JP4775371B2 - Paper processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper processing apparatus for processing paper.

  In order to improve the quality of the folded portion of the folded sheet bundle, there has been proposed an apparatus for performing a flattening process for flattening a curved folded top portion which is a folded portion of the sheet bundle. Specifically, a booklet of paper folded so that the back portion is curved is held and fixed by a clamping jaw adjacent to the back portion, and the forming roller is pressed with sufficient pressure to smooth the back portion of the curve. It flattens by making it run one or more times along the length direction of the protruding back part (for example, refer to patent documents 1).

JP 2001-260564 A

  Here, the sheet processing apparatus may include a flattening processing unit that moves the forming roller in a direction orthogonal to the booklet conveyance direction to flatten the folded portion of the booklet. The flattening processing unit is not set as the most downstream process of the paper processing apparatus, but after performing the flattening process, for example, a cutting process such as cutting of a paper irregular portion at the rear end of the booklet. It may be desired to perform processing. When the sheet processing apparatus is provided with a process for performing some process after the flattening process as well as the flattening process, it is desired that the sheet processing apparatus has a simple configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flattening means for flattening a folded portion of a booklet generated by folding a sheet bundle, and a surface for closing a booklet conveyance path when the flattening process is performed. a positioning unit that determines the position of the booklet has, to the next step after the planarization process has a surface for supporting the booklets and a guide portion for guiding the booklet, and the positioning portion and the guide portion When the positioning guide unit determines the position of the booklet when the flattening processing unit performs the flattening process, the positioning unit moves the booklet transport path. to the first position at the position for closing, the to a second position not interfering with the movement locus of the positioning guide unit is the flattening processing means when performing the flattening process, the book after the planarization process The to the third position where the guide portion is supported the booklet when guided to the next step, the sheet processing apparatus including a moving means for moving integrally, a.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the moving means includes a drive motor and a transmission mechanism that transmits a rotational driving force of the drive motor to the positioning guide unit, and the positioning guide unit includes the transmission mechanism. 2, receiving a rotational driving force transmitted from the booklet, moving in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of the booklet, and moving to the first position, the second position, and the third position. Ru sheet processing apparatus der described.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the flattening processing unit includes a flattening roller that performs the flattening processing by moving in a direction that is parallel to the paper surface of the booklet and that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the booklet. 2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second position is a position where the positioning guide unit does not interfere with a movement locus of the flattening roller.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the moving means moves the positioning guide unit from the first position to the second position before the flattening roller starts moving. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the sheet processing apparatus is moved to the third position after finishing the flattening process.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flattening means for performing flattening processing of a folded portion of a booklet generated by folding a sheet bundle, and a surface for closing a booklet conveyance path when performing the flattening processing. a positioning unit that determines the position of the booklet has, to the next step after the planarization process has a surface for supporting the booklets and a guide portion for guiding the booklet, and the positioning portion and the guide portion The booklet when the flattening means performs the flattening process on a positioning guide unit that moves as a unit, a drive motor that applies a driving force for moving the positioning guide unit, and the positioning guide unit. the first to the position of the positioning guide unit is the flattened when performing the flattening process at the position of the positioning unit blocks the transport path of the booklet in determining the position To a second position not interfering with the movement locus of the management unit, to a third position in which the guide portion is supported the booklet when guiding the booklet after the flattening processing to the next step, so as to move integrally And a control unit that controls rotation of the drive motor.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the flattening means includes a flattening roller that performs the flattening process by moving in a direction that is parallel to the paper surface of the booklet and that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the booklet. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the second position is a position where the positioning guide unit does not interfere with a movement locus of the flattening roller.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the control unit moves the positioning guide unit from the first position to the second position before the flattening roller starts moving, and the flattening roller The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the drive motor is controlled to move to the third position after the planarization process is completed.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize the flattening process by moving the positioning guide unit having the positioning part and the guide part according to the state of the flattening process, and after the flattening process step, A step of performing the treatment can be provided. Further, the configuration can be further simplified by moving the positioning portion and the guide portion together.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sheet processing apparatus can be made simple by moving the positioning guide unit linearly.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily perform the flattening process by positioning the positioning guide unit at a position that does not hinder the movement of the flattening roller.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the positioning guide unit can be arranged at an appropriate position according to the state of the flattening process.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by moving the positioning guide unit under the control of the control unit, it is possible to realize a flattening process and to provide a process for performing some process after the flattening process. . Further, the configuration can be further simplified by moving the positioning portion and the guide portion together.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the flattening process can be satisfactorily performed by positioning the positioning guide unit at a position that does not hinder the movement of the flattening roller.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the positioning guide unit can be appropriately arranged according to the state of the flattening process under the control of the control unit.

The best mode (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The sheet processing apparatus 1 is connected to an image forming apparatus 2 such as a printer or a copying machine that forms a color image by an electrophotographic method, and is used as a post-processing apparatus.

  The sheet processing apparatus 1 includes a sheet receiving unit that receives the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus 2, stores the sheet as a cover separately, and additionally inserts the sheet as a book cover, and folds the sheet. A first post-processing device 5 having a folder 4 and a booklet unit that generates, for example, a booklet unit that includes a bundle of sheets to form a bundle of sheets, saddle-stitches and bends the booklet is provided. Further, the paper processing apparatus 1 includes a flattening processing unit 10 that performs a flattening process for flattening a folded portion of a booklet generated by folding the booklet unit of the first post-processing apparatus 5 into a booklet unit; A second post-processing device 6 having a cutting unit 20 that cuts a non-uniform sheet at the rear end, and a stacker 7 on which the processed booklet is stacked are provided. The sheet processing apparatus 1 includes a conveyance belt 81 that conveys the booklet generated by the booklet unit of the first post-processing apparatus 5 to the second post-processing apparatus 6 and a flatness of the second post-processing apparatus 6. A conveyance roller 82 that conveys the booklet that has been flattened by the conversion processing unit 10 to the cutting unit 20 and a conveyance roller 83 that conveys the booklet cut by the cutting unit 20 to the stacker 7 are provided. The image forming apparatus 2 includes a control unit 30 that controls the image forming apparatus 2 and the paper processing apparatus 1.

Next, the planarization processing unit 10 of the second post-processing apparatus 6 will be described.
2A is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the planarization processing unit 10, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 2A. In addition, the X direction shown to Fig.2 (a) is a conveyance direction of the booklet S. FIG. The Y direction is a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of the booklet S to be conveyed, in other words, a direction orthogonal to the booklet conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 81 (see FIG. 1). Sometimes referred to as the vertical direction. The Z direction is parallel to the paper surface of the booklet S to be transported and is orthogonal to the transport direction of the booklet S, in other words, parallel to the booklet transport surface of the transport belt 81 and in the transport direction of the booklet S. The directions are orthogonal. In FIG. 2B, the flattening roller 13 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the flattening processing unit 10 includes a transport chute 11 that guides the booklet S generated by the booklet unit of the first post-processing device 5 to the flattening processing position, and the booklet S that has been transported. Is provided with a pair of booklet gripping members 12. The lower booklet gripping member 12a of the booklet gripping member 12 is fixed to the apparatus main body housing of the second post-processing device 6, and the upper booklet gripping member 12b is arranged in the Y direction in FIG. It is supported movably. As means for moving the upper booklet gripping member 12b, for example, a drive motor (not shown), a gear (not shown) that transmits the rotational driving force of the drive motor to the upper booklet gripping member 12b, and this A mechanism including a spur gear (not shown) that converts the rotational driving force transmitted by the gear into a driving force for movement in the Y direction can be exemplified. However, the mechanism is particularly limited to such a mode. Do not mean.

  Further, the flattening processing unit 10 includes a flattening roller 13 that moves in the Z direction in FIG. 2A and flattens the bent portion of the booklet S. As means for moving the flattening roller 13 in the Z direction in FIG. 2A, for example, a drive motor (not shown) and a gear (not shown) that transmits the rotational driving force of the drive motor to the flattening roller 13 are used. And a mechanism composed of a spur gear (not shown) that converts the rotational driving force transmitted by this gear into a driving force for movement in the Z direction can be exemplified. It is not necessarily limited to the embodiment.

  Further, the flattening processing unit 10 guides the booklet S to the positioning unit 14a that determines the position of the booklet S in the X direction when performing the flattening processing and the cutting unit 20 that is the next process after the flattening processing. And a positioning guide unit 14 having 14b. The positioning portion 14a has a surface perpendicular to the transport direction (X direction) of the booklet S for abutting against the head of the transported booklet S, and the guide portion 14b is a booklet S for supporting the transported booklet S. It has a surface parallel to the paper surface. Further, the positioning guide unit 14 is provided with two spur gears 14c formed so as to extend in the Y direction in FIG. The two spur gears 14c mesh with the gears 16 coupled to the rotation shaft 15, respectively. A gear 17 is coupled to the end of the rotating shaft 15, and the gear 17 is connected to the drive motor 100 via a transmission gear 18 and a transmission gear 19. The drive motor 100, the transmission gear 18, the transmission gear 19, the rotating shaft 15, and the gear 16 are rotatably supported by the apparatus main body housing of the second post-processing apparatus 6. On the other hand, the positioning guide unit 14 is supported so as to be movable in the Y direction.

  The drive motor 100 rotates in both directions, and the rotation direction and rotation drive start / stop are controlled by the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1). The same applies to a drive motor that applies a driving force to move the upper booklet gripping member 12b in the Y direction and a driving motor that applies a driving force to move the flattening roller 13 in the Z direction. The rotation direction and rotation drive start / stop are controlled by the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1). The same applies to the drive motor (not shown) for driving the transport belt 81 (see FIG. 1) and the transport rollers 82 and 83 (see FIG. 1). (See FIG. 1). Further, the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) detects a gripping member position sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the upper booklet gripping member 12b, or detects that the booklet S has been transported and stopped on the transport chute 11. A booklet position sensor (not shown), a unit position sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the positioning guide unit 14 in the Y direction, a roller position sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the flattening roller 13, a positioning guide An output from a booklet position sensor (not shown) that detects that the booklet S has passed over the guide portion 14b of the unit 14 is input.

Next, the operation of the flattening processing unit 10 will be described.
In the flattening processing unit 10 configured as described above, when the drive motor 100 rotates in the T1 direction in FIG. 2A, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the transmission gear 19 to the transmission gear 18 to the gear 17. The Further, the positioning guide unit 14 is moved in the U1 direction of FIG. 2A via a spur gear 14c coupled to the rotary shaft 15 together with the gear 17 and transmitted to the gear 16 rotating with the gear 17 and meshing with the gear 16. . On the other hand, when the drive motor 100 rotates in the T2 direction in FIG. 2A, the positioning guide unit 14 moves in the U2 direction in FIG. As described above, in the present embodiment, the transmission mechanism including the drive motor 100, the rotation shaft 15, the gear 16, the gear 17, the transmission gear 18, the transmission gear 19, and the like moves the positioning guide unit 14. Means.

  The position of the positioning guide unit 14 shown in FIG. 2 is the first position where the positioning guide unit 14 is the highest position. When the positioning guide unit 14 is positioned at the first position, the positioning portion 14a of the positioning guide unit 14 closes the transport path of the booklet S, and the booklet S transported by the transport belt 81 (see FIG. 1) is positioned. By stopping against the portion 14a, the positioning is stopped. At that time, skew correction is also performed at the same time. When the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) recognizes that the booklet S is stopped from the output of the booklet position sensor, the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) lowers the upper booklet gripping member 12b and stops driving the conveyance belt 81 (see FIG. 1). Let Thereby, the booklet S is gripped by the booklet gripping member 12 at this position.

  When the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) detects that the upper booklet gripping member 12b is lowered and stopped from the output of the gripping member position sensor and the booklet S is gripped by the booklet gripping member 12, the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) displays the drive motor 100. Rotate in the T1 direction of 2 (a). Then, the positioning guide unit 14 moves in the U1 direction in FIG.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state when the positioning guide unit 14 is located at the second position, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. is there.
The control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) rotates the drive motor 100 in the T1 direction of FIG. 2A to move the positioning guide unit 14 in the U1 direction of FIG. When it is detected by the output from the unit position sensor that detects the position of the unit 14 that the positioning guide unit 14 has been lowered to the second position, the drive motor 100 is stopped. The second position refers to a position where the positioning guide unit 14 does not interfere with the movement locus of the flattening roller 13. That is, when the positioning guide unit 14 is located at the second position, even if the flattening roller 13 moves in the Z direction, it does not interfere with the positioning guide unit 14.

  And after the positioning guide unit 14 moves to the 2nd position shown in FIG. 3, the control part 30 (refer FIG. 1) moves the planarization roller 13 to a Z direction. As a result, the flattening roller 13 flattens the folded portion of the booklet S. The control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) indicates that the flattening roller 13 has performed the flattening process by the output from the roller position sensor (not shown) and stopped at the original position (the position shown in FIG. 2A). Is detected, the drive motor 100 is rotated in the direction T2 in FIG. Then, the positioning guide unit 14 moves in the U2 direction in FIG.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view showing a state when the positioning guide unit 14 is located at the third position, which is a position for guiding the booklet S, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the AA cross section. In FIG. 4B, the flattening roller 13 is omitted.
The control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) rotates the drive motor 100 in the T2 direction in FIG. 2A to move the positioning guide unit 14 in the U2 direction in FIG. When it is detected by the output from the sensor that the positioning guide unit 14 has been raised to the third position, the drive motor 100 is stopped. The third position refers to a position where the booklet S to be transported and the guide portion 14b are in contact with each other and support the transported booklet S. That is, when the positioning guide unit 14 is located at the third position, the booklet S passes through the positioning guide unit 14 while being in contact with the guide portion 14b.

  Thereafter, the controller 30 (see FIG. 1) drives the drive motor to raise the upper booklet gripping member 12b, and drives the transport belt 81 (see FIG. 1) and the transport roller 82 (see FIG. 1). Thereby, when the position of the positioning guide unit 14 is the third position shown in FIG. 4, the booklet S transported by the transport belt 81 and the transport roller 82 passes over the guide portion 14b of the positioning guide unit 14, It is conveyed to the cutting unit 20. The control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) then causes the booklet S conveyed by the conveyance belt 81 and the conveyance roller 82 to pass over the guide unit 14b of the positioning guide unit 14 by the output from the above-described booklet position sensor (not shown). When it is detected, the drive motor 100 is rotated in the direction T2 in FIG. Then, the positioning guide unit 14 moves in the U2 direction in FIG. When the control unit 30 (see FIG. 1) detects that the positioning guide unit 14 has been raised to the first position based on the output from the unit position sensor described above, the control unit 30 stops the drive motor 100. Then, the positioning guide unit 14 stands by at the first position until the booklet S is next conveyed.

Thus, in the flattening processing unit 10 according to the present embodiment, the positioning guide unit 14 having the positioning unit 14a that determines the position of the booklet S in the transport direction and the guide unit 14b that guides the booklet S to the next process. The first position for positioning the booklet S in the transport direction, the second position for retreating when the flattening process is performed by the flattening roller 13, and the booklet S after the flattening process are guided to the next process. The position is moved to the third position.
Thereby, it is possible to realize both the flattening process and another process such as a cutting process after the flattening process with a simple configuration.

  In the embodiment described above, the positioning guide unit 14 has the shape shown in FIG. 2, but is not particularly limited to such a shape. The positioning portion 14a may be of any shape and structure as long as it has a function of closing the transport path of the booklet S and determining the position of the booklet S in the transport direction when it is located at the first position described above. . Moreover, the guide part 14b may be of any shape and structure as long as it has a function of guiding the booklet S to the next process when it is located at the third position described above. Further, as long as the positioning portion 14a and the guide portion 14b are integrally moved in the Y direction, any means may be used as the positioning portion 14a and the guide portion 14b as one unit. The positioning portion 14a and the guide portion 14b may be fixed with screws, or may be fixed with an adhesive or welding.

In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 30 provided in the image forming apparatus 2 controls the drive motor 100 of the flattening processing unit 10. However, the configuration is not particularly limited thereto. . For example, when a control device dedicated to the sheet processing apparatus 1 is provided separately from the control unit 30 provided in the image forming apparatus 2, the drive motor 100 may be controlled by such a control device. Further, when a control device dedicated to the second post-processing device 6 is provided, the drive motor 100 may be controlled by such a control device.
The same applies to the drive motor for driving the upper booklet gripping member 12b, the flattening roller 13, the transport belt 81, and the transport rollers 82 and 83, and is not limited to the mode controlled by the control unit 30. When a control device dedicated to the sheet processing apparatus 1 is provided, the control may be performed by such a control device. When a control device dedicated to the second post-processing device 6 is provided, such control is performed. You may control with a control apparatus.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. (A) is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the planarization process part which concerns on this Embodiment, and is a figure when the positioning guide unit is located in the 1st position. (B) is a figure which shows the AA cross section of (a). (A) is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the planarization process part when the positioning guide unit is located in a 2nd position. (B) is a figure which shows the AA cross section of (a). (A) is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the planarization process part when the positioning guide unit is located in the 3rd position. (B) is a figure which shows the AA cross section of (a).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Paper processing apparatus, 2 ... Image forming apparatus, 3 ... Interposer, 4 ... Folder, 5 ... 1st post-processing apparatus, 6 ... 2nd post-processing apparatus, 7 ... Stacker, 10 ... Flattening process part, 11 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Conveyance chute, 12 ... Booklet gripping member, 13 ... Flattening roller, 14 ... Positioning guide unit, 14a ... Positioning part, 14b ... Guide part, 14c ... Spur gear, 15 ... Rotating shaft, 16, 17 ... Gear, 18, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 ... Transmission gear, 20 ... Cutting part, 30 ... Control part, 100 ... Drive motor, S ... Booklet

Claims (7)

A flattening processing means for performing flattening processing of a folded portion of a booklet generated by folding a sheet bundle;
A positioning unit for determining the position of the booklet having a surface for closing the booklet transport path when performing the flattening process, and a surface for supporting the booklet, and the booklet to the next step after the flattening process A positioning guide unit that includes a guiding unit that guides, and the positioning unit and the guiding unit move as a unit;
When the positioning guide unit determines the position of the booklet when the flattening means performs the flattening process, the positioning unit moves to a first position that exists at a position that blocks the booklet conveyance path . , the to a second position that does not interfere with the movement locus of the positioning guide unit is the flattening processing means when performing the flattening process, the guide in the case of guiding the booklet after the planarization process to the next step Moving means for integrally moving to a third position where the part supports the booklet ;
Paper processing device including The moving means includes a drive motor and a transmission mechanism that transmits a rotational driving force of the drive motor to the positioning guide unit.
The positioning guide unit receives a rotational driving force transmitted from the transmission mechanism and moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of the booklet, and moves to the first position, the second position, and the third position. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The flattening means includes a flattening roller that performs the flattening process by moving in a direction that is parallel to the paper surface of the booklet and that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the booklet,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second position is a position where the positioning guide unit does not interfere with a movement locus of the flattening roller. The moving means moves the positioning guide unit from the first position to the second position before the flattening roller starts to move, and after the flattening roller finishes the flattening process, The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the sheet processing apparatus is moved to a third position. A flattening processing means for performing flattening processing of a folded portion of a booklet generated by folding a sheet bundle;
A positioning unit for determining the position of the booklet having a surface for closing the booklet transport path when performing the flattening process, and a surface for supporting the booklet, and the booklet to the next step after the flattening process A positioning guide unit that includes a guiding unit that guides, and the positioning unit and the guiding unit move as a unit;
A driving motor for applying a driving force for moving the positioning guide unit;
When the positioning guide unit determines the position of the booklet when the flattening means performs the flattening process, the positioning unit moves to a first position that exists at a position that blocks the booklet conveyance path . , the to a second position that does not interfere with the movement locus of the positioning guide unit is the flattening processing means when performing the flattening process, the guide in the case of guiding the booklet after the planarization process to the next step A control unit that controls the rotation of the drive motor so that the unit moves as a unit to a third position that supports the booklet ;
Paper processing device including The flattening means includes a flattening roller that performs the flattening process by moving in a direction that is parallel to the paper surface of the booklet and that is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the booklet,
The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second position is a position where the positioning guide unit does not interfere with a movement locus of the flattening roller. The control unit moves the positioning guide unit from the first position to the second position before the flattening roller starts to move, and after the flattening roller finishes the flattening process, The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the drive motor is controlled to move to a third position.

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