JP6476068B2 - Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus that forms a bundle in which sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer are bonded together with an adhesive, and folds the bundle at a predetermined folding position as necessary. The present invention relates to an apparatus that can provide an easy-to-handle bonded sheet booklet.

  2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a processing apparatus that aligns sheets conveyed from an image forming apparatus, folds them in a booklet shape with glue or adhesive, and then folds the bonded sheets into two is widely known. Furthermore, an apparatus is disclosed in which the bonding strength is maintained even when the number of sheets to be bonded increases.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that includes a device that melts solid glue and applies it to a sheet with a nozzle, and increases the application range of the adhesive as the number of sheets increases. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 30A and 30B, for example, when coating is applied to 15 folded sheets. First, as shown in FIG. 30A, 1 to 5 sheets are centered at the folding position. The amount of adhesion is doubled between 6 and 10. Furthermore, the adhesion amount of 3 times is applied from 11 sheets to 14 sheets. Therefore, when this is folded, as shown in FIG. 30B, a large amount of adhesive is applied to the cover side sheet, for example, 11 to 14, so even if the outer side is spread by folding, the cover page The booklet strength is increased without peeling off the cover side.

Patent Document 2 includes a device that attaches glue (adhesive) to a flexible tape and presses it against the sheet to transfer the glue. As shown in FIG. 30C, the folding position increases as the number of sheets increases. The transfer length is increased at the center, and the glued portion on the outside (cover side) of the booklet is prevented from being shortened, and the strength of the bundle is increased.

JP 2009-269746 A JP 2009-143036 A

  However, in any of the devices disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the more the number of bonded sheets, the more the adhesive sheet is attached to the sheet including the cover as shown in FIG. The adhesive b and the adhesive c are solidly applied without any gap. Although this improves the booklet strength, the more laminated sheets, the greater the amount of adhesive used, and since the adhesive is applied without any gaps, it is difficult to spread the booklet when this adhesive is cured. It was.

    Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a sheet processing apparatus that can reduce the amount of adhesive used while maintaining a certain booklet strength and can produce a booklet that can be easily spread. That is the issue.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.
A sheet processing apparatus that folds a sheet after the sheets are bonded, and a stacker unit that sequentially stacks the conveyed sheets, and a sheet that is coated with an adhesive at a substantially central position in the moving direction for each sheet that is sequentially stacked on the stacker unit. An adhesive unit, a moving member that moves the sheet to the application position of the adhesive unit, and a folding processing unit that folds the sheet coated with the adhesive at the folding position. When the adhesive is applied and the sheets are bonded to each other, when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive is applied to the sheet with the folding position interposed therebetween.

According to the present invention, when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive is separated and applied between the folding positions of the sheets, so the amount of adhesive used can be reduced while maintaining a certain booklet strength. It is possible to provide a sheet processing apparatus that produces a booklet that can be easily reduced when used.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration in which an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention are combined. 1 is an overall explanatory diagram of a sheet processing apparatus including an adhesive binding unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a peripheral mechanism of the adhesive binding unit of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view of the adhesive binding unit of FIG. 2. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the adhesive binding unit of FIG. 3, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view of an adhesive tape stamper, FIG. 3B is an engaged state with a cam member that moves the stamper holder, and FIG. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the adhesive tape which apply | coats an adhesive agent, (a) is an external view, (b) is the figure which has wound the adhesive tape around a reel, (c) is a gear state figure before an adhesive tape stamper press (d) FIG. 4 is a gear state diagram pressed by an adhesive tape stamper. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a stamper holder that applies an adhesive to a sheet, where (a) is a diagram in which two stamper holders are in a raised position, and (b) is a diagram in which one stamper holder starts to descend; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation state in which the sheet presser holds the sheet. FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the operation state of the stamp holder following FIG. 7, in which FIG. 7A is a diagram in which the second stamp holder also starts to descend, and FIG. 7B is a diagram in which the adhesive tape stamper of one stamp holder presses the adhesive against the sheet. (C) is a diagram in which both of the adhesive tape stampers of the two stamp holders press and apply the adhesive to the sheet. The perspective view of the sheet | seat side edge alignment member arrange | positioned in a stacker part. FIG. 10A illustrates the separation and contact of the pinch roller on the sheet carry-in path with respect to the drive roller, and FIG. 10B illustrates the pressure roller that presses and separates the sheet within the stacker unit. FIG. 11A is an explanatory view of a stopper portion and a gripper that move up and down in the stacker portion, and FIG. 11B is an explanatory view of a plane of the stopper portion and the gripper. FIG. 4 is a drive perspective view of a drive mechanism in the folding processing section shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 13A is a bottom view of the adhesive tape stamper, and FIG. 13B is an explanatory view for transferring the adhesive with the same back length. 13 (c) is an explanatory diagram of a state in which adhesive is applied across the folding position (Y) on the cover sheet, and FIG. 13 (d) is pressed by the pressing portion of the stamper holder for bonding including the cover sheet. Explanatory drawing which shows a state. It is a figure which shows the state which transcribe | transferred the adhesive tape on a sheet | seat, and shows the state which has transcribe | transferred the adhesive tape (adhesive) to the folding position (Y), FIG. Shows a state in which it is applied across the folding position. FIG. 14B shows a state in which there are a large number of bonded sheets and the adhesive tapes are transferred in close contact with each other across the folding position. FIG. 14C is a diagram for explaining a state in which the adhesive tape is transferred with a gap (S) between the folding positions in order to bond the sheets exceeding a predetermined number. 14A and 14B are explanatory diagrams in which a small number of bonded sheets bonded in FIG. 14A are subjected to folding processing in the folding processing unit shown in FIG. 11, where FIG. 14A shows a state in which sheet bundles are stacked, and FIG. (C) shows an initial state of folding the sheet bundle with the folding roller, and (d) shows a state of folding the sheet bundle with the folding roller. FIGS. 14A to 14C are explanatory views of folding processing of a sheet exceeding a predetermined number of sheets in the folding processing unit shown in FIG. 11, in which FIG. A state where the sheet bundle is inserted into the folding roller by the folding blade, (c) shows an initial state where the sheet bundle is folded by the folding roller, and (d) shows a state where the sheet bundle is folded by the folding roller. FIG. 17A is a view showing a sheet that has been bonded and bonded and a sheet that has been subjected to folding processing. FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating a state in which an adhesive is applied with the same length even if the number is small or large. It is a figure explaining alignment. FIG. 17C is an explanatory diagram in which an adhesive is applied with a gap (S) across a folding position (Y) with respect to a sheet exceeding a predetermined number. FIG. 17D is a booklet in which the bonded sheet shown in FIG. 17C is folded and folded at the folding position (Y). FIGS. 18A and 18B show a sheet flow chart in which a sheet is bonded by a sheet processing apparatus to form a bundle. FIG. 18A shows a state in which the first sheet is carried into the carry-in path, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which passed the branch point of the carrying-in path | route and the evacuation path | route. FIG. 19A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 18, and FIG. 19A shows a state where the leading edge of the first sheet has moved to the retraction path and moved to the bonding position, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which has apply | coated (transferred) the stop adhesive agent in the adhesion position. (In this state, the adhesive is applied by moving FIG. 14) FIG. 20A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 19, and FIG. 20A shows the state where the adhesive application position of the first sheet has moved to the retreat path, and FIG. 20B shows the second sheet from the carry-in path to the stacker. It is a figure which shows the state carried in to a part. FIG. 21A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 20, and FIG. 21A shows that alignment is performed in a state where the leading edge of the second sheet is in contact with the stopper portion and the leading edge of the first sheet overlaps. ) Is a diagram illustrating a state in which the rear end of the first sheet and the second sheet has passed through a branch point between the carry-in route and the retreat route. FIG. 22A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 21, and FIG. 22A shows a state in which the first and second sheets are gripped by the gripper and moved to the bonding position to apply and press between the sheets. (Adhesive application by movement of FIG. 14 in this state) FIG. 22B shows a state in which the application position of the first and second sheets in a bundle is retracted to the retreat path and waiting for the third sheet to be carried. FIG. FIG. 23A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 22. FIG. 23A shows a state in which the third sheet of the final sheet is carried to the stopper portion position, and FIG. 23B shows that all sheets including the third sheet are gripped by the gripper. And it is a figure which shows the state which moves to the adhesion position front, and is pressing without performing application | coating of an adhesive agent. FIG. 24A is a flowchart of the sheet following FIG. 23, and FIG. 24A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the rear end of the third sheet passes through a branch point between the one-end carry-in path and the retreat path. FIG. 24B is a diagram illustrating a state where all the sheet bundles including the third sheet are switching back the retreat path. FIG. 25 is a flow chart of sheets following FIG. 24 and shows a state in which a bundle of three sheets is moved to a folding position (Y) and waiting for folding processing. It is a flowchart which shows an adhesive tape (adhesive) application | coating process. It is a flowchart which shows the process following the "firm sticking mode" of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows other embodiment of an adhesive tape (adhesive) application | coating process. Explanatory drawing of the control structure in the whole structure of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the application state of the conventional adhesive

  The present invention will be described in detail below based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration combining an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of the sheet processing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. Therefore, the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing apparatus B, and the sheet processing apparatus B incorporates an adhesive unit 50 as a unit.

[Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
The image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 sends a sheet from the paper feeding unit 1 to the image forming unit 2, prints the sheet on the image forming unit 2, and then carries the sheet out from the main body discharge port 3. The sheet feeding unit 1 stores sheets of a plurality of sizes in sheet feeding cassettes 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c, and separates designated sheets one by one and feeds them to the image forming unit 2. The image forming unit 2 includes, for example, an electrostatic drum 4, a print head (laser light emitting device) 5 and a developing device 6 arranged around the electrostatic drum 4, a transfer charger 7, and a fixing device 8. An electrostatic latent image is formed by the light emitting device 5, toner is adhered to the developing device 6, an image is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer charger 7, and heat fixing is performed by the fixing device 8. The sheets on which images are formed in this way are sequentially carried out from the main body discharge port 3. 9 shown in the figure is a circulation path. After the sheet printed on the front side from the fixing device 8 is reversed through the main body switchback path 10, the sheet is fed again to the image forming unit 2 and printed on the back side of the sheet. This is the path for duplex printing. The sheet printed on both sides in this way is turned upside down by the main body switchback path 10 and then carried out from the main body discharge port 3.

  11 shown in the figure is an image reading apparatus, which scans an original sheet set on an original platen 12 by a scanning unit 13 and electrically reads it by a photoelectric conversion element 14 through a reflection mirror and a condenser lens. This image data is digitally processed by the image processing unit, for example, and then transferred to the data storage unit 17 to send an image signal to the laser emitter 5. Reference numeral 15 denotes a document feeder, which is a feeder device that feeds document sheets stored in the stacker 16 to the document platen 12.

  The image forming apparatus A having the above configuration is provided with a control unit (controller), and image forming conditions such as sheet size designation, color / monochrome printing designation, number of copies designation, single-sided / double-sided printing designation, enlargement / reduction from the control panel 18. Printout conditions such as print designation are set. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus A, image data read by the scan unit 13 or image data transferred from an external network is stored in the data storage unit 17, and the image data is transferred from the data storage unit to the buffer memory 19. The data signal is sequentially transferred from the buffer memory 19 to the laser emitter 5.

  From the control panel 18, post-processing conditions are also input and specified simultaneously with the image forming conditions. This post-processing condition will be described later.

[Configuration of sheet processing apparatus]
As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet processing apparatus A is provided with a first paper discharge tray 21 and a second paper discharge tray 22 in the casing 20, and a sheet carry-in path P <b> 1 having a carry-in port 23 connected to the main body discharge port 3. Yes. The sheet carry-in path P <b> 1 is configured by a substantially horizontal straight path in the casing 20. A first switchback conveyance path SP1 and a second switchback conveyance path SP2 that branch from the sheet carry-in path P1 and transfer the sheet in the reverse direction are arranged. The first switchback conveying path SP1 is branched from the sheet downstream path and the second switchback conveying path SP2 is branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 on the upstream side, and the both conveying paths are arranged at a distance from each other.

  In such a path configuration, the carry-in roller 24 and the paper discharge roller 25 are disposed in the sheet carry-in path P1, and these rollers are connected to a drive motor (M1) capable of forward and reverse rotation. Further, a path switching piece 27 for guiding the sheet to the second switchback conveying path SP2 is disposed in the sheet carry-in path P1, and is connected to an operating means such as a solenoid. A punch unit 28 for processing punch holes in the sheet from the carry-in entrance 23 is provided on the downstream side of the carry-in roller 24 in the sheet carry-in path P1. The illustrated punch unit 28 is arranged on the upstream side of the carry-in roller 24 at the carry-in entrance 23 so that it can be attached to and detached from the casing 20 according to the specifications of the apparatus. A punch waste box for storing punch waste after punching is detachably mounted from the casing 20 below the punch unit 28.

[Configuration of the first switchback transport path SP1]
The first switchback conveyance path SP1 arranged on the downstream side (rear end portion of the apparatus) of the sheet carry-in path P1 in FIG. 2 is configured as follows. A discharge roller 25 and a discharge port 25a are provided at the exit end of the sheet carry-in path P1, and a first processing tray (hereinafter referred to as “processing tray 29”) is provided below the discharge port 25a with a step difference. Is provided. The processing tray 29 is a tray that stacks and supports sheets from the sheet discharge outlet 25a. A forward / reverse roller 30 is provided above the processing tray 29. A forward / reverse motor M1 is connected to the forward / reverse roller 30 and rotates clockwise when a sheet enters the processing tray 29, and rotates counterclockwise after the trailing edge of the sheet enters the tray. To be controlled. The forward / reverse roller 30 is provided with an elevating roller 31 that is connected to the caterpillar belt and moves to a position in contact with the tray and a position away from the tray. Accordingly, a first switchback transport path SP1 is formed on the first processing tray 29.

  A first paper discharge tray 21 is disposed on the downstream side of the first switchback conveyance path SP1, and the first paper discharge tray 21 is guided to the first switchback conveyance path SP1 and the second switchback conveyance path SP2. It is comprised so that the front end side of a sheet | seat may be supported.

  With the above configuration, the sheet from the paper discharge outlet 25a enters the processing tray 29 and is transferred toward the first paper discharge tray 21 by the forward / reverse rotation roller 30, and the rear end of the sheet is transferred from the paper discharge outlet 25a to the processing tray 29. After entering, the sheet on the processing tray 29 is transferred in the direction opposite to the sheet discharge direction when the forward / reverse roller 30 is rotated in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in the figure). At this time, the up-and-down roller 31 connected to the caterpillar belt cooperates with the forward / reverse roller 30 at a position in contact with the tray and switches back the sheet rear end along the processing tray 29.

  At the rear end of the first processing tray 29 in the paper discharge direction, a rear end regulating member 33 for regulating the position of the rear end of the sheet and an end surface binding stapler 35 are disposed. The illustrated end-face stitching stapler 35 is constituted by the end-face stitching stapler 35, and staples the staple at one place or a plurality of places on the rear end edge of the sheet bundle stacked on the tray. The trailing edge regulating member 33 reciprocates in the paper discharge direction along the processing tray 29 in order to share the function of carrying out the staple-bound sheet bundle to the first paper discharge tray 21 disposed on the downstream side of the processing tray 29. It is configured to move freely. The illustrated rear end regulating member 33 is connected to a bundle discharge motor (M7) (not illustrated) and reciprocates.

  Further, the processing tray 29 is provided with a side aligning plate 36 for aligning the width direction of the sheets stacked on the tray, and the side aligning plate 36 is arranged on the left and right sides (around FIG. 2) so as to align the sheets with the center reference. It is composed of a pair of alignment plates, is configured to approach and separate from the center of the sheet, and is connected to a side alignment plate motor (M6) (not shown).

  The first switchback conveying path SP1 configured as described above aligns the sheets from the sheet discharge outlet 25a on the processing tray 29 in the “staple binding mode”, and this sheet bundle is rear-bound by the end surface binding stapler 35. One or more edges are stapled. Further, in the “print-out mode”, the sheet fed along the processing tray 29 is carried out to the first paper discharge tray 21 by the forward / reverse rotation roller 30 without switching back the sheet from the paper discharge outlet 25a. As shown in the figure, the apparatus is compactly configured by supporting the sheets to be stapled by the processing tray 29 and the first paper discharge tray 21 in a bridge manner.

[Configuration of Second Switchback Transport Path SP2]
The configuration of the second switchback conveyance path SP2 branched from the sheet carry-in path P1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the second switchback transport path SP2 is disposed in a substantially vertical direction in the casing 20, and a path carry-in roller 45 is disposed at the path entrance and a transport roller 46 is disposed at the path exit. The conveying roller 46 is configured to be separable between a position where it is nipped with respect to the sheet and a position where it is separated from the sheet. This configuration will be described later.

  The path carry-in roller 45 disposed at the path entrance of the second switchback transport path SP2 is configured to be capable of forward and reverse rotation, and a sheet carried into the first switchback transport path SP1 on the downstream side is temporarily transferred to the second switch. It is held (stayed) in the back transport path SP2. The preceding sheets are stacked on the processing tray 29, stapled by a job end signal, and then sent to the sheet carry-in path P1 from the image forming apparatus A while the sheet bundle is carried out to the first paper discharge tray 21. This is for temporarily holding the sheet in the second switchback conveyance path SP2 and conveying the standby sheet from the first switchback conveyance path SP1 onto the processing tray 29 after the processing of the preceding sheet is completed.

Further, a stacker that constitutes a second processing tray that aligns and temporarily stacks sheets sent from the transport path downstream of the transport path 41 that is the second switchback transport path SP2 and is also a sheet transport path. A portion 40 is provided. The illustrated stacker unit 40 is composed of a conveyance guide for transferring a sheet. This conveyance guide is formed of a stacker upper guide 40a and a stacker lower guide 40b, and is configured to stack and store sheets in this guide. The illustrated stacker unit 40 is connected to the carry-in path 41 and is arranged in a substantially vertical direction at the left and right center of the casing 20. As a result, the apparatus is made compact and compact. The stacker unit 40 is formed in a length shape that accommodates the maximum size sheet therein. In the stacker unit 40, an adhesive unit 50 as an adhesive application unit that applies an adhesive to the sheet, a folding blade 86 that folds the sheet, and a folding roller 81 are arranged. These configurations will be described later.

[Description of Evacuation Path (Third Switchback Path SP3)]
On the rear end side in the transport direction of the stacker unit 40, the second switchback transport path SP2 is branched from a transport path 41 for transporting sheets to the stacker section 40, and overlaps with the transport path exit end to overlap the sheet. Is connected to a retreat path 47 which is a third switchback path SP3 that enters the switchback. The retraction path 47 is composed of a switchback guide 42 made of a plate material as shown in FIGS. The switchback guide 42 has ribs protruding on the surface along the sheet conveying direction to facilitate sheet conveyance. Further, the switchback guide 42 is configured so as to be able to rotate around the guide release shaft 43 and release when a sheet bundle jam or the like occurs in the retraction path.

The switchback conveyance to the retreat path 47 is performed by a stopper 90 as a regulating member at the front end of the sheet when the rear end of the sheet carried into the stacker unit 40 from the carry-in path 41 passes through a position branched from the carry-in path 41. The rear end side of the sheet is switched back and conveyed to the retreat path 47 together with the sheet bundle in the stacker 40 after being moved (raised).
The stopper 90 is a restricting member that restricts the leading edge of the sheet and a moving member that moves the sheet with a gripper 91 that grips the sheet, which will be described later. The restricting member and the moving member may be configured separately, but are also used in this embodiment.

A deflection guide 44 urged by a guide tension spring 44 a is provided on the switchback guide 42 side of the retraction path 47 at the junction of the carry-in path 41 and the retraction path 47. Further, an adhesion unit 50 for applying an adhesive to the sheet is disposed immediately after the deflection guide 44 at the junction. The adhesive unit 50 includes an adhesive tape stamper 51 as an adhesive member. The structure of the adhesive unit 50 will be described later. After the adhesive tape is applied (transferred) to the preceding sheet by the adhesive tape stamper 51 of this apparatus, when the next sheet is carried in from the carry-in path 41, the leading edge of the next sheet becomes the preceding sheet Adhesive cannot be applied to the central part in the conveying direction constituting the sheet bundle because it adheres to the application part of the sheet. Therefore, the next sheet is conveyed to the adhesive tape stamper 51 after being switched back and conveyed to the retreat path 47 so that the adhesive application portion of the preceding sheet does not hinder the carry-in of the sheet. Accordingly, the retracting path 47 functions as a path for retracting the sheet coated with the adhesive.

Further, by switching back to the retreat path 47, the leading edge of the next (subsequent) sheet fed from the conveyance roller 46 of the carry-in path 41, which is also the second switchback conveyance path SP2, and the stack supported by the stacker unit 40. The function of ensuring the page order of the sheets to be stacked by overlapping the rear ends of the finished (preceding) sheets is also achieved.

[Outline from retraction path to stopper]
Here, based on FIG.2 and FIG.3, the outline | summary of a structure from the retraction path | route 47 branched from the carrying-in path | route 41 to the stopper part 90 is demonstrated.
First, a deflection guide 44 in which a spring is stretched so as to lightly press the sheet toward the switchback guide 42 side of the retraction path 47 is provided at the junction of the carry-in path 41 and the retraction path 47. The deflection guide 44 is set to a comb tooth that avoids the position where the adhesive is applied to the sheet. Therefore, even if the sheet coated with the adhesive passes under the deflection guide 44, the adhesive does not adhere to the conveyance path. The flow of these sheets will be described separately.

At the junction of the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 on the downstream side of the deflection guide 44, as shown in FIG. Has been placed. A sheet presser 65 that is pressed to restrict the sheet stopped at the bonding position for bonding is attached to the bonding unit 50 so as to move up and down toward the stopper portion 90. At the front end side of the sheet presser 65, a sheet presser slider 71 is provided that presses the sheet up and down and feeds the adhesive tape AT as an adhesive. A transfer head 72 for backing up the adhesive tape AT fed out from the reel is provided above the sheet pressing slider 71. The transfer head 72 also presses the sheet to apply the adhesive tape AT to the sheet and is separated from the sheet. Then, the sheet moves to a separation position that allows the conveyance and movement of the sheet.
In addition, application | coating in this invention shall also include what is called transfer which transfers an adhesive agent from a tape, pressing a sheet | seat. Moreover, what sprays an adhesive agent while pressing a sheet | seat is also included.

  On the downstream side of the adhesive unit 50, sheet side edge alignment members 48 that move in the sheet width direction and press the sheet side edge in the stacker unit 40 are disposed on both sides thereof. The sheet side edge aligning member 48 is substantially U-shaped, and a folding roller 81a, 81b as a folding processing portion and a folding blade 86 that presses the sheet against the folding roller are pressed against the sheet. It can be moved away from each other. Immediately after the sheet side edge aligning member 48, a pressure roller 49 is provided so as to be separated from and in contact with the stacker lower guide 40b which is one guide constituting the stacker unit 40. The pressure roller 49 is separated until the front end of the sheet passes the roller position. When the front end of the sheet passes, the pressure roller 49 rotates while pressing the sheet so as to press the sheet against the stacker lower guide 40b.

  On the lower end side of the stacker unit 40, a regulating member (hereinafter referred to as a stopper unit 90) that regulates the leading end of the sheet in the carry-in direction is arranged. The stopper portion 90 is supported by a guide rail or the like of the apparatus frame so as to be movable along the stacker portion 40, and can be moved up and down by a lifting belt 93 stretched between an upper pulley 94a and a lower pulley 94b positioned in the vertical direction. ing. The elevating belt 93 is moved by moving these spanning pulleys 94 with a motor (M10). As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating belt 93 is stopped and moved to each position of Sh0, Sh1, Sh2, Sh3, and Sh4.

  First, Sh0 at the lowermost position is the home position of the stopper portion, and this position is detected by a sensor (not shown) to set the initial position. Sh1 is a receiving position of the first sheet, and is a position where the rear end of the sequentially stacked sheets passes through the carry-in path 41 and the rear end is pressed to the switchback guide side of the retreat path 47 by the deflection guide 44. Sh2 is a position where the bundled sheets are folded at a half position in the sheet conveying direction. Sh3 is a position where the adhesive tape AT is applied (transferred) to the sheet by the adhesive tape stamper 51 as an adhesive member in the sheet width direction at approximately a half position in the sheet conveyance direction. Sh4 is a position where the application position where the adhesive member is applied to the sheet is moved to the retreat path 47. This position prevents the next sheet from coming into contact with the adhesive application position of the preceding sheet when the next sheet is carried into the stacker unit 40 from the carry-in path 41, and prevents the adhesive from adhering to a paper jam or an unplanned position. In addition, the application position of the preceding sheet can be retracted to a position (application concealment position 100) that is distant from the next sheet carry-in path. In this apparatus, the sheet is carried in, the adhesive is applied to the sheet, the application position is moved to the retreat path, the next sheet is carried in, and the adhesive is applied to the next sheet, and the bundle is formed while the sheets are bonded together with the adhesive. Is. This bundle formation will be described later in order.

  After the sheet bundle is formed, it is folded in half by the folding processing unit 80, and the folded sheet bundle is discharged onto the second discharge tray by the bundle discharge roller 95 provided with the bundle kicking piece 95a. The discharged sheet bundle is collected on the second tray by a bundle presser guide 96 that prevents the bundle from opening and a stacking range from being reduced, and a bundle presser 97 that is positioned downstream thereof.

[Description of adhesive unit]
Next, the bonding unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. A range surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the bonding unit 50 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bonding unit 50, and the sheet processing apparatus B is mounted with this apparatus range as a unit. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the main part of the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b as the adhesive unit, FIG. 5a is a plan view of the cam member 57 and the like, and FIG. 5b is a front view showing the engaged state of the cam member 57 and the stamper holder 52 5c is an explanatory view of the cam member 57 moved to a position where the adhesive tape stamper 51 is separated from the sheet, and the lower stage is in contact with the sheet and moved to a position where the stamper holder 52 is pressed to the platen 79 side. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the adhesive tape stamper 51 as an adhesive member, FIG. 6a is a perspective view, FIG. 6b is an internal mechanism diagram, and FIGS. 6c and 6d are drive explanatory views for winding the adhesive tape AT by a stamping operation. 7 and FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams of operations for applying and transferring the adhesive tape to the sheet by the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b supporting a plurality of adhesive tape stampers 51. FIG.

A range surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 is the bonding unit 50 in the present embodiment. In the range of the broken line, an adhesive tape stamper 51 which is an adhesive member, a stamper holder 52 as an adhesive unit for grouping and supporting the adhesive tape stamper 51 in parallel, and the stamper holder 52 are brought close to the platen 79, and the adhesive tape stamper 51 Is pressed against the sheet to apply the adhesive (adhesive tape AT) to the sheet, and the cam member 57 is moved up and down between the position separated from the platen 79, and the cam member 57 intersects the sheet conveyance direction. A cam movement motor 60 (M13) that moves in the direction is arranged. In addition, the plurality of adhesive tape units 50a and 50b can be mounted as a unitized adhesive unit 50 on the sheet processing apparatus B, more specifically, at a position upstream of the stacker unit 40. Further, the bonding unit 50 is configured so that a part of the carry-in path 41 (more specifically, the unit path entrance shown in FIG. 3) is used so that the sheet is not shifted when the sheet is carried into the stacker unit 40 or switched back to the retreat path 47. 143 to the carry-in route outlet 144), the deflection guide 44, a part of the branched retreat route 47 (more specifically, the retreat route exit 145), and the platen 79 are also installed in the apparatus as this unit. These are the adhesive units 50 in a range surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3, and are shown in a perspective view in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment unit 50 is attached to the sheet processing apparatus B through a fixing portion (not shown) of the sheet processing apparatus B and a set screw hole 50cb provided in the frame of the adhesion unit 50 with the illustrated screws. Made by fixing. It should be noted that this screw may be changed so that a rail is provided in each of the sheet processing apparatus B and the bonding unit 50 so that the sheet can be pulled out.
By unitizing as described above, each positional relationship is more accurate than individually attaching to the sheet processing apparatus B, and in particular, in a portion where the adhesive is not originally desired to be attached due to movement of the sheet after applying the adhesive. The adhesion of the adhesive due to the shift is reduced.

  The adhesive unit 50 includes a left and right coating device frame 50c, a central support frame 63 that couples the left and right coating device frames 50c at the center, a rear support frame 64a that is coupled at the rear, and a lower support frame 64b that is coupled below the platen 79. Constitutes one housing. A cam movement motor 60 is attached to the one coating device frame 50c. The drive of the cam moving motor 60 is transmitted to the moving belt 58 via the gear train 59. The moving belt 58 is coupled to a cam member 57 slidable in the sheet width direction on two cam guide rods 57a between the left and right applicator frames 50c. Therefore, when the cam movement motor 60 is driven, the cam member 57 moves to the left and right according to the rotation direction.

  The cam member 57 is formed with a cam groove 61 as shown in FIGS. As shown in the figure, the cam groove 61 is provided with an upper horizontal groove cam 61a provided on the upper side of the cam member 57, a lower horizontal groove cam 61c provided on the lower side, and an inclined cam groove 61b communicating these. These cam grooves 61 are formed on the left and right as shown in the figure, but their phases are slightly different. In this cam groove 61, a roller 56 as a cam follower is fitted to a moving block 54 for raising and lowering the stamper holder 52.

The roller fitted and engaged with the cam groove 61 is fixed to the moving block 54 via a shaft. 7A, the moving block 54 is provided in a stamper holder 52 that supports the adhesive tape stamper 51 (although this figure is an explanatory view seen from the back side of the cam member 57 shown in FIG. 4). Of the four guide rods 53 extending vertically, the two guide rods 53 on the inner side are slidably supported. On the other hand, each of the two outer guide rods 53 is slidably supported by a support block 55 fixed to a central support frame 63 that joins the left and right coating device frames 50c. Accordingly, the stamper holder 52 that supports the adhesive tape stamper 51 is supported by the support block 55 on which the outer guide rod 53 slides.

On the other hand, a moving block 54 is slidably attached to two guide rods 53 at the center of the stamper holder 52, and this moving block 54 is fixed to a roller 56 that engages with the cam groove 61 as a cam follower. It is. Further, a pressure spring 62 is wound around a central guide rod 53 around the bottom surface of the moving block 54 and the back surface 52c of the bottom surface of the stamper holder 52. The pressurizing spring 62 constantly urges the moving block 54 in a direction in which the moving block 54 is pressed against the upper portion of the stamper holder 52. Accordingly, when the cam member 57 moves and the roller 56 engaged with the cam groove 61 descends, a transfer head 72 of an adhesive tape stamper 51 described later contacts the sheet and the stamper holder 52 stops descending. The pressure spring 62 is compressed between the bottom surface of the moving block 54 and the back surface 52c of the bottom surface of the stamper holder 52. Accordingly, the transfer head 72 is more strongly pressed against the sheet by the compression force of the moving block 54 and the elastic force of the pressure spring 62, and the adhesive on the adhesive tape AT can be reliably applied (transferred) to the sheet.

Further, the left and right cam grooves 61 into which the rollers 56 engaged with the cam grooves 61 are fitted have different phases as shown in FIG. 5C and the initial positions of the cam grooves 61 of the rollers 56 are also different. For this reason, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing starts to descend quickly, and the roller on the right side reaches the lower horizontal cam groove 61c with a delay. For this reason, the lower horizontal cam groove 61c on the left side is set longer than the right side. This is because the adhesive tape units 50a each having the adhesive tape stamper 51 press the sheet earlier than the adhesive tape unit 50b, and then the adhesive tape unit 50b presses the sheet with a delay. This requires a considerable pressing force for each adhesive tape unit 50a, 50b to press against the sheet at a time. Therefore, a larger drive motor must be used to move the cam member 57. Can be reduced in size and weight of the frame. In addition, when the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b press the sheet at different timings, the sheet is unlikely to be wrinkled or twisted.

[Description of adhesive member (adhesive tape stamper)]
Here, the adhesive tape stamper 51 that can be attached to and detached from the stamper holder 52 constituting the adhesive tape units 50a and 50b will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 6a shows the appearance, in order to press the adhesive tape AT against the sheet, the stamper cover 70, the adhesive tape AT having an adhesive on the tape base material, and the tape being wound in order. A transfer head 72 to be backed up, and a sheet presser slider 71 that can move up and down between a position that is located next to the transfer head 72 and protrudes from the transfer head 72 and a position that retreats to the same position of the transfer head 72 appear. Yes. The sheet presser slider 71 presses the sheet under the sheet presser slider 71 when the transfer head 72 is lowered to apply and transfer the adhesive tape AT to the sheet. The transfer surface is rolled up, and this is backed up by the transfer head 72 to apply and transfer the adhesive onto the sheet.

Next, a configuration for feeding the adhesive tape AT by extending and contracting the sheet pressing slider 71 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6 b, in the stamper cover 70, a supply reel 74 that is rotatable around a supply reel shaft 74 a around which an unused adhesive tape AT is wound, and a supply reel 74 that is fed out from the supply reel 74 to the transfer head 72. A rotatable take-up reel 75 is disposed on a take-up reel shaft 75a that is wound around and takes up the adhesive tape AT. FIG. 6 c shows a state before the adhesive tape AT is fed from the supply reel 74, and a slider rack 77 is formed of resin above the sheet pressing slider 71 that expands and contracts in the stamper cover 70. The slider rack 77 is engaged with a gear that rotates integrally with the take-up reel 75. The gear of the take-up reel 75 is engaged with a gear that rotates integrally with the supply reel 74 via a reel-to-reel gear 76.

Further, a slider spring 73 is provided in the sheet presser slider 71, and always urges the sheet presser slider 71 outward (lower side in FIG. 6). Therefore, when the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape stamper 51 in the state shown in FIG. 6D is pushed down from the state where the slider spring 73 shown in FIG. 6C is extended, the slider spring 73 is compressed. At the same time, the slider rack 77 engages with the take-up reel gear 75b of the take-up reel 75 and rotates the take-up reel 75 in the clockwise direction in the drawing. The take-up reel gear 75b meshes with the inter-reel gear 76, and the other of the inter-reel gear 76 meshes with the supply reel gear 74b. Accordingly, when the take-up reel 75 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing, the supply reel 74 also rotates, and the adhesive tape AT is taken up by the take-up reel while being fed out from the supply reel, and a new adhesive surface is positioned on the transfer head 72.

Next, when the adhesive tape stamper 51 is raised from the state of FIG. 6D, the slider spring 73 is elastically restored, and the sheet pressing slider 71 is pushed downward. At this time, since the take-up reel gear 75b meshes with the slider rack 77, it rotates counterclockwise, but a ratchet mechanism that transmits only in one direction is interposed between the take-up reel 75 and the take-up reel gear 75b. The take-up reel 75 does not rotate. Further, the reel-to-reel gear 76 and the supply reel gear 74b that mesh with the take-up reel gear 75b also rotate counterclockwise, but a ratchet mechanism that transmits only in one direction is interposed between the reel reel 76 and the supply reel 74b. Therefore, the supply reel 74 does not rotate. From such a mechanism, only when the sheet pressing slider 71 is pushed down, the supply reel 74 and the take-up reel 75 rotate and the new adhesive surface of the adhesive tape AT is fed out to the transfer head 72 and positioned. In this embodiment, the ratchet mechanism is not particularly shown, but a one-way clutch that transmits rotation only in one direction between each reel gear and the reel may be adopted.

The movement from FIG. 6 c to FIG. 6 d in this embodiment is performed by moving the stamper holder 52 supporting a plurality of adhesive tape stampers 51 up and down by the cam member 57. This mechanism is as described above. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, a cushion material 52a made of foaming resin or the like for buffering the impact of the lifting operation is interposed between the stamper holder 52 and the adhesive tape stamper 51 and supported. Thereby, application | coating (transfer) of the adhesive agent from adhesive tape AT to a sheet | seat improves.
By the way, the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape AT in the embodiment has an adhesive on the tape base material, and is configured such that the adhesive is transferred to the sheet by pressing it on the sheet.

[Explanation about the sheet bundle presser adjacent to the stamper holder]
Next, before the sheet pressing slider 71 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 described with reference to FIG. 6 presses the sheet against the platen 79 which is the bonding position, the sheet pressing 65 for restricting the movement and flapping of the sheet will be described with reference to FIGS. Especially with reference to FIG.
As already described, the sheet presser 65 that is pressed toward the platen 79 to regulate the sheet stopped at the bonding position for bonding is attached to the bonding unit 50 so as to be movable up and down. As shown in FIG. 7a, a sheet presser support block 67 for slidingly supporting a sheet presser guide rod 68 having a sheet presser 65 is provided on both sides of two stamper holders 52 that support the adhesive tape stamper 51. In the sheet pressing support block 67, the illustrated round hole is fixed to the central support frame 63 by screws or the like. Further, presser pressure springs 65 c wound around the sheet presser guide rod 68 are arranged on both side ends of the sheet presser support block 67 and the side edge presser 65 a of the sheet presser 65.

Further, the sheet bundle presser 65 is always urged in the direction in which the sheet is pressed, but one (left side in FIG. 7) of the stamper holder 52 and the sheet presser 65 are engaged by the engaging portion 69, The sheet presser 65 is locked at a position spaced from the other sheet. Therefore, when the stamper holder 52 does not move down due to the movement of the cam member 57, the sheet presser 65 also stops at a position away from the sheet and allows the conveyance of the sheet. When the stamper holder 52 starts to descend toward the sheet by the movement of the cam member 57, the engagement portion between the engagement portion 69 of the stamper holder 52 and the sheet presser 65 is lowered as shown in FIG. 7c, and the sheet presser 65 is lowered. Then, the sheet is prevented from being displaced or fluttered on the platen 79. Due to this restriction, the stamper holder 52 is further lowered and the sheet pressing slider 71 presses the sheet, and also when the transfer head 72 that is further lowered and supports the adhesive tape AT and presses the sheet presses the sheet. Misalignment and flapping can be suppressed.

When the application (transfer) of the adhesive tape AT to the adhesive tape stamper 51 is completed in the sheet width direction by the lowering of the two stamper holders 52, this time, when the cam member returns to the original FIG. The engaging portion engages with the stamper holder 52, and ascends from the seat by raising the stamper holder 52. As described above, the sheet presser 65 according to the present embodiment presses the sheet ahead of other members in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the stamper holder 52. This sheet presser is moved downward by the solenoid or the like. You may move it ahead of time. Further, the side edge presser 65a and the center presser 65b are provided so as to press over the entire sheet width. However, only the side edge presser 65a or only the center presser 65b may be provided if necessary, and the application of the adhesive is essential. It is sufficient to prevent the sheet from moving in front.

[Explanation of adhesive unit operation]
Here, the operation of applying (transferring) the adhesive to the sheet by the adhesive unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 are explanatory views as seen from the back side of the cam member 57 on the side opposite to the adhesive tape stamper 51 of FIG.
7A, the cam member 57 is in the initial position, and the stamper holder 52 having the adhesive tape stamper 51 mounted in the cam groove 61 of the cam member 57 is slid along the inner guide rod 53. The moving block 54 and the roller 56 are engaged. As described above, the pressure spring 62 is interposed between the moving block 54 and the stamper holder 52, and the moving block 54 presses the moving block 54 so as to contact the back surface 52c of the stamper holder 52 as shown in FIG. Further, the stamper holder 52 is configured to slide on the outer guide rod 53 so as to be movable up and down on support blocks 55 fixed to a central support frame 63 that connects the coating device frame 50c at the center.

In FIG. 7 a, the stamper holder 52 and the sheet presser 65 locked to the stamper holder 52 are also separated from the platen 79 to maintain a gap in which the sheet can move. In this state, the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 are located farthest from the sheet. The other stamper holder 52 is also in the same position.

Next, in FIG. 7b, the sheet is positioned at the bonding position, and the cam moving motor 60 is driven by the signal for applying the adhesive tape AT, and the cam member 57 moves in the right direction in the figure. Then, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing starts to move downward along the inclined cam groove 61b. By this movement, the left stamper holder 52 is also lowered by the guide rod 53 sliding on the support block 55. When the stamper holder 52 is lowered, the engaging portion 69 locked to the stamper holder 52 is also lowered, and pressing of the sheet on the platen 79 is started. On the other hand, the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 are also lowered but are not in contact with the sheet. The stamper holder 52 on the right side of the drawing is not moved down because the roller 56 has only moved the upper horizontal cam groove 61a of the cam groove 61.

Further, when the cam member 57 moves, the roller 56 on the left side of the drawing further descends the inclined cam groove as shown in FIG. 7c. By this lowering, the engagement of the engaging portion 69 between the sheet presser 65 and the right stamper holder 52 is released. When this locking is released, the sheet presser 65 more reliably presses the sheet and restricts the position by a presser pressure spring 65c interposed between the sheet presser support block 67 and the sheet presser support block 67. On the other hand, the sheet pressing slider 71 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 starts contact with the sheet, and by this contact, the adhesive tape AT also moves as shown in FIGS. 6c to 6d to expose a new adhesive surface. Even at this position, the transfer head 72 is not yet in contact with the sheet. Also, the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure is not moved down because the roller 56 has only moved the upper horizontal cam groove 61a of the cam groove 61.

Subsequently, when the cam member 57 moves to the right side as shown in FIG. 8A, the left stamper holder 52 is lowered and the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 are brought into contact with the sheet. At this time, when the transfer head 72 abuts on the sheet, the stamper holder 52 is prevented from further descending, but the moving block 54 moves in the inclined cam groove 61b so as to further descend. As a result, compression of the pressure spring 62 is started by this movement, and this elastic force acts as a pressing force of the transfer head 72 via the stamper holder 52, and the adhesive tape AT is pressed more strongly against the sheet. As a result, the adhesive can be reliably applied and transferred to the sheet.
On the other hand, the roller 56 of the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure also starts to descend the inclined cam groove 61b, and the sheet pressing slider 71 of the right adhesive tape stamper 51 starts to press the sheet.

Further, when the cam member 57 moves and enters the state shown in FIG. 8B, the stamper holder 52 on the left side in the drawing maintains the pressurized state by the elastic force of the pressure spring 62. On the other hand, the roller 56 of the right stamper holder 52 shown in the drawing also reaches the end point of the downward movement of the inclined cam groove 61b, so that the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the right adhesive tape stamper 51 also press the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 8 c, when the cam member 57 is positioned on the rightmost side, the stamper holder 52 on the left side in the drawing is in a state of further maintaining the pressurized state by the elastic force of the pressurizing spring 62. On the other hand, the roller 56 of the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the drawing also reaches the lower horizontal cam groove 61c, whereby the sheet pressing slider 71 and the transfer head 72 of the left adhesive tape stamper 51 press the sheet, and the pressure spring 62 is further compressed. This elastic force acts as a pressing force of the transfer head 72 via the stamper holder 52 on the right side of the figure, and presses the adhesive tape AT more strongly against the sheet. As a result, the adhesive can be reliably applied (transferred) to the sheet.

When the respective transfer heads 72 complete the application of the adhesive to the sheet by the lowering of the left and right stamper holders 52, the cam member 57 moves to the left side in the figure and raises the stamper holder 52 in the reverse order of the lowering. , The left stamper holder 52 engages with the engaging portion 69 of the sheet presser 65 and moves the sheet presser 65 to a position away from the sheet, and further returns to the state of FIG. Prepare for application of agent.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 pre-presses the sheet with the sheet presser 65 before applying the adhesive to the sheet, the sheet position shift It can be applied at a predetermined position on the sheet without fluttering. Further, since the stamper holder 52 that supports the transfer head 72 is pressed by the pressure spring 62 even after the transfer head 72 abuts against the sheet, the transfer head 72 can be strongly pressed by the sheet. The adhesive on the tape AT can be reliably transferred to the sheet.

Further, as described in the explanation of the operation of the bonding unit 50, the left and right stamper holders 52 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 do not press the transfer head 72 against the sheet at the same time on both the left and right sides. The group is pressed against the sheet, and the timing of sequentially pressing is shifted so that the right transfer head 72 group is pressed against the sheet while maintaining this state with the cam member 57, so compared to what is pressed at once. The driving force can be reduced, and the cam moving motor 60 can be reduced in size, and the apparatus can be configured even if the apparatus frame is somewhat fragile, and the weight can be reduced.

  Next, the sheet side edge aligning member 48 located on the downstream side of the adhesive unit 50 in the stacker unit 40, the conveying roller 46 and the pressure roller 49 that are separated from the sheet during the aligning operation, and the leading end of the sheet that is carried into the stacker unit 40 Next, the stopper 90 that restricts the sheet, the gripper 91 that is provided on the stopper 90 and can grip the sheet, and the folding processing unit 80 that folds the sheet bundle in half will be described in order.

[Description of sheet side edge alignment mechanism]
As described above, on the downstream side of the bonding unit 50, the sheet side edge alignment member 48 that moves in the sheet width direction and presses the sheet side edge in the stacker unit 40 is disposed on both sides thereof. . This configuration will be further described with reference to FIG. The sheet side edge aligning member 48 includes an upstream aligning plate 110 positioned on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction and a downstream aligning plate 111 having a slightly wider width in the conveying direction on both sides in the sheet width direction. Are combined. In the alignment plate connecting portion 112, racks 114 extending in the sheet width direction are fixed to the alignment plate connecting portion 112 by left and right rack connecting portions 113. A pinion 116 that meshes with the rack teeth is provided at the center of the left and right racks 114 and is coupled to the alignment motor 117 (M12). The pinion 116 is rotated by forward and reverse rotation of the alignment motor 117, and the upstream alignment plate 110 and the downstream alignment plate 111 are reciprocated in the sheet width direction by the rack 114 meshing with the rack 114, thereby pressing the side edges of the sheet. Perform the aligning operation.

The alignment motor 117 is driven and rotated by a sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 described later. In the present embodiment, the application position of the adhesive sheet to which the adhesive has been applied is retracted to the retract path 47. As a result, the sheet in a state where the next sheet to be bonded is positioned in the carry-in path 41 and the leading ends of both sheets are in contact with the stopper portion 90 can be aligned. Further, since the sheet side edge alignment member 48 is disposed at this position, alignment is performed immediately before the sheet having the adhesive applied to the surface and the next sheet are bonded together, so that the alignment accuracy of the bonded sheet is improved.

[Explanation of separation mechanism such as conveying roller]
Next, during the alignment operation of the sheet side edge alignment member 48, it is necessary to release the nip and pressure contact with the sheet. This mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 a shows the nip and nip release configuration of the transport roller 46 located downstream of the carry-in path 41. FIG. 10B shows the pressure roller 49 that is located in the middle of the stacker unit 40 and immediately downstream of the folding processing unit 80 and presses the sheet against the stacker lower guide 40b to apply a conveying force to the stopper unit 90 side. Shows separation configuration

First, the conveyance roller 46 in FIG. 10A will be described. The transport roller 46 rotated by the roller transmission belt 124 from the forward and reverse transport motor M2 includes a drive roller shaft 121, a drive roller 120, and a pinch roller 125 that is in contact with and away from the drive roller shaft 121. The nip release of the conveying roller 46 is performed by separating the pinch roller 125 from the driving roller 120. The pinch roller 125 includes a support bracket 126 that supports the pinch roller 125 and a rotation shaft 127 that rotatably supports the support bracket 126. The rotation shaft 127 is fixed to the rotation gear 129 at the end of the apparatus. The rotation gear 129 is engaged with the separation motor 131 (M3) via the separation motor gear 130. A projecting pin 127 a having a lower end side embedded in the rotating shaft 127 and projecting the upper end is engaged with the pin receiving groove 128 of the support bracket 126. The pin receiving groove 128 allows the protruding pin 127a to freely move within a predetermined range. In addition, a winding spring 122 is positioned between the support bracket 126 and a device frame (not shown).

  Accordingly, the pinch roller 125 is always urged by the driving roller 120 by the winding spring 122 to apply a conveying force to the sheet. On the other hand, when a signal separating from the driving roller 120 of the pinch roller 125 is output from the sheet conveyance control unit 195 when the sheet side edge alignment member 48 is operated, the separation motor 131 of the pinch roller 125 is driven. By this driving, the rotation gear 129 having a rotation shaft fixed thereto via the separation motor gear 130 is rotated in the illustrated direction. By this rotation, the projecting pin 127a on the rotation shaft 127 also rotates in the pin receiving groove 128 in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, and when it contacts the projecting wall of the pin receiving groove 128, the support bracket 126 moves and drives the pinch roller 125. The sheet is separated from the roller 120 and the nip of the sheet is released. On the contrary, in order to press the pinch roller 125 against the driving roller 120 in order to convey the sheet, when the separation motor 131 is rotated in the reverse direction, the protruding pin 127a is positioned almost in the middle of the original pin receiving groove 128. Therefore, the support bracket 126 presses the drive motor with the pinch roller 125 by the elastic force of the winding spring 122, so that a constant conveying force can be applied to the sheet.

  Next, FIG. 10 b shows a pressure roller 49 that can move so as to be in contact with the stacker lower guide 40 b of the stacker unit 40. The pressure roller 49 is separated until the leading edge of the sheet passes. When the leading edge of the sheet passes, the pressure roller 49 rotates while pressing the sheet so as to press the sheet against the stacker lower guide 40b. The illustrated pressure roller 49 is provided at substantially the center in the sheet width direction. The pressure roller 49 is supported by support arms 132 on both sides, and the pressure roller 49 is raised and lowered by a spring clutch 134 wound between an intermediate shaft holder 136 fixed to the intermediate shaft 135 and the arm holder 132a. It is configured to perform operations. The pressure roller 49 is driven by transmitting the rotation of the intermediate shaft 135 by the pressure roller transmission belt 133. The intermediate shaft 135 is driven by a motor between an intermediate transmission belt 137, an intermediate gear 138, a drive shaft 139 that drives the intermediate gear 138, and a pressure roller nip separation motor 141 (M9) that rotates the drive shaft 139. This is done by the transmission belt 140.

  The pressure roller 49 configured as described above detects that the leading edge of the sheet has passed through the pressure roller 49 in the stacker unit 40, and when the pressure roller nip separation motor 141 is rotated forward by the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200. The intermediate shaft holder 136 also rotates in the positive direction. By rotating in this direction, the spring clutch 134 is loosened and the restriction of the arm holder 132a is released and the pressure roller 49 is pressed against the sheet by its own weight. During the pressure contact of the pressure roller 49, a rotation for conveying the sheet to the downstream side is applied, and the sheet is conveyed in the direction of the illustrated stopper portion 90.

On the other hand, when aligning the sheet that has entered the stacker unit 40 or when conveying the sheet upstream (for example, in the switchback conveyance direction to the retreat path 47), the spring clutch 134 is rotated when the pressure roller nip separation motor 141 is rotated in the reverse direction. Becomes the tightening direction, and the pressure roller 49 is raised. Even if the pressure roller nip separation motor 141 is stopped in this state, the pressure roller 49 is held at the retracted position separated from the sheet by the motor torque and the spring clutch. The raising and lowering of the pressure roller 49 may be directly coupled to a solenoid or the like to raise and lower.

[Explanation of the stopper gripper opening and closing mechanism]
A closed state in which the sheet of the gripper 91 located at the tip of the stopper 90 is gripped and an open state in which the grip is released will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, since raising / lowering of the stopper part 90 was already demonstrated, description here is abbreviate | omitted.
FIG. 11a shows the entire movement range of the gripper 91, and the upper and lower positions are indicated by virtual lines. FIG. 11 b is a plan view of the gripper 91 together with the stopper portion 90 as viewed from above. The gripper 91 is disposed at the tip of the stopper portion 90, and is configured such that the moving piece 91b is separated from the 90 fixed piece 91a of the stopper portion. The gripper connecting portion 152 of the moving piece 91b is disposed so as to be able to advance and retract under the stopper portion 90 and the stopper connecting portion 151. A closing spring 91c is provided below the moving piece 91b to constantly urge the moving piece 91b in the closing direction.

By the way, the gripper connecting portion 152 has a connecting arm 153 having an opening hole protruding backward from the stopper portion 90. A rotation bracket 154 that penetrates the opening hole of the connecting arm 153 and supports the rotation bar 156 up and down is provided. As shown in FIG. 11b, the rotation bracket 154 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, with the rotation fulcrum 155 serving as a fulcrum, as shown in FIG. 11b. This rotation bracket 154 has a rotation cam 157 and a bracket pressing surface 158. The rotating cam 157 is rotated by a gripper opening / closing motor 160 (M11). When the bracket pressing surface 158 presses the rotation bracket 154 by this rotation, the bracket pressing surface 158 swings about the rotation fulcrum 155. By this swinging, the rotating bar 156 supported by the rotating bracket 154 is moved forward and backward. Since the rotation bar 156 passes through the opening hole of the connecting arm 153, the moving piece 91 b at the tip of the connecting arm 153 comes in contact with the fixed piece 91 a of the stopper portion 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11a, even if the stopper 90 is moved up and down as shown in FIG. 11a, the rotation bar 156 is positioned in this lift range, so that the gripper 91 is moved at any lift position. The piece 91b can be moved forward and backward. Accordingly, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 turns the gripper opening / closing motor 160 into a closed state in which the gripper 91 grips the sheet and an open state in which the gripper is released. Since the stacker unit 40 is arranged in an inclined state as shown in the figure, the rotating bracket 154 is always in contact with the rotating cam 157. Note that the rotating bracket may be urged toward the rotating cam 157 by a spring or the like to contact the rotating cam 157.

[Description of folding mechanism drive mechanism]
Next, the driving mechanism of the folding processing unit 80 that folds the sheet bundle bonded to the adhesive binding unit 50 in FIG. 12 will be described. This figure is a perspective view of the drive mechanism showing a state where the folding blade 86 is at the home position where it is on standby.
A drive path for reciprocating the folding blade 86 shown in FIG. 12 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure. First, the drive is started by a folding drive motor 300 (M15) arranged in the lower part of the figure. This drive is transmitted from the pulley 302 attached to the drive shaft of the folding drive motor 300 to the drive pulley 306 via the drive belt 304. Then, the transmission is transmitted from the transmission gear 308 provided on the shaft of the drive pulley 306 to the one-way clutch-equipped gear 310. The one-way clutch-engaged gear 310 is driven and engaged with the shaft by rotation in one direction, and the drive rotates the transmission gear 312, and the other rotation is disengaged from the shaft, and only the one-way clutch-equipped gear is engaged. Rotate to the other.

This drive is transmitted to the shaft gear 324 through the transmission gears 314, 316, 318, 320, and 322 shown in the figure. A moving cam 328 is rotatably provided on both sides of the rotating shaft 326 to which the shaft gear 324 is attached. The moving cam 328 is rotated by rotation of the drive motor 300 in one direction, and the rotating shaft 326 of the moving cam 328 is attached at an eccentric position. Therefore, the cam engagement member 334 engaged with the groove in the moving cam 328, the blade support plate 336 to which the cam engagement member 334 is attached, and the folding blade 86 attached to the same move in the front-rear direction. In other words, the folding blade 86 moves to the home position (330) in FIG. 12 away from the folding roller 81 and the moving position inserted into the folding roller 81 advanced further than this. Prior to the sheet pushing operation of the folding blade 86 to the folding roller 81, a sheet biasing plate that presses the sheet bundle against the folding roller is attached to the blade support plate 336 so as to be movable by a spring (not shown). ing.

[Folding roller drive path]
A rotational drive path of the folding roller 81 that folds the sheet bundle in two is shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the drive is branched from the drive motor 300 that is the same as the drive source that moves the folding blade 86 from the transmission gear 308 to the drive system on the folding roller 81 side by the transmission gear 350 through the gear 310 with a one-way clutch. Therefore, even if the drive motor rotates in the other direction, the transmission gear 350 also rotates in the forward and reverse directions. The drive from the transmission gear 350 is transmitted to the transmission gear 354 via the transmission gear 352.

The drive from the transmission gear 354 includes a forward / reverse transmission gear 356 that transmits the drive to the shaft even if the rotation direction is forward / reverse rotation, as surrounded by a circle of a two-dot chain line in the lower left column of FIG. There are provided a forward one-way clutch gear 358 that is provided coaxially with this and that transmits the drive only during forward rotation, and a reverse one-way clutch gear 357 that transmits the drive only during reverse rotation. The forward rotation one-way clutch gear 358 is engaged with the large diameter portion of the next-stage two-stage transmission gear 360, the reverse rotation one-way clutch gear 357 is engaged with the intermediate gear 359, and the intermediate gear 359 is connected to the two-stage transmission gear 360. It meshes with the small diameter part.

Therefore, during the forward rotation of the folding drive motor 300, it is transmitted to the two-stage transmission gear 360 via the transmission gear 354, the forward / reverse transmission gear 356, and the forward one-way clutch gear 358. On the other hand, at the time of reverse rotation of the folding drive motor, it is transmitted to the two-stage transmission gear 360 via the reverse one-way clutch gear 357 and the intermediate gear 359. In this case, the shaft 361 of the two-stage transmission gear 360 rotates in the same direction (the sheet folding direction of the folding roller 81) regardless of any rotation direction of the folding drive motor 300.

  A transmission gear 362 is provided on the outer side of the shaft 361 that rotates only in one direction. The drive of the transmission gear 362 is transmitted to the transmission gears 364 and 366, and then transmitted to the bundle discharge roller gear 374 via the transmission belt a368, the belt pulley 370, and the transmission gear 372. The driving of the bundle discharge roller gear 374 is transmitted to the bundle discharge roller 95 via the shaft, the folding roller 81a via the transmission gear 378, and the other folding roller 81b via the transmission belt b377, respectively. To do.

  In the drive transmission configuration of the folding processing unit 80 configured as described above, the folding blade 86 is reciprocated from the home position to the moving position where the sheet bundle is pushed into the folding roller 81 by the forward rotation of the folding drive motor 300. The folding roller 81 is also rotationally driven in the folding direction. On the other hand, when the folding drive motor 300 rotates in the reverse direction, the folding blade 86 is stopped by the action of the one-way clutch engaged gear 310. The folding roller 81 is rotationally driven in the folding direction without being stopped by the action of the forward rotation one-way clutch gear 358 and the reverse rotation one-way clutch gear 357. Accordingly, when the folding blade 86 is reciprocated, the folding roller 81 continues to rotate in the folding direction even if the folding drive motor 300 is rotated in the reverse direction. Even if the sheet size is long, the folding roller 81 can be folded by one drive motor. Can be processed.

[Transfer of adhesive with adhesive tape stamper]
Here, the application (transfer) position of the adhesive by the adhesive tape stamper 51 described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 13A is a bottom view of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape stamper 51, which has a substantially square shape. The pressing portion 170 of the sheet pressing slider 71 that presses the sheet relatively widely and the lateral pressing extending from both sides of the pressing portion 170 are shown. It consists of a portion 171 and a tip pressing portion 172 that connects the tip side. A transfer head 72 that supports the adhesive tape AT is positioned inside each of the pressers. X in the figure is the center position of the adhesive tape AT, and the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied to the sheet around this position. Z is a sheet pressing position for pressing the final sheet, which will be described later, to the application position of the adhesive on the preceding sheet.

FIG. 13B is a side sectional view of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape stamper 51 and is an explanatory diagram showing that the adhesive is transferred with the same length. The adhesive of the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape AT is newly transferred and positioned on the sheet. The figure which applied is shown. For the sake of explanation, every five sheets are shown, but in this figure, the adhesive is applied to the eleventh sheet so as to straddle the position of the folding position Y. As described above, first, a sheet is pressed against the platen by the sheet pressing slider 71, and the movement of the sheet pressing slider 71 exposes a new surface of the adhesive tape AT, and further, the transfer head 72 is placed on the platen 79. Press against the sheet. By this pressing, the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied to the new sheet, and the first to tenth sheets and the new eleventh sheet that have been previously coated with the adhesive are bonded to the new sheet. Are applied, and an adhesive is applied to the 11th sheet. When the application of the adhesive and the bonding of the sheets are completed, the transfer head 72 and the sheet pressing slider 71 are separated from the sheet as illustrated.
The application of the adhesive and the bonding of the sheets are repeated until one sheet before the final sheet. This application and bonding are performed by binding the existing sheets as a bundle, and the application and bonding of the adhesive are repeated for each sheet.

Next, in FIG. 13C, the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied on the folding position Y from the first sheet to the fifth sheet in the same manner as described above. It has been applied. That is, for the sixth to eleventh sheets, the adhesive is applied in close contact with the left and right of the folding position. According to this application, when the sheet bundle is folded at the folding position Y, the adhesive is widely applied from the sixth sheet to the eleventh sheet, and the adhesive may be peeled off even when folded. Can be prevented. Further, the adhesive is applied to the eleventh sheet with the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT spaced apart from each other with the folding position Y in between. In this way, when the adhesive tape AT is separated and the adhesive is applied to two places, the eleventh sheet and the twelfth sheet are not coated with the adhesive, so that it is easy to fold and relatively difficult to peel off. Can reduce the use of.

  A method for applying the adhesive to the adhesive tape AT shown in FIG. 13C will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 shows the gripper 91 and the stopper 90 of the stacker unit 40 shown in FIG. 2, and the adhesive part of the adhesive tape AT is represented by AT in the form of a sheet for convenience. As described above, the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied by pressing the adhesive tape stamper 51 against the sheet of the transfer head 72. Accordingly, the application position can be adjusted by moving the sheet by the stopper portion 90.

First, in FIG. 14A, an adhesive is applied across the folding positions of 1 to 5 sheets. The sheet is moved in the right direction in the figure (in the upward direction in the stacker portion), and the folding position is When the ink reaches below the transfer head 72, the movement of the stopper 90 is temporarily stopped and the transfer head 72 is pressed onto the sheet. When the trailing edge of the sheet received by the stopper unit 90 passes through the joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47, this sheet is moved switchback toward the retreat path 47 side. This is indicated by an arrow to the right side of the figure. Thereafter, the sheet is stopped when the sheet folding position Y coincides with the application position X, and the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 is pressed against the sheet to transfer the adhesive tape AT to the sheet. This state is shown as six ATs in FIG. This transfer is again moved to the right in the figure by the stopper 90 to move the transferred adhesive tape AT position to the retract path 47. In this embodiment, the same operation is repeated up to five sheets. This state is shown as 1 to 5 sheets in FIG.

  Next, FIG. 14B shows the transfer positions of 6 to 10 adhesive tapes AT in succession in this embodiment. In this case, the sheet is moved in the process of moving the rear end side of the sheet to the retreat path 47 side, and the sheet is stopped slightly before the folding position Y, and the adhesive tape AT is transferred. After that, the sheet is moved a little and stopped again to transfer the adhesive tape AT. In this case, the two transferred adhesive tapes AT are in close contact with each other across the folding position Y (2AT). The state of 2AT is shown as 6 to 10 in FIG. When this sheet is folded at the folding position Y, the adhesive tape AT adheres the sheet as an adhesive between the sheets in a wide range.

Further, FIG. 14 (c) shows a state in which the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied to the eleventh sheet with the adhesive folded at an interval across the folding position Y. In the process of moving the sheet, the sheet is stopped before the folding position Y (the position away from the folding position Y from FIG. 14B) in the process of moving the trailing edge of the sheet toward the retracting path 47, and the adhesive tape AT is transferred. To do. Thereafter, the sheet is moved to leave a predetermined interval (S) and then stopped again to transfer the adhesive tape AT. In this case, the two transferred adhesive tapes AT are in a state (2AT + S) with an interval (S) between the folding positions Y. The state of 2AT + S is shown on the eleventh sheet in FIG. When this sheet is folded at the folding position Y, it will be folded at a position where there is a gap between the adhesives, and it will be easier to fold and less wear on re-adhesion compared to the case where all the adhesive is applied, and there are two places. Can be used to create a booklet that is difficult to peel off.

Here, a state where the 12th sheet is bonded to the 11th sheet will be described with reference to FIG. Since the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is not applied to the 12th sheet, the pressing part 170 of the sheet pressing slider 71 is pressed against the final sheet pressing part of the platen 79 as shown in the figure. In this figure, the position where the pressing unit 170 presses without applying an adhesive is the sheet pressing position (Z). This presser ensures the bonding of the 12th sheet, and when the presser part is pressed while moving the sheet, the adhesive strength of the 12th sheet is further strengthened.
The platen 79 opposes the positions of the platen guide unit 176, the final sheet pressing unit 175, and the transfer head 72 that guide the conveyance from the upstream side of the sheet, and backs up the application of the adhesive to the sheet and the bonding of the sheets. It has each part of the platen cushion part 174 to which the sheet | seat which has some elasticity to be stuck. This ensures that the sheets are bonded together.

[Folding operation]
The operation of folding the sheet bonded with the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT as described above in the folding processing section of FIG. 12 will now be described with reference to FIGS.

[Folding a small number of laminated sheets]
First, FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram in which a small number of bonded sheets (for example, four sheets) are folded in the folding processing unit shown in FIG.
At the folding position Y arranged on the downstream side of the bonding unit 50 described above, a folding roller 81 for folding the bonded sheet bundle and a sheet bundle are inserted at the nip position of the folding roller 81 as shown in FIG. A folding blade 86 is provided. The folding roller 81 is composed of rollers 81a and 81b that are in pressure contact with each other, and each roller is formed to have a substantially maximum sheet width. The rollers 81a and 81b constituting the folding roller 81 are fitted with the long shafts of the apparatus frame (not shown) so that the rotary shafts 81ax and 81bx are joined in pressure contact with each other, and are urged in the pressure contact direction by the compression springs 81as and 81bs. Yes. Note that at least one of the rollers may be supported by a shaft so as to be movable in the press-contact direction, and a biasing spring may be wound around one of the rollers.

  The pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b are formed of a material having a relatively large friction coefficient such as a rubber roller. This is because the sheet is bent and transferred by a soft material such as rubber, and may be formed by lining the rubber material.

  Next, the operation of folding the sheet by the folding roller 81 will be described with reference to FIGS. The pair of folding rollers 81a and 81b is positioned above the stacker unit 40 and below the bonding unit 50, and has a knife blade 86 at a position facing the sandwiched sheet bundle supported by the stacker unit 40. Is provided. The folding blade 86 is supported by the apparatus frame so as to be able to reciprocate between the home position in FIG. 15A and the operating position in FIG. (See Figure 12)

Therefore, the sheet bundle supported by the stacker unit 40 in a bundle shape is locked to the stopper unit 90 at the tip in the state of FIG. 15A, and the fold position is positioned as a position where the bonding unit 50 is bonded.
Therefore, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 moves the folding blade 86 from the standby position toward the nip position. Therefore, in the state of FIG. 15B, the sheet bundle is bent at the fold position by the folding blade 86 and inserted between the rollers. At this time, the pair of folding rollers 81 are driven and rotated so as to fold the moving sheet by the folding blade 86. Then, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 reverses the folding driving motor 300 (M15) after the expected time for the sheet bundle to reach a predetermined nip position, and stops the folding blade 86 at the position shown in FIG. On the other hand, the folding roller 81 continues to rotate in the folding direction. As a result, the sheet bundle is sent out in the feeding direction (left side in the figure). Thereafter, when the sheet folding processing control unit 202 changes the rotation direction of the folding driving motor 300 (M15) to normal rotation again, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 is moved to the nip position in parallel with the feeding of the sheet bundle by the folding roller 81 in the state shown in FIG. The folding blade 86 positioned is moved back to the standby position.
Thus, when the sheet bundle bonded by the adhesive unit 50 is a small number, it can be folded relatively easily and the folded sheet is hardly peeled off.

[Folding of many laminated sheets]
FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of the folding process with a large number of sheets (12 bonded sheets in this embodiment) exceeding the predetermined number as shown in FIG. 13 (c) and FIG. 14 (c). Folding of a large number of sheets bonded by the bonding unit 50 is also performed by the same folding roller 81 and folding blade 86 as in FIG. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted when it is the same operation | movement effect | action.
As shown in FIG. 16A, a folding roller 81 that folds a sheet bundle bonded with an adhesive tape AT and attached with an adhesive, and a folding blade 86 that inserts the sheet bundle at a nip position of the folding roller 81 are provided. ing.

  Therefore, the sheet bundle supported by the stacker unit 40 in the form of a bundle is locked by the stopper unit 90 at the tip in the state of FIG. 16A, and the fold position is positioned as the center position of the bonding unit 50 for bonding. . Therefore, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 is inserted between the rollers after the folding position of the sheet bundle is bent by the folding blade 86 in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the pair of folding rollers 81 are driven to rotate at the same speed as the sheet moved by the folding blade 86.

Then, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 reverses the folding driving motor 300 after the expected time for the sheet bundle to reach the predetermined nip position, and stops the folding blade 86 at the position shown in FIG. On the other hand, the folding roller continues to rotate in the folding direction. As a result, the sheet bundle is sent out in the feeding direction (left side in the figure). After that, when the sheet folding processing control unit 202 changes the rotation direction of the folding driving motor 300 to normal rotation again, the folding operation motor 202 rotates in the nip position in parallel with the feeding of the sheet bundle by the folding roller 81 in the state of FIG. The blade 86 is moved back to the standby position.

  In the sheet bundle to be folded shown in FIG. 16, as shown in FIG. 13 (c), 1 to 5 bonded sheets are coated with an adhesive at one place on the folding position. The adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied so that up to 10 sheets are in close contact with each other across the folding position. Further, an interval (S) is interposed between the eleventh sheet and the last twelfth sheet with the folding position Y interposed therebetween. Therefore, it becomes easy to nip between the folding rollers 81 as shown in FIG.

Next, FIG. 17 shows a sheet bundle bonded with an adhesive and a sheet obtained by folding the sheet bundle. FIG. 17 (a) is a diagram for explaining the bonding in which the adhesive is applied with the same length even if it is a small number or a large number. In the description so far, only a small number of sheets have been described for the case where the adhesive tape AT is applied at one place centering on the folding position, but there is not much adhesive force even in the case of a large number of sheets as instructed by the operator. If it is good, it may be bonded in this way. In FIG. 17A, the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT is applied to the folding position of 12 sheets. In this case, when the folding process is performed, as shown in FIG. 17B, the adhesive slightly expands at the bent portion of the outer folded sheet, but the adhesive is easily peeled off.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17C, the adhesive area increases as the number of sheets increases as described above, and the adhesive is spaced apart when the number of sheets exceeds a predetermined number. ), The bonding shown in FIG. 14C or FIG. 16 is performed. When the folded sheet bundle is folded, as shown in FIG. 17 (d), the adhesive is not applied to the first portion to be nipped by the folding roller 81, so that the nipping is easily performed. In addition, the folded booklet shown in FIG. 17 (d) can provide a relatively easy-to-open folded booklet while suppressing a small amount of adhesive.

[Description of sheet bundle generation operation by bonding]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 18 to 25, the operation of generating a sheet bundle in which sheets are conveyed from the image forming apparatus A by applying an adhesive by the bonding unit 50 in the stacker unit 40 and bonding the sheets to each other will be sequentially described. .
First, in the image forming apparatus, after the sheets from the main body discharge port 3 are aligned in a bundle shape, the sheets are bonded together, folded into a booklet shape, and stored in the second discharge tray 22. Instruct.

Thereby, as shown in FIG. 18A, the first sheet image-formed from the main body discharge port 3 of the image forming apparatus A is conveyed by the path carry-in roller 45 and the carry roller 46 in the carry-in path 41. Indicates the state. At this time, the stopper 90 that regulates the leading edge of the sheet carried into the stacker 40 has a sheet length from the initial home position Sh0 shown in the drawing to the position where the trailing edge of the sheet branches from the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47. It moves to the branch passage position Sh1 at the rear end of the sheet (bundle) and waits.

  FIG. 18B shows that the sheet is loaded into the stacker unit 40 and the trailing end of the sheet is at the branched position. The sheet conveyed to this position is conveyed until it comes into contact with the stopper portion 90 waiting at the branch passage position Sh1 at the rear end of the sheet (bundle). During this conveyance, the leading edge of the sheet is conveyed by pushing up the deflection guide 44 located near the exit of the carry-in path 41. Then, when the pressure roller 49 passes the position, the pressure roller 49 moves to a position where the sheet is pressed, and the sheet is conveyed to the stopper unit 90. The gripper 91 disposed at the tip of the stopper portion 90 is in a position where the grip is released so as to receive the sheet in a state where the moving piece 91b is separated from the fixed piece 91a. When the leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the stopper portion 90, the trailing edge of the sheet is positioned at the branched position, and the trailing edge of the sheet is directed toward the retreat path 47 by the deflection guide 44.

  FIG. 19A shows a state in which the sheet is gripped by the gripper 91 when the trailing end of the sheet passes and the stopper portion 90 is lifted in this gripped state. In this case, since the rear end of the sheet is directed toward the retreat path 47 by the deflection guide 44, the sheet is switched back and conveyed in the retreat path. At this time, the second sheet is carried into the sheet carry-in path P1.

  In FIG. 19B, the first sheet is lifted by the stopper portion 90, and the half position in the sheet conveying direction is the bonding position of the bonding unit 50 (the sheet pressing position of the adhesive tape stamper 51). At the adhesive tape transfer position, the movement of the sheet by the stopper unit 90 is stopped. Here, with respect to the sheet in the stopped state, the sheet side edge alignment member 48 arranged adjacent to the adhesive unit 50 strikes the side edge in the width direction of the sheet to perform position alignment. When this aligning operation is completed, the cam moving motor 60 of the adhesive unit 50 is driven, the adhesive tape stamper 51 is moved to the sheet side, the sheet presser 65 presses the sheet first, and then the sheet presser slider 71 presses the sheet. Thereafter, the transfer head 72 is pressed against the sheet to apply the adhesive of the adhesive tape AT to the sheet. Each member that has pressed the sheet after application is separated from the sheet. During the application, the leading edge of the sheet is held by the gripper 91.

  Here, as already described in FIG. 14, the application of the adhesive on the adhesive tape AT is stopped once at the position corresponding to the folding position Y depending on the number of sheets to be bonded, and the adhesive is applied. Or, apply the first time and move the sheet slightly to a position where it is in close contact with it, or apply the second time, or if the number exceeds the predetermined number, leave an adhesive (S) in the sheet moving direction. Whether to apply or not is set by moving the stopper 90 and controlling the position of Sh3. This point will be further described with reference to the flowchart from FIG.

  Next, in FIG. 20A, after the transfer head 72, the sheet pressing slider 71, and the sheet pressing 65 are separated from the sheet, the application position of the sheet coated with the adhesive does not hinder the conveyance of the next sheet. Then, the stopper 90 is moved to the adhesive tape hidden position (next sheet receiving position) Sh4 so that the application position is retracted to the retract path 47. The distance at which this application position on the apparatus is switched back is in the retreat path 47 of about 35 mm from the above bonding position (position 100 in the figure). It is desirable to set the moving distance as short as possible so that the portion where the adhesive is applied does not adhere to the conveyance guide or the deflection guide 44. Further, the member that contacts the sheet such as the deflection guide 44 is disposed between the strips at the position where the adhesive is applied. After the preceding sheet application position has moved to the retracted position, the gripper 91 in the gripping state during application and movement is released.

In FIG. 20B, in the state where the gripper 91 is released, the next sheet moves along the carry-in path 41 as shown and starts to be carried into the stacker unit 40. Since the application position of the preceding sheet is retracted and hidden in the retracting path at the time of carrying in, the next sheet can be carried onto the preceding sheet without any trouble. The stopper unit 90 waits for the next sheet to be carried in at the adhesive tape hidden position (next sheet receiving position / position indicated by reference numeral 100) Sh4.

In FIG. 21A, the stopper 90 receives the leading edge of the next sheet at the adhesive tape hidden position (next sheet receiving position / position indicated by reference numeral 100) Sh4. In this state, the trailing edge of the preceding sheet is positioned in the retreat path 47 including the application position, and the trailing edge side of the next sheet is positioned in the carry-in path 41. Further, the leading end side of the preceding sheet and the next sheet is in contact with the stopper portion 90. Note that the pressure roller 49 is brought into contact with the lower sheet so as to apply pressure to the next sheet when the leading edge of the next sheet passes through the pressure roller 49, thereby applying a conveying force. After the preceding sheet and the next sheet come into contact with the stopper portion 90, the sheet side edge aligning member 48 is operated to align the both sheets. Prior to this aligning operation, the transport roller 46 positioned in the carry-in path 41 is operated. The nip is released and the pressure roller 49 is separated from the sheet. Thereafter, the sheet side edge alignment member 48 presses and aligns the side edges of the sheets that overlap the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47. In this embodiment, each sheet side edge alignment member 48 presses the sheet twice. In this alignment operation, the gripper 91 is in a state where the gripping of the sheet is released.

When the alignment operation is completed, as shown in FIG. 21B, nipping is performed by the conveying roller 46 in the carry-in path 41, and the pressure roller 49 is pressed against the sheet. In addition, the gripper 91 holds the sheet. In this gripping state, the stopper 90 moves to the sheet (bundle) rear end branch passage position Sh1 where the rear end of the second next sheet passes the branch position. Here, since the position where the adhesive of the first preceding sheet is applied passes through the pressure roller 49, the pressure of this roller causes the next sheet to be bonded to some extent. The third sheet is being carried into the sheet carry-in path P1.

  In FIG. 22A, the stopper portion 90 is moved from the sheet (bundle) rear end branch passage position Sh1 to the adhesive tape transfer position Sh3. At the start of this movement, the trailing edge of the second next sheet is urged toward the retracting path 47 by the deflection guide 44, so that the back path 47 is switched back and conveyed in a bundle with the first preceding sheet. Is done. As described above, this Sh3 is a position where the adhesive tape stamper 51 of the adhesive unit 50 presses the adhesive tape AT against the sheet and applies the adhesive to the second sheet as described above. is there. The adhesive unit 50 is operated to apply an adhesive to the next sheet, and press against the preceding sheet to bond the sheets. In particular, at this position, the transfer head 72 presses the sheet from above the position where the adhesive is applied, so that the bonding between the sheets becomes more reliable. Note that the tip of the third sheet is entering the carry-in path 41.

In FIG. 22 (b), the stopper 90 is placed in the adhesive tape concealed position (next sheet receiving position / next sheet receiving position / The position moves to Sh4 (reference numeral 100 in the figure) and waits for the third sheet to be loaded. The gripper 91 of the stopper 90 holds the sheet during movement of the sheet bundle and during application of the adhesive, but releases the grip when the next sheet is received. FIG. 22B is the same state as FIG. 20B, and thereafter, FIG. 20B to FIG. 22B are repeated until the desired number of sheets is reached up to the last sheet.
The adjustment of the application position of the adhesive by the number of sheets bonded is performed by the stopper unit 90 as described above.
Here, for the sake of explanation, the following description will be given assuming that the third sheet is the final number of bundles.

  In FIG. 23A, the application position of the second sheet to which the adhesive has been applied is positioned in the retreat path 47, the third sheet as the final number is carried in, and the leading end of the sheet comes into contact with the stopper portion 90. . In this state, in order to align the third sheet and up to the second sheet, a part of which is in the retreat path 47, the sheet side edge alignment member 48 is operated to press the sheet side edge to perform the alignment operation. When this alignment operation is performed, the nip release of the conveying roller 46, the retraction of the pressure roller 49 from the sheet pressing position, and the gripper 91 release of the gripper 91 are the same as in the second same position. Therefore, the rear end side of the second and subsequent sheets is in the retreat path 47, and the third sheet is located in the carry-in path 41 and branches, and the aligning operation is performed with the front end side being overlapped.

  In FIG. 23B, after the above alignment operation is completed, the nip of the conveying roller 46, the movement of the pressure roller 49 to the sheet pressing position, and the gripper 91 are gripped, and the vicinity of the adhesive tape transfer position Sh3 (this embodiment) In this case, the sheet pressing slider 71 positioned on the upstream side of the transfer head 72 is used to hold the sheet, so that it is about 5 mm upstream from the adhesive tape transfer position Sh3 to be bonded (Z position in FIG. 2). This is because the adhesive is not applied to the final sheet, so that the sheet is pressed at the position where only the sheet is pressed, not the position where the transfer head 72 is positioned, and the sheets are bonded.

  FIG. 24A shows a sheet in which the rear end of the third sheet exceeds the branching point between the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47 after the third sheet has been bonded to the second sheet preceding the second sheet. (Bundle) Moves to the rear end passage position Sh1 while being gripped by the gripper 91 of the stopper 90. Further, since the pressure roller 49 is already in the sheet pressing position, the pressure roller 49 can also press the sheet to ensure the adhesion of the adhesive.

  The stopper 90 is moved while being gripped by the gripper 91 in the direction from the sheet (bundle) rear end passage position Sh1 in FIG. 24B to the adhesive bundle folding position Sh2 on the upper side. By this movement, the upstream end of the sheet bundle is carried into the deflection gate retracting path 47, and all three sheet bundles are switched back.

  25, when the gripper 91 is gripped and moved to the adhesive bundle folding position Sh2, the movement of the sheet bundle is stopped, the gripper 91 is released, and the folding roller 81 and the folding blade 86 are used. The folding process indicated by is performed. Since the folding blade 86 also presses the application position of the adhesive on the sheet, the adhesion between the sheets is further strengthened.

[Procedure 1 for bonding sheets according to the number of sheets]
From now on, in addition to the bonding operation by the adhesive unit 50 described so far with reference to FIGS. 18 to 25, switching of the application position of the adhesive tape (adhesive) AT according to the number of sheets will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. To do. First, the procedure for increasing the application range of the adhesive tape AT for each sheet will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the operator designates “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode”, the setting is made so that the adhesive tape sticking process is executed. Here, it is confirmed whether or not to perform the “firm sticking mode” for increasing the sticking range of the adhesive tape AT according to the number of sheets (S1). If NO (not executed) is selected here, the process proceeds to the “normal pasting mode” (S2). In this mode, the transfer head 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 is pressed once for each sheet to a position corresponding to the folding position Y, which is the position substantially in the center of the sheet conveying direction to be bonded. (S3) Thereby, the adhesive tape AT is applied to the sheet. This is executed up to one sheet before the final sheet (S4). For the final sheet, the sheet is pressed by the pressing unit 170 shown in FIG. 13D (S5). By this execution, the adhesive tape AT is applied to the sheet bundle in the state of FIG. 17A, and the adhesive tape AT having substantially the same size as shown in FIG. 17B is applied by executing the folding process of FIG. A folded sheet is created. This booklet is not very strong, but the sheet bundle can be created relatively quickly.

On the other hand, if the operator selects “YES” (execute) in the “solid pasting mode” in FIG. 26 (S1), the process proceeds to the “solid pasting mode” (S10). In this embodiment, assuming that 15 sheets are attached, the adhesive tape AT is increased every 5 sheets and the attaching position is adjusted. This will be explained in sequence. First, the first to fifth sheets are the same as in the normal pasting mode, and as shown in FIG. Up to five transfer heads 72 of the adhesive tape stamper 51 are pressed once for each sheet at a position corresponding to Y. (S11).
If the sheet is the last sheet up to five sheets, the sheet is pressed without applying the adhesive tape AT by the pressing unit 170 shown in FIG. 13D, and the pasting operation is completed. (FIG. 27, round arrows S21 and S22)

  Next, with respect to the sixth and subsequent sheets, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 27, as shown in FIG. 14B, the position corresponding to the folding position Y, which is substantially the center of the length in the sheet conveying direction to be bonded, is sandwiched. Then, the adhesive tape AT is in close contact and applied side by side (S16). In this case as well, if the number of sheets does not reach 10 and is the final sheet, the final sheet is pressed and the pasting process is terminated (S21, S22).

If there are 11 sheets or more, as shown in FIG. 14 (c), the adhesive tape AT is placed at a predetermined interval with the position corresponding to the folding position Y, which is substantially the center position in the sheet conveying direction to be bonded. (S) is removed and applied twice (S19). As a result, the adhesive tape AT is applied with a gap. Next, if the sheet is the fifteenth final sheet, the final sheet idle pressing process is executed, and the pasting process is terminated (S21, S22).
For example, when twelve sheet bundles are bonded and folded along this flow, the sheets are bonded and folded in the state shown in FIGS. 17 (c) and 17 (d). According to this, since the adhesive tape AT is separated and applied across the folding position of the sheet, while reducing the amount of the adhesive tape AT used while maintaining the booklet strength to some extent, a booklet that is easy to spread during use is produced. can do.

[Other procedures for bonded sheets according to the number of sheets]
Next, a modification of FIGS. 26 and 27 will be described with reference to FIG. 26 and 27 differ in the flow of individual hands, the sheet processing apparatus B acquires sheet thickness information (S01), and in the case of a sheet thinner than a preset sheet thickness, the normal pasting described so far The mode is shifted to the mode (S2). In addition, when the sheet is thicker than the preset sheet thickness, the mode is firmly shifted to the pasting mode (S10), but this transition is also confirmed with the operator (S1). This confirmation is performed in order to confirm whether or not this firm application mode is necessary depending on the usage of the booklet because the use of the adhesive tape AT increases. After this confirmation is made, the flow is the same as that described with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27, and the description thereof is omitted here. In this modified example, in the case of a thin sheet, even if the adhesion range is narrow, it is relatively difficult to peel off, so the normal application mode is automatically set.

[Description of control configuration]
The system control configuration of the image forming apparatus described above will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The system of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus control unit 180 of the image forming apparatus A and a sheet processing control unit 191 of the sheet processing apparatus B. The image forming apparatus control unit 180 includes an image formation control unit 181, a paper feed control unit 186, and an input unit 183. Then, an “image forming mode” and a “sheet processing mode” are set from the control panel 18 provided in the input unit 183. As described above, the image forming mode sets the number of printouts, sheet size, color / monochrome printing, enlargement / reduction printing, duplex / single-sided printing, and other image formation conditions. Then, the image forming apparatus control unit 180 controls the image forming control unit and the sheet feeding control unit according to the set image forming conditions, forms an image on a predetermined sheet, and then sequentially carries out the sheet from the main body discharge port 3. .

  At the same time, the sheet processing mode is set by input from the control panel 18. The processing mode is set to, for example, “print-out mode”, “staple binding finishing mode”, “adhesive sheet bundle folding mode”, or the like. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus control unit 180 transfers to the sheet processing control unit 191 the sheet processing finishing mode, the number of sheets, the number of copies information, and the binding or bonding mode (single binding or two or more bindings) information.

  The sheet processing control unit 191 includes a control CPU 192 that operates the sheet processing apparatus B according to a designated finishing mode, a ROM 193 that stores an operation program, and a RAM 194 that stores control data. The control CPU 192 includes a sheet conveyance control unit 195 that performs conveyance of the sheet sent to the carry-in entrance 23, a sheet punching control unit 196 that performs punching processing on the sheet by the punch unit 28, and stacking of sheets by the processing tray 29. The processing tray stacking operation control unit 197 that performs the operation, the processing tray discharge operation control unit 198 that discharges the bundled sheets from the processing tray 29, and the sheets and sheet bundles discharged from the processing tray 29 are accumulated. Accordingly, a first paper discharge tray sheet stacking operation control unit 199 that moves up and down the first paper discharge tray 21 is provided.

Further, in order to control when stacking and stacking sheets while stacking sheets on the stacker unit 40, a stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200, a sheet binding / bonding processing operation control unit 201 for instructing operations for bonding sheets, A sheet folding processing control unit 202 that folds the sheet bundle bonded with the adhesive into two is provided. Note that the sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 also controls an end-face binding stapler 35 that performs binding processing of sheets stacked on the processing tray 29 with a staple needle. Although not particularly illustrated, each control unit receives a position signal from a sensor that detects the sheet conveyance path and the position of each member.

Further, the connection between each control unit and each motor unit will be described with reference to FIG. First, the sheet conveyance control unit 195 is connected to the control circuit of the drive motor M1 so as to control the driving of the carry-in roller 24 that receives and conveys the sheet from the image forming apparatus A. Further, the sheet conveyance control unit 195 causes the sheet to be switched back to the second switchback path SP2 at one end when the sheet is carried into the processing tray 29, and is discharged to the processing tray 29 together with the next sheet. This is to enable processing without stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus A, but a drive motor M2 capable of forward / reverse conveyance of the path carry-in roller 45 in the carry-in path 41 so that this switchback conveyance can be performed. Is controlling. In addition, a separation motor 131 (M3) that separates the pinch roller 125 from the driving roller 120 when the front end side is positioned on the stacker unit 40 and the rear end side is positioned on the carry-in path 41 to align the sheets. I have control.

Next, the sheet punching control unit 196 is connected to a control circuit of a punch punching motor M4 for punching holes in the sheet.
The processing tray stacking operation control unit 197 is a control circuit for a nip separation motor M5 that nips or separates the paper discharge roller 25 to carry into the processing tray 29 and the first paper discharge tray 21 and to carry out a sheet bundle from the processing tray 29. It is connected. Further, in order to align the sheets on the processing tray 29, the side alignment plate 36 is connected to a control circuit of a side alignment plate motor M6 that reciprocates in the sheet width direction.

The processing tray discharge operation control unit 198 directs the trailing edge regulating member 33 toward the paper discharge port 25a in order to discharge the sheet bundle whose ends are bound by the end surface binding stapler 35 in the processing tray 29 to the first paper discharge tray. It is connected to the control circuit of the moving bundle delivery motor M7. Further, the control circuit of the first tray lifting / lowering motor M8 that moves up and down according to the amount of sheets storing the first paper discharge tray 21 is connected to the first paper discharge tray sheet stacking operation control unit 199 and controlled.

Next, an outline of a control unit that applies an adhesive to a half position in the sheet conveying direction and bonds the sheets together and folds the sheet at the adhesive application position will be described. First, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 is located in the middle of the stacker unit 40, and moves the pressing roller 49 to the pressing position that presses the sheet carried into the stacker unit 40 and conveys it downstream. It is connected to a control circuit of a pressure roller nip separation motor 141 (M9) which performs rotation driving and reverse rotation to separate the sheet from the sheet.

Further, by controlling the position of the sheet entering the stacker unit 40, the sheet (bundle) rear end branch passage position Sh1 in which the initial home position Sh0 and the rear end of the sheet are at the branch position between the carry-in route 41 and the retreat route 47 route. Adhesive bundle folding position Sh2 for folding the bonded sheet bundle in half, Adhesive tape transfer position Sh3 for applying adhesive tape AT to the center of the sheet, and when the next sheet is carried into stacker unit 40 from carry-in path 41, In order to prevent the adhesive application position of the sheet from sticking, it is connected to a control circuit of a stopper motor 90 moving motor M10 that moves and positions to the adhesive tape hidden position Sh4 that switches back to the retract path 47 and stands by. The relationship such as the sheet flow at each position is as described in detail with reference to FIGS.
In addition, as described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 26 to 28, whether the adhesive tape AT is provided at the center of the sheet or at two places, or at two places apart from each other, is moved by the moving motor M10. ing.

The stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 is a control circuit for the gripper opening / closing motor 160 (M11) that performs an opening / closing operation so as to grasp the leading end of the sheet with the leading end of the stopper unit 90 or to disclose the grasping. Also connected and controlled. Since the timing of gripping the gripper has already been described, the description thereof will be omitted. Further, the stacker unit stacking operation control unit 200 is capable of aligning sheets even when the leading end of the sheet is positioned in the stacker unit 40 and the trailing end is positioned over the carry-in path 41 and the retreat path 47, respectively. The alignment member 48 is also connected to and controlled by a control circuit of an alignment motor 117 (M3) that reciprocates in the sheet width direction.

The sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 is a cam movement motor that reciprocates a cam member 57 that moves between a position where the adhesive tape stamper 51 of the adhesive unit 50 is pressed against the sheet and the adhesive is applied and a position away from the sheet. 60 (M13) is connected to the control circuit. The sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit 201 is connected to the end surface binding stapler 35 of the processing tray 29. In addition, as described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 26 to 28, this cam may be used to press the adhesive tape AT to the center in the sheet moving direction, press to two places, or press to two places at a distance. This is performed by the operation of the moving motor 60.

  Finally, as described above, the sheet folding processing control unit 202 is configured to rotationally drive or reciprocate the folding blade 86, the folding rollers 81a and 81b, and the bundle discharge roller 95 with a common motor. It is connected with a drive circuit so as to control the motor M15.

The control unit configured as described above causes the sheet processing apparatus to execute the next processing operation.
"Printout mode"
In this mode, sheets formed by the image forming apparatus A are accommodated in the first paper discharge tray 21 via the sheet carry-in path P1 of the sheet processing apparatus B. For example, in the face-down posture, the pages are sequentially ordered from page 1 to page n. It is loaded and stored upward.

"Staple binding finish mode"
In this mode, the image forming apparatus A forms an image of a series of documents from the first page to the nth page in the same manner as in the above-described mode, and carries it out from the main body discharge port 3 in a face-down state. Therefore, after being sent to the sheet carry-in path P1, it is switched back and conveyed onto the processing tray 29 along the first switchback conveyance path SP1. By repeating this sheet conveyance, a series of sheets are accumulated in a bundle in a face-down state on the first processing tray 29. After the stacking, the end face binding stapler 35 is operated to bind the trailing edge of the sheet stack stacked on the tray. The stapled sheet bundle is carried out and stored on the first paper discharge tray 21. As a result, a series of sheets formed by the image forming apparatus A are stapled and stored in the first paper discharge tray 21.

"Adhesive sheet bundle folding mode"
In this mode, the image forming apparatus A applies the adhesive by the sheet processing apparatus B, bonds the sheets, and finishes in a booklet shape. Therefore, the sheet processing apparatus B guides the sheet sent to the sheet carry-in path P1 to the second switchback transport path SP2, and is guided to the stacker unit 40 by being guided by the path carry-in roller 45 and the transport roller 46 arranged in this path. Is done.
The subsequent flow of the sheet, the operation of adhering the sheet, the relationship between the preceding sheet and the next sheet have already been described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 27, and will not be described here. The bonding position is changed depending on the number of sheets, and this point is also as already described with reference to FIG. 13, FIG. 14 and FIG. 26 to FIG.
As described above, after the adhesive is applied and the bundle is generated in the stacker unit, the sheet bundle is folded, and the sheet bundle is carried out to the second paper discharge tray 22.

As described above, according to the embodiment for carrying out the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
1. A sheet processing apparatus that folds sheets after they are bonded together, and includes a stacker unit 40 that sequentially stacks moving sheets, and an adhesive (adhesive tape AT) at a substantially central position in the moving direction for each sheet that is sequentially stacked on the stacker unit 40. ) And a sheet member to which the adhesive is applied, a moving member (stopper portion 90) that moves the sheet to the application position of the adhesive unit 50, and a sheet to which the adhesive is applied is folded at the folding position Y. When the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number when the adhesive unit 50 applies the adhesive to the sheets and bonds the sheets together, the folding position Y is set. In this sheet processing apparatus, the adhesive is applied to the sheet with a pinch (interval S).
According to this, when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive is separated and applied between the folding positions of the sheets, so that the amount of adhesive used is reduced while maintaining the booklet strength to some extent. In addition, it is possible to produce a booklet that is easy to spread during use.

2. The folding processing unit 80 includes a folding roller 81 that folds the sheet and a folding blade 86 that pushes the sheet into the folding roller, and the sheet conveyed between the folding roller 81 and the folding blade 86 is the folding roller. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to 1, wherein an adhesive is applied and bonded by an adhesive unit 50 while sequentially stacking from a blade 86 side toward the folding roller 81 side.
According to this, since the sheets to be bonded are stacked from the folding blade 86 side toward the folding roller 81 side, the adhesive sheet can be increased from the folded inner sheet to the outer side.

3. The adhesion unit increases the area to be applied to the sheet as it approaches the folding roller side, and when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the folding position of the sheet is sandwiched and separated from the above 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to 2 above, which applies an adhesive.
According to this, when the number of sheets exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive is applied at intervals S across the folding position, so that it is easy to add a folded portion of the sheet when folding.

4. The adhesive unit includes a transfer tape (adhesive tape AT) having an adhesive on the tape substrate, and the adhesive is applied to the sheet at the tape transfer position so that the adhesive is transferred from the transfer tape. 4. The sheet processing apparatus according to 3 above, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is performed by pressing a tape against a sheet, and bonding between the sheets is also performed by the pressing.
According to this, since the adhesive is applied to the sheet by pressing the adhesive tape AT against the sheet, the adhesive mechanism can be made a relatively easy application mechanism.

5. The moving member (stopper portion 90) includes a gripper member (gripper 91) for gripping the sheet. The gripper member grips the sheet, and the adhesive area at the tape transfer position X of the adhesive unit 50 is different for each sheet stacking. The sheet processing apparatus according to 4 above, wherein the transfer and the transfer unit (adhesive tape AT) are transferred to the sheet by operating the adhesive unit 50 while the sheet is stopped. is there.
According to this, the amount of adhesive can be adjusted by adjusting the amount of adhesive applied to the sheet by controlling the movement of the stopper 90 having the gripper 91 and pressing the sheet of the adhesive tape AT by the adhesive tape stamper 51 of the adhesive unit 50. Since it can be adjusted, the configuration is relatively easy.

6. The adhesive unit 50 includes a plurality of tape holders (adhesive tape stampers 51) that support the transfer tape (adhesive tape AT) arranged in the sheet width direction, and presses the tape holder sequentially against the sheet in the width direction to form an adhesive. 6. The sheet processing apparatus according to 5 above, wherein the sheet is transferred to a sheet.
According to this, since the adhesive can be applied by pressing the adhesive tape AT at a plurality of locations in the sheet width direction, the adhesive force between the sheets can be increased.

7. A sheet processing apparatus that folds a sheet after it is laminated, a stacker unit 40 that accumulates sheets moved along a conveyance path, and a sheet that is moved to the stacker unit 40 and that holds the sheet The sheet restricting member (stopper portion 90) including the gripper member (gripper 91) that moves in this manner, and the sheet that is located upstream of the stacker portion 40 and that has moved to the stacker portion 40 can be conveyed in the direction opposite to the loading direction. A retraction path 47 branched from the carry-in path 41, an adhesion unit 50 that is located at a joining position of the carry-in path 41 and the retraction path 47, and bonds the sheet by application of an adhesive, and the above-mentioned adhesion unit 50 A folding processing unit 80 that folds the sheets accumulated in the stacker unit 40 with a folding roller 81 and a folding blade 86 and the sheet regulating member ( The control unit (sheet processing control unit 191) includes a stopper unit 90) and a control member (sheet processing control unit 191) for controlling the bonding unit 50. The control member (sheet processing control unit 191) allows the sheet to be retracted by the sheet regulating member (stopper unit 90). 47, the adhesive unit 50 applies the adhesive in the process of moving to 47, and further increases the area for applying the adhesive to the sheet closer to the folding roller 81 side according to the number of sheets to be bonded by the adhesive unit 50. When the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the sheet processing apparatus applies the adhesive applied to the sheets so as to be separated with the folding position Y interposed therebetween.
According to this, when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive is separated and applied between the folding positions of the sheets, so that the amount of adhesive used is reduced while maintaining the booklet strength to some extent. In addition, it is possible to produce a booklet that is easy to spread during use.

8. The folding roller 81 and the folding blade 86 are arranged so that sheets accumulated therebetween increase toward the folding roller 81, and the control member (sheet processing control unit 191) is closer to the folding roller 81. 8. The sheet processing apparatus according to 7 above, wherein the adhesive is applied by increasing the adhesive area of the adhesive every predetermined number of sheets so that the adhesive area of the sheet is widened.
According to this, since the adhesion area of the sheet outside the sheet to be folded increases, a booklet in which the sheet is difficult to peel off can be produced.

9. The adhesive unit 50 is composed of a transfer tape (adhesive tape AT) having an adhesive on the tape substrate, and the adhesive is applied to the sheet so that the adhesive from the transfer tape to the sheet is transferred to the sheet. 8. The sheet processing apparatus according to 7 above, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is performed by pressing a transfer tape, and adhesion between the sheets is also performed by the pressing.
According to this, the application | coating to the sheet | seat of an adhesive agent and the press between the coated sheets can be performed by the same operation | movement.

10. an image forming unit that sequentially forms an image on a sheet;
The sheet processing apparatus is configured to include a sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the sheet from the image forming unit, and the sheet processing apparatus includes the configuration described in any one of 1 to 9 above.
According to this, an image forming apparatus having the effects 1 to 9 can be provided.

  In the description of the effects in the above-described embodiment, for each part of the present embodiment, the corresponding members of each component in the claims are indicated in parentheses, or a reference numeral is attached and the relationship between them is shown. Was clarified.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the present invention, and all technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are described in the present invention. The subject of the invention. The embodiments described so far show preferred examples, but those skilled in the art will realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification. These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

A Image forming apparatus B Sheet processing apparatus X Adhesive application position Y Folding position Z Final sheet pressing position AT Adhesive tape (adhesive)
29 processing tray 40 stacker section (second processing tray)
40a Stacker upper guide 40b Stacker lower guide 41 Loading path 44 Deflection guide 46 Conveying roller 47 Retraction path 48 Sheet side edge alignment member 49 Pressure roller 50 Adhesive unit 51 Adhesive tape stamper (adhesive member)
52 Stamper holder 53 Guide rod 54 Moving block 55 Support block 56 Roller 57 Cam member 60 Cam moving motor (M13)
61 Cam groove 62 Pressurizing spring 63 Center support frame 65 Sheet presser (sheet regulating means)
71 Sheet pressing slider 72 Transfer head 79 Platen 80 Folding processing part 81 Folding roller 86 Folding blade 90 Stopper part 91 Gripper 103 Bending part (deflection guide)
106 Projection guide 106a Projection surface (projection / guide)
170 Pressing part (sheet presser slider)
191 Sheet processing control unit 200 Stacker unit stacking operation control unit 201 Sheet binding / adhesion processing operation control unit

Claims (10)

A sheet processing apparatus that folds a sheet after bonding,
A stacker unit that sequentially accumulates sheets to be moved;
An adhesive unit that applies an adhesive to the approximate center of the moving direction for each sheet that is sequentially accumulated in the stacker unit and bonds the sheets;
A moving member that moves the sheet to the application position of the adhesive unit;
A folding unit that folds the adhesive-coated sheet at a folding position;
When the adhesive unit applies the adhesive to the sheets and bonds the sheets together, if the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the folding position is sandwiched and the adhesive is applied to the sheets. A sheet processing apparatus for coating.   The folding processing unit includes a folding roller that folds the sheet and a folding blade that pushes the sheet into the folding roller, and the sheet carried between the folding roller and the folding blade is from the folding blade side to the folding roller side. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is applied and bonded by an adhesive unit while sequentially stacking toward the sheet. The adhesive unit increases the area to be applied to the sheet as it approaches the folding roller side, and when the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the folding position of the sheet is sandwiched and separated from the adhesive. The sheet processing apparatus of Claim 2 which apply | coats. The adhesive unit includes a transfer tape having an adhesive on a tape substrate, and the adhesive is applied to the sheet by pressing the transfer tape against the sheet at the tape transfer position so that the adhesive of the transfer tape is transferred. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet is also bonded by the pressing.   The moving member includes a gripper member that grips the sheet, and repeatedly stops and moves so that the area of the adhesive can be widely applied for each sheet stacking at the tape transfer position of the adhesive unit by gripping the sheet by the gripper member. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the adhesive tape is transferred to the sheet by operating the adhesive unit while the sheet is stopped. 6. The adhesive unit according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of tape holders supporting the transfer tape are arranged in the sheet width direction, and the adhesive is transferred to the sheet by sequentially pressing the tape holders against the sheet in the width direction. The sheet processing apparatus according to the description. A sheet processing apparatus that folds a sheet after bonding,
A stacker unit for accumulating sheets moved along the conveyance path;
A sheet regulating member including a gripper member that regulates the sheet moved to the stacker unit and moves while gripping the sheet;
A retraction path that is located upstream of the stacker unit and that branches from a conveyance path that allows the sheet moved to the stacker unit to move in the direction opposite to the loading direction;
An adhesive unit that is located at the joining position of the transport path and the retreat path and that bonds the sheet by applying an adhesive;
A folding processing unit that folds the sheets accumulated in the stacker unit bonded by the bonding unit with a folding roller and a folding plate, a sheet regulating member, and a control member that controls the bonding unit;
The control member applies the adhesive in the process of moving the sheet to the retraction path by the sheet regulating member, and further, the sheet is closer to the folding roller side according to the number of sheets to be bonded by the adhesive unit. The sheet processing apparatus is characterized in that, when the area to which the adhesive is applied is increased and the number of sheets to be bonded exceeds a predetermined number, the adhesive to be applied to the sheet is applied so as to be separated with a folding position in between. . The folding roller and the folding blade are arranged so that sheets accumulated therebetween increase toward the folding roller, and the control member has a predetermined number of sheets so that the adhesion area of the sheet closer to the folding roller becomes wider. 8. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sheet processing apparatus is applied by increasing the bonding area of the adhesive every time. The adhesive unit is composed of a transfer tape having an adhesive on a tape substrate, and the adhesive is applied to the sheet by pressing the transfer tape onto the sheet so that the adhesive from the transfer tape to the sheet is transferred. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein adhesion between the sheets is also performed by the pressing. An image forming unit that sequentially forms an image on a sheet;
A sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on the sheet from the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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