JP2008068974A - Sheet handling device and image forming device equipped with it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent unnecessary bookbinding or improper bookbinding from occurring depending on the number of sheets when aligning sheets fed sequentially from an image forming device to form a bundle and applying adhesive. <P>SOLUTION: This sheet handling device is provided with an accumulation tray means for aligning sheets to form a bundle, an adhesive applying means for applying adhesive to the bundle of sheets from the tray means, a counting means for counting the number of bundles of sheets accumulated on an accumulation tray, a control means for controlling the adhesive applying means, and a sheet bundle thickness detection means for detecting thickness of bundle of sheets. The control means is provided with a limit number setting means for setting the minimum allowable number and/or maximum allowable number of bundles of sheets on which adhesive is applied by the adhesive applying means and a comparison means for comparing the number of bundles of sheets obtained from the counting means with the limit number set by the limit number setting means. The control means is constituted to determine whether adhesive is applied by the adhesive applying means or not based on the results of comparison by the comparison means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that aligns sequentially supplied sheets into a bundle, applies an adhesive to the sheet bundle, and binds and binds the sheets, automatically binding sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus or the like. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus in which processing conditions can be easily set during processing and does not cause erroneous processing, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet processing apparatus.

  In general, this type of sheet processing apparatus, for example, stacks sheets imaged from an image forming apparatus on a stacking tray in a bundle and aligns the sheets, and applies an adhesive to the sheet bundle by an adhesive application unit. It is widely known as a bookbinding device as a booklet. Various bookbinding methods are used, such as top binding for binding sheets from the image forming apparatus or case binding for binding sheets from the image forming apparatus with a cover sheet.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an automatic bookbinding system in which a bookbinding apparatus is connected to an image forming apparatus as a post-processing apparatus, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a bookbinding apparatus is connected to a discharge port of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer. In this bookbinding apparatus, the sheets from the image forming apparatus are aligned in a bundle shape, and an adhesive is applied to the end surface of the sheet bundle to bind the bookbinding. In this document, an adhesive is applied to a sheet bundle from an image forming apparatus, and this and the cover sheet are bound together (case binding) to create a booklet sheet, and the peripheral edge is trimmed and trimmed ( System). In such an apparatus, when the adhesive is applied to the end face of the sheet bundle, if the adhesive does not permeate between the leaves of the sheet, a bookbinding failure such as a missing page is caused, and conversely, the adhesive is more than necessary between the leaves of the sheet. It is known that when the sheet penetrates, bookbinding defects such as bonding of sheets to each other or leakage of adhesive to the back cover are caused.

Therefore, it is necessary to set the adhesive application conditions to optimum conditions so as not to cause these bookbinding defects. On the other hand, various conditions are set, for example, by setting image forming conditions and bookbinding processing modes on a control panel provided in the image forming apparatus (or post-processing apparatus). In addition, the image forming apparatus that constitutes such a system is multifunctional so that various printing methods such as front / back printing for forming images on the front and back sides of the sheet and composite printing for combining multiple pages on the sheet for printing can be selected. ing. Further, such a multifunctional image forming apparatus has been constructed as a network system that is controlled as a terminal device such as a computer.
JP 2005-335262 A

  As described above, the sheet processing apparatus connected to the multifunctional image forming system over the network may cause the following operation error when the adhesive is applied to the image-formed sheet and bound. For example, when there are several tens of original data, if the user sets the print condition setting to composite printing, the number of output sheets may be one or several. In such a case, if the bookbinding binding mode is set, it may occur that an adhesive is applied to one sheet. This is because, for example, when the document data is 32 sheets, bookbinding binding is set, and in order to suppress the number of prints as much as possible, an image of 16 pages is placed on the first page, and similarly on the back side. When setting (16-in-1 duplex setting) is set, only one sheet is output. In the same setting, even if the document data is 64 sheets, the number of sheets to be output is only 2. Therefore, it can be easily understood that an erroneous setting can be easily made by setting the binding condition.

  On the other hand, in the sheet processing apparatus in which the sheets are aligned and the adhesive is applied to the end face, even if the adhesive is applied to one or a few sheet bundles, the sheet end face is bent and cannot be normally applied. Sometimes. Conversely, in the case of a large number of sheet bundles of a predetermined number or more or a predetermined bundle thickness, the adhesive does not uniformly permeate between the leaves, causing a bookbinding failure such as a missing page (binding failure). Naturally, the number of sheet bundles to be coated has a lower limit and an upper limit.

  Regardless of these circumstances, the bookbinding binding process is conventionally performed under the conditions set by the user, so the number of sheets output from the image forming apparatus exceeds the lower limit and the upper limit of the number of bindings provided in the adhesive application mechanism. Even if it exceeds, bookbinding binding processing is executed to cause a problem of bookbinding mistakes such as missing pages or inferior quality of bookbinding.

In view of this, the present invention may cause unnecessary bookbinding binding to a bundle of sheets having a very small number of sheets when the adhesive is applied by aligning the sheets sequentially supplied from an image forming apparatus or the like into a bundle. The main problem is to provide a sheet processing apparatus that does not cause binding failure by applying an adhesive when the number of sheets and the sheet bundle thickness exceed the limits.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which image forming conditions and binding processing conditions can be easily set when automatically binding a sheet conveyed from an image forming unit, and a high-quality bookbinding binding is possible. Is the issue.

To achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.
The stacking tray means for aligning sheets fed sequentially into a bundle, the adhesive applying means for applying an adhesive to the sheet bundle from the tray means, and the number of sheet bundles stacked on the stacking tray are counted. A counting means and a control means for controlling the adhesive application means are provided. The control means includes a limit number setting means for setting a minimum allowable number and / or a maximum allowable number for applying the adhesive by the adhesive application means, a number of sheet bundles from the counting means, and the limit number setting means. Comparing means for comparing with the limit number of sheets set in (1) is provided. Therefore, the control means is configured to determine whether or not to perform the application operation of the adhesive application means in accordance with the comparison result from the comparison means.

  Whether the control means is configured to (1) prohibit the operation of the adhesive application means when the number of sheet bundles is equal to or less than the limit number in the comparison result of the comparison means. Sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle aligned by the tray means is provided, and the control means detects the sheet when the number of sheet bundles exceeds the maximum allowable number as a result of comparison by the comparing means. It is configured to determine whether or not to execute the operation of the adhesive applying unit based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle from the bundle thickness detecting unit.

  When detecting the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle as described above, the control unit prohibits the operation of the adhesive application unit when the comparison result of the comparison unit is less than the minimum allowable number of sheet bundles, When the number of sheet bundles exceeds the maximum allowable number, the sheet bundle thickness detected by the sheet bundle thickness detecting means is (1) prohibiting the operation of the adhesive applying means when the thickness is equal to or greater than a predetermined thickness, (2) The adhesive application means is configured to be operable when the thickness is equal to or less than a predetermined thickness.

  According to the present invention, an adhesive application unit for applying an adhesive to a sheet bundle is compared with a preset minimum allowable number and / or maximum allowable number and the number of sheet bundles to determine whether or not to perform the application operation. Therefore, there is no risk of unnecessary bookbinding binding to a bundle of several sheets such as one sheet. Similarly, when the number of sheets exceeds the allowable limit, the adhesive can be applied to prevent bookbinding defects or other poor bookbinding quality. Sometimes it is possible to prohibit the binding operation.

  In addition, the preset limit sheet number is set to the minimum allowable sheet number and the maximum allowable sheet number. When the number of sheet bundles is equal to or less than the minimum allowable sheet number, the coating operation is prohibited. The coating operation is executed below the predetermined thickness, and the coating operation is prohibited above the predetermined thickness, so that the coating operation can be performed even when the number of sheet bundles exceeds the maximum allowable number. Inconvenience can be eliminated, and the ability of the coating apparatus can be maximized.

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an image forming system equipped with a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the bookbinding apparatus, FIG. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the bookbinding apparatus, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a structure.

"Configuration of image forming system"
The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body (the illustrated one is a copying machine) A and a sheet processing apparatus (the illustrated one is a bookbinding apparatus) connected to a paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus main body A. B and a post-processing device C disposed on the downstream side of the bookbinding device B. Then, a sheet is formed by the bookbinding apparatus B automatically, or the post-processing apparatus C automatically post-processes the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus main body A.

  First, the image forming apparatus main body A (hereinafter referred to as “apparatus main body A”) shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The apparatus main body A includes an image forming unit 3 provided in the casing 2 and an image reading unit mounted on the upper portion of the casing 2. An apparatus (scanner unit) 7 and a document feeder (ADF unit) 5 are included. An image forming unit 3 is provided in the casing 2 and forms an image on a sheet such as plain paper or an OHP sheet supplied from the paper supply unit 9. The image forming unit 3 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 8 by the light irradiation unit 13, attaches toner by the developing unit 4, and transfers it onto the sheet supplied from the paper feeding unit 9. This transfer sheet is fixed by the fixing device 6 and carried out from the paper discharge port 19. In the case of double-sided printing in which images are formed on the front and back sides of a sheet, the sheet printed on one side is turned upside down by the switchback path 17 and then sent again to the photosensitive drum 8 from the circulation path 18 to be printed on the back side and discharged. Unload from 19 In addition, 12 shown in the figure is a manual sheet feeding port, for example, for supplying a thick sheet such as a cover sheet and a special sheet such as a coating sheet.

  An image reading device (scanner unit) 7 is disposed on the casing 2. The image reading device 7 scans a document placed on the platen with a photoelectric conversion element and transfers image data to the data storage unit 14 of the image forming unit 3. Further, the image reading device 7 is provided with a document supply device (ADF unit) 5 for automatically feeding a document to the platen. The document feeder 5 separates the documents set on the sheet feeding tray one by one and automatically feeds them to the platen. In addition, although such an apparatus main body A is widely used and the thing of a various structure is known, methods, such as not only the illustrated electrostatic printing system but screen printing and inkjet printing, are employable.

"Configuration of sheet processing equipment (bookbinding equipment)"
A sheet processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a bookbinding apparatus) B is attached to the paper discharge port 19 of the apparatus main body A. As shown in FIG. 1, the bookbinding apparatus B includes a “stacking portion B1” that stacks and aligns sheets in a bundle, an “adhesive application portion B2” that applies an adhesive to the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle. It is composed of a “cover binding portion B3” for binding the cover sheets, a “trimming cutting portion B4” for cutting the periphery of the cover sheet, and a “storage stack portion B5” for storing the bookbinding sheets.

  Then, an image-formed sheet is received from the sheet carry-in path T1 connected to the paper discharge port 19 of the apparatus main body A, a series of sheets are stacked and aligned in the stacking unit B1, and then the bundle is stacked in the adhesive application unit B2. Gluing is performed on one side edge (back part) of the sheet-like sheet, and the booklet-like sheet is formed by binding together with the cover sheet at the cover-binding part B3. Thereafter, the trimming part B4 cuts and finishes the peripheral edge of the booklet sheet, and stores the booklet sheet in the storage stack part B5 so that a series of bookbinding processes are performed.

  The bookbinding apparatus B includes a sheet carry-in path T1 that is continuous with the paper discharge port 19 of the apparatus main body A, a middle paper transport path T2 that is continuous with the sheet carry-in path T1, and a cover transport path T3. The sheets are sorted and conveyed. A bookbinding path T4 is provided on the downstream side of the intermediate sheet conveyance path T2 via the stacking unit B1, and the bookbinding path T4 is configured to intersect with the cover sheet conveyance path T3 (the illustrated one is orthogonal).

  The stacking unit B1 will be described. The stacking unit B1 is composed of a stacking tray 42 that is disposed with a vertical step formed at the sheet discharge port 40 of the intermediate paper transport path T2. The illustrated stacking tray 42 is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet discharge port 40 so as to stack and store sheets from the sheet discharge port 40 in a substantially horizontal posture. The stacking tray 42 is provided with a carry-in guide 37, a carry-in roller 38 that can be rotated forward and backward, and a rear end regulating member 39, and guides a sheet from the paper discharge port 40 onto the tray by the carry-in guide 37. It is comprised so that it may carry in by 38. Further, the rear end regulating member 39 has an abutment regulating surface that abuts the rear end of the sheet to regulate the position, and in particular, the illustrated one regulates the positioning of the end surface on which the adhesive is applied to the stacked sheet bundle in a subsequent process. The sheet is aligned with the abutting regulation surface by the reverse rotation of the carry-in roller 38.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the stacking tray 42 is provided with alignment means for aligning the side edges of the sheets, and aligns the sheet width direction by restricting the width of the sheet loaded from the sheet discharge port 40 in the conveyance orthogonal direction. This aligning means is provided with, for example, a pair of aligning members that engage with the left and right side edges of the sheet above the tray. When aligning the sheets with the center reference, the left and right aligning members are the same toward the sheet center (reference line). It is configured to reciprocate by an amount. Further, when the sheets are aligned on the one side reference, one alignment member is fixed at the reference position, and the opposite alignment member is reciprocated.

  The stacking tray 42 configured as described above is attached to the apparatus frame so as to be movable up and down in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1, and moves between an upper stacking position P1 and a lower unloading position P2. This is because the stacking tray 42 is moved from the stacking position P1 to the unloading position P2 spaced apart from the stacking position P1, and is transferred to the grip transporting means 55 for unloading the sheet bundle at the unloading position P2. By arranging in this way, the apparatus can be configured compactly, and the sheet bundle aligned on the stacking tray 42 can be taken over by the grip conveying means 55 in an orderly aligned state. A bookbinding path T4 is provided downstream from the stacking tray 42, and a grip conveying means 55 is provided in the bookbinding path T4.

  The grip conveying means 55 deflects the sheet bundle accumulated on the accumulation tray 42 from a substantially horizontal posture to a vertical posture (direction c as viewed in FIG. 1), and an adhesive application position P3 (hereinafter referred to as a glue application position) in the bookbinding path T4. To be conveyed). For this reason, the grip conveying means 55 is composed of a pair of gripper members that grip the front and back of the sheet bundle, and a unit frame (not shown) that carries the gripper members and rotates approximately 90 degrees. The unit frame is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow c in FIG. 1, and is configured to turn approximately 90 degrees by a turning motor (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the unit frame configured as described above includes main grippers 55a and 55b and sub grippers 56a and 56b. The main grippers 55a and 55b are constituted by long plate-like members so as to grip the paste application end surface (back portion; hereinafter the same) of the sheet bundle over the entire length, and the sub grippers 56a and 56b are the main grippers at the center of the sheet bundle. The shafts 55a and 55b are pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 55c. The main grippers 55a and 55b and the sub grippers 56a and 56b are configured to be pressed and separated by a grip motor (not shown). Thus, the grip conveying means 55 is constituted by the main and sub grippers. When the sheet bundle is conveyed from the stacking tray 42 to the glue application position P3 on the downstream side by the both grippers, a skew (bend) of the lower edge of the sheet bundle is used. This is to correct.

  The lower end edge (glue application end face) of the sheet bundle is abutted against the path guide plate 57 (shown in FIG. 6) of the cover sheet transport path T3 with the main grippers 55a and 55b being released, and the posture along the path guide plate 57 It is corrected and gripped by the main grippers 55a and 55b. For this skew correction, the sub grippers 56a and 56b are pivotally supported by the main grippers 55a and 55b so as to be able to swing in the sheet width direction, and the path guide plate 57 is used as a reference for the sheet bundle posture for applying glue (a glue applying roller described later). In parallel with the moving direction of The path guide plate 57 is retracted from the bookbinding path T4 after skew correction.

  The grip conveying means 55 is provided with a bundle thickness detection sensor SS3 for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle. This detection means is disposed on the movable member of the main grippers 55a and 55b or the sub grippers 56a and 56b, and detects the distance that the gripper moves from the release position (home position) to the nip position where the gripper contacts the surface of the sheet bundle. To detect the bundle thickness. The thickness information of the sheet bundle detected in this way is used for controlling the subsequent operation, for example, adjusting the amount of subsequent glue application according to the thickness of the sheet bundle.

  Next, the configuration of the adhesive application part B2 will be described. In the adhesive application part B2, the adhesive application means 65 is arranged at the glue application position P3 of the bookbinding path T4. The adhesive application means 65 includes an adhesive storage container (hereinafter referred to as a glue container) 66, a coating roll 67 built in the glue container 66, and the glue container 66 for coating operation along the glue coating end surface of the sheet bundle. And moving container moving means. As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the glue container 66 is composed of a container main body 66a for storing a hot melt adhesive and an application roll 67, and the glue container 66 is filled with a solid adhesive. The adhesive is heated and melted and applied to the sheet bundle by the application roll 67. For example, a heater (heating means) 66b such as an electric heater is built in the container body 66a to melt and melt the adhesive in the container. 66c in the figure is a temperature sensor for controlling the heating means.

  The coating roll 67 is made of impregnating heat-resistant rubber, and is rotatably supported on the container body 66a by a rotating shaft 67a. A roll rotation motor MR is connected to the rotation shaft 67a. As shown in FIG. 5, the glue container 66 configured in this manner is fitted and supported by guide rails 68 provided on the apparatus frame, and the guide rails 68 apply glue on the sheet bundle held by the grip conveying means 55 described above. It arrange | positions in parallel with this along end surface S1. As described above, the glue container 66 incorporating the application roll 67 is supported so as to reciprocate along the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle, and is fixed to a timing belt 69 stretched along the guide rail 68. A shift motor MS is connected to the timing belt 69. Accordingly, the guide rail 68, the timing belt 69, and the shift motor MS constitute a “container moving means”.

  The glue container 66 has a coating area L1 for applying glue to the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle, and a retracting area L2 that can be moved to a retracted position (home position HP shown in the figure) spaced apart from the coating area L1. It is comprised so that it may be provided. Then, the shift motor MS reciprocates between the home position HP, the standby position WP, and the return position RP. In the home position HP, the glue container 66 is located when the apparatus is activated. The standby position WP positions the glue container 66 when the glue is applied to the subsequent sheet bundle when the glue is continuously applied. Therefore, the standby position WP is preferably laid out in the vicinity of the paste application area L1. Similarly, the return position RP is preferably arranged in the vicinity of the paste application region L1.

  When the glue container 66 moves from the standby position WP to the return position RP, glue may be applied to the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle by the application roll 67, but the illustrated one is applied in the forward path and the return path of the glue container 66. I try to cloth. That is, in the forward path (movement from WP to RP), the application roll 67 presses and separates the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle, and in the return path (movement from RP to WP), the application roll 67 moves to the glue application end face of the sheet bundle. Apply glue to S1. At this time, the gap between the surface of the coating roll 67 and the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle is adjusted so that the coating amount is large when the sheet bundle is thick and small when the sheet bundle is thin. The glue application amount is adjusted by the sheet conveyance amount of the grip conveyance means 55.

  Next, the configuration of the cover binding portion B3 will be described. The bookbinding path T4 is provided with a cover binding position P4 on the downstream side of the glue application position P3, and the cover sheet transport path T3 is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the bookbinding path T4. Back folding plates 58a and 58b and a back plate 59 are arranged at the cover binding position P4 located at this intersection. The back folding plates 58a, 58b are composed of a pair of left and right plate-like members across the bookbinding path T4, and are provided so as to be movable between a position separated from each other (retracted position) and an operating position in contact with each other. It is connected to.

  The back plate 59 is disposed so as to be movable between a retracted position retracted from the bookbinding path T4 and an operating position entering the path, and is connected to an operating means (not shown) such as an electromagnetic solenoid. Therefore, the sheet bundle coated with the adhesive by the coating roll 67 is transported to the cover binding position P4 by the grip transport means 55. At this time, the cover sheet is already fed and set from the cover transport path T3 to the cover binding position P4. In this configuration, the sheet bundle is transferred from the bookbinding path T4 to the cover binding position P4 with the back folding plates 58a and 58b positioned at the retracted position and the backrest plate 59 positioned at the operating position. Then, the sheet bundle is joined to the cover sheet in an inverted T shape. At this time, the back plate 59 supports the cover sheet as a backup. Next, when the back folding plates 58a and 58b are moved from the retracted position to the operating position, the left and right back folding plates 58a and 58b press-mold the back portion of the cover sheet. In this process, the adhesive applied to the sheet bundle is solidified to bind the cover sheet and the sheet bundle.

  Next, the configuration of the trimming cutting part B4 will be described. As described above, the sheet bundle that is bound together with the cover sheet in a booklet form is sent to the folding roll 60 on the downstream side by the grip conveying means 55. At this time, the back plate 59 and the back folding plates 58a and 58b are respectively retracted to the retracted positions. In the bookbinding path T4, a cutting position P5 is provided on the downstream side of the cover binding position P4, and a cutting means 61 is disposed. The cutting unit 61 includes a rotary table 62, a cutting edge press unit 63, and a cutting blade 64, which are sequentially arranged on the downstream side of the bookbinding path T4. The rotary table 62 grips the sheet bundle sent from the folding roll 60 and deflects the direction, and simultaneously conveys the lower end edge of the sheet bundle so as to form a cutting margin set in advance at the cutting position P5. . For this purpose, the rotary table 62 is provided with a turning motor M1 and a lifting motor M2.

  The cutting position P5 includes a cutting blade 64 and a cutter motor MC that drives the cutting blade 64, and cuts a predetermined amount of the sheet bundle. The illustrated cutting blade 64 is constituted by a flat blade cutter, and is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be movable between a standby posture retracted from the bookbinding path T4 and the cutting posture shown in FIG. 3, and reciprocally moved by a cutter motor MC. The sheet bundle is cut by the above.

  Next, the storage stack portion B5 will be described. On the downstream side of the cutting blade 64, a stacker 50 for storing a sheet bundle and a waste disposal tray 51 are disposed. The cut sheet bundle is stored in a box-shaped stacker 50 by a paper discharge roller 49. In addition, a waste disposal tray 51 is provided adjacent to the stacker 50, and accommodates paper scraps cut by the upstream cutting blade 64. 52 is a sweeper member that swings so as to guide the paper waste from the cutting blade 64 to the waste disposal tray 51, and includes a drive motor (not shown).

  Next, the post-processing apparatus C will be described. The illustrated post-processing apparatus C is connected to the paper discharge path 30 of the bookbinding apparatus B, and includes a post-processing path 53 and a paper discharge tray 48. A post-processing unit 54 is disposed in the post-processing path 53. The post-processing means 54 includes a staple unit, a punch unit, a stamp unit, and the like, and one or a plurality of these units are arranged in the post-processing path 53. The illustrated post-processing apparatus C also has a stacking function for receiving sheets from the apparatus main body A via the bookbinding apparatus B and storing the sheets in the sheet discharge tray 48 as they are or in a jogger section. Various configurations of the post-processing means 54 are known and will not be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 70 of the sheet processing apparatus (bookbinding apparatus) B includes a control circuit 71, driver circuits 72, 73, and the like. The control circuit 71 includes a control CPU 74, ROM 75, RAM 76, A timer unit and an input / output circuit 78 are included. The ROM 75 stores an operation program such as a bookbinding process and various data necessary for its control. The RAM 76 is configured to store information necessary for executing the operation sequence and to be used as a working memory at the same time. The control circuit 71 incorporates a serial communication interface (SCI) 77 so as to exchange communication data with the control unit 79 of the image forming apparatus main body (copier) A in both directions. The control unit 79 of the apparatus main body A includes an operation mode setting unit 79a, an image forming condition setting unit 79b, and an operation unit (control panel) 79c. The operation unit 79c includes an input unit 80 and a display unit 81. Is provided.

The control CPU 74 monitors the output states of the inlet sensor SS1, the paper discharge sensor SS2, the sheet bundle bundle thickness detection sensor SS3, and other sensors from the sensor unit driver 73 through the input / output circuit 78. The control CPU 74 is connected from the input / output circuit 78 through the drive unit driver 72 so as to control operation actuators such as a transport motor (not shown), a cutter motor MC, a roll rotation motor MR, and an electromagnetic solenoid. .
The control CPU 74 executes the binding operation based on the sequence and data of each mode stored in the ROM 75, the control data stored in the RAM 76, the detection signals of the various sensors, and the like, and executes various calculations required for this. To do. Then, the input / output circuit 78 and the drive unit driver 72 are controlled based on the calculation result to activate the sheet stacking operation.

  The control unit 70 of the sheet processing apparatus (bookbinding apparatus) B configured as described above executes the bookbinding operation according to the sequence program shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. In order to explain this sequentially, the “discharge mode” and “binding mode” are selected by the operation mode setting means 79a provided in the control unit 79 of the apparatus main body A in FIG. 8 (St101). Therefore, when the normal discharge mode (St106) is selected, the sheet carried out from the apparatus main body A is guided to the sheet carry-in path T1, and is guided to the cover sheet transport path T3 by the path switching piece 27. The sheet is sent to the paper discharge path 30 by a plurality of transport rollers 29 provided in the cover transport path T3, and is carried into the post-processing path 53 of the post-processing apparatus C. Thus, the sheets carried into the post-processing apparatus C are sequentially stacked and stored on the paper discharge tray 48 (St105). Note that the sheet carried into the post-processing path 53 executes the specified post-processing operation (St108) when the post-processing mode such as “stapling” is set by the operation mode setting means 79a (St107). ) And then discharged to the discharge tray 48 (St105).

On the other hand, when the “binding binding mode” is set by the operation mode setting means 79a (St101), the control CPU 74 executes the following procedure. First, the control CPU 74 counts the number of sheets stacked and stored on the stacking tray 42. The counting means 74a for counting (1) is provided in the apparatus main body A and is calculated from the number of pages of image data and setting conditions for image formation, or (2) the number of originals read by the apparatus main body A is counted by a counter or the like. To calculate from the setting conditions for image formation.
(3) The number of sheets conveyed toward the stacking tray 42 is counted by the counting means provided in the bookbinding apparatus B.
For example, the number of sheets (output sheets) on which an image is formed by any method is counted.
In the case of (1) above, for example, the number of output sheets is calculated from the number of pages of image data created by a computer or the like and the condition setting for image formation. For example, the number of output sheets is calculated as (number of original data pages × 1/2) in single-sided printing of two pages of original data, and the number of output sheets is calculated as (number of original data pages × 1/4) in double-sided printing. . Therefore, in this case, the counting means 74a is constituted by the control CPU 74.
Next, in the case of (2), counting is performed when the original sheet is read by the scanner unit (image reading device) 7, and the number of output sheets is calculated in the same manner as in (1) above from the counted value and image forming condition setting. . Therefore, in this case, the counting means 74a is configured to count signals from the document sensor of the ADF unit 5, for example.
In the case of (3), the counting means 74a counts signals from sensors (jam sensors or paper discharge port sensors) disposed in the intermediate paper transport path T2, for example.

  Next, the control CPU 74 reads out the separately set minimum allowable number and / or maximum allowable number from the RAM 76, for example. For this allowable number, a lower limit value (minimum allowable number) and an upper limit value (maximum allowable number) at which a good adhesive can be applied from the configuration of the adhesive applying means 65 are set and stored in the RAM 76 as default values. . The allowable number can be changed from the input means 80. Therefore, the user can set the lower limit value or the upper limit value to obtain an appropriate finished quality in accordance with his / her work environment (for example, the use of bound bookbinding sheets and past bookbinding results).

  Therefore, the control CPU 74 counts the number of output sheets (hereinafter referred to as “the number of output sheets”) by the counting means 74a (St102). At the same time, the control CPU 74 compares the number of output sheets with the minimum allowable number and / or maximum allowable number (hereinafter referred to as “allowable number”) stored in the RAM 76 (St103). When the number of output sheets is equal to or smaller than the allowable number by the comparison means 74b constituted by the control CPU 74, “number of output sheets” is displayed on the display unit. As shown in FIG. 9, for example, the display determines whether the apparatus main body A is in the “copy mode” or the “print mode” (St112). In the copy mode, the number of output sheets and a warning that binding cannot be performed are displayed on the display unit (display unit 81) of the apparatus main body A (St113). In the print mode, the number of output sheets and a warning are displayed on an external device such as a computer (St114). This warning is displayed, for example, “The number of output sheets cannot be bound and cannot be bound”, and a warning sound indicating an abnormality is generated depending on the case. Next, the user confirms the content of the warning (St115), and selects whether or not to continue the bookbinding operation using the input means 80 (St116). If the user determines that “binding is performed with the number of output sheets displayed” by this selection, a bookbinding operation described later is executed (St117), and the bookbinding sheet is carried out to the stacker 50 (St118).

  If the user determines in step St116 that "bookbinding is not performed with the displayed number of output sheets" (St121), the control CPU 74 issues an instruction signal prohibiting the bookbinding operation (St122). Then, the control CPU 74 changes the posture of the path switching piece 27 and then guides the output sheet sent from the apparatus main body A from the sheet carry-in path T1 to the cover sheet transport path T3, and then transports it to the post-processing apparatus C via the paper discharge path 30. To do. The output sheet after the binding operation prohibition signal is issued is stored in the paper discharge tray 48 of the post-processing apparatus C (St105). At the same time, the control CPU 74 issues a signal for switching to the normal “paper discharge mode” to the control unit 79 of the apparatus main body A (St121 in FIG. 9). In this case, if the user cancels the bookbinding mode and selects another discharge mode (St121) from the warning content, for example, when performing the stapling process (St107 in FIG. 8), the stapling operation is executed (St108). The processed sheet is carried out to the discharge tray 48 (St105).

  On the other hand, if the comparison means 74b (FIG. 8 St103) determines that the number of output sheets is not less than the allowable number (minimum allowable number), then the control CPU 74 uses the comparison means 74b to output more than the maximum allowable number. Is determined (FIG. 10 St131). If it is determined that the number of output sheets is less than or equal to the maximum allowable number, the control CPU 74 executes a bookbinding operation (St117) and carries out the bookbinding sheets to the stacker 50 (St118). Details of the bookbinding operation will be described later. If it is determined in step St131 that "the number of output sheets is greater than or equal to the maximum allowable number", the control CPU 74 uses the bundle thickness detecting means SS3 (the one shown is provided in the grip conveying means 55). The detected sheet bundle thickness is compared with the “bookbinding binding allowable maximum thickness” stored in the RAM 76 in advance (St132). If the bundle thickness of the output sheets is equal to or smaller than the allowable maximum thickness, the bookbinding binding operation is executed (St117 to 118 in FIG. 9). If the number of output sheets is equal to or greater than the maximum allowable thickness, the control CPU 74 prohibits the bookbinding operation (St133) and immediately notifies the user. In this case, as in the case where the number of output sheets is smaller than the minimum allowable number, a message indicating that the bookbinding operation is impossible is displayed, and if the user determines that “bookbinding operation is performed”, the bookbinding operation is performed. It is also possible to execute.

  Next, the bookbinding operation described above will be described. In the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the bookbinding apparatus B sequentially performs operations of “sheet stacking unit alignment”, “adhesive application”, “cover binding”, “cut trimming”, and “stacker storage”. Therefore, when the operation mode setting means 79a of the apparatus main body A is set to the “bookbinding binding mode”, the control unit 70 of the bookbinding apparatus B receives the signal and transfers the sheet unloaded from the apparatus main body A from the sheet carry-in path T1. The accepting “sheet stacking part alignment” operation is executed. This alignment aligns the sheets from the sheet carry-in path T1 on the stacking tray 42. Alignment means (not shown) is arranged on the stacking tray 42, and the sheets are sequentially stacked in alignment with the reference posture. When the job end signal is received from the apparatus main body A, the stacking tray 42 is lowered from the stacking position P1 to the unloading position P2 as shown in FIG. 1, and the grip conveying means 55 grips the sheet bundle at the unloading position P2. Next, the grip conveying means 55 turns the sheet bundle approximately 90 degrees to deflect the posture of the sheet bundle from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture. The grip conveying means 55 transfers the deflected sheet bundle so that the lower end edge thereof is positioned at the glue application position P3.

  Next, the control CPU 74 transports the cover sheet from the cover transport path T3 before and after the transfer of the sheet bundle to the glue application position P3, and feeds and sets the cover sheet at the cover binding position P4. The cover sheet is supplied from the apparatus main body A or supplied from an inserter (not shown). Next, the control CPU 74 executes a glue application operation. In this operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the glue container 66 at the home position HP is moved along the glue application end face S1 of the sheet bundle, and then returned at the return position RP. Then, the application roll 67 is pressed against the sheet bundle by the forward movement of the glue container 66 to separate the sheet end, and the adhesive is applied to the sheet end surface by the return operation. That is, the application operation of the adhesive application means 65 is to reciprocate the glue container 66 along the glue application end surface S1 of the sheet bundle and apply the adhesive to the sheet bundle by the application roll 67 arranged in the glue container 66. Become. Therefore, the control CPU 74 controls whether or not the coating operation is executed by controlling the shift motor MS and the roll rotation motor MR.

  Next, the control CPU 74 operates the grip conveying means 55 to transfer the sheet bundle coated with the adhesive to the downstream cover binding position P4. Then, the cover sheet is joined to the cover sheet in an inverted T shape at this cover binding position P4. At this time, the cover sheet is supported by the back plate 59. In this state, the cover sheet is folded back with the back folding plates 58a and 58b sandwiching the sheet bundle. The cover binding process is executed by this series of operations.

  Next, after waiting for the elapse of a predetermined cooling time, the control CPU 74 retracts the back plate 59 and the back folding plates 58a and 58b from the bookbinding path T4, and rotates the folding roll 60. With the folding roll 60, the sheet bundle is transferred to a cutting position P5 on the downstream side. Next, the control CPU 74 operates the cutting means 61 to sequentially cut and align the top portion, the ground portion, and the fore edge portion of the sheet bundle by a predetermined amount. After the cutting of the sheet bundle, the control CPU 74 stores the bound sheet bundle in the stacker 50.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system including a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the bookbinding apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the cutting unit in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a paste container, (a) shows the block diagram of an adhesive agent application means, (b) shows sectional drawing of a paste container. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of an adhesive agent application means. The perspective view which shows the structure of a grip conveyance means. 1 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of an image forming system. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of bookbinding mode. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure connected to the chart of FIG. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure connected to the chart of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

A Image forming apparatus main body B Sheet processing apparatus (bookbinding apparatus)
C post-processing device 42 stacking tray 54 post-processing means 55 grip conveying means 61 cutting means 65 adhesive application means 66 glue container 67 application roll 70 control unit (bookbinding apparatus)
71 Control Circuit 72 Drive Unit Driver 73 Sensor Unit Driver 74 Control CPU
74a Counting means 74b Comparison means 75 ROM
76 RAM
77 SCI
78 Input / output circuit 79 Control unit (image forming apparatus)
79a Operation mode setting means 79b Image formation condition setting means 79c Operation section 80 Input means 81 Display means B1 Stacking section B2 Adhesive application section B3 Cover binding section B4 Trimming cutting section B5 Storage stack section SS1 Inlet sensor SS2 Discharge sensor SS3 Bundle thickness Sensor

Claims (8)

A stacking tray means for aligning sheets supplied sequentially in a bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the sheet bundle from the tray means;
Counting means for counting the number of sheet bundles stacked on the stacking tray;
Control means for controlling the adhesive application means,
The control means includes
A limit number setting means for setting a minimum allowable number of sheets and / or a maximum allowable number of sheets for applying the adhesive by the adhesive application means;
Comparing means for comparing the number of sheet bundles from the counting means with the limit number set by the limit number setting means;
Is provided,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the control unit determines whether or not to perform the application operation of the adhesive application unit in accordance with a comparison result from the comparison unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit prohibits the operation of the adhesive application unit when the number of sheet bundles is equal to or less than the limit number as a result of comparison by the comparison unit. The sheet processing apparatus is provided with sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle aligned by the stacking tray means,
The control means performs the operation of the adhesive application means based on the sheet bundle thickness information from the sheet bundle thickness detection means when the number of sheet bundles exceeds the maximum allowable number as a result of comparison by the comparison means. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether to execute the sheet processing. The control means is provided with notification means such as a sound and a display for warning that the adhesive cannot be applied when the number of sheet bundles from the counting means is equal to or less than the limit number. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The limit number setting means includes an input means,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the minimum allowable number and / or maximum allowable number can be set or changed by the input unit. A stacking tray means for aligning sheets supplied sequentially in a bundle;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the sheet bundle from the tray means;
Counting means for counting the number of sheet bundles stacked on the stacking tray;
Sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle aligned by the stacking tray means;
Control means for controlling the adhesive application means,
The control means includes
A limit number setting means for setting a minimum allowable number of sheets and / or a maximum allowable number of sheets to which the adhesive is applied by the adhesive application means;
Comparing means for comparing the number of sheet bundles from the counting means with the limit number set by the limit number setting means;
Is provided,
The control means determines whether or not to perform the application operation of the adhesive application means based on the comparison result from the comparison means and the sheet bundle thickness information from the sheet bundle thickness detection means. A sheet processing apparatus. The control means prohibits the operation of the adhesive application means when the comparison result of the comparison means indicates that the number of sheet bundles is less than the minimum allowable number,
When the number of sheet bundles exceeds the maximum allowable number, the sheet bundle thickness detected by the sheet bundle thickness detecting means is (1) prohibiting the operation of the adhesive applying means when the thickness is equal to or greater than a predetermined thickness, (2) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the adhesive application means is operable when the thickness is equal to or less than a predetermined thickness. Image forming means for sequentially forming images on sheets;
A sheet processing apparatus that aligns the sheets from the image forming unit in a bundle shape, applies an adhesive to the sheet bundle, and binds and binds the sheet bundle,
An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images