JPH1059610A - Paper post-processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a paper post-processing apparatus capable of simplifying the configuration, saving space and reducing cost. SOLUTION: The paper is aligned with the staple tray 20 by regulating the leading edge of the paper discharged to a staple tray 20 with a paper discharge nail 13, and after the staple 10 staples the paper bundle, the paper discharge nail 13 is removed. By moving the sheet bundle in the sheet discharge direction, the sheet bundle is sent out toward the sheet discharge tray 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet aligning tray having a sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets in a state where sheets are aligned, and a staple unit having a stapler for binding sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray section. It relates to a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet post-processing apparatus including a sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets in a state where sheets are aligned, and a staple unit having a stapler for binding sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray section is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-163873. 63-1806
No. 74, JP-A-1-313261, JP-A-5
No. 16562 is proposed. In such a sheet post-processing apparatus, a sheet aligning unit for aligning sheets on a sheet aligning tray unit and a sheet discharging unit for discharging a stapled sheet bundle toward a sheet discharging unit are required.

[0003]

As described above, a sheet post-processing apparatus generally includes a sheet aligning means for aligning sheets on a sheet aligning tray section and a sheet discharging apparatus for feeding a stapled sheet bundle toward a sheet discharging section. Paper discharging means for causing the paper to be discharged. Therefore, there has been a problem that the mechanism is complicated and the device is enlarged.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a function of aligning sheets to be discharged to a sheet aligning tray, a function of moving a sheet at the time of stapling, and a step of discharging a stapled sheet bundle toward a sheet discharging section. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus which can simplify the configuration relating to functions, save space, and reduce costs. A second object of the present invention is to simply provide a function of aligning sheets to be discharged to a sheet aligning tray, a function of moving a sheet at the time of stapling, and a function of discharging a stapled sheet bundle toward a sheet discharging section. Even with a configuration provided with one paper ejection claw, the paper can be stacked smoothly from above, and a series of operations such as stacking, stapling, and paper ejection after stapling can be reliably performed. It is to provide a processing device.

[0005]

A first object of the present invention is to provide a sheet aligning tray for stacking sheets discharged from above in a state of being aligned, and for binding sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray. In the sheet post-processing apparatus provided with a staple unit having a stapler, the sheet alignment tray unit is provided with a paper discharge claw movably in a vertical direction,
At the time of receiving a sheet, the tip of the sheet ejected from above is received and aligned by the ejection nail by moving the ejection nail to the receiving position, and at the time of stapling, the ejection nail is moved to the staple position. A first sheet stapling the stacked sheets by the stapler, and discharging the stacked sheets by moving the sheet ejection claws upward when discharging the sheets.
This can be solved by the following means. The first problem can be solved by the second means in the first means, wherein the sheet discharge claw is stopped at a plurality of positions to staple the sheet bundle at a plurality of staple positions.

[0006] The first problem is that in the second means,
When performing binding at a plurality of places, the problem can be solved by the third means for performing staple binding in order from the top of the stacked sheet bundle.

The first problem can be solved by the fourth means in the first or second means, wherein the paper receiving position of a predetermined size is set as the staple position of the paper.

[0008] The second problem is that a sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets ejected from above in an aligned state and a vertically movable sheet aligning tray section are provided on the sheet aligning tray section, and the sheet ejected from above is provided. A fifth sheet ejection member that receives and aligns the leading edge of the sheet, and a sheet pressing member that presses the rear end of the sheet received by the sheet ejection nail and stacked on the sheet alignment tray to the sheet alignment tray. This can be solved by the following means. The second problem can be solved in the first or fifth means by the sixth means for controlling the paper receiving position of the paper discharge claw so that the rear end position of the paper is constant according to the paper size. . The second problem can be solved by the fifth means, wherein the sheet pressing member is a fur brush. The second problem is that, in the seventh means, a conveying roller having a diameter smaller than that of the fur brush is disposed coaxially with the fur brush, and at the time of receiving the sheet, the trailing end of the sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray portion. Can be solved by an eighth means set so as to be between the fur brush and the transport roller. The second problem can be solved by the ninth means in the fifth means, wherein the paper pressing member is a pressing lever. The second
According to the ninth means, in the ninth means, the holding lever is a rotary lever, and is stopped at a position where the trailing end of the stacked sheets is pressed against the sheet aligning tray portion, and detects the trailing end of the next discharged sheet. Then, the problem can be solved by the tenth means which is rotated to press the rear end of the sheet against the sheet aligning tray.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a sheet discharge section of the image forming apparatus 1, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is directly guided to a sheet discharge tray 3 by a switching claw 2. The first transport path A, the second transport path B for stapling or reversing, and the reverse rotation of the forward / reverse transport roller 8 guide the paper that has entered the second transport path B to the first transport path A again. A third transport path C is provided. 2a is the center of rotation of the switching claw 2. The paper discharge tray 3 arranged at the most downstream side of the third transport path C has a function of stacking both sheets that are not stapled and sheets that are stapled.

A transport roller 4 and a driven roller 5 for receiving the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 are provided near the entrance of the sheet post-processing apparatus, and an entrance sensor S1 is provided immediately before the roller. The leading and trailing edges of the conveyed sheet are detected.

The switching claw 2 is located downstream of the transport roller 4.
The switching direction of the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus 1 by switching the switching claw 2 between a position indicated by a dashed line and a position indicated by a solid line by a solenoid and a spring (not shown) to the first conveying path A. And any direction of the second conveyance path B.

A transport roller 6 and a driven roller 7 driven by the transport roller 6 are disposed in the first transport path A. The first transport path A has a switching claw which is discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 and is switched to a dashed line position. 2 is guided directly to the paper discharge tray 3.

At the discharge port portion of the second transport path B to the staple tray 20 described later, the transport roller 8 and the driven roller 9 provided with the fur brush described later are arranged. The path B is discharged from the image forming apparatus 1,
The paper guided by the switching claw 2 switched to the solid line position is guided to the staple unit D at the time of staple, and to the third transport path C at the time of reversal.

The other units shown in FIG. 1 will be described later with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view (side view when FIG. 1 is the front side) of the staple unit D, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the same. The stapling unit D is movable in the width direction of the paper, and performs stapling at a predetermined position on the paper. The stapler 10 is movable in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and a jogger for aligning the width direction of the paper. The fence 11 includes a paper discharge belt 12 for discharging the stapled sheets to the paper discharge tray 3, a paper discharge claw 13 fixed to the paper discharge belt 13, a staple tray 20, a reference fence 21, and the like. The staple tray 20 is arranged substantially vertically or inclined so that the stacked sheets descend under their own weight. S2 is a sensor for detecting the position of the paper ejection claw 13, and the paper ejection claw 13 is arranged so that the position of the rear end of the paper is always constant according to the size of the paper guided to the staple unit D. When the position is detected in S2, the position is adjusted to the position corresponding to the sheet size.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
Numeral 1 is located outside the position of the maximum width of the sheet when the sheet is inverted, and is a reference position of the sheet when the stipple is performed.

Here, the paper discharge claw 13 has a function as a fence in which the leading edge of the paper guided on the staple tray (the paper alignment tray portion described in the claims) 20 is abutted and aligned, and Paper tray 3
It also has the function of sending out to.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the sheet discharge section. A paper discharge roller 14 and a paper discharge driven roller 17 that follows the paper discharge roller 14 are disposed at a paper discharge port to the paper discharge tray 3, and discharge paper that is not stapled, stapled, and inverted paper. The sheet is discharged to the tray 3. The paper discharge driven roller 17 is normally at a position in contact with the paper discharge roller 14, but automatically in the direction of the arrow together with the paper discharge guide plate 18 around the fulcrum a according to the thickness and waist of the paper to be discharged. It is possible to move to. For example, it moves to the position indicated by the chain line. The paper discharge tray 3 can be moved up and down along the guide plate 22 by the vertical guide rollers 15 and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown). The discharge tray 3 can also be moved in a direction (vertical direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the paper discharge direction by the shift guide rollers 16, and the shift operation is also performed by a drive mechanism (not shown). The discharged paper can be sorted.

Reference numeral S3 denotes an upper surface detection sensor for detecting the upper surface of the discharged sheet. The upper surface of the discharged and stacked paper is always positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the discharge roller 14. The height of the tray 3 is adjusted. FIG.
, 22 is a guide plate, and S4 is a reverse entrance sensor.

The discharge operation of this embodiment includes a sort / stack mode in which sheets are discharged directly to the discharge tray 3 one by one without performing stapling, and a stipple mode in which sheets are discharged after stapling. And a reversing mode in which the paper is reversed and then discharged, and each mode can be selected by a selection key of an operation unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1.

Hereinafter, each mode will be described separately. (1) Sort / stack mode The switching claw 2 is located at a position indicated by a dashed line in FIG.
The discharged sheet is sent to the first transport path A, and is transported by the transport roller 6 to the paper exit. At this time, the paper discharge driven roller 17 is always in contact with the paper discharge roller 14 while being pressed by its own weight, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by this. The discharged sheets are stacked on the discharge tray 3 one after another. When the sensor S3 detects the upper surface of the stacked paper, the height of the paper discharge tray 3 is adjusted so that the upper surface of the paper is always at a constant height. If necessary, the paper discharge tray 3 moves in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction to perform a shift operation to sort the paper. Also, in a reversing mode, which will be described later, the discharge tray 3 performs the same lifting and lowering and sorting operations.

(2) Staple mode The switching claw 2 is located at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is reversed and guided to the second conveying path B.
It is transported to the staple unit D. At this time, the paper ejection claw 1
The staple tray 2 is provided so that the trailing edge of the sheet is always stacked on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the conveying roller 8 at a constant interval based on the detection output of the sensor S2.
0 is moved in the up-down direction on the transport path. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, a fur brush roller 8 ′ having a diameter larger than the diameter of the conveying roller 8 is provided coaxially with the conveying roller 8 at a discharge port to the staple tray 20 in the second conveying path B. Is provided. At the time of receiving the paper, the rear end E of the paper stacked on the staple tray 20 is placed above the lowermost part of the fur brush roller 8 'and below the lowermost part of the transport roller 8, that is, as shown in FIG. , Between the outer line L1 of the fur brush roller 8 'and the outer line L2 of the transport roller. The paper guided to the staple tray 20 by the fur brush roller 8 'is
At the same time as the leading end of the paper ejecting nail 13 abuts, the trailing end is stacked with the trailing end pressed against the staple tray 20. The fur brush roller 8 'corresponds to a sheet pressing member.

Next, the sheet is moved toward the reference fence 21 by reciprocating the jogger fence 11 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. Therefore, the sheets are stacked in a state where they abut against the reference fence 21 and the sheet discharge claws 13. The jogger fence 11 repeats the same shifting operation each time a sheet enters the staple tray 20, and the sheets are stacked in a aligned state.

Next, the stacked paper is moved to the staple position by moving the paper discharge claw 13 downward, and the stapler 10 performs the binding operation of the paper.
After the binding operation, the stapled sheet bundle is conveyed toward the discharge roller 14 by moving the discharge claw 13, which has been the reference in the conveyance direction, upward.
The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3 by the reference numeral 4. After the sheet is discharged, the sheet bundle abuts against the guide plate 22 by its own weight, and is stacked with its rear ends aligned. The stacked paper bundle is
As in the case of the sort / stack mode, the height of the sheet discharge tray 3 is adjusted so that the upper surface of the sheet bundle is always at a fixed position. It should be noted that if the stapler is arranged such that the position at which the paper ejection claw 13 accepts the paper of the minimum size that can be stapled is the stapling position of the paper, the processing efficiency of the paper of the minimum size is improved.

(3) Reversing Mode The switching claw 2 is located at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 similarly to the staple mode, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is reversed and guided to the second conveying path B. At this time, the leading end of the switching claw 2 is pressurized in a state of being overlapped with the reversing guide 22, and the sheet is conveyed so as to push it away.
Next, when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the switching claw 2 and is detected by the reverse entrance sensor S4, the transport roller 8 rotates in the reverse direction.
The sheet is switched back in an inverted state, guided to the third transport path C by the switching claw 2, and sent to the sheet discharge port by the transport rollers 6 via the third transport path C and the first transport path A.

In the reversing mode, the paper discharge claw 13 fixed to the paper discharge belt 12 has escaped to a position where the leading edge of the paper guided to the second transport path B does not hit. This position is set by a sensor S2 that detects the position of the paper discharge claw 13.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When the staple mode is selected, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is guided to the staple unit D via the second transport path B by the switching claw 2. At that time, the paper discharge claw 13 is moved along the transport path of the staple tray 20 according to the paper size, and when the paper front end abuts on the paper discharge claw 13, the paper rear end is in contact with the transport roller 8. Away from the nip of the driven roller,
Further, it is stopped at a position where it comes into contact with the fur brush roller 8 '. Accordingly, the paper is stacked with its rear end scraped off by the fur brush roller 8 ′ and pressed toward the staple tray 20.
At the time of stapling, the paper discharge nail 13 is
The staple tray 20 is moved downward along the transport path of the staple tray 20 in accordance with the binding position of 0. The sheet moved to the binding position is stapled at a predetermined position by the stapler 10 (one or a plurality of locations). After the stapling, the paper is ejected from the paper ejecting nail 13 to the staple tray 20.
The paper is conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge roller 14 by being moved upward along the conveyance path of the printer, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by the paper discharge roller 14.

Next, although partially overlapping with the above description, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, focusing on the relationship between the position of the paper discharge nail 13 and the fur brush roller 8 '. I do. The staple mode is selected, and the sheet guided to the staple unit D via the second transport path B by the switching claw 2 is the sheet shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the sheets are stacked while the rear end E of the sheets is pressed toward the staple tray 20 by the fur brush roller 8 '. The leading edge of this paper is a paper ejection claw 13
It is received and aligned by (rear end fence function). The paper discharge claw 13 moves upward or downward on the conveyance path of the staple tray 20 according to the size of the paper, and the rear end E of the paper is always in a fixed position with respect to the fur brush roller 8 '(see FIG. a) and FIG. 6), the sheets are stacked at the sheet receiving position. As described above, the paper discharge claw 13 is driven by the paper discharge claw drive motor (stepping motor) (not shown), and the moving distance is controlled by the paper size and paper direction command sent from the image forming apparatus 1, and as described above. At the sheet receiving position where the trailing end E of the sheet becomes constant, the sheet stands by as a trailing end fence. Therefore, when the sheet is guided to the staple unit D and the leading end of the sheet strikes the sheet ejection claw 13, the trailing end E of the sheet
Is quickly scraped off from the discharge port portion of the second transport path B to the staple tray 20 by the fur brush roller 8 ′ rotating clockwise, and is pressed against the staple tray 20. The sheets are stacked. As a result, the staple tray 20 of the second transport path B
Even if the stipple tray 20 is vertically or inclined so that the stacked sheets descend under its own weight, the sheets can be smoothly moved from above because Can be stacked on
There is no disorder in page order.

At the time of stapling, after the last sheet is stacked, the sheet discharge claw 13 is moved by a distance corresponding to the sheet size and the sheet direction, in this case, a sheet discharge indicated by a dashed line above the receiving position of the sheet discharge claw 13 indicated by a broken line. The claw 13 is moved to the stapling position, and the sheet is moved to the stapler 1 as shown in FIG.
It moves to the stapling position of 0 to prepare for the stapling operation. When the multiple binding is selected, the stapler 10 is moved by a distance corresponding to the paper size and the paper direction after the first binding is completed, and staple binding is performed at a predetermined position on the paper.

After the stapling, the bundle of papers
By the upward movement, as shown in FIG. 7C, the paper is conveyed toward the paper discharge roller 14 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the stapling operation of the present invention. In the staple mode, the paper ejecting claw 13 is moved according to the size of the paper ejected from the image forming apparatus 1 so that the rear end of the paper is at a fixed position with respect to the fur brush roller 8 '(S1, S1). S
2). It is determined whether the stack of the last sheet of a part (one set) to be stapled is completed (S
3) If completed (Y in S3), go to S4; if not completed (N in S3), repeat S3. After the stacking is completed (Y in S3), the staple binding selected by a staple mode selection key (not shown) becomes 1
It is determined whether binding is performed at one place or plural places (S4). If the place is plural places (Y in S4), the process goes to S8. If the place is one place (N in S4), the process goes to S5.

In the case of one-position binding (N in S4), the following is performed. The discharge claw 13 is moved downward by a predetermined amount along the transport path of the staple tray 20 from the sheet receiving position to the binding position of the stapler 10 according to the sheet size (S5). Then, the stapler 10 performs a binding process at a predetermined position on the sheet (S6). Next, the sheet bundle on which the stapling operation has been completed is ejected from the sheet ejection claw 13 to the stapling tray 20.
The paper is conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge roller 14 by being moved upward along the conveyance path of the printer, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by the paper discharge roller 14 (S7).

In the case of multiple-position binding (Y in S4), the following is performed. The discharge claw 13 is moved from the sheet receiving position to the binding position of the stapler 10 according to the sheet size (S8). Then, the first stapling process is performed on a predetermined position of the sheet by the stapler 10 (S9). Next, the stapler 10 is moved to a position where the second binding process is performed (S1).
0), a second binding process is performed at that position by the stapler 10 (S11). Then, this operation is repeated a predetermined number of times according to the number of stapling (S12). Next, the sheet bundle on which the stapling operation has been completed is conveyed toward the discharge roller 14 by moving the discharge claw 13 upward along the conveyance path of the staple tray 20, and is discharged by the discharge roller 14. The sheet is discharged to the tray 3 (S7).

In the above-described embodiment, the fur brush roller 8 'is used as the sheet pressing member. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any material can be used as long as it pushes the trailing end of the cut sheet against the staple tray 20. FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of a staple tray using another sheet pressing member, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of another sheet pressing member. Is omitted. In these figures, reference numeral 30 denotes a paper pressing lever, and the paper pressing lever 30 is rotated about a rotation center point 31 by the driving force of a lever drive motor (stepping motor) not shown. The paper pressing lever 30 is connected to the base 3 having the rotation center point 31.
2, a lever portion 34 rotatably connected to the base portion 32 by a connection shaft 33, a torsion coil spring 35 for urging the lever portion 34 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 8, and a clock contacting the lever portion 34. And a stopper 36 for restricting rotation in the rotation direction. Thus, when the sheet pressing lever 30 is pressed against the sheets stacked on the staple tray 20, the lever portion 34 is centered on the connecting shaft 33 against the torsion coil spring 35 in accordance with the change in the thickness of the sheet bundle. Then, it is rotated counterclockwise to escape. Also, when the paper pressing lever 30 rotates clockwise from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, since the lever portion 34 can rotate counterclockwise about the connection shaft 33, the paper pressing lever 30 can rotate. Can smoothly rotate clockwise without being blocked by the rear end of the sheet bundle. Reference numeral 37 denotes a lever home position sensor, and the paper pressing lever 30 is on standby at a position detected by the lever home position sensor 37 (a position indicated by a broken line). Next, the operation of the paper pressing lever 30 will be described. In the staple mode, when the sheet is conveyed to the staple tray 20, the sheet pressing lever 30 stands by at a position where the lever portion 34 is detected by the lever home position sensor 37 (a position indicated by a broken line). After the sheet is conveyed to the staple tray 20 and the rear end of the sheet is detected by the reversing entrance sensor S4, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the sheet pressing lever 30 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a lever driving motor (stepping motor) (not shown), and is indicated by a solid line. The sheet is pressed against the staple tray 20 at the position indicated by. The stop of the paper pressing lever 30 from the home position (the position indicated by the broken line) to the position indicated by the solid line is controlled by the number of pulses of a stepping motor (not shown). At this time, the position of the paper discharge claw 13 is controlled so that the rear end of the paper comes into contact with the lever portion 34 of the paper pressing lever 30 for any paper size. The sheet pressing lever 30 stops at the position indicated by the solid line until the next sheet comes, and the trailing edge of the next sheet is detected by the reversing entrance sensor S4, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, makes one rotation again in the direction of the arrow (pulse control). The next sheet is also pressed onto the staple tray 20. When the last sheet is stacked and the stapling operation is completed, the sheet pressing lever 30 rotates to the home position (the position indicated by the broken line) to prepare for discharging the sheet bundle.

In the above embodiment, the staple unit D is described as being movable in the width direction of the sheet.
It may be fixed. Of course, the paper may be saddle-stitched by the staple unit D.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the sheet discharge claw 13 also has a function as a rear end fence that receives and aligns the leading edge of the sheet, the stacking operation is performed.
The paper moving operation at the time of staple operation and the paper discharge operation after the end of the staple operation can be performed, so that the configuration can be simplified, the space can be saved, and the cost can be reduced. Further, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since the paper discharge claws 13 can be moved up and down along the transport path of the staple tray 20, the staples can be moved by software (computer program built in the apparatus). Fine adjustment of the binding position and the like becomes possible.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 10 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The sheet post-processing apparatus shown in FIG. 10 is attached to a sheet discharge section of the image forming apparatus 1, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is directly guided to the sheet discharge tray 3 by the switching claw 2. The first transport path A, the second transport path B for stapling or reversing, and the reverse rotation of the forward / reverse transport roller 8 guide the paper that has entered the second transport path B to the first transport path A again. A third transport path C is provided. 2a is the center of rotation of the switching claw 2.
The discharge tray 3 disposed at the most downstream side of the third transport path C
Has a function of stacking both a sheet that is not stapled and a sheet that is stapled.

A transport roller 4 and a driven roller 5 for receiving the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 are provided near the entrance of the present sheet post-processing apparatus, and an entrance sensor S1 is provided immediately before the roller. The leading and trailing edges of the conveyed sheet are detected.

Downstream of the transport roller 4, the switching claw 2
The switching direction of the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus 1 by switching the switching claw 2 between a position indicated by a dashed line and a position indicated by a solid line by a solenoid and a spring (not shown) to the first conveying path A. And any direction of the second conveyance path B.

The first transport path A is provided with a transport roller 6 and a driven roller 7 that is driven by the transport roller 6. The first transport path A has a switching claw that is discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 and is switched to a dashed line position. 2 is guided directly to the paper discharge tray 3.

Also, in the second transport path B, the transport roller 8 and the driven roller 9 having the fur brush described later are provided.
The second conveyance path B discharges the paper from the image forming apparatus 1 and guides the paper guided by the switching claw 2 switched to the solid line position to the fixed staple unit F at the time of staple, and to the stationary staple unit F at the time of reversal. The third transport path C is guided.

The other units shown in FIG. 10 will be described later with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view of the staple unit F (a side view when FIG. 10 is regarded as the front). The stapling unit F is fixed to one end of the paper alignment reference side, and performs stapling at a predetermined position of the paper. The stapler 110 is movable in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to align the width direction of the paper. Fence 111, a discharge belt 112 for discharging the stapled sheets to the discharge tray 3, and a discharge claw 113 fixed thereto, a staple tray 120, a reference fence 121, and the like. I have. S2 is a paper ejection claw 113
Sensor for detecting the position of the staple unit F
The paper ejecting claw 113 is adjusted to a position corresponding to the sheet size by detecting the position in S2 so that the position of the rear end of the sheet is always constant according to the size of the sheet guided to the sheet. Is done.

As shown in FIG. 11, the reference fence 121 is disposed outside the position of the maximum width of the sheet when the sheet is inverted, and is the reference position of the sheet when the staple is set.

Here, the paper discharge claw 113 has a function as a fence in which the leading edge of the paper guided on the staple tray (the paper alignment tray section described in the claims) 120 is abutted and aligned, and And also sends out the bundle of sheets toward the discharge tray 3.

A discharge roller 1 is provided at a discharge port to the discharge tray 3.
4 and a paper discharge driven roller 17 driven by the paper discharge roller 4, and discharges non-stapled paper, stapled paper, and inverted paper to the paper discharge tray 3. The paper discharge driven roller 17 is normally at a position in contact with the paper discharge roller 14, but automatically in the direction of the arrow together with the paper discharge guide plate 18 around the fulcrum a according to the thickness and waist of the paper to be discharged. It is possible to move to. For example, it moves to the position indicated by the chain line. The paper discharge tray 3 can be moved up and down along the guide plate 22 by the vertical guide rollers 15 and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown). The discharge tray 3 can also be moved in a direction (vertical direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the paper discharge direction by the shift guide rollers 16, and the shift operation is also performed by a drive mechanism (not shown). The discharged paper can be sorted.

S3 is an upper surface detection sensor for detecting the upper surface of the discharged paper, and discharges the paper so that the upper surface of the discharged and stacked paper is always at a predetermined position with respect to the discharge roller 14. The height of the tray 3 is adjusted. FIG.
At 0, 22 indicates a guide plate, and S4 indicates a reversing entrance sensor.

The sheet discharging operation according to the present embodiment includes a sort / stack mode in which sheets are discharged directly to the discharge tray 3 one by one without performing stapling, and a stipple mode in which sheets are discharged after stapling. And a reversing mode in which the paper is reversed and then discharged, and each mode can be selected by a selection key of an operation unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 1.

Hereinafter, each mode will be described separately. (1) Sort / stack mode The switching claw 2 is located at a position indicated by a dashed line in FIG.
The discharged sheet is sent to the first transport path A, and is transported by the transport roller 6 to the paper exit. At this time, the paper discharge driven roller 17 is always in contact with the paper discharge roller 14 while being pressed by its own weight, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by this. The discharged sheets are stacked on the discharge tray 3 one after another. When the sensor S3 detects the upper surface of the stacked paper, the height of the paper discharge tray 3 is adjusted so that the upper surface of the paper is always at a constant height. If necessary, the paper discharge tray 3 moves in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction to perform a shift operation to sort the paper. Also, in a reversing mode, which will be described later, the discharge tray 3 performs the same lifting and lowering and sorting operations.

(2) Staple mode The switching claw 2 is located at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.
The discharged sheet is reversed, guided to the second transport path B, and transported to the staple unit F. At this time, the paper discharge claw 113 is moved by the detection output of the sensor S2 so that the trailing end of the paper is always stacked on the downstream side of the transport roller 8 in the paper transport direction at a constant interval. Is moved in the vertical direction on the transport path of. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 6, a fur brush roller 8 ′ having a diameter larger than the diameter of the transport roller 8 is provided coaxially with the transport roller 8. When receiving paper,
Trailing edge E of sheets stacked on staple tray 120
Above the lowermost part of the fur brush roller 8 'and below the lowermost part of the conveying roller 8, that is, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer line L1 of the fur brush roller 8' and the outer line L2 of the conveying roller 8 Is set to be between The fur brush roller 8 'allows the staple tray 12
The sheets guided to 0 are stacked with their leading ends abutting against the sheet ejecting claws 113 and with their trailing ends pressed toward the staple tray 120.

Next, the sheet is moved toward the reference fence 121 by reciprocating the jogger fence 111 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. Therefore, the sheets are stacked in a state where they abut against the reference fence 121 and the sheet discharge claw 113. The jogger fence 111 repeats the same shifting operation each time the paper enters the staple tray 120, and the paper is stacked in a state where the paper is aligned.

Next, the stacked paper is moved to the staple position by moving the paper discharge claw 113 downward, and the stapler 110 performs the binding operation of the paper. After the binding operation, the stapled sheet bundle is conveyed in the direction of the discharge roller 14 by moving the discharge claw 113, which has been the reference in the conveyance direction, upward. The paper is ejected on top. After ejection,
The sheet bundle abuts against the guide plate 22 by its own weight, and is stacked with its rear ends aligned. As in the case of the sort / stack mode, the height of the sheet discharge tray 3 is adjusted so that the upper surface of the sheet bundle is always at a fixed position. If the stapler is arranged such that the position at which the paper ejecting claw 113 accepts a sheet of the smallest size that can be stapled is the stapling position of that paper, after the paper is accepted, the paper ejecting claw 113 is moved to the staple tray 1.
The number of cases in which the sheet 20 is moved downward along the transport direction of the sheet 20 is reduced, and the sheet processing efficiency is improved.

(3) Reversing Mode The switching claw 2 is located at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 10 similarly to the staple mode, and the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 is reversed and guided to the second conveying path B. At this time, the leading end of the switching claw 2 is pressurized in a state of being overlapped with the reversing guide 22, and the sheet is conveyed so as to push it away. Next, when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the switching claw 2 and is detected by the reverse entrance sensor S4, the transport roller 8 rotates in the reverse direction. The sheet is switched back in an inverted state and guided to the third transport path C by the switching claw 2, and the third transport path C and the first
After passing through the transport path A, the paper is sent to the paper discharge port by the transport roller 6.

In the reversing mode, the paper discharge claw 113 fixed to the paper discharge belt 112 has escaped to a position where the leading edge of the paper guided to the second transport path B does not hit. This position is set by a sensor S2 that detects the position of the paper discharge nail 113.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. When the staple mode is selected, the sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus 1
It is guided to the staple unit F via the transport path B. At this time, the paper discharge nail 113 is moved along the transport path of the staple tray 120 according to the paper size, and the paper discharge nail 1 is moved.
When the leading end of the sheet abuts on the sheet 13, the trailing end of the sheet is separated from the nip portion between the transport roller 8 and the driven roller and stopped at a position where it comes into contact with the fur brush roller 8 ′. Therefore, the paper is stacked with its trailing edge scraped off by the fur brush roller 8 ′ and pressed against the staple tray 120.
Further, at the time of stapling, the paper discharge nail 113 is moved along the transport path of the staple tray 120 in accordance with the binding position of the stapler 110. The sheet moved to the binding position is stapled at a predetermined position by the stapler 110 (one or a plurality of locations). Then, after stapling, the sheet is ejected from the paper ejection claw 113 to the staple tray 1.
The sheet is conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge roller 14 by moving upward along the conveyance path 20 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 3 by the paper discharge roller 14.

The operation corresponding to the position corresponding to each function of the paper discharge claw 113 and the fur brush roller 8 'is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). Since the operation is the same as that of the embodiment, the description is omitted here.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the stipple processing operation of the present invention. In the staple mode, the paper ejecting claw 113 is moved so that the rear end of the paper is at a fixed position with respect to the fur brush roller 8 'according to the size of the paper ejected from the image forming apparatus 1 (S2).
1, S22). It is determined whether the stack of the final sheet of a part (one set) to be stapled has been completed (S23). If the stack has been completed (Y in S23), the process proceeds to S24, and if not completed (N in S23). ) Repeats S23. After the stacking is completed (Y in S23), it is determined whether the staple binding selected by the stapling mode selection key (not shown) is one-position binding or multiple-position binding (S24). Y) S28
Go to step S25 (N in S24) and go to S25.

In the case of one-position binding (N in S24), the following is performed. The discharge nail 113 is moved by a predetermined amount along the transport path of the staple tray 120 from the paper receiving position to the binding position of the stapler 110 according to the paper size (S25). Then, the stapler 110 performs a binding process at a predetermined position on the sheet (S26). Next, the sheet bundle on which the stapling operation has been completed is conveyed in the direction of the discharge roller 14 by moving the discharge claw 113 upward along the conveyance path of the staple tray 120, and
Is discharged to the discharge tray 3 (S27).

In the case of binding at a plurality of locations (Y in S24), the following is performed. A paper ejection claw 11 for moving the paper to the initial binding position in accordance with the paper size and the number of stapled sheets.
3 is moved (S28). And the stippler 110
Performs the first binding process at a predetermined position on the sheet (S2).
9). Next, the paper ejection claw 113 is moved to move the sheet to the position where the second binding process is performed (S30), and the second binding process is performed at that position by the stapler 110 (S31). Then, this operation is repeated a predetermined number of times according to the number of stapling (S32). Next, the sheet bundle on which the stapling operation has been completed is conveyed in the direction of the sheet discharging roller 14 by moving the sheet discharging claw 113 upward along the conveying path of the staple tray 120, and is discharged by the sheet discharging roller 14. The sheet is discharged to the tray 3 (S27). In the case of multiple binding, the binding order of the sheets is staple tray 2
If the stapling operation is completed when the stapling operation is completed, the paper is moved upward on the conveying path of the staple tray 20 if the stapling operation is completed. The sheet bundle can be discharged quickly, and the processing efficiency is improved.

In the second embodiment, the paper pressing lever shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 may be used as the paper pressing member in addition to the fur brush.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, since the sheet discharge claw 113 also has a function as a rear end fence for receiving and aligning the leading edge of the sheet, the stacking operation and the stapling operation are performed. , A paper moving operation at the time of plural stapling, and a paper discharging operation after the staple operation is completed, so that the configuration can be simplified, space can be saved, and cost can be reduced. Further, in the second embodiment of the present invention, since the paper ejection claws 113 can be moved up and down along the transport path of the staple tray 120, the software (computer program built in the device) is used. Fine adjustment of the staple binding position and the like becomes possible.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the staple trays 20, 120 for stacking sheets discharged from above in an aligned state, and the staple trays 20, 1,
Stapler 1 for binding sheets stacked in stack 20
In a sheet post-processing apparatus provided with staple units D and F having the staple trays 20 and 12,
0 is provided with paper ejection claws 13 and 113 movably in the up and down direction. At the time of receiving the paper, the paper ejection claws 13 and 113 are moved to the receiving position to discharge the leading end of the paper ejected from above. The sheets are received by the claws 13 and 113 and aligned, and at the time of stapling, the stacked sheets are moved by moving the paper discharge claws 13 and 113 to the stapling position.
The stapled sheets are stapled by 0 and 110, and when the sheets are ejected, the stacked sheets are ejected by moving the ejection claws 13 and 113 upward, so that the stacked sheets are ejected.
The functions of aligning the sheets to be discharged to the staple trays 20, 120, moving the sheets at the time of staples, and discharging the bundle of staples toward the discharge section have a single discharge claw 13, 113, the stacking operation, the paper moving operation at the time of stapling, the paper discharging operation after the staple operation is completed, and a series of operations of stacking, stapling, and the paper discharging after stapling are performed. This makes it possible to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus that can save space by simplifying the configuration for performing the processing and reduce costs.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the minimum size sheet receiving position is set as the staple position of the sheet. After the sheet is received at the staple position, the staple binding can be performed without moving the sheet with the minimum movement amount or the minimum size at all, so that the processing efficiency of the sheet with the minimum size is particularly improved.

In the second embodiment,
The stapling of the sheet bundle can be performed without moving the staple unit F because the paper discharge claws 113 are stopped at a plurality of positions and the stapling of the sheet bundle is performed at a plurality of staple positions. Space for configuration and movement is not required, so that the configuration can be further simplified, space can be saved, and costs can be reduced. Further, in the second embodiment, when binding at a plurality of locations, staple binding is performed in order from the top of the stacked sheet bundle. Therefore, when the stapling operation is completed, the sheet is placed in the staple tray. Since the sheet bundle is moved upward on the transport path 20, the staple-bound sheet bundle can be discharged quickly, and the processing efficiency is improved.

In each of the above embodiments, the staple trays 20 and 120 for stacking the sheets discharged from above in an aligned state, and the staple trays 20 and 1
The paper ejecting claws 13 and 113 receive the leading ends of the paper ejected from above and align them, and the staple trays 20 and 1 are received by the paper ejecting claws 13 and 113 so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
Staple tray 2
Since a paper pressing member (fur brush roller 8 ′, paper pressing lever 30) that presses the papers 0 and 120 is provided, a function of aligning the papers discharged to the staple trays 20 and 120, a paper moving function at the time of staples, Even when the single sheet ejecting claws 13 and 113 have a function of ejecting the stapled sheet bundle toward the sheet ejection section, the trailing edge of the sheet ejected to the staple trays 20 and 120 is stapled. By pressing against the pull trays 20, 120, the next sheet can be smoothly stacked from above while the rear end of the sheet is pressed by the sheet pressing member (the fur brush roller 8 ', the sheet pressing lever 30). Thus, a series of operations such as stapling and paper discharge after stapling can be reliably performed.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the conveying roller 8 having a smaller diameter than the fur brush 8 'is arranged coaxially with the fur brush 8'. The rear end of the sheets stacked on the sheet is set so as to be between the fur brush 8 ′ and the transport roller 8. Therefore, the sheet is removed from the discharge port of the second transport path B by the fur brush roller 8 ′. The end can be reliably pressed against the staple trays 20, 120.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a paper holding member (a fur brush) is used to control the paper receiving position of the paper discharge claw so that the rear end position of the paper is constant according to the paper size. Roller 8 ', paper pressing lever 3
0), the trailing edge of the stacked sheets can be reliably pressed against the staple trays 20, 120.

[0066]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the function of aligning the sheets to be discharged to the sheet aligning tray, the function of moving the sheets at the time of stapling, and the method of directing the stapled sheet bundle toward the sheet discharging section. Since a single paper ejecting claw is provided with the function to eject paper, it is possible to perform stacking operation, paper moving operation at the time of stapling, paper ejection operation after completion of the stapling operation, and stacking, stapling, and after stapling. It is possible to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus which can simplify a configuration for performing a series of operations such as sheet discharge, save space, and reduce costs. Further, since the paper ejection nail is movable, fine adjustment of the staple binding position and the like can be made by software (computer program built in the apparatus).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sheet discharge nail is stopped at a plurality of positions and the staple binding of the sheet bundle is performed at a plurality of staple positions, the plurality of sheet bundles are bound without moving the staple unit. Therefore, the structure for moving the staple unit and the space for moving the staple unit are not required, and the structure can be further simplified, the space can be saved, and the cost can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when stapling at a plurality of places, stapling is performed in order from the top of the stacked sheet bundle. , The staple-bound sheet bundle can be discharged quickly, and the processing efficiency is improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the sheet receiving position of the predetermined size is set as the staple position of the sheet, the position where the discharge claw receives the sheet of the predetermined size that can be stapled is the staple position of the sheet. Then, after receiving the sheet, the staple binding can be performed without moving the sheet of the predetermined size or the predetermined size at all, so that the processing efficiency of the sheet of the predetermined size is particularly improved.

According to the fifth or seventh or ninth or tenth aspect of the present invention, a sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets discharged from above in an aligned state, and a vertically movable sheet aligning tray section. A paper ejecting claw for receiving and aligning the leading edge of the paper ejected from above, and a paper pressing member for receiving the paper ejected claw and pressing the rear end of the paper stacked on the paper aligning tray to the paper aligning tray. The paper ejection claw has the function of aligning the paper ejected to the paper alignment tray, the function of moving the paper at the time of stapling, and the function of ejecting the bundle of stapled paper toward the paper ejection unit. The paper holding member (the fur brush roller 8 ′, the paper pressing lever 3) is pressed against the paper aligning tray by pressing the rear end of the paper discharged to the paper aligning tray.
Since the next sheet can be smoothly stacked from above while the rear end of the sheet is pressed in step 0), a series of operations such as stacking, stapling, and sheet discharge after stapling can be reliably performed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the paper receiving position of the paper ejection claw is controlled so that the rear end position of the paper is constant according to the paper size. Can be reliably pressed against the sheet alignment tray.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the conveying roller having a smaller diameter than the fur brush is disposed coaxially with the fur brush, and when receiving the sheet, the rear end of the sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray portion is moved. Since the paper is set to be between the fur brush and the transport roller, the rear end of the paper can be removed from the paper outlet by the fur brush roller, and the rear end of the paper can be reliably pressed against the paper alignment tray.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a side view of the staple unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the stipple unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged configuration diagram of a sheet discharge unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a stipple processing operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship among a fur brush roller, a transport roller, and a rear end of a sheet.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are explanatory diagrams showing each operation state of a paper discharge claw.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the vicinity of a staple tray using another sheet pressing member.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another sheet pressing member.

FIG. 10 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the staple unit of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a staple processing operation of the sheet post-processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A First transport path B Second transport path C Third transport path D, F Staple unit 1 Image forming device 2 Switching claw 3 Discharge tray 4, 6, 8 Transport roller 5, 7, 9 Follower roller 8 'fur brush Roller (paper pressing member) 10, 110 Stipula 11, 111 Jogger fence 12, 112 Paper discharge belt 13, 113 Paper discharge claw 14 Paper discharge roller 15 Vertical guide roller 16 Shift guide roller 17 Paper discharge driven roller 18 Paper discharge guide plate 20 , 120 Staple tray (paper alignment tray section) 21, 121 Reference fence 22 Guide plate 30 Paper pressing lever (paper pressing member) S1, S2, S3, S4 Sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroki Okada 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Masahiro Tamura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Masahiro Minato 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company

Claims (10)

[Claims] A sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets ejected from above in an aligned state, and a staple unit having a stapler unit having a stapler for binding sheets stacked on the sheet aligning tray section. In the processing apparatus, the paper aligning tray unit is provided with a paper ejection claw movably in a vertical direction, and when receiving the paper, the paper ejection claw is moved to a receiving position to move the leading end of the paper ejected from above. The stapler moves the discharge claw to the staple position to staple the stacked sheets by the stapler, and moves the discharge claw upward when the paper is discharged. A sheet post-processing device wherein the stacked sheets are discharged by causing the sheet to be discharged. 2. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet discharge claw is stopped at a plurality of positions and staple binding of the sheet bundle is performed at a plurality of staple positions. 3. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when binding at a plurality of places, staple binding is performed in order from the top of the stacked sheet bundle. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet receiving position of a predetermined size is a staple position of the sheet. 5. A sheet aligning tray section for stacking sheets ejected from above in an aligned state, and provided in the sheet aligning tray section so as to be movable in a vertical direction, for receiving a leading end of the sheet ejected from above. And a paper holding member for pressing a rear end of the paper received by the paper output claw and stacked on the paper alignment tray against the paper alignment tray. Processing equipment. 6. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet receiving position of the sheet ejection claw is controlled so that the rear end position of the sheet is constant according to the sheet size. . 7. The sheet post-processing device according to claim 5, wherein the sheet pressing member is a fur brush. 8. A paper feeding apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a conveying roller having a diameter smaller than that of the fur brush is disposed coaxially with the fur brush, and when receiving the paper, the rear end of the paper stacked on the paper aligning tray portion is set to the rear end. A sheet post-processing device, wherein the sheet post-processing device is set between a fur brush and the transport roller. 9. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheet pressing member is a pressing lever. 10. The sheet holding device according to claim 9, wherein the pressing lever is a rotary lever, and is stopped at a position where the rear end of the stacked sheets is pressed against the sheet aligning tray portion, and the rear end of the next sheet discharged is discharged. A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein when detected, the sheet is rotated to press the rear end of the sheet against the sheet alignment tray.