount b is about 20 mm, and the bundle discharge roller return speed is 500 mm / s. spaced starting position, butted about 40mm end of the sheet P ₁ is the rear end stopper 131 side (the value of the interval a)
The timing is set at the point when it reaches this side.

(Explanation of Sort Mode) After the user sets a document on the document reading section 400 of the image forming apparatus 300, the user designates the sort mode on an operation section (not shown) and turns on a start key (not shown). . As a result, as shown in FIG. 19, the entrance roller pair 2 and the first transport roller pair 3 transport the sheet P and load it on the processing tray 130 as in the case of the staple sort mode. The left and right end aligning means 140 stacks a small number of sheets on the processing tray 130 while aligning the sheet bundle on the processing tray 130, and then the swing guide 150 descends in the closing direction as shown in FIG. The small number of sheet bundles are conveyed.

Next, the conveyed sheet P is again wound around the buffer roller 5 as in the case of the staple sort mode, and the processing tray 13 after the bundle discharge is completed.
Drained above zero. Here, it is desirable that the number of the minority bundles to be discharged is 20 or less according to experimental results. The number of sheets is set so that the number of original sheets ≧ the number of sheets to be discharged ≦ 20 is satisfied.

Accordingly, if the number of sheets to be discharged in a bundle when the program is set is set to five, when the number of documents is four, the sheets are discharged in a bundle of four sheets. If the number of originals is 5 or more, for example, if it is 14, the originals are divided into 5 + 5 + 4, and aligned and discharged in a bundle.

When all the bundles of the first set have been discharged, the alignment member 141 on the left side moves together with the alignment member 142 on the right side, and the alignment position of the second copy is changed to the alignment position of the first copy. Offset (the details of this operation will be described later). The second set is aligned at the offset position, and a small number of sheets are discharged in bundles like the first set. When the second copy is completed, the first and second side stoppers 141, 14
No. 2 returns to the position where the first copy has been aligned and aligns the third copy. In this way, as shown in FIG. 21, all the set number of copies are completed while shifting the sheet bundles from each other.

(Explanation of Matching and Stapling) First,
When there is no sheet P on the processing tray 130, that is, when the first sheet P (three sheets) of the job is discharged, as shown in FIG. First and second side stoppers 141, 142
Are previously moved to positions PS11 and PS21 which have slightly escaped to the outside of the width of the sheet P to be discharged.

As described above, when the three sheets P are supported by the rear end stopper 131 at the rear end and the support surfaces 141c, 142c of the alignment members 141, 142 at the rear end, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 23, the first and second side stoppers 14
1, 142 move to the positions PS12 and PS22 to move and align the sheet P to the first alignment position 190. Thereafter, the first side stopper 141 returns to the position PS11 and waits for the sheet P to be subsequently discharged. When the sheet is discharged, the first side stopper 141 moves to the position PS12 again and removes the discharged sheet P. Move and align to first alignment position 190.

At this time, the second side stopper 142
Plays a role as a reference position by continuing to stop at the position PS22. The above operation is continued until the bundle reaches the last sheet P. Therefore, since the alignment operation is performed in this manner, for example, it is possible that the end of the moving sheet P as shown in FIG. 24 collides with the end of the support surface 142c and causes buckling. Absent.

The sheet bundle of the first set after the alignment is completed is subjected to a bundle shift and a stapling process as necessary, discharged, and transferred and stacked on the stack tray 200.

Subsequently, the second sheet P (three sheets) is discharged to the processing tray 130. At this time, the first and second side stoppers 141 and 142 are located at the position PS11 in the same manner as the first sheet. , PS21, the alignment position moves to the second alignment position 191. This second alignment position 191
Is located a predetermined amount L to the right with respect to the first alignment position 190, as shown in FIG.

That is, thereafter, the stacking is performed on the stack tray 200 while changing the alignment position for each sheet bundle, and the sorting and stacking by the offset amount L becomes possible.

Here, for the offset amount L,
It may be changed between the sort mode and the staple mode. For example, in the staple mode, an amount L ₁ (about 15 m
m) and then, in the sort mode, by an amount L ₂ (about 20 to 30 mm) the visibility of bundle discrimination is improved, stay aligned movement distance of the pull mode can work to improve the shortened processing speed.

Next, in the staple mode, the stapler 101 is in a standby state at a desired clinch position for the sheet bundle to be aligned, and when the discharge of the last sheet P of the bundle and the alignment thereof are completed, the stapling is performed. Is what you do. As described above, the alignment position of the sheet bundle is
The stapler 101 moves according to the offset amount L for each bundle.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the one-position binding mode, after the stapling process, the swing guide 150 is closed, and the bundle discharge roller pair 180 is rotated forward to discharge the bundle to the stack tray 200. In the two-position binding mode, during the alignment operation, the stapler 101 is waiting at the first position 101a for binding (see FIG. 23). After alignment, stapler 1
01 indicates that the staple binding is performed on the sheet bundle at the first position 101a where the staple binding is performed, and the second staple binding position 101b
(In the direction of arrow k in FIG. 23) is started.

At this time, the PS
12. First and second side strikes stopped at PS22.
The hoppers 141 and 142 are almost simultaneously (at the same speed) from that state.
In the direction opposite to the moving direction k of the stapler 101
A predetermined amount L for each bundle_ThreeJust move. In addition, lower bundle discharge
Roller 180a is reversed, and the sheet bundle is moved to the rear end stopper side.
When the stapler 101 moves,
It is possible to prevent the movement of the bundle. In this case,
When the stapling pitch amount is set to L, the stapler 1
Required moving distance L of 01_FourIs L_Four= L-L_Three  And L for the set pitch_ThreeIn minutes
You. Therefore, the cost associated with the high-speed movement of the stapler 101
Up, and furthermore, binding at two places while preventing the device from becoming larger.
The mode can be processed at high speed.

The stapler 101 that has moved to the second binding position 101b binds the second location at the same time as
As in the case of the location binding mode, the swing guide is closed, and the bundle is discharged to the stack tray 200 by the forward rotation of the bundle discharge roller pair 180.

In the present embodiment described above, the left and right end aligning means 140 is used as a means for moving the sheet bundle in a direction opposite to the movement of the stapler 101, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, another configuration may be used.

Although the example of two-point binding has been described as the number of binding locations, the same operation can be performed with three or more bindings.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the movement of the stapler 101 and the movement of the bundle are performed simultaneously for the purpose of high-speed processing has been described. However, the movement of the stapler 101 and the movement of the bundle are not performed simultaneously, If the swing guide 150 is closed during the movement, and the bundle is nipped by the bundle discharge roller pair 180, the bundle displacement due to the movement of the stapler can be prevented.

The configuration in which the stapler 101 is turned in accordance with the binding mode (diagonal binding at the left end, diagonal binding at the right end, two-position binding) has been described above. It is on the street. However, in this configuration, the range in which the same stapling posture (horizontal and each inclined state) can be maintained is limited, and furthermore, there are a large number of sheet widths for performing the stapling process, and the same Since the stapling process may not be performed at the alignment position, the first and second alignment positions 19 corresponding to each binding mode may be used.
0,191 may be changed.

In the staple sort mode described above, the stapler 101 is in a standby state at a desired clinch position for a sheet bundle to be aligned. However, the standby position may be different from the staple position. In this case, during the alignment operation, the stapler 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a standby position at a standby position distant from the sheet bundle (staple position).
The sheet bundle is moved in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the stapler 101 in parallel with the movement of the stapler 1 to the stapling position. The operation of moving the bundle and the effect of reducing the required moving amount of the stapler 101 are the same as those described above. This movement can be applied not only to the single binding mode but also to the first binding mode.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of movement of the binding means can be reduced by the amount of movement of the sheet bundle, and the speed of sheet processing can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a schematic configuration of the sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the staple unit.

FIG. 4 is a view in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of a swing guide and a processing tray.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a processing tray and an alignment member moving mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a stack tray moving mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a sensor arrangement diagram around a stack tray.

FIG. 10 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a non-sort mode.

FIG. 11 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 12 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 13 is an operation diagram of the sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 14 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 15 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 16 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 17 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 18 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a staple sort mode.

FIG. 19 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a sort mode.

FIG. 20 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a sort mode.

FIG. 21 is an operation diagram of a sheet processing apparatus in a sort mode.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a processing tray illustrating an operation of aligning a sheet bundle.

FIG. 23 is a plan view of a processing tray illustrating an operation of aligning a sheet bundle.

FIG. 24 is a front view of a processing tray illustrating an operation of aligning a sheet bundle.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of a processing tray illustrating an operation of aligning a sheet bundle.

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the processing tray showing an operation in a two-position binding mode.

FIG. 27 is a plan view showing a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P sheet 1 Sheet processing device 2 Inlet roller pair 3 First transport roller pair 5 Buffer roller 6 Second transport roller pair 7 First discharge roller pair 9 Second discharge roller pair 10 Second switching flapper 11 First switching flapper 12, 13 , 14 pressing roller 21 non-sort path 22 sort path 23 buffer path 33 sheet detection sensor in non-sort path 32 sheet detection sensor in buffer path 40 bundle stacking guide 50 punch unit 100 staple unit (binding means) 101 stapler (binding means) 102 Holder 103 Moving table 104, 105 Stud shaft 106, 107 Rolling roller 106a, 107a Flange 108 Fixed table 108a, 108b, 108c Hole guide rail 109 Support roller 110 Rack gear 111 Stud shaft 112 Stopper Roller 113 Stipple stopper 129 Processing tray unit 130 Intermediate processing tray 130a, 130b Guide groove 131 Rear end stopper (rear end alignment means) 131a Butt support surface 131b Pivot pin 131c Pivot pin 132 Main link 132a Cam surface 132b Pivot pin 133 connecting link 134 shaft 135 tension spring 136 abutment plate 137 main link 140 left and right end alignment means 141, 142 alignment member (side stopper) 141a, 142b alignment surface 141b, 142b rack gear 143, 144 pinion gear 145 moving means 150 swing guide 160 pull-in paddle 180 bundle discharge roller pair 180a lower discharge roller 180b upper discharge roller 200 stack tray 201 sample tray A alignment processing position B binding processing position C Sheet bundle transfer means 300 image forming apparatus 301 transport apparatus 302 discharge roller pair 400 document reading section 401 document mounting table 402 light source 403 lens system 500 paper feed section 501, 502 cassette 503 pedestal 504 deck 505 registration roller 600 image forming section 601 photosensitive Body drum 602 Primary charger 603 Exposure unit 604 Developer 605 Transfer charger 606 Separation charger 607 Cleaner 608 Fixer

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H072 CA01 GA08 HB07 JA02 JA04 3F054 AA01 AC02 BA02 BG02 BG04 BH13 BH14 DA01 DA12 DA14 3F108 GA02 GB01 HA02 HA36 HA39

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A binding unit that moves along an end of a sheet bundle and binds a predetermined position of the sheet bundle, and moves the sheet bundle in a direction opposite to a moving direction to a binding position by the binding unit. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising: a moving unit. 2. An intermediate processing tray for temporarily accumulating sheets to be conveyed, rear end aligning means for aligning a rear end side of a sheet stored in the intermediate processing tray, and a sheet stored in the intermediate processing tray. Right and left end alignment means for aligning the left and right end sides in the width direction of the width direction, and the binding means for binding the sheet bundle aligned by the rear end alignment means and the left and right end alignment means,
The left and right end aligning means moves the sheet bundle in which the rear end side and the left and right end sides of the sheet bundle accumulated on the intermediate processing tray are aligned in the width direction of the sheet with respect to the intermediate processing tray. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising the moving unit. 3. The left and right end aligning means includes first and second aligning members arranged to oppose each other so as to regulate the left and right ends in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the intermediate processing tray. Means for moving the first and second alignment members substantially simultaneously in the sheet width direction with respect to the intermediate processing tray, and moving the aligned sheet bundle in a direction opposite to a moving direction to a binding position by the binding means; The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is moved. 4. The sheet processing according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit performs the movement of the aligned sheet bundle substantially simultaneously with the movement to the binding position by the binding unit. apparatus. 5. The sheet processing according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit individually moves the aligned sheet bundle to a binding position by the binding unit. apparatus. 6. A discharge unit capable of holding and discharging a sheet bundle accumulated on the intermediate processing tray, wherein the moving unit holds the sheet bundle by the discharge unit while the binding unit is moving. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, wherein: 7. The moving means includes: a first rack gear and a pinion gear connected to the first alignment member; a second rack gear and a pinion gear connected to the second alignment member; First and second drive means capable of independently driving first and second rack gears and pinion gears, respectively, and the first and second rack gears and pinion gears mesh with each other so that 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second alignment member is independently movable along the width direction of the sheet with respect to the intermediate processing tray. 5. 8. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and a main body discharging unit that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit to the sheet processing apparatus.