JP6747372B2 - Aftertreatment device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus that performs a predetermined post-processing on a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus.

There is known a post-processing device that performs post-processing such as stapling on a sheet of paper after image formation before discharging the sheet of paper to a stack tray. The post-processing device includes a processing tray that receives a sheet, and performs a predetermined post-processing in a state where a plurality of sheets to be post-processed are arranged at predetermined positions on the processing tray. Prior to this post-processing, a paper hitting operation of hitting the paper with a hitting member arranged on the processing tray to store the paper in the processing tray, and a pair of width-adjusting cursors provided on the processing tray A paper width adjusting operation for adjusting the widthwise side end faces of the paper is executed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP, 2011-225371, A

The hitting member also has a function of pressing the paper toward the processing tray to correct the curl of the paper. For example, a paper on which an image is formed by an inkjet method has a large curl after the image is formed, and therefore it is desirable to increase the size of the hitting member. However, increasing the size of the hitting member may cause interference between the width-aligning cursor and the hitting member.

An object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing device capable of preventing interference between the width-adjusting cursor and the hitting member.

A post-processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is arranged below a conveyance path that conveys a sheet in a predetermined conveyance direction, receives a sheet to be post-processed, and a sheet located on the processing tray. A striking unit including a striking member for striking in the direction toward the processing tray, a pair of width-adjusting cursors for width-adjusting side end faces of the processing tray on a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet, and the processing tray. A post-processing unit that performs a predetermined post-processing on a sheet arranged at a predetermined position, a first drive source that drives the hitting member, a second drive source that drives the width-adjustment cursor, and the first drive And a controller that controls the operation of the second drive source, the controller controls the first drive source when the size of the sheet in the width direction is smaller than a predetermined size. After the paper is hit by the hitting member to perform the paper hitting, the first drive source is operated to perform the paper width matching by the width fitting cursor, and the first control is performed. When the size is equal to or more than the specified size, the first drive source and the second drive source are simultaneously operated to perform the second control for simultaneously performing the paper tapping and the paper width adjustment.

According to this post-processing apparatus, the mode of performing the paper tapping and the paper width adjustment is changed depending on the size of the paper to be post-processed. When the paper size is less than the specified size, the width-wise movement range of the width-aligning cursor becomes large, and interference with the hitting member is likely to occur. In this case, the control unit performs the first control, and the operation of the hitting member and the operation of the width-adjusting cursor are performed at different timings to prevent interference between the two. On the other hand, when the paper is equal to or larger than the specified size, the range of movement of the width adjustment cursor in the width direction becomes relatively small, and it is difficult for interference with the hitting member to occur. In this case, the control section performs the second control to simultaneously execute the operation of the hitting member and the operation of the width-adjusting cursor to improve the productivity of post-processing.

In the above post-processing device, the hitting unit includes a shaft member arranged above the processing tray so as to extend in the width direction, and the hitting members attached to one end side and the other end side of the shaft member. And one operating range of the pair of width adjusting cursors and an operable range of the striking member on the one end side overlap, and the other operating range of the pair of width adjusting cursors and the striking member on the other end side of the striking member. It is desirable that the operating range overlaps.

According to this post-processing device, since the operable ranges of the cursors on the one end side and the other end side and the pair of width-adjustment cursors overlap each other, interference between the two may occur. However, the interference can be prevented by executing the first and second controls.

In the above post-processing apparatus, the striking member can change its posture between a striking posture in which the striking member is rotated around the axis of the shaft member to approach the processing tray and a retracted posture in which the striking member is separated from the processing tray. The pair of width-adjusting cursors are movable in a direction approaching each other in the width direction and a direction separating from each other, and in the first control, the control unit controls the striking member to strike the sheet. It is desirable that the paper sheet width adjustment be performed by the pair of width adjustment cursors after the hitting posture is changed and then the posture is changed to the retracted posture.

According to this post-processing device, in the first control, the striking member is in the retracted posture when the pair of width-adjusting cursors is operated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the interference between the two.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide the post-processing device capable of preventing the interference between the width-aligning cursor and the hitting member.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus including a post-processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the post-processing device. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sheet aligning unit included in the post-processing apparatus as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit, showing the state in which the hitting unit is in the retracted posture. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the sheet aligning unit, showing the state in which the hitting unit is in the retracted posture. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit, showing the state in which the striking unit is in the striking posture. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the sheet aligning unit, showing the state in which the striking unit is in the striking posture. FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining the operation of drawing the paper into the processing tray. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the sheet to be post-processed is a small size sheet. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the sheet to be post-processed is a large size sheet. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the post-processing device. FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the post-processing device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an image forming apparatus 1 including a post-processing device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body housing 11 that accommodates an apparatus main body portion that forms an image on a sheet, and a post-treatment housing 12 that accommodates a post-treatment apparatus 2 that performs a predetermined post-treatment on the sheet after image formation. I have it.

Inside the main body housing 11, for example, various devices for forming an image by an electrophotographic method or various devices for forming an image by an inkjet method are arranged. In the former case, an image forming unit including a photoconductor drum, a charger, a developing device, an exposing device, a fixing device, a toner container and the like are arranged in the main body housing 11. In the latter case, a recording unit including an inkjet head, a drying unit, an ink tank, and the like are arranged in the main body housing 11.

[Overall structure of post-processing device]
The post-processing apparatus 2 housed in the post-processing housing 12 performs a predetermined post-processing on the sheet or the sheet bundle subjected to the image forming processing in the main body housing 11. Examples of the post-processing include punching processing for punching binding holes in a sheet, stapling processing for placing staples in a sheet bundle, center folding processing for folding a sheet, width adjusting operation for width adjustment of side edges of a sheet bundle, and a predetermined number of sheets. For example, a matching process for performing a shift operation for shifting the paper discharge position in units. FIG. 1 illustrates a post-processing unit 3 including an aligning unit 30 that performs the aligning process and a stapler 31 (post-processing unit) that performs the stapling process. The description of the center folding device that performs the folding process is omitted.

The post-processing device 2 includes a sheet conveyance path C (conveyance path) for conveying the sheet sent from the main body housing 11 to the post-treatment housing 12 via the post-treatment unit 3 (predetermined conveyance direction), and a post-treatment path. And a stacking tray 24 which is a final discharge place of the later paper or the paper through which the post-processing has passed. In the paper transport path C, a carry-in roller pair 21, a first discharge roller pair 22, and a second discharge roller pair 23 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the paper transport direction.

The carry-in roller pair 21 is arranged in the vicinity of the wall surface of the post-processing housing 12 that faces the main body housing 11, and is a pair of paper-conveying rollers that draws the image-formed paper into the post-processing housing 12. The first discharging roller pair 22 is a pair of sheet conveying rollers that is disposed on the upstream side of the post-processing unit 3 and that feeds a sheet to the post-processing unit 3. The second discharge roller pair 23 is a paper transport roller pair that is disposed on the downstream side of the post-processing unit 3, that is, the paper transport path C, and discharges the paper to the stacking tray 24. The stacking tray 24 is a tray that can be moved in the vertical direction, and stacks the sheets conveyed along the sheet conveying path C.

The configuration of the post-processing unit 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 is a side sectional view of the post-processing unit 3, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet aligning unit 30 as seen from above, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit 30. The first discharge roller pair 22 is composed of a drive roller 222 to which a driving force is given from the transport drive motor 26 (FIG. 11) and a driven roller 221 which is driven to rotate as the drive roller 222 rotates. The driving roller 222 and the driven roller 221 form a first nip portion 22N that abuts the peripheral surfaces thereof with a predetermined nip pressure and nips and conveys the sheet.

The second discharge roller pair 23 includes a drive roller 231 to which a driving force is applied from the transport drive motor 26 (FIG. 11), and a driven roller 232 that is driven to rotate as the drive roller 231 rotates. The driving roller 231 and the driven roller 232 form a second nip portion 23N in which the peripheral surfaces of the driving roller 231 and the driven roller 232 are in contact with each other with a predetermined nip pressure to nip and convey the sheet. The second nip portion 23N is released at the time of aligning sheets. In order to execute this release, the post-processing device 2 includes a nip release mechanism 25. The nip release mechanism 25 includes an arm that supports the roller shaft of the driven roller 232, a gear mechanism for vertically swinging the arm, and a drive source (nip release drive unit 251 in FIG. 11). It is possible to lift 232 and release the second nip portion 23N. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the second nip portion 23N is released.

The sheet aligning unit 30 includes a processing tray 32, a pair of width adjustment cursors 33 and a receiving plate 34 that are assembled to the processing tray 32, and a paddle unit 4 and a tapping unit 5 that are arranged above the processing tray 32. .. A paper sensor 35 and a pull-in detection sensor 36 are attached to the paper alignment unit 30.

The processing tray 32 is a tray that is arranged on the upstream side of the stacking tray 24 in the paper transport direction and receives the paper to be post-processed. The processing tray 32 is highest at the downstream end 321 side in the paper transport direction, and is inclined so as to gradually descend toward the upstream end 322 side. The downstream end 321 of the processing tray 32 is located near the second discharge roller pair 23, and the upstream end 322 is located below the first discharge roller pair 22. As a result, the processing tray 32 is located below the sheet conveyance path that connects the first and second nip portions 22N and 23N. The sheet once stored in the processing tray 32 and subjected to the post-processing is discharged to the stack tray 24 by the second discharge roller pair 23 in which the second nip portion 23N is restored.

The width adjustment cursors 33 are provided in a pair on one end side and the other end side in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction) of the paper received in the processing tray 32 (FIGS. 3 and 4), and The sheet is brought into contact with the side end face to correct the skew of the sheet, align the width of the sheet bundle, and perform the alignment operation. The pair of width adjustment cursors 33 move in synchronization with each other along the guide portion provided on the processing tray 32 in a direction in which they approach each other and a direction in which they separate from each other in the width direction.

The receiving plate 34 is a member having a U-shaped cross section, which is attached to the upstream end 322 of the processing tray 32, in other words, attached to the lowest position of the inclined processing tray 32. The U-shaped opening of the receiving plate 34 is directed to the downstream end 321 and receives the upstream end (rear end) in the transport direction of the paper falling along the slope of the processing tray 32. The state in which the rear end is in contact with the receiving plate 34 and the side edges are supported by the pair of width-adjusting cursors 33 in the processing tray 32 is a sheet to be stapled (predetermined post-processing) by the stapler 31. It is in a state of being arranged at a predetermined position.

The paper sensor 35 is a sensor that optically detects a paper, and is arranged immediately upstream of the first discharge roller pair 22. The sheet sensor 35 detects that the sheet conveyed on the sheet conveying path C has passed through the first nip portion 22N, that is, the sheet is ready to fall on the processing tray 32.

The pull-in detection sensor 36 is a sensor that optically detects a sheet, and is arranged near the receiving plate 34. The pull-in detection sensor 36 detects that the rear end of the sheet received in the processing tray 32 has been pulled up to the receiving plate 34, that is, the sheet has been pulled into a predetermined position when the stapling process is performed.

The paddle unit 4 is provided to feed the sheet received in the processing tray 32 toward the upstream end 322 side and bring the rear end of the sheet into contact with the receiving plate 34. That is, the paddle unit 4 plays a role of sending the sheet transported to the downstream side in the transport direction along the sheet transport path C in a direction opposite to the transport direction and pulling the sheet to a predetermined position of the processing tray 32. The paddle unit 4 includes a rotating shaft 41 and a paddle blade 42 attached to the rotating shaft 41.

The rotary shaft 41 is a shaft that extends linearly in the width direction, and is arranged above the processing tray 32 with a predetermined distance. The rotary shaft 41 is rotatably supported around the shaft and is rotationally driven by the first drive motor 46. The paddle blade 42 is a sheet-shaped member, and rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 41 when it rotates about its axis. At this time, the tip of the paddle blade 42 contacts the paper on the processing tray 32, and the paper is drawn toward the upstream end 322 by the rotation of the rotary shaft 41. As shown in FIG. 3, two paddle blades 42 are attached near the center of the rotary shaft 41 in the axial direction and are spaced apart from each other.

The striking unit 5 strikes the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet that has passed through the first nip portion 22N, and forcibly drops the sheet onto the processing tray 32. The hitting unit 5 includes a hitting member 50 that hits a sheet located on the processing tray 32 in a direction toward the processing tray 32. This striking operation is performed at the timing when the trailing edge of the sheet in the transport direction has passed through the first nip portion 22N. After the paper has dropped onto the processing tray 32, the hitting member 50 presses the paper on the processing tray 32 to correct the curl of the paper. The structure of the hitting unit 5 will be further described later.

The stapler 31 performs a staple process for setting staples on a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets. The stapling process here is a process for so-called end stapling, in which staples are placed at the corners or the ends of the sheet bundle. The stapler 31 performs the stapling process on a state in which the trailing edge of the sheet on the processing tray 32 is pulled in until it comes into contact with the receiving plate 34, that is, the sheet placed at a predetermined position on the processing tray 32.

[Details of the striking unit]
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the sheet aligning unit 30 shown in FIG. The striking unit 5 includes the above-described striking member 50 and a swing shaft 52 (shaft member) to which the striking member 50 is attached. The striking member 50 is formed of a rectangular flat plate-like member in a generally top view, and in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. In the example, the hitting members 50 are arranged so as to be adjacent to the axially outer side of the unit 4. The striking member 50 has a large size in the width direction from the shaft end of the rotating shaft 41 to the arrangement position of the paddle unit 4. The base end portion 51, which is near the downstream end of the tapping member 50, is arranged near the second discharge roller pair 23.

The swing shaft 52 is arranged at a position downstream of the rotation shaft 41 in the sheet conveyance direction, and is arranged so as to extend in the width direction above the processing tray 32, similarly to the rotation shaft 41. At the base end portion 51, the hitting member 50 is attached to the swing shaft 52. That is, the two striking members 50 are cantilevered on one end side and the other end side of the swing shaft 52. As a result, the hitting member 50 is swingable about the swing shaft 52 (is swingable up and down).

This swinging motion is realized by the eccentric cam 45 attached to the rotating shaft 41. The back surface of the hitting member 50 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 45 with a biasing force. When the eccentric cam 45 rotates due to the rotation of the rotary shaft 41, the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 come into contact with the striking member 50 alternately. Therefore, when the eccentric cam 45 makes one rotation, the upstream end side of the hitting member 50 swings vertically about the swing shaft 52.

By this rotation around the swing shaft 52, the striking member 50 can change its posture between a striking posture in which it approaches the processing tray 32 and a retracted posture in which it separates from the processing tray. 4 and 5 show a state in which the hitting member 50 is in the retracted posture. In this retracted posture, the small-diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 contacts the back surface of the striking member 50, so that the striking member 50 is pivoted upward about the pivot shaft 52 by the urging force, and the tip end with respect to the processing tray 32. The part 53 is in a lifted state. In this case, the hitting member 50 does not prevent the sheet from being conveyed from the first nip portion 22N to the second nip portion 23N (see FIG. 2).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sheet aligning unit 30, showing a state in which the hitting member 50 is in the hitting posture, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view thereof. In this striking position, the large-diameter portion of the eccentric cam 45 contacts the back surface of the striking member 50, so that the striking member 50 is pressed against the biasing force. Therefore, the hitting member 50 rotates downward about the axis of the swing shaft 52, and the leading end portion 53 approaches the processing tray 32. That is, the hitting member 50 is also tilted so as to be substantially parallel to the tilt of the processing tray 32.

In this striking position, the striking member 50 is in a state of projecting in the sheet conveyance path from the first nip portion 22N to the second nip portion 23N. Therefore, if the striking member 50 is changed from the retracted posture to the striking posture at the timing when the trailing edge of the sheet exits the first nip portion 22N, the trailing edge of the sheet is striking and dropped onto the processing tray 32. be able to. Further, in the striking position, the processing tray 32 and the striking member 50 approach each other in a substantially parallel state. Therefore, when the sheet dropped on the processing tray 32 is curled, the curled sheet by the striking member 50 is curled. Curling can be corrected by pressing.

[Operation of the post-processing unit]
FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining the operation of the post-processing unit 3, particularly the operation of pulling a sheet into the processing tray 32. The image-formed sheet S is taken in from the main body housing 11 to the post-processing housing 12 by the carry-in roller pair 21, and is sent out to the sheet carrying path C (see FIG. 1). Further, the sheet S is conveyed toward the stack tray 24 by the first discharge roller pair 22 and the second discharge roller pair 23. When the sheet S is a sheet that is not subjected to post-processing, the sheet S is directly discharged to the stack tray 24.

When the sheet S is the first sheet to be post-processed, the conveyance of the sheet S toward the stack tray 24 by the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 is executed. Then, at the timing when the paper sensor 35 shifts from the detection state of the paper to the non-detection state, that is, the timing when the trailing edge SE of the paper S passes through the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22, the second discharge roller. The driving roller 222 of the pair 23 is rotated in the opposite direction, and the hitting unit 5 is operated. By this operation, the sheet S is hit and dropped onto the processing tray 32, and the sheet S is further drawn into the processing tray 32 by the second discharge roller pair 23. When the trailing edge SE of the sheet S reaches the receiving plate 34, the driven roller 232 is lifted upward by the operation of the nip releasing mechanism 25, and the second nip portion 23N is released.

When the paper S is the second and subsequent papers to be post-processed, the second nip portion 23N is released by the nip release mechanism 25. Then, at the timing when the trailing edge SE of the sheet S has passed through the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22, the rotation shaft 41 is rotated by the first drive motor 46, and the hitting member 50 is pressed by the eccentric cam 45. The hitting member 50 hits the trailing edge SE of the paper S from top to bottom. By these operations, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 8, the sheet S(t1) is in a state of falling on the processing tray 32 at this point. The trailing edge SE of the sheet S(t1) is separated from the position (predetermined position) of the receiving plate 34.

Subsequently, the pair of width adjustment cursors 33 is operated, that is, the cursor 33 is brought into contact with the side end surface of the sheet S(t1), and the skew of the sheet S(t1) is corrected. After that, the width-adjustment cursor 33 is temporarily retracted, while the paddle unit 4 draws in the sheet S(t1). Specifically, the rotating shaft 41 is rotated, and the paddle blade 42 is rotated about the rotating shaft 41 (counterclockwise in FIG. 8) to move the sheet S(t1) in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction. Send to. At this time, since the rotating shaft 41 rotates, the striking member 50 also swings by the action of the eccentric cam 45. As a result, the curl of the sheet S(t1) is corrected. Depending on the size of the paper S, the operation of the width adjustment cursor 33 may be omitted during the pulling operation.

By this pulling-in operation, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, the sheet S(t2) is carried in to the position where the trailing edge SE contacts the receiving plate 34. This position is a position where the sheet S(t2) enters the staple setting portion of the stapler 31. The paddle blade 42 rotates for a predetermined time according to the sheet size, or rotates until the trailing edge detection sensor 36 confirms that the trailing edge SE has reached the position of the receiving plate 34.

At the time of this paper pulling operation and paper tapping operation, the width adjusting operation (alignment operation) of the paper S(t1) to the paper S(t2) by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 is simultaneously executed, or the paper width adjusting is performed after the paper is drawn in. Whether the operation is performed is determined by the size of the paper S in the width direction. That is, when the width-aligning cursor 33 and the hitting member 50 do not interfere with each other, they are simultaneously operated, and when they interfere with each other, the operation of the hitting member 50 is preceded. This point will be described in detail later.

The same operation is executed for the second and subsequent sheets. For example, if the setting is made so that the stapling process is performed on 10 sheets, the hitting operation is sequentially performed on the 2nd to 10th sheets S, similarly to the first sheet S. , The pulling operation and the width adjusting operation are executed. At this time, the second nip portion 23N is maintained in the released state. When the stacking of the predetermined number of sheets is completed, the stapler 31 performs the stapling process on the sheet bundle. After that, the second nip portion 23N is restored, and the driving roller 231 is driven to discharge the stapled sheet bundle to the stack tray 24.

[Relationship between width adjustment cursor and hitting member]
As described above, the hitting member 50 not only hits the paper S immediately after passing through the first nip portion 22N and drops it on the processing tray 32, but also presses the paper S toward the processing tray 32 to correct the paper curl. It also fulfills the function of doing. For example, when an image is formed on the paper S by the inkjet method in the main body housing 11, the curl of the paper S after the image formation is large. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the size of the hitting member 50 to correct the curl. This embodiment also exemplifies a large-sized hitting member 50 having an axial length extending from the axially outer side of the paddle unit 4 to the vicinity of the axial end of the rotary shaft 41. However, if the size of the hitting member 50 is increased, the interference between the width-aligning cursor 33 and the hitting member 50 becomes a problem.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the sheet to be post-processed is a small size sheet SA. In FIG. 9, a sheet SA having a sheet width that is about ⅓ of the size of the processing tray 32 in the width direction is shown with its trailing edge SE abutting the receiving plate 34. The two left and right striking members 50 of the striking unit 5 are vertically overlapped with the left side and the right side of the sheet SA, respectively, and can strike the sheet SA by taking a striking posture.

The pair of width-adjusting cursors 33 move in a direction approaching each other and a direction separating from each other in the paper width direction. When the striking member 50 is in the retracted posture, the cursor 33 is located below the striking member 50, and the two do not interfere with each other. However, when the hitting member 50 is in the hitting posture, when the cursor 33 enters the operation area of the hitting member 50, the two interfere with each other. That is, one and the other operating ranges of the pair of width adjustment cursors 33 and the one and the other operable ranges of the hitting member 50 overlap.

In the case of the small size paper SA, the left cursor 33 (one cursor) in FIG. 9 contacts the left end surface of the paper SA, and the right cursor 33 (the other cursor) contacts the right end surface of the paper SA. Move each. In the top view, the left striking member 50 (one end side striking member) is present on the flow line of the cursor 33 on the left side, and the right striking member 50 (the other end is on the flow line of the cursor 33 on the right side). Side tapping member) is present. Therefore, when the left and right hitting members 50 rotate around the pivot shaft 52 and take the hitting posture, they interfere with the left and right cursors 33, respectively. Therefore, when the small size sheet SA is mounted on the processing tray 32, the sheet striking operation by the striking member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 cannot be executed at the same time.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment operation when the sheet to be post-processed is the large-sized sheet SB. In FIG. 10, the paper SB having a paper width slightly smaller than the widthwise size of the processing tray 32 is shown in a state where the trailing edge SE of the paper SB is in contact with the receiving plate 34. The two left and right striking members 50 overlap in the vicinity of the left side and the right side of the paper SB over the entire area in the up-down direction, and by striking each of them, the paper SB can be hit. The left and right side end surfaces of the sheet SB are located outside the axially outer side end surfaces 54 of the left and right tapping members 50, respectively.

Also in this case, the cursor 33 on the left side of FIG. 10 moves to the left end surface of the paper SB, and the cursor 33 on the right side moves to the right end surface of the paper SB, respectively. However, the striking member 50 does not exist on the flow line in the case of the large size paper SB. That is, since the side end surface 54 on the outer side in the axial direction of each striking member 50 is located axially outside the left and right side end surfaces of the paper SB, it is not necessary to move to the position where the striking member 50 exists.

Therefore, even if the left and right hitting members 50 are in the hitting posture, the left and right cursors 33 can execute the paper width adjusting operation without interfering with each other. Therefore, when the large size paper SB is mounted on the processing tray 32, the paper hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the paper width adjusting operation by the pair of width adjusting cursors 33 can be simultaneously executed. Thereby, the productivity of the post-processing unit 3 can be improved.

In view of the above, according to the present embodiment, depending on the size of the sheet S to be post-processed, the mode in which the sheet striking operation and the sheet width adjusting operation are simultaneously executed and the mode in which these operations are sequentially executed are switched. That is, when the size of the paper S in the width direction is less than a predetermined size, a paper size smaller than the size between the side end surfaces 54 of the left and right tapping members 50 in the example of FIGS. 9 and 10. 9 (FIG. 9), the sheet striking operation is performed by the striking member 50, and then the sheet width adjusting operation is performed by the width adjusting cursor 33 (first control). On the other hand, when the size of the paper S in the width direction is equal to or larger than the specified size, that is, when the paper size is larger than the size between the side end surfaces 54 of the left and right hitting members 50 (FIG. 10), the paper hitting operation and The paper width adjusting operation is simultaneously executed (second control).

[Electrical configuration of post-processing device]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the post-processing device 2. The post-processing device 2 includes the second drive motor 47 (second drive source), the conveyance drive in addition to the first drive motor 46 (first drive source), the stapler 31, the paper sensor 35, and the pull-in detection sensor 36 described above. A motor 26, a nip release driving unit 251, and a control unit 6 are provided. Descriptions of the configurations already described are omitted here.

The first drive motor 46 is a drive source that drives the paddle unit 4 and the striking unit 5 (striking member 50). The second drive motor 47 is a drive source for driving the pair of width-adjusting cursors 33 in a direction toward and away from each other. The transport drive motor 26 is a drive source that rotationally drives the drive roller 222 of the first discharge roller pair 22 and the drive roller 231 of the second discharge roller pair 23. The nip release driving unit 251 is a drive source for the nip releasing mechanism 25, that is, a drive source for executing the releasing operation and the restoring operation of the second nip portion 23N.

The control unit 6 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the operation of each unit of the post-processing apparatus 2 including the first and second drive motors 46 and 47, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program, and a CPU. It is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) and the like used as a work area. The control unit 6 functions so as to include the alignment control unit 61, the conveyance control unit 65, and the nip release control unit 66 by the CPU executing the control program stored in the ROM.

The alignment control unit 61 controls the operation of each unit of the paper alignment unit 30, and causes the paper S to be drawn into the processing tray 32 and executed such as alignment. The alignment control unit 61 functionally includes a pull-in control unit 62, a width adjustment control unit 63, and a determination unit 64.

The pull-in control unit 62 controls the drive of the first drive motor 46 that rotationally drives the rotary shaft 41, thereby rotating the paddle unit 4 (paddle blade 42) and swinging the tapping member 50 of the tapping unit 5. (Paper hitting operation) is controlled. The width adjusting control unit 63 controls the width adjusting operation of the width adjusting cursor 33 with respect to the sheet S by controlling the driving of the second drive motor 47 that rotationally drives the pinion gear or the like that moves the width adjusting cursor 33.

The determination unit 64 acquires the attribute data including the sheet size of the sheet S to be post-processed from the main body housing 11 side, and sequentially executes the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33. It is determined which of the first control to perform and the second control to simultaneously perform the paper tapping operation and the paper width adjusting operation.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, when the size of the sheet S is smaller than the predetermined size, the striking member 50 and the width adjusting cursor 33 have overlapping operation ranges and interfere with each other. The determining unit 64 determines to execute the first control. On the other hand, when the size of the sheet S is equal to or larger than the specified size, the striking member 50 and the width adjusting cursor 33 do not overlap in the operating range and do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the determining unit 64 determines to execute the second control. To do. In the first control, the pull-in control unit 62 causes the striking member 50 to take the striking posture for the sheet striking operation, and after that, the striking member 50 is changed to the retracted posture, and then the width adjustment control unit. 63 causes the pair of width adjustment cursors 33 to execute the paper width adjustment operation.

The transport control unit 65 controls the drive of the transport drive motor 26, and thereby controls the rotation of the drive rollers 222 and 231 of the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 and the stop thereof.

The nip release controller 66 controls the drive of the nip release driver 251 to release the second nip 23N and restore it at a predetermined timing. For example, when the stapling process is performed on the sheet bundle including the predetermined number of sheets S, the nip release control unit 66 releases the nip by the nip release driving unit 251 after the first sheet S is drawn into the processing tray 32. The mechanism 25 is operated to release the second nip portion 23N. Then, the nip release control unit 66 restores the second nip unit 23N when ejecting the bundle of sheets to the stack tray 24 after the second and subsequent sheets S are drawn into the processing tray 32 and the stapling process is executed. Let

[Operation flow of post-processing device]
Next, an example of the stapling process executed by the post-processing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 12 is described focusing on the sheet striking operation by the striking member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33, and other operations performed by the sheet aligning unit 30 are simplified. Are omitted.

The control unit 6 determines whether or not there is a sheet discharge instruction for loading the sheet S into the post-processing apparatus 2 (step S1). When the paper discharge instruction does not exist (NO in step S1), the control unit 6 waits. When the paper discharge instruction is present (YES in step S1), the transport control unit 65 starts the operation of the transport drive motor 26 at a predetermined timing. As a result, the sheet S is received from the main body housing 11 to the post-processing housing 12, and is conveyed to the sheet conveyance path C by the carry-in roller pair 21 and the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 which are rotationally driven by the conveyance drive motor 26. The sheet S is conveyed along.

Next, the control unit 6 confirms whether or not the paper discharge instruction is a paper discharge instruction accompanied by execution of post-processing (stapling processing) (step S3). When the post-processing is not executed (NO in step S3), the conveyance of the sheet S by the first and second ejection roller pairs 22 and 23 is continued, and the sheet S is ejected to the stack tray 24 (step S4).

When there is a post-processing execution instruction (YES in step S3), the determination unit 64 acquires attribute information including the size of the paper S from the main body housing 11 side (step S5). At this time, the operation period of the paddle unit 4, that is, the rotation time of the rotary shaft 41 by the first drive motor 46 is set based on the attribute information.

Next, the transport controller 65 determines whether the trailing edge SE of the sheet S has passed the first nip portion 22N of the first discharge roller pair 22 based on the detection result of the sheet sensor 35 (step S6). .. When the passage is not detected (NO in step S6), the rotation driving of the first and second discharge roller pairs 22 and 23 is continued. On the other hand, when the passage is detected (YES in step S6), when the sheet S is the first sheet to be post-processed, the conveyance control unit 63 rotationally drives the second discharge roller pair 23 in the reverse direction. At the same time, the paddle controller 61 drives the paddle drive motor 46 to cause the hitting unit 5 to perform an operation of hitting the trailing edge SE of the sheet S. The sheet S is drawn into the processing tray 32 by the reverse rotation of the second discharge roller pair 23. Then, the nip release control unit 66 releases the second nip portion 23N of the second discharge roller pair 23 (step S7). If the paper S is the second or subsequent paper to be post-processed, the second nip portion 23N is released from the beginning.

Then, the determination unit 64 executes the sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50 and the sheet width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 in synchronization with each other based on the attribute information of the sheet S (second control described above), or It is determined whether to execute asynchronously (the above-mentioned first control) (step S8). When the sheet S to be post-processed is the small size sheet SA as shown in FIG. 9, the striking member 50 and the width adjustment cursor 33 interfere with each other, and the determination unit 64 determines that the sheet is “asynchronous”.

In this case, the pull-in control unit 62 starts driving the first drive motor 46 to rotate the rotary shaft 41 of the paddle unit 4 (step S9). As a result, the hitting member 50 hits the trailing edge SE of the sheet S, and the sheet S is dropped into the processing tray 32. Further, the paddle blade 42 of the paddle unit 4 executes the drawing operation of the paper S. While the first drive motor 46 continues to be driven, in addition to the pulling-in operation of the paper S by the paddle unit 4, the pressing operation (curl correction operation) of the paper S by the hitting unit 5 is performed. It should be noted that after the first sheet hitting operation by the hitting member 50, the rotation of the rotary shaft 41 is temporarily stopped, and the skew correction operation of the paper S by the pair of width adjustment cursors 33 is executed. The rotation may be restarted to carry out the paper pull-in operation and the paper tapping operation in earnest.

Then, at the timing when it is confirmed by the pull-in detection sensor 36 that the trailing edge SE of the paper S has reached the receiving plate 34, or at the timing when the previously set rotation time of the rotating shaft 41 has elapsed, the pull-in control unit 62. Stops the first drive motor 46. At the same time, the width adjustment control unit 63 starts driving the second drive motor 47, and causes the paper S drawn into the processing tray 32 to perform a paper width adjustment operation using the width adjustment cursor 33 (step S10). When the predetermined routine for sheet width adjustment is completed, the width adjustment control unit 63 stops the second drive motor 47 (step S11).

On the other hand, in step S8, when the sheet S to be post-processed is a large size sheet SB as shown in FIG. 10, the hitting member 50 and the width adjusting cursor 33 do not interfere with each other. Is determined. In this case, the pull-in control unit 62 starts driving the first drive motor 46, and the width adjustment control unit 63 starts driving the second drive motor 47 (step S12). Then, the first and second drive motors 46, 47 are stopped at a predetermined timing. The first and second drive motors 46 and 47 do not have to be stopped at the same time. For example, only the first drive motor 46 may be stopped at the timing when the pull-in detection sensor 36 detects the rear end SE. ..

After step S11 or S13, it is confirmed whether or not all of the sheets S to be post-processed are accommodated in the processing tray 32, that is, whether or not there is the next sheet S to be drawn into the processing tray 32 next. (Step S14). If the next sheet is present (YES in step S14), the drive roller 222 is driven, the process returns to step S6, and the same processing is repeated.

If the next sheet does not exist (NO in step S14), the control unit 6 operates the stapler 31 to execute the staple processing for setting staples on the bundle of sheets aligned on the processing tray 32 (step S15). After the stapling process, the nip release controller 66 restores the second nip 23N (step S16). Then, the transport controller 65 drives the drive roller 231 of the second discharge roller pair 23 to discharge the stapled sheet bundle to the stack tray 24 (step S17).

As described above, according to the post-processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the execution mode of the paper tapping operation and the paper width adjusting operation is changed depending on the size of the paper S to be post-processed. In the case of the small-sized sheet SA, the range of movement of the width-aligning cursor 33 in the width direction becomes large, and interference with the hitting member 50 occurs. In this case, the control unit 6 performs the first control to execute the paper tapping operation by the tapping member 50 and the paper width adjusting operation by the width adjusting cursor 33 at different timings. Therefore, it is possible to prevent interference between the two. On the other hand, in the case of the large size paper SB, the movement range of the width adjustment cursor 33 in the width direction is relatively small, and the interference with the hitting member 50 does not occur. In this case, the control unit 6 performs the second control to simultaneously execute the paper tapping operation and the paper width adjusting operation. Thereby, the productivity of the post-treatment can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Post-processing device 22 First discharge roller pair 23 Second discharge roller pair 3 Post-processing unit 30 Paper alignment unit 31 Stapler (post-processing section)
32 processing tray 33 width-adjustment cursor 34 receiving plate 4 paddle unit 46 first drive motor (first drive source)
47 Second drive motor (second drive source)
5 Strike unit 50 Strike member 52 Swing shaft (shaft member)
6 Control unit 61 Matching control unit (control unit)
C Paper transport path (transport path)
S Paper SA Small size paper (paper smaller than specified size)
SB Large size paper (paper of specified size or larger)

Claims (3)

A processing tray that is disposed below a transport path that transports paper in a predetermined transport direction, and that receives the paper to be post-processed;
A hitting unit including a hitting member that hits a sheet located on the processing tray in a direction toward the processing tray;
On the processing tray, a pair of width alignment cursors for aligning side end faces in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet,
A post-processing unit for performing a predetermined post-processing on the paper arranged at a predetermined position of the processing tray,
A first drive source for driving the striking member,
A second drive source for driving the width alignment cursor;
A control unit that controls operations of the first drive source and the second drive source,
The control unit is
When the size of the paper in the width direction is smaller than a predetermined size, a first drive source is operated to cause the paper hitting by the hitting member, and then the second drive source is operated. The first control for executing the paper width adjustment by the width adjustment cursor is performed,
When the size of the paper in the width direction is equal to or larger than the specified size, a second control is performed in which the first drive source and the second drive source are simultaneously operated to simultaneously perform the paper tapping and the paper width adjustment. Post-processing equipment to do. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The striking unit includes a shaft member arranged above the processing tray so as to extend in the width direction, and the striking member attached to one end side and the other end side of the shaft member,
One operation range of the pair of width adjustment cursors and an operable range of the hitting member on the one end side overlap,
The post-processing device, wherein the other operating range of the pair of width-adjusting cursors and the operable range of the hitting member on the other end side overlap. The post-processing device according to claim 2 ,
The striking member is capable of changing its posture between a striking posture in which it rotates around the axis of the shaft member and approaches the processing tray, and a retracting posture in which it separates from the processing tray.
The pair of width adjustment cursors are movable in a direction approaching each other in the width direction and a direction separating from each other,
In the first control, the control unit causes the striking member to take the striking posture for striking the paper, and then changes the posture to the retracted posture, and then causes the pair of width-adjustment cursors to move the paper width. A post-processing device that performs matching.

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