JPH10181987A - Post-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To prevent misalignment from occurring even in a mode in which the stapler is not on the back side when a cutout portion for the stapler to enter is formed in a part of the rear end fence on the back side. To SOLUTION: A staple device 11 is configured to move in parallel along an end surface of a recording sheet and to move obliquely at about 45 degrees at a corner portion of the recording sheet. A cutout 19e is formed in the side movable piece 19c. Even when the staple device 11 is not on the back side, the vertical alignment can be stably performed by the return roller 5.
The operation time of the return roller 5 is changed depending on the recording paper size and the number of stacks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus which is connected to a paper discharge unit of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A stapling unit for stapling an end of a recording sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus,
Staple unit moving means for moving the staple unit, vertical alignment means for vertically aligning the recording paper discharged to the staple tray of the staple unit, and recording discharged to the staple tray of the staple unit There has been proposed a post-processing apparatus including a rear end fence that receives a rear end of paper. Among such post-processing apparatuses, those having an oblique binding function have been proposed. Diagonal binding (about 4
5 degrees) In a post-processing apparatus having a staple unit having a function, a notch is formed so that the stapler can be inserted into a part of the rear end fence when the stapler is inclined in order to facilitate diagonal binding. It is conceivable to provide a part.

[0003]

By the way, when the stapler is not on the back side, the rear end fence is moved to the center, so if the rear end fence has a notch as described above,
There is a problem in that the support on the back side of the recording paper becomes unstable, and when the hitting roller for vertical alignment is operated, the recording paper tilts to the rear side, and the alignment of the recording paper becomes poor.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to prevent a misalignment from occurring even in a mode in which the stapler is not at the back side, when a cutout portion for allowing the stapler to enter is formed in a part of the rear end fence at the back side. To provide a post-processing device that can

[0005]

An object of the present invention is to provide a stapling unit for stapling an end portion of a recording sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus. A stapler for stapling the stapler, a stapler moving means for moving the stapler, and a stapler oblique moving means for obliquely moving the stapler, and vertically aligning the recording paper discharged to the stapling unit. In a post-processing apparatus including a vertical alignment unit that performs the following, and a rear end fence that receives the rear end of the recording paper discharged to the staple unit, among the plurality of rear end fences, A cutout portion is formed for escape when the staple unit moves obliquely, and an operation tap of the vertical alignment means is performed by a staple mode. It is solved by the first means so as to vary the timing. The above object is attained by a second means in the first means, wherein the operation timing of the vertical alignment means is changed according to the size of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. The above object is attained by a third means, wherein the operation timing of the vertical alignment means is changed according to the number of recording sheets stacked on a staple tray of the staple unit.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an entire post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driving mechanism of a jogger fence and a return roller, and FIG. 3 shows a first example near a rear end fence. FIG. 4 is a perspective view mainly showing a staple device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bundle of recording paper is discharged by a discharge belt, and FIG. 6 is a rear view according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electrical system of the processing device.

In FIG. 1, a paper discharge sensor 36, an inlet roller 1, and a branching claw 8 are provided at the entrance of a recording paper discharging and conveying path from a copying machine.
Paper going in the direction and staple device (stipple) 1
The recording paper going in one direction is separated. A plurality of upper conveyance rollers 2, a paper ejection sensor 3
8, a discharge roller 3, a moving roller 7 for moving the recording paper to one side, a paper lever 13 which moves up and down by the loaded recording paper, a paper surface sensor 33 for detecting the height of the loaded recording paper, and the like. Are a plurality of lower transport rollers 4, a paper discharge sensor 37, a paper feed roller (brush roller)
6 and the like are arranged.

The lower transport roller 4 is provided with a transport motor 5 described later.
4, the paper discharge tray 12 is moved up, down, left and right by a vertical motor 51 and a shift motor 52, which will be described later.

The staple device 11 is provided below the staple tray 21. The staple tray 21 has a jogger fence 9 for aligning recording paper, a return roller 5, and a position behind the jogger fence 9. Discharge belts 10 for discharging the stapled bundle of recording paper are arranged. Reference numeral 39 denotes a discharge belt home sensor.

As shown in FIG. 2, the jogger fence 9 is driven in the width direction of the recording paper by a jogger motor 26 via a jogger belt 49, and the return roller 5 is moved toward and away from the recording paper by a return solenoid 30. It is configured to be like a pendulum. The brush roller 6 is rotated by a brush roller belt 47 in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a rear end fence 19 is provided below the jogger fence 9 for abutting the rear end of the recording paper.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the staple device 11 constituting the staple unit is driven by the stapler moving motor 27 via the staple belt 50 and moves laterally. Reference numeral 22 denotes a stapler home sensor. The rear end fence 19 has fixed pieces 19a and 19b and movable pieces 19c and 19d that move together when the stipple device 11 moves. By the way, the paper ejection sensor 37
Is such that immediately after the trailing edge of the recording sheet is detected, an ON command is issued to the return solenoid 30 to activate the returning roller 5, and the return roller 5 can strike the trailing edge of the recording sheet at that timing. Is located in the position. As shown in FIG. 5, the trailing end of the recording paper bundle bound by the staple device 11 is locked by a discharge claw 10a provided on the discharge belt 10, and the discharge belt 12 is It is being discharged.

Here, the electrical system of the post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, signals from each switch and each sensor of a control panel (not shown) of the apparatus main body are transmitted to I / O
The data is input to the CPU 70 via the interface 60.
The CPU 70 controls the up-down motor 5 according to the input signal.
1. The shift motor 52, the branch solenoid 53, the return solenoid 30, the transport motor 54, the paper discharge motor 55, the staple motor 56, the discharge motor 57, the stapler moving motor 27, and the jogger motor 26 are driven. Transport motor 5
The pulse signal of 4 is input to the CPU 70 and counted, and the return solenoid 30 is controlled according to the count.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment when the non-staple mode in which no stapling is performed is selected will be described. The copied recording paper is received by the entrance roller 1, sent by the upper transport roller 2, and discharged onto the discharge tray 12 by the discharge roller 3. Then, the recording paper is aligned in the vertical direction by the shifting roller 7 and is stacked on the paper discharge tray 12. At this time, the shifting roller 7 is decelerated when the sheet ejection sensor 38 detects the trailing edge of the recording sheet, and the stacking property is improved. When the copied recording paper is sequentially discharged, the paper surface lever 13 moves up (swings clockwise), and this is detected by the paper surface sensor 33. 12 is lowered and always kept at the proper height. In the sort and stack modes, the discharge tray 12 is shifted left and right by the shift motor 52 in accordance with a partition signal output from a control panel or the like of the apparatus main body, and sorting is performed until the end of the job. At the end of the job, the discharge tray 12 is lowered by about 30 mm.

Next, the case where the staple mode is selected will be described. When staple mode is selected,
As shown in FIG. 2, the jogger fence 9 moves from the home position and waits at a position 7 mm away from the recording paper width on one side. When the recording paper is conveyed by the lower conveyance roller 4 (driven by the conveyance motor 54) and the rear end of the recording paper passes the paper ejection sensor 37, the jogger fence 9 jogs 5 mm inward from the standby position (reciprocation in the direction of the arrow). Exercise). Further, the paper ejection sensor 37 detects this when the recording paper passes the rear end, and outputs the signal to the CPU 70.
The CPU 70 counts the number of pulses transmitted from the transport motor 54 from the time when this signal is received, and turns on the return solenoid 30 after transmitting a predetermined pulse.

The return roller 5 performs a pendulum motion when the return solenoid 30 is turned on and off. When the return solenoid 5 is on, the return roller 5 hits the recording paper to return downward, and hits the rear end fence 19 to vertically align the recording paper. The recording paper stored in the staple tray 21 is moved to the entrance sensor 36 (or the paper ejection sensor 3).
Each time the signal passes through 7), the signal is input to the CPU 70, and the number of recording sheets is counted. After a predetermined time has elapsed since the return solenoid 30 was turned off, the jogger fence 9
Is moved inward by 2 mm by the jogger motor 26, temporarily stopped, and the horizontal alignment of the recording paper ends. The jogger fence 9 then returns 7 mm and waits for the next recording sheet. This operation is performed up to the last page. On the last page,
Jogging of 7 mm is performed again, and both ends of the recording paper bundle are pressed to prepare for the stapling operation. Thereafter, the staple device 11 is operated after a predetermined time, and the binding process is performed. At this time, if a plurality of bindings are designated, after the binding processing of one location is completed, the staple moving motor 27 is driven, the staple device 11 is moved to an appropriate position along the rear end of the recording paper, and the second location is designated. Is performed.

When the binding process is completed, the ejection motor 57 is driven to drive the ejection belt 10. At this time, the paper discharge motor 55 is also driven, and starts rotating to receive the recording paper bundle lifted by the discharge claw 10a. At this time,
The operation of the jogger fence 9 is controlled so as to differ depending on the size and the number of the joggers. For example, when the number of sheets to be bound is smaller than the set number or smaller than the set size, the trailing end of the sheet bundle is hooked and conveyed by the ejection claw 10a while the sheet bundle is held by the jogger fence 9.

Then, the jogger fence 9 is retracted by 2 mm after a predetermined pulse from the discharge belt home sensor 39 to release the constraint on the recording paper by the jogger fence 9 (this predetermined pulse is generated when the discharge claw 10 a (It is set between the time of collision with the edge and the time when it passes through the tip of the jogger fence 9). When the number of sheets to be stapled is larger than the set number or larger than the set size, the jogger fence 9 is retracted by 2 mm in advance, and the discharge is performed. In either case, the bundle of recording paper is
, The jogger fence 9 further moves by 5 mm and returns to the standby position to prepare for the next recording sheet.
Further, it is possible to adjust the binding force by the distance of the jogger fence 9 to the recording paper. The above series of operations are repeated until the last job.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the paper ejection tray raising and lowering mechanism. The paper discharge tray 12 is suspended by a vertical lift belt 48 as shown in FIG. The vertical lift belt 48 is driven by a vertical motor 51 via a gear train and a timing belt, and is raised or lowered by forward or reverse rotation of the vertical motor 51. The home position and the height at the time of movement of the paper discharge tray 12 are detected by the paper surface lever 13 rotatable in the vertical direction and the paper surface sensors 32 and 33. When the paper discharge tray 12 becomes full of recording paper, This is detected by the lower limit sensor 34. further,
When the discharge roller 12 is lifted and the shifting roller 7 is pushed up by the discharge tray 12, the upper limit switch 31 is turned off, and the vertical motor 51 stops rotating.
This prevents breakage of the paper discharge tray 12 due to overrun.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a second example near the rear end fence. The rear end fence 19 shown in FIG.
The movable piece 19c, which is formed of only the movable pieces 19c and 19d, has a cutout portion so as not to prevent the motor (not shown) from moving obliquely (about 45 degrees) when the staple device 11 performs the oblique binding. 19e are formed. The stipple device 1 is attached to the rear movable piece 19c of the rear end fence 19.
Since the notch 19e for escape during the diagonal movement of 1 is formed, the movable piece 19c of the rear end fence 19 moves to the center in the mode when the staple device 11 is not on the back side, When the back roller 5 for vertical alignment is operated, the support of the back side of the recording paper becomes unstable, and the recording paper is inclined to the back side, and the alignment of the recording paper may be deteriorated.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the operation time of the return roller 5 for vertical alignment is stacked on the staple tray 21 so that the alignment error does not occur even in the mode in which the staple device 11 is not on the back side. By changing the recording paper according to the number of recording papers, it is possible to prevent the recording paper from tilting to the rear side even when the return roller 5 is operated, and to prevent misalignment from occurring when the stapling process is performed.

Hereinafter, the contents of the control will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 9 is a control flowchart of the return solenoid, and FIGS. 10 to 12 are flowcharts of subroutines of the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for driving the return roller 5 to vertically align the recording paper discharged to the staple tray 21. SOL
JC is a JOB counter for processing any one of FIGS. 10 to 12 according to the value of the data set in the counter. In FIG. 10, SOLJC
When the content of (JOB counter) is "0", the routine returns. In FIG. 11 showing the SOLJC (JOB counter) 1, in S1, the return solenoid 30 is turned on (performs the vertical alignment of the recording paper as described above), and the SOLTIM (timer) is set to "0", and the SOLJC ( JOB counter) is set to "2". In addition, SOLTIM
Is a timer, which is incremented by another subroutine (not shown).

Next, in FIG. 12 showing the SOLJC (JOB counter) 2, in S11, it is checked whether the stapling mode is the front binding. "Y" for front binding
Go to S12, and go to "N" if it is other than the front binding. Note that the present invention is an invention when the stapler is in the front binding, and the description of “N” in S11 is omitted. This front binding (“Y” in S11) is performed by the staple device 1 in FIG.
This is a mode in which 1 is at a position closer to the movable piece 19d.

In S12, it is checked whether the size of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus is A3 or B4. If it is A3 or B4, go to "Y" and go to S13; if it is other than A3 or B4, go to "N" and go to S17.

In S13, it is checked whether or not the content of STRYCU (number of sheets counter) is 15 or more. STRY
"Y" when the content of the CU (number of sheets counter) is 15 or more
Go to S14, and if the content of STRYCU (number-of-sheets counter) is less than 15, go to "N" and go to S15. The STRYCU (number of sheets counter) is a counter that counts the number of sheets of recording paper stacked on the staple tray 21. The count is incremented each time a recording sheet is discharged to the staple tray 21 in another subroutine not shown. After the stapling process, the counter is cleared when the sheet is ejected.

In S14, it is checked whether the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 150 or more. SOLTIM
If the content of (timer) is 150 or more, go to "Y" and proceed to S16, where the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 15
If it is less than 0, the process returns with "N". In S15, S
It is checked whether the content of the OLTIM (timer) is 100 or more. SOLTIM (timer) content is 100
In the above case, go to "Y" and proceed to S16, where SOLTIM
If the content of (timer) is less than 100, the process returns with "N".

In step S16, the return solenoid 30 is turned off (the vertical alignment operation ends), and the SOLJC (JOB
Counter) is set to "0". That is, S1
To summarize the control operations of 2,13,14,15,16,
ARY or B4, STRYCU (number of sheets counter)
If the content of SOLTIM (timer) becomes 150 or more when the content of SOLTIM (timer) becomes 150 or more, the process proceeds to S16 to turn off the solenoid 30. If the content of SOLTIM (timer) is less than 150, the content of SOLTIM (timer) becomes If it exceeds 100, the process proceeds to S16 and returns to the solenoid 3
Turn off 0.

If S12 is other than A3 or B4, (S
In step S17, it is checked whether the size of the recording sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus is A4T or B5T. If it is A4T or B5T, go to “Y” and proceed to S18; if it is other than A4T or B5T, “N”
Go to S21. Note that "T" next to the size indicates the vertical direction (the transport direction is the longitudinal direction).

In S18, it is checked whether or not the content of STRYCU (number of sheets counter) is 30 or more. STRY
“Y” when the content of the CU (number of sheets counter) is 30 or more
Go to S19, and if the content of STRYCU (number of sheets counter) is less than 30, go to "N" and go to S20. S
In step 19, it is checked whether the content of the SOLTIM (timer) is 180 or more. If the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 180 or more, go to “Y” and proceed to S16,
If the content of SOLTIM (timer) is less than 180, the process returns with "N".

When "N" is determined in S18, SOL is determined in S20.
It is checked whether the content of the TIM (timer) is 160 or more. If the content of the SOLTIM (timer) is 160 or more, go to "Y" and proceed to S16. If the content of the SOLTIM (timer) is less than 160, return "N".

If it is other than A4T or B5T in S17 ("N" in S17), it is checked in S21 whether the size of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus is A4Y or B5Y. If it is A4Y or B5Y, go to "Y" and go to S22; if it is other than A4Y or B5Y, go to "N" and go to S25. Note that "Y" next to the size
Indicates the horizontal direction (the transport direction is the short side direction). In S22, the content of STRYCU (number-of-sheets counter) is 2
Check if it is 5 or more. If the content of the STRYCU (number-of-sheets counter) is 25 or more, go to "Y" and proceed to S23. If the content of the STRYCU (number-of-sheets counter) is less than 25, go to "N" and proceed to S24. In S23, SO
It is checked whether the content of LTIM (timer) is 200 or more. If the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 200 or more, go to “Y” and proceed to S16, where SOLTIM
If the content of (timer) is less than 200, "N" is returned.

In S24, it is checked whether the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 150 or more. SOLTIM
If the content of (timer) is 150 or more, go to "Y" and proceed to S16, where the content of SOLTIM (timer) is 15
If it is less than 0, the process returns with "N". In S25, S
It is checked whether the content of the OLTIM (timer) is 200 or more. SOLTIM (timer) content is 200
In the above case, go to "Y" and proceed to S16, where SOLTIM
If the content of (timer) is less than 200, "N" is returned. Note that the numerical value determined in the subroutine is a predetermined value.

In the above-described embodiment, there is a stapling unit for stapling the end of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. The stapler includes a stapler for stapling the end of the recording paper, a stapler moving motor (stipler moving means) 27 for moving the stapler device 11, and a stapler oblique moving device for moving the stapler device 11 obliquely. In a post-processing apparatus provided with a return roller (vertical alignment means) 5 for vertically aligning the recording paper discharged to the apparatus 11 and a rear end fence 19 for receiving a rear end of the recording paper discharged to the stapling apparatus 11, Of the plurality of rear end fences 19, the rear end fence 19 is provided with a cutout for escape when the stipple device 11 moves diagonally. To form a part 19e, the staple (binding) mode, because you to change the operation timing of the return roller 5, even when the stapler unit 11 is not in the back side, can operate in stable Tatesoroe,
The alignment of the recording paper is improved. Further, in the above embodiment, the operation timing of the return roller 5 is changed depending on the size of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus, that is, the recording paper stacked on the staple tray 21 of the staple device 11. Return roller 5 depending on size
Since the operation time is changed, even when the stapler device 11 is not on the back side, a stable vertical alignment operation can be performed, and the alignment of the recording paper is improved. In the above embodiment,
The operation timing of the return roller 5 is based on the staple tray 2
Since the change is made according to the number of recording sheets stacked in 1, the vertical alignment operation can be performed stably even when the stapler device 11 is not on the back side, and the alignment of the recording sheets is improved. Further, even if the operation timing of the return roller 5 is changed according to the number and size of the recording sheets, even when the stapler device 11 is not on the back side, a stable vertical alignment operation can be performed, and the alignment of the recording sheets is improved.

[0034]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operation time of the vertical alignment means is changed according to the staple mode.
Even when the stapler is not on the back side, a stable vertical alignment operation can be performed, and the alignment of recording paper is improved. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation time of the vertical alignment means is changed depending on the size of the recording paper stacked on the staple tray of the staple unit. Therefore, even when the stapler is not on the back side, a stable vertical alignment operation can be performed. It is possible to improve the alignment of the recording paper. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation time of the vertical alignment means is changed depending on the number of sheets stacked on the staple tray. Therefore, even when the stapler is not on the back side, a stable vertical alignment operation can be performed, and the recording paper alignment can be performed. Will be better.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an entire post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driving mechanism of a jogger fence and a return roller.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing a first example near a rear end fence.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view mainly showing a staple device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a bundle of recording sheets after binding is released by a release belt.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an electrical system of the post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a paper ejection tray raising / lowering mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing a second example near the rear end fence.

FIG. 9 is a control flowchart of a return solenoid.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a subroutine of the flowchart of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a subroutine of the flowchart of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a subroutine of the flowchart of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Upper transport roller 4 Lower transport roller 5 Return roller (vertical alignment means) 6 Paper feed roller 8 Branch claw 9 Jogger fence 10 Release belt 11 Staple device (staple unit) 12 Paper discharge tray 19 Rear end fence 19c Movable on the back side Piece 19e notch 26 jogger motor 27 stapler moving motor 30 return solenoid 37 paper ejection sensor 51 vertical motor 52 shift motor 56 staple motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stapling unit for stapling an end of a recording sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus, wherein a stapler for stapling an end of the recording sheet is provided in the stapling unit. A stapler moving means for moving the stapler, a stippler oblique moving means for obliquely moving the stapler, and a vertical aligning means for vertically aligning the recording paper discharged to the stapler unit; A rear fence for receiving a rear end of the recording paper discharged to the staple unit, wherein the stipple unit moves obliquely to a rear rear fence of a plurality of rear end fences. A notch portion for escape at the time of cutting is formed, and the operation timing of the vertical alignment means is changed according to the staple mode. Post-processing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation timing of the vertical alignment unit is changed according to the size of the recording paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. 3. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation timing of the vertical alignment unit is changed according to the number of recording sheets stacked on a staple tray of the staple unit. Post-processing device.