JP6986417B2 - Sheet processing device, sheet processing method and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus for binding a bundle of sheets and a method thereof, and further relates to an image forming apparatus provided with such a sheet processing apparatus.

Conventionally, in image forming devices such as copiers, laser beam printers, facsimiles, and multifunction devices thereof, those equipped with a sheet processing device that performs various sheet processing such as binding processing and perforation on the sheet on which an image is formed are provided. be.

For example, without using a metal staple, there is no needle that crimps the sheets together and binds the sheet bundle by sandwiching multiple stacked sheets between a pair of uneven crimp teeth and pressing them strongly. A binding device is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The binding device of Patent Document 1 performs a binding process by sandwiching a paper bundle T between the upper surface pressing portion of the lower surface of the moving frame and the lower surface pressing portion of the upper surface of the lower frame facing the upper surface pressing portion. The unevenness is formed on the paper bundle T by the unevenness provided on the upper surface pressing portion and the unevenness provided on the lower surface pressing portion, and the fibers of the adjacent papers are entangled with each other at that time, so that the paper bundle T is bound.

In the sheet binding device of Patent Document 2, the upper tooth mold member is urged downward by a drive motor via a cam, a moving arm, and the like, and the sheet bundle P is sandwiched and pressurized with the lower tooth mold member. Unevenness is formed on the sheet bundle P and the binding process is performed. A plurality of binding member pairs with different numbers of irregularities, tooth width, tooth height, tooth angle, etc. of the upper and lower tooth mold members are provided so as to correspond to the thickness and number of sheets to be bound, and one of them is selected. To be used.

As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in the case of crimp binding in which a bundle of sheets is sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower uneven-shaped crimping teeth, the sheets have unevenness in the crimping portion rather than the uneven arrangement direction. It is known that the ridgeline direction is more difficult to peel off (see, for example, Patent Document 3). The binding device of Patent Document 3 includes means for changing the angle of the binding trace (the direction in which the unevenness is arranged) in order to make it possible to change the binding force between the papers in the paper turning direction.

Further, a sheet processing device for punching a sheet image-formed by an image forming device is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 4 and 5). In the sheet processing apparatus of Patent Document 4, a cylindrical moving cam is rotated by a motor to move a moving lever up and down, thereby raising and lowering a punch blade to punch a punch hole in an image-formed sheet.

The sheet processing apparatus of Patent Document 5 includes a perforation unit for aligning a plurality of sheets carried in from an image forming apparatus into a sheet bundle and punching the sheets collectively. In this drilling unit, the same number of drilling blade units as the number of holes to be drilled in the sheet bundle are moved up and down along the guide rod by a drive motor, and the drilling blade attached to the drilling blade unit is moved up and down to punch the sheet bundle.

Further, a post-processing device for a bookbinding system for perforating a middle-folded booklet is known (see, for example, Patent Document 6). In the post-processing device of the same document, the rod is swung up and down by an eccentric cam rotated by a motor, and the elongated cylindrical drilling blade attached to the tip of the rod is moved up and down in the blade accommodating hole in the vertical direction. And execute the drilling process.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-47940 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-274623 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-73681 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-104918 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-189551 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-84047

In general, needleless binding without using staples is disadvantageous in that the binding force of sheets is weaker and the number of sheets that can be combined with a desired binding force is smaller than that of needle binding using staples. Therefore, even in the crimp binding as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is required to strengthen the binding force of the sheet. However, if the sheet pinching pressure of the binding device is increased, the device itself and the sheet processing device or image forming device on which the device itself is mounted may become large, or the sheet may be torn by the crimping teeth or severely damaged.

In the case of crimp binding using upper and lower crimp teeth as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the ridges of the crimp teeth are diagonally crossed with the sheet edge and the sheet bundle is pressed, the teeth are pressed at the sheet edge. There is a feature that the sheets do not easily come off in the line-up direction. This is because the pinching pressure of the crimping teeth acts more strongly at the edge of the sheet bundle when it and the ridgeline of the crimping teeth intersect diagonally, and as a result, the fibers constituting the adjacent sheets at the end face of the sheet bundle act together. Is thought to be more strongly entwined and strengthen the binding force.

However, the ridges of the crimping teeth intersect the edges of the sheet bundle only at a maximum of two places when the crimping teeth are arranged so as to diagonally cross the corners of the sheet bundle. With this, it is difficult to greatly increase the binding force of the sheet bundle. Further, if the number of crimping points of the sheet bundle is increased, the binding force of the sheet bundle is increased by that amount, but the area and range originally used as the sheet surface are limited by that amount, and the usability and usability of the sheet are lowered. .. Further, since the man-hours are increased by the number of times the sheet bundle is crimp-stitched, the productivity is lowered.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to strengthen the binding force of the sheet bundle in the binding process of crimping the sheet bundle by the upper and lower crimping teeth having an uneven shape. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus and a method which can be used.

The sheet processing device of the present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and a sheet cutting device for forming a cutting portion penetrating the front and back of a plurality of sheets at predetermined positions and a plurality of crimping teeth in parallel. has a pair crimping teeth member disposed, and a sheet stapling device for performing compression binding of the sheet bundle nipped between the crimping teeth member said plurality of sheets in a bundle, the sheet stapling device , when performing the crimping binding, the ridge line direction of the crimping teeth on at least one edge and the cutting surface formed by the cutting portion of the sheet bundle, as seen from the plane direction of the sheet, in an oblique, respectively as to cross, the crimping teeth member is disposed, characterized in that.

In another aspect of the present invention, a sheet processing method of the present invention, by using the sheet stapling device having a crimping teeth member pair in which a plurality of crimping teeth in parallel, the crimping a plurality of sheets in a bundle It is a sheet processing method in which pressure is applied between tooth members to perform crimp binding of a sheet bundle, and a process of forming a cut portion penetrating the front and back of a plurality of sheets at predetermined positions and a plurality of the bundled sheets. at least one edge and a ridge line direction of the crimping teeth on a cutting surface formed by the cutting unit, as seen from the plane direction of the sheet, so as to intersect obliquely respectively, by arranging the crimping teeth member , including the steps of performing said crimping binding by the sheet binding device, characterized in that.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the sheet is composed of an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet and a sheet processing unit that binds a plurality of sheets sent from the image forming unit into a sheet bundle. As the processing unit, an image forming system, which is the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the present inventions described above, is provided.

In the sheet processing apparatus and sheet processing method of the present invention, in the crimp binding of a sheet bundle performed by sandwiching a plurality of sheets between a pair of crimp tooth members in which a plurality of crimp teeth are arranged in parallel, the plurality of sheets are combined. By forming a cut portion that penetrates and forming a crimp binding portion by diagonally crossing the ridgeline direction of the crimp teeth on the cut surface of the sheet bundle formed by the cut portion and the edge of the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is formed. In addition to the margin, a strong binding force is exerted on the cut surface, and a stronger binding force can be exerted on the entire pressure-bonded binding portion. Therefore, the same number of sheets can be bound more firmly using the same crimp binding device as before, and a larger number of sheets can be bound with the same binding force as before.

Explanatory drawing of the whole structure of the image formation system by this invention. A side sectional view of the post-processing unit of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side of the apparatus. (A) and (b) are explanatory views of the sheet carrying mechanism of FIG. 2 and its operation. Explanatory view which saw the processing tray of the post-processing unit of FIG. 2 from the vertical upper side of the paper mounting surface. (A) is a standby state of the sheet bundle unloading mechanism, (b) is a transport state, and (c) is an explanatory diagram showing a discharge state to the stack tray. (A) is a diagram showing the configuration of a crimp binding device, (b) is a partially enlarged view of a crimp-binding portion of a sheet bundle that has been crimp-bound, and (c) is an enlargement in line BB of FIG. Sectional view. The explanatory view of the control configuration of the image formation system of FIG. FIGS. (A) to (c) are schematic explanatory views showing a process of accumulating and drilling a bundle of sheets carried on a processing tray from vertically above the paper mounting surface of the processing tray. (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a corner of a perforated sheet bundle, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX. FIGS. (A) and (b) are schematic explanatory views similar to those in FIG. 8 showing a process of pressure-bonding the perforated sheet bundle. (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a corner of a sheet bundle that has been pressure-bonded, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI. FIGS. (A) and (b) are schematic explanatory views similar to those in FIG. 8 showing a process of discharging a bundle of sheets subjected to crimp binding to a stack tray. (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a corner portion of a sheet bundle cut in another embodiment, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII. (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a corner portion of a sheet bundle that has been pressure-bonded in the embodiment of FIG. 13, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV. (A) is a partially enlarged plan view of a corner portion of a sheet bundle that has been pressure-bonded in the modified examples of FIGS. 13 and 14, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XV-XV.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the sheet processing apparatus of the present embodiment, a plurality of sheets image-formed in the image forming system illustrated in FIG. 1 are aligned and integrated, and the sheets are bound into one sheet bundle by crimp binding. In the accompanying drawings, similar components are designated by the same reference numerals throughout the present specification.

In the present specification, "offset transfer of sheet bundle" means that a sheet bundle in which sheets carried onto a processing tray from a paper ejection port are accumulated is moved (or width-aligned) in a direction orthogonal to (or intersecting with) the sheet transfer direction. To move), "offset amount" means the amount of movement. Further, "alignment of sheet bundles" means that a plurality of sheets carried onto the processing tray from the paper ejection port are placed at a predetermined reference (for example, the center position of the processing tray in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction, that is, in the width direction). Alignment according to the center reference, or the one-sided reference set on one side in the width direction). For example, "offset after aligning the sheets" means that after aligning a plurality of sheets according to the reference, the entire sheet is moved in the direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction in that state.

The image forming system of FIG. 1 includes an image reading unit A, an image forming unit B, a post-processing unit C, and an automatic document feeding unit D. In the present specification, the front side of the image forming system of FIG. 1 is referred to as the front side of the device, and the back side is referred to as the rear side of the device.

The image reading unit A has a platen 1 made of transparent glass and a reading carriage 2 that reciprocates along the platen in order to read the original image. The automatic document feeding unit D feeds the document sheets on the paper feed tray one by one to the platen 1, and the reading carriage 2 is a line sensor (photoelectric conversion element) arranged in the document width direction (main scanning direction). ) Is reciprocated in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction to read in line order.

The image forming unit B has a paper feeding unit 4 built in the apparatus housing 3, an image forming unit 5, and an ejection unit in order to form an image on a sheet based on the image data of the original image read by the image reading unit A. It has a paper portion 6. The paper feed unit 4 aligns the sheet fed from the cassette 7 by the paper feed roller 8 with the image forming unit 5 via the paper feed path 9, and aligns the tips of the sheets with the resist roller pair 10 and images the image of the image forming unit 5. Paper is fed according to the formation timing. The image forming unit 5 is composed of, for example, an electrostatic image forming mechanism, forms a latent image (electrostatic image) with a light emitter 12 on a drum 11 composed of a photoconductor (photoconductor), and toner ink is formed with a developer 13. Is attached, transferred to a sheet with a transfer charger 15, fixed with a fixing device (heating roller) 16, and then sent to a paper ejection unit 6. The paper ejection unit 6 guides the image-formed sheet through the paper ejection path 17, and carries it out from the paper ejection port 18 to the post-processing unit C.

The post-processing unit C is provided with the sheet processing device 20 of the present embodiment, and a plurality of sheets carried out from the image forming unit B are aligned, collected in a sheet bundle, subjected to crimp binding processing, and a stack tray on the downstream side. Has the function of storing in. The post-processing unit C of the present embodiment is configured as a stand-alone structure independent of the image reading unit A and the image forming unit B, and each of these units is connected by a network cable to be systematized. In another embodiment, the post-processing unit C can be configured in an inner finisher structure in which the sheet processing device 20 is built as a unit in the paper ejection space formed in the device housing 3 of the image forming unit A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the post-processing unit C includes an apparatus housing 21, a paper ejection path 22 provided in the apparatus housing, and a processing tray arranged on the downstream side of the paper ejection port 23 of the paper ejection path. 24 is provided with a stack tray 25 arranged further downstream thereof. In order to execute the function of the post-processing unit C described above, the processing tray 24 includes a sheet carrying mechanism 26 for carrying the sheet discharged from the paper ejection port 23 to the back side of the processing tray 24, and the processing tray 24. The sheet alignment mechanism 27 for accumulating the plurality of sheets carried in above in a bundle and aligning them, the binding processing mechanism 28 for crimp binding the aligned sheet bundles, and the bound sheet bundles are combined. A sheet bundle carrying-out mechanism 29 for carrying out the stack tray 25 is provided.

The paper discharge path 22 defines a transport roller pair such as a carry-in roller pair 31 and a paper discharge roller pair 32 in order to transport the sheet received from the image forming unit B from the carry-in inlet 30 to the paper discharge port 23 in a substantially horizontal direction. It is equipped with a feeder mechanism arranged at intervals. Further, in the paper ejection path 22, sheet sensors Se1 and Se2 for detecting the front end and / or the rear end of the sheet to be conveyed are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing tray 24 is arranged on the downstream side of the paper ejection port 23 of the paper ejection path 22 with a step d below the paper ejection port. The processing tray 24 includes a paper mounting surface 24a for supporting at least a part of the sheets in order to stack a plurality of sheets discharged from the paper ejection port 23 vertically and collect them in a bundle, that is, in a sheet bundle. .. In the present embodiment, a structure (so-called bridge support structure) is adopted in which the front portion of the sheet is supported by the stack tray 25 along the carry-out direction and the rear portion on the opposite side thereof is supported by the processing tray 24. The tray size is reduced as a whole in the carry-out (carry-in) direction.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the sheet loading mechanism 26 smoothly directs the sheet discharged from the paper ejection port 23 through the step d in the correct posture toward the back of the processing tray 24, that is, its left and right side edges. Is provided with a transport roller device 46 in order to transport the paper straight in the carrying-in direction. The transport roller device 46 has a roller pair including a transport roller 48 on the upper side and a driven roller 49 on the lower side with the processing tray 24 interposed therebetween. The transport roller 48 is rotatably supported by the tip of an elevating bracket 50 swayably supported above the processing tray 24, and the driven roller 49 is rotated to a fixed position immediately below the processing tray. It is provided freely.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the rear end of the sheet Sh discharged from the paper ejection port 23 reaches the processing tray 24, the elevating bracket 50 rotates downward to move the upper transport roller 48 onto the processing tray. Abut on the upper surface of the sheet. Next, the transport roller 48 is driven, for example, by a belt by a drive motor (not shown) to rotate counterclockwise in the figure. As a result, the sheet Sh is conveyed on the processing tray 24 in the loading direction, that is, in the direction opposite to the stack tray 25 side, until the tip end (right end in the figure) of the sheet hits the regulating member 35. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the regulation member 35 is composed of a channel-shaped member having a U-shaped cross section, and the tip of the sheet conveyed on the processing tray 24 is brought into contact with the inside thereof in the carrying-in direction. Has a regulatory surface 35a for stopping.

The sheet carrying mechanism 26 is further a scraping rotating body for guiding the tip of the sheet toward the regulating member 35 in order to cope with the curl and skew of the sheet that may occur when the sheet is conveyed on the processing tray 24 to the regulating member 35. 36 is provided. The scraping rotating body 36 is composed of a ring-shaped or short-cylindrical belt member rotatably arranged above the processing tray 24 and in front of the regulating member 35 in the direction in which the sheet is carried in. The belt member engages with the upper surface of a new sheet conveyed on the sheet at the uppermost position loaded on the processing tray 24, and rotates counterclockwise in the figure while pressing the tip of the sheet. Then, it is fed until it comes into contact with the regulation surface 35a of the regulation member 35.

The seat alignment mechanism 27 includes a seat edge regulating portion 37 and a side alignment mechanism 38. The sheet edge regulating unit 37 has the above-mentioned regulating member 35, and moves the position of the sheet carried onto the processing tray 24 from the paper ejection port 23 in the carry-in (or carry-out) direction, and the tip (or carry-out) of the sheet in the carry-in direction. Regulate at the rear end of the direction). The side alignment mechanism 38 moves the sheet and the sheet bundle on the processing tray 24 in the direction orthogonal to the loading (or unloading) direction, that is, in the width direction, and regulates and / or aligns the position in the width direction at the side edge thereof.

As shown in FIG. 4, the side matching mechanism 38 has a pair of side matching members 39, 40 arranged on the left and right sides of the center reference Sx of the processing tray 24. The side matching members 39 and 40 are composed of flat plate-shaped members extending vertically upward from the paper mounting surface 24a of the processing tray 24 so that their inner surfaces face each other. The inner surfaces of the side matching members 39, 40 engage with the adjacent side edge edges of the sheet Sh on the processing tray 24 in the width direction, respectively, as regulatory surfaces 39a, 40a for restricting the position in the width direction of the sheet. Function.

The side matching members 39 and 40 are provided via movable support portions 41 and 42 arranged on the back surface side of the processing tray 24 and a linear slit (not shown) in the width direction penetrating the processing tray. It is united. By individually rotating the pinions 43 and 44 that mesh with the racks 41a and 42a formed on the support portions by the drive motors M1 and M2, the side matching members 39 and 40 independently approach or separate from each other. It can be moved in the desired direction and stopped at a desired widthwise position. As a result, the positions of the side matching members 39 and 40 are individually set according to the size of the sheet carried into the processing tray 24, and when the sheet bundle is moved in the width direction (offset transfer), the position and movement are performed. The amount and offset amount can be determined.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet bundle unloading mechanism 29 includes a conveyor device 45 and the above-mentioned transport roller device 46. The conveyor device 45 has a conveyor belt 47 that is hung between the drive pulley 47a driven by the drive motor M3 and the driven pulley 47b and orbits in both directions along the sheet carrying-out direction. A regulating member 35 is fixed to the conveyor belt 47, which also has a function as an extrusion member that moves along the paper mounting surface 24a of the processing tray 24 and pushes out the sheet bundle Sb in the carry-out direction. The regulating member 35 is driven by the initial position near the rear end of the processing tray 24 shown in FIG. 5 (a) in the carry-out direction and the drive pulley 47a shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 (b) and the imaginary line in FIG. 5 (c). It is provided so as to be movable in both directions from the maximum extrusion position, which is substantially intermediate with the pulley 47b.

In the transport roller device 46, the transport roller 48 and the driven roller 49 are arranged so as to sandwich the sheet bundle Sb from above and below so as to be transportable near the front end in the carry-out direction of the processing tray 24. As shown in FIG. 4, in the transport roller device 46, one pair of left and right roller pairs are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center reference Sx.

When the bound sheet bundle Sb is carried out from the processing tray 24 to the stack tray 25, as shown in FIG. 5A, the regulation surface 35a of the regulation member 35 is brought into contact with the rear end of the sheet bundle in the carry-out direction. .. By driving the conveyor device 45 to move the regulating member 35 to the maximum extrusion position in the carry-out direction, the sheet bundle Sb is pushed out on the processing tray 24 in the carry-out direction to the position shown in FIG. 5 (b). At the same time, the elevating bracket 50 of the transport roller device 46 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing, and both the left and right transport rollers 48a and 48b are pressed against the upper surface of the sheet bundle Sb.

Next, the transport roller 48 is rotated clockwise in the figure by, for example, a drive motor (not shown) to transport the sheet bundle Sb in the carry-out direction, and as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the stack is stacked from the processing tray 24. Carry it out to the tray 25. The regulating member 35 of the conveyor device 45 can be driven at a relatively high speed because the rear end of the sheet bundle Sb is brought into contact with the regulating surface 35a and the entire regulating member 35 is held inside the regulating member. On the other hand, since the transport roller 48 comes into direct contact only with the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle Sb, it is preferable to rotate the sheet bundle Sb at a relatively low speed and gradually feed the sheet bundle toward the stack tray 25. On the other hand, the regulating member 35 returns to the initial position by moving the conveyor belt 48 in the opposite direction.

The binding processing mechanism 28 includes a crimp binding device 51 for crimp binding a sheet bundle, and a punching device 70 having a function as a cutting device for forming a cutting portion penetrating the front and back of the sheet bundle. The crimp binding device 51 of the present embodiment is configured by a press binding mechanism that crimps and deforms and binds a sheet bundle between crimp teeth having an uneven surface.

In the crimp binding device 51, as shown in FIG. 6A, the movable frame member 53 is swingably supported by the support shaft 53a on the base frame member 52. The base frame member 52 is integrally formed with a lower crimping tooth member 54 at one end thereof. In the movable frame member 53, an upper crimping tooth member 55 paired with the lower crimping tooth member 54 is integrally formed at a position facing the lower crimping tooth.

As shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6A, the upper crimping tooth member 55 includes a plurality of upper crimping teeth 55a having rib-shaped protrusions and a plurality of teeth having concave grooves having a shape corresponding to the rib-shaped protrusions. The bottom portions 55b are formed alternately in the tooth alignment direction. Similarly, in the lower crimping tooth member 54, a plurality of lower crimping teeth 54a formed of rib-shaped protrusions and a plurality of tooth bottom portions 54b formed of concave grooves having a shape corresponding to the rib-shaped protrusions are alternately arranged in the tooth arrangement direction. It is formed. The upper crimping tooth member 55 and the lower crimping tooth member 54 are arranged so as to occlude the crimping teeth facing each other and the tooth bottom portion.

In the present embodiment, the upper crimping tooth 55a and the lower crimping tooth 54a are formed so that the ridge line direction is orthogonal to the tooth arrangement direction, respectively. In another embodiment, the upper and lower crimping teeth 55a and 54a can be formed so that the ridge line direction is oblique to the tooth alignment direction, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the upper and lower crimping tooth members 55 and 54 sandwich the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb between the upper crimping tooth 55a and the lower crimping tooth 54a to form a cross section. It can be brought into close contact by deforming it into a corrugated plate shape. In the present embodiment, the upper and lower crimping teeth 55a and 54a are arranged obliquely at an angle with respect to the center reference Sx of the processing tray 24 in the direction of the ridgeline of the teeth. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the crimp binding portion PB having a corrugated cross-section is formed so that the ridgeline direction of the corrugated sheet is slanted with respect to the edges E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. Ru.

The movable frame member 53 is integrally provided with a follower roller 56 at an end opposite to the upper crimping tooth 55a with the support shaft 53a interposed therebetween. The base frame member 52 is integrally provided with a drive cam 57 made of an eccentric cam at an end opposite to the lower crimping tooth 54a. The follower roller 56 is arranged so that its follower surface engages with the cam surface of the drive cam 57.

A spring member (not shown) is arranged between the base frame member 52 and the movable frame member 53 so that the upper and lower crimp teeth are separated from each other, that is, the follower surface of the follower roller 56 and the cam surface of the drive cam 57. Is always urged to engage. Therefore, when the drive cam 57 is rotated by the drive motor M4, the movable frame member 53 swings about the support shaft 53a in accordance with the cam surface. As a result, the upper crimping tooth member 55 and the lower crimping tooth member 54 can be driven so as to be occluded with each other and pressed or separated from each other.

Further, the operation of separating the upper and lower crimping teeth from the state in which the bound sheet bundle is sandwiched by the spring member arranged between the base frame member 52 and the movable frame member 53 is performed more smoothly and quickly. Will be. Further, a position sensor (not shown) can be arranged on the base frame member 52 in order to detect whether the upper and lower crimping tooth members 55 and 54 are in the pressure contact position or the separated position. The signal representing the relative positional relationship between the upper and lower crimping tooth members from the position sensor enables smoother and more efficient peeling of the bound sheet bundle from the crimping teeth.

The punching device 70 can be composed of a punching device for forming a binding hole for filing in a sheet or a sheet bundle, which has been widely used in an image forming device and / or a subsequent processing device. This drilling device includes, for example, as described in Patent Document 4, a punch member (not shown) that is reciprocated by a drive motor with a drilling blade provided at one end of a columnar rod facing the seat surface. .. Since such a drilling device is well known to those skilled in the art, detailed description of its structure and operation will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the drilling device 70 is installed so as to be movable in both directions from the front side of the device to the rear side of the device along the peripheral edge on the back side of the processing tray 24. As a result, the sheet bundle Sb on the processing tray 24 can be formed with binding holes (punch holes) at a plurality of places by the punch member while moving the drilling device 70 along the peripheral edge on the back side.

The crimp binding device 51 is arranged on the back side of the processing tray 24 and near the corner of the rear side (upper left side in FIG. 4) of the processing tray 24, slightly downstream of the drilling device 70 in the sheet carry-out direction. The corners on the back side and the rear side of the device of the processing tray 24 are notched diagonally so that the corners of the sheet bundle located at the corners can be pressure-bonded. Thereby, when forming a punch hole in the corner portion of the sheet bundle, the punching device 70 can be more easily arranged at a desired position.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the control configuration of the image forming system of FIG. The image forming system of the present embodiment includes a main body control unit 60 that controls the image forming unit B, and a binding processing control unit 61 that controls the post-processing unit C.

The main body control unit 60 includes a print control unit 62, a paper feed control unit 63, and an input unit 65 connected to the control panel 64. The input unit 65 can set the image formation mode and the post-processing mode via the control panel. In the image forming mode, mode settings such as color / monochrome printing and double-sided / single-sided printing, and image forming conditions such as sheet size, sheet quality, number of copies, and enlarged / reduced printing are set.

In the post-processing mode, the user selects and sets, for example, a printout mode or a binding processing mode. In the printout mode, the sheets ejected from the paper ejection port 23 are stored in the stack tray 25 via the processing tray 24 without being bound. In this case, the sheets from the paper ejection port 23 can be stacked on the processing tray 24 and accumulated, and the accumulated sheet bundle can be collectively carried out to the stack tray 25 by the jog end signal from the main body control unit 60.

In the binding processing mode, a predetermined number of sheets discharged from the paper ejection port 23 are stacked on the processing tray 24, accumulated in a sheet bundle, bound, and then carried out to the stack tray 25. The main body control unit 60 transfers data such as the number of sheets of the sheet bundle to be bound, the number of copies of the sheet bundle to be created, and the thickness of the sheet to be image-formed to the binding processing control unit 61. Further, the main body control unit 60 transfers the job end signal to the binding processing control unit 61 each time the image formation on each sheet is completed.

The binding processing control unit 61 operates the post-processing unit C according to the setting of the post-processing mode input from the input unit 65 of the main body control unit 60. The binding processing control unit 61 of the present embodiment is configured by a control CPU as a control means, and a ROM 67 and a RAM 68 are connected to the control CPU. The sheet bundle binding processing operation and the paper ejection operation by the post-processing unit C are executed based on the control program stored in the ROM 67 and the control data stored in the RAM 68. Therefore, the control CPU 66 is connected to the operation of the drilling device 70 and the crimp binding device 51, and to the drive circuit of all the drive motors mounted on the post-processing unit C.

When the binding processing mode is selected, the binding processing control unit 61 exceeds the maximum thickness at which the binding force required for crimp binding is obtained from the set number of sheets for binding processing, the sheet thickness, and the like. Whether or not it is present is determined based on the control data stored in the RAM 68. When it is determined that crimp binding is not possible, the binding processing control unit 61 displays and notifies the display unit (not shown) of the image forming system to that effect. The sheet sent from the image forming apparatus A to the post-processing apparatus B is directly carried out to the stack tray 25 without binding processing.

Next, the crimp binding process performed by the binding processing mechanism 28 on the plurality of sheets carried out from the image forming unit B will be described. Prior to carrying the sheet into the processing tray 24, the binding processing control unit 61 controls the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 so as not to interfere with the movement of the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 on the processing tray 24 when the sheet is carried into the center reference Sx. Move to a shelter position sufficiently distant from the rear side of the device and the front side of the device.

Using FIGS. 8A to 8C, the sheet bundles are accumulated in the processing tray 24 from the standby state in which the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 are moved to the retreat position, and the drilling process is performed by the drilling device 70. I will explain the process up to. When the sheet Sh is discharged onto the processing tray 24 from the paper ejection port 23 of the device housing 21, the binding processing control unit 61 detects this with the signals from the paper ejection sensors Se1 and Se2, and operates the sheet loading mechanism 26. Let me. Due to the rotation of the scraping rotating body 36, the sheet Sh on the processing tray 24 is carried into the back of the processing tray 24 in the direction opposite to the carrying-out direction to the stack tray 25. As shown in FIG. 8A, the loading of the sheet Sh is stopped when the tip in the loading direction abuts on the regulating surface 35a of the regulating member 35.

When the loading of the sheet is stopped by the restricting member 35, the binding processing control unit 61 moves the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 at the retreat position in FIG. 8A inward so as to sandwich the sheet Sh from both sides. .. In the side matching members 39 and 40, the regulation surfaces 39a and 40a engage with both side edges of the seat Sh, respectively, and the side alignment members 39 and 40 are moved to a position where the separation distance between the two regulation surfaces coincides with the width dimension of the seat Sh. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, each sheet Sh is aligned with the accumulation position whose center in the width direction coincides with the center reference Sx of the processing tray 24, and is accumulated as a sheet bundle. After that, the binding processing control unit 61 returns the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 to the retreat positions shown in FIG. 8A, respectively.

The above-mentioned FIGS. 8A and 8B until a predetermined number of sheets to be pressure-bonded as one sheet bundle by the binding processing mechanism 28 are aligned and accumulated on the processing tray 24 as described above. Repeat the process. When the predetermined number of sheets Sh are aligned and integrated on the processing tray 24, the binding processing control unit 61 does not return the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 to the shelter position, and is shown in FIG. 8 (c). As shown, the sheet is offset-moved toward the drilling device 70 side in the width direction while being sandwiched from both sides as a sheet bundle Sb.

The binding processing control unit 61 stops the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 at a position where the side edge of the sheet bundle Sb on the rear side of the device slightly exceeds the punching position PP by the punch member in the width direction thereof. As a result, the sheet bundle Sb is positioned so that the perforation position PP is completely included in the corner Sc that is to be crimp-bound.

Next, the binding processing control unit 61 transmits a command signal to drive the drilling device 70 to execute the drilling process. After the drilling process, the drilling device 70 transmits a processing end signal to the binding processing control unit 61.

By the drilling process, a circular punch hole 71 penetrating the front and back of the sheet bundle is formed in the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb at a position corresponding to the drilling position PP, as shown in FIG. 9A. To. The punch holes 71 are arranged inwardly separated from two adjacent edges E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. Due to the inner peripheral surface of the punch hole 71, the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb has a cylindrical shape that penetrates the front and back of the sheet bundle inside the peripheral edges E1 and E2 as shown in FIG. 9B. The cut surface 72 is formed.

The binding processing control unit 61, which has received the processing end signal from the punching device 70, performs a crimp binding process on the sheet bundle Sb in which the punch holes 71 are punched. 10 (a) and 10 (b) show a process of crimp binding a sheet bundle Sb by a crimp binding device 51.

As shown in FIG. 8C, the binding processing control unit 61 drives the conveyor device 45 of the sheet bundle unloading mechanism 29 with the sheet bundle Sb sandwiched between the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 from both sides. As shown in FIG. 10A, the regulation member 35, which is an extrusion member, is moved in the carry-out direction to push out the sheet bundle Sb in the carry-out direction, and the sheet bundle Sb is offset-moved by a predetermined distance. The regulating member 35 stops the trailing end edge of the sheet bundle Sb in the carry-out direction at a position overlapping the crimping tooth members 54 and 55.

Further, the binding processing control unit 61 offsets the left and right side matching members 39 and 40 toward the crimp binding device 51 side in the width direction while the sheet bundle Sb is continuously sandwiched from both sides. The left and right side matching members 39 and 40 are stopped at positions where the side edge of the sheet bundle Sb on the rear side of the device overlaps the crimping tooth members 54 and 55 in the width direction thereof. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, the sheet bundle Sb has the crimp teeth 54a and 55a overlapping the two edge E1 and E2 and the punch hole 71, and the ridges of the crimp teeth on both edges. Positioned so that the directions intersect diagonally.

Next, the binding processing control unit 61 transmits a command signal to drive the crimp binding device 51 to execute the crimp binding process. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the crimp binding device 51 crimps and deforms the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb into the shape of the corrugated sheet in the upper and lower crimping tooth members 55 and 54 to be bound. Let me.

11 (a) and 11 (b) show a partially enlarged state of the corners Sc of the sheet bundle Sb that has been pressure-bonded by the pressure-bonding device 51. In the present embodiment, the crimping tooth members 54 and 55 are arranged so that the center line in the alignment direction of the crimping teeth 54a and 55a passes through the substantially center of the punch hole 71, and the crimping binding is performed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11A, the crimp binding portion PB is formed so that the center line PBx in the arrangement direction of the corrugated plate shape passes substantially the center of the punch hole 71.

Further, in the present embodiment, the dimensions of the crimping teeth 54a and 55a in the ridge line direction are slightly smaller than the diameter of the punch hole 71. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11A, the peripheral edge portion of the punch hole 71 is crimped with two large arc portions 71a and 71b separated along the arrangement direction of the corrugated sheet shape. The arcuate portions 71a and 71b of the punch hole 71 always include a portion that diagonally intersects the ridgeline of the crimping tooth regardless of the direction (inclination) of the ridgeline of the crimping tooth 54a and 55a with respect to the center reference Sx of the processing tray 24. Is done.

FIG. 11B shows a cross section of the corner portion Sc of the sheet bundle Sb cut at a position passing through the center of the punch hole 71 along the center line PBx of the crimp binding portion PB. In the figure, the hatched portion is a sheet bundle portion that has been crimp-bound. As shown in the figure, the crimped binding portion PB has two crimped cut surface portions 72a formed in the arc portions 71a and 71b of the punch hole 71 in addition to the end faces of the edge E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. , 72b is included. As described above, the crimped cut surface portion exerts a stronger binding force as in the end faces of the edge E1 and E2. As a result, the crimp binding portion PB can exert a stronger binding force as a whole even though the crimping area is reduced by the amount of the punch hole 71.

In another embodiment, the crimp binding portion PB can be formed so as to crimp the entire peripheral edge portion of the punch hole 71. In this case, the upper and lower crimping teeth 54a and 55a have dimensions in the ridge line direction relatively larger than the diameter of the punch hole 71. In yet another embodiment, the punch hole 71 can have various shapes other than a circular shape as long as the peripheral edge portion diagonally intersects the ridgeline of the crimping teeth 54a and 55a.

After the crimp binding process of FIG. 10B, the crimp binding device 51 separates the upper and lower crimp teeth 55a and 54a and transmits a processing end signal to the binding processing control unit 61. The binding processing control unit 61 drives the conveyor device 45 to move the regulating member 35 in the carry-out direction. As shown in FIG. 12A, the regulating member 35 moves to the maximum extrusion position in FIG. 5B and stops while pushing out the sheet bundle Sb. At the same time, the binding processing control unit 61 lowers both the elevating arms 50 of the transfer roller device 46 to bring both the left and right transfer rollers 48 into pressure contact with the upper surface of the sheet bundle Sb. The regulating member 35 is returned to the initial position shown in FIG. 5A.

Further, the binding processing control unit 61 rotates both the conveying rollers 48 to convey the sheet bundle Sb in the carrying-out direction, and carries out the sheet bundle Sb from the processing tray 24 to the stack tray 25 as shown in FIG. 12 (b). At this time, the transport roller 48 may be rotated at a relatively low speed so that the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle Sb does not slip with respect to the lower sheet, and the sheet bundle Sb is gradually sent out toward the stack tray 25. preferable.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the regulation member 35 and both transport rollers 48 of the present embodiment are located at positions deviated from the center of the sheet bundle Sb in the width direction by a considerable distance. However, since the left and right side edge of the sheet bundle Sb is regulated by the left and right side matching members 39 and 40, the sheet bundle Sb maintains a straight posture with respect to the carrying direction while being carried out by the regulating member 35 and both transport rollers 48. Will be done.

In the above embodiment, the punch hole 71 is formed in the sheet bundle Sb by one punching process using the punching device 70 incorporated in the sheet processing device 20. However, in order to drill the sheet bundle Sb, it is not always necessary to use the drilling device 70 integrally integrated with the sheet processing device 20.

The post-processing unit C, which performs post-processing of the sheet carried out from the image forming unit B of the image forming system, includes a punching device for forming a binding hole for filing. Such a punching device is arranged in the paper ejection path 22 of the sheet received from the image forming unit B, for example, as shown by reference numeral 75 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The drilling device 75 can be set so that the sheets carried in from the carry-in entrance 30 are punched one by one at the desired same position. Therefore, by accumulating a plurality of sheets punched by the punching device 75 on the processing tray 24 and aligning them, the sheet bundle before the crimp binding process is provided with through holes penetrating the front and back surfaces as in the punch holes 71. be able to.

13 and 14 show a crimp binding process according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13A, a cutting line 81 penetrating the front and back of the sheet bundle is formed in the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb instead of a through hole such as a punch hole 71. .. The cutting line 81 is arranged inside the two adjacent edges E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb, that is, at a position separated inward from the edge. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13B, the corners Sc of the sheet bundle Sb have two cutting surfaces 82a and 82b facing each other through the front and back of the sheet bundle on both sides of the cutting line 81. Is formed inside the margins E1 and E2.

The cutting line 81 reciprocates up and down a rod-shaped cutting member having a drilling blade made of a flat blade having a linear cutting edge at its tip so as to penetrate the sheet surface of the sheet bundle Sb. It can be formed by letting it form. As a result, cutting lines 80 having the same length are formed vertically on all the sheets of the sheet bundle Sb from the uppermost surface to the lowermost surface thereof.

The crimp binding device 51 arranges the upper and lower crimp tooth members 54 and 55 so that the ridges of the upper and lower crimp teeth 54a and 55a diagonally intersect the cutting line 81 and the edges E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. Then, the sheet bundle Sb is pressure-bonded and bound. As a result, on the corner Sc of the sheet bundle Sb, the crimping processing portion PB is added to the end faces of the edge E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb as shown in FIGS. It is formed so as to include two cut surfaces 82a and 82b by 81. The crimped cut surfaces 82a and 82b exert a stronger binding force as in the end faces of the edge E1 and E2, so that a stronger binding force than before can be obtained as a whole. Moreover, it is advantageous in that the crimping area does not decrease as compared with the case of forming the punch hole 71.

15 (a) and 15 (b) show modified examples of the embodiments of FIGS. 13 and 14. In this modification, as shown in FIG. 15A, two cutting lines 83 and 84 are formed at the corners Sc of the sheet bundle Sb. The cutting lines 83 and 84 are arranged apart from each other in the arrangement direction of the crimping teeth, that is, substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the corrugated plate shape of the crimping processing portion PB. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15B, the crimping processing portion PB has four cutting surfaces 85a, 85b, 86a formed by both cutting lines 83, 84, in addition to the end faces of the edge E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. , 86b are formed to include. By increasing the number of cut surfaces included in the crimping processing portion PB in this way, a stronger binding force can be obtained as a whole.

In each of the above embodiments, the crimping processing portion PB is formed so as to include the two edges E1 and E2 of the sheet bundle Sb. In another embodiment, the crimping treated portion PB can be formed so as to include either edge E1 or E2 or not include any edge E1 or E2. In this case, the crimping processing portion PB is provided so as to provide two or more through holes such as punch holes 71 or cut portions by cutting lines 81 in the sheet bundle Sb and include the cut surface of the sheet bundle formed by the cut portions. By forming, a stronger binding force than before can be obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, as long as a cut surface diagonally intersecting the ridge line of the crimp tooth is formed as the cut portion included in the crimp processing portion PB, various forms other than the through hole and the cut line of the above embodiment are formed. Can be adopted. For example, it may be a slit-shaped cut portion or a curved or bent cutting line.

Although the present invention has been described above in relation to the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various changes or modifications within the technical scope thereof. Needless to say. For example, in the above embodiment, the crimp binding device is fixed at a predetermined position with respect to the processing tray, but can be provided so as to be movable. Further, the crimping teeth are not limited to those having a uniform shape and dimension in the ridge line direction and extending straight, and those having various shapes and / or dimensions are applied as long as they are arranged in parallel in the tooth alignment direction. be able to.

Sb Sheet bundle Sc Corners Se1, Se2 Paper discharge sensor Sh Sheet Sx Center reference 20 Sheet processing device 21 Equipment housing 22 Paper discharge path 24 Processing tray 25 Stack tray 26 Sheet loading mechanism 27 Sheet alignment mechanism 28 Binding processing mechanism 29 Sheet bundle unloading Mechanism 33 Lifting arm 35 Restricting member 36 Scraping rotating body 37 Seat edge regulating part 38 Side matching mechanism 39, 40 Side matching member 45 Conveyor device 46 Conveying roller device 48 Conveying roller 51 Crimping binding device 54 Lower crimping tooth member 54a Lower crimping tooth 55 Upper crimping tooth member 55a Upper crimping tooth 60 Main body control unit 61 Binding processing control unit 70 Punching device 71 Punch hole 71a, 71b Arc part 72 Cutting surface 72a, 72b Cutting surface part 81, 83, 84 Cutting line 82a, 82b, 85a , 85b, 86a, 86b Cut surface

Claims (12)

A sheet cutting device that forms a cutting portion that penetrates the front and back of a plurality of sheets at predetermined positions, and
A sheet binding device having a pair of crimping tooth members in which a plurality of crimping teeth are arranged in parallel and holding the plurality of sheets bundled between the crimping tooth members to perform crimp binding of the sheet bundle . Equipped with
When the sheet binding device performs the crimp binding, the ridgeline direction of the crimp teeth is viewed from the surface direction of the sheet on at least one edge of the sheet bundle and the cut surface formed by the cut portion. , A sheet processing device in which the crimping tooth members are arranged so as to intersect each other diagonally. The sheet processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that drives and controls the sheet cutting device and / or the sheet binding device. The sheet processing device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit can relatively move the plurality of sheets with respect to the sheet cutting device and / or the sheet binding device. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sheet alignment mechanism for aligning the plurality of sheets in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction to form a bundle before binding by the sheet binding device. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a control unit that drives and controls the sheet matching mechanism. When performing the crimp binding, the sheet binding device diagonally intersects the two adjacent edges of the sheet bundle and the cut surface with the ridgeline direction of the crimp teeth when viewed from the surface direction of the sheet. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the crimping tooth member is arranged so as to be. The sheet processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sheet cutting device forms the cutting portion inside the two edges of the plurality of sheets. The sheet processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the sheet cutting device is a sheet punching device that forms a through hole as a cutting portion in the plurality of sheets. A sheet for crimping and binding a bundle of sheets by sandwiching a plurality of bundled sheets between the crimping tooth members using a sheet binding device having a pair of crimping tooth members in which a plurality of crimping teeth are arranged in parallel. It ’s a processing method,
The process of forming cuts that penetrate the front and back of multiple sheets at predetermined positions, and
The ridgeline direction of the crimping tooth is diagonally intersected with at least one edge of the bundled plurality of sheets and the cut surface formed by the cut portion when viewed from the surface direction of the sheet. A sheet processing method including a process of arranging the crimp tooth member and performing the crimp binding by the sheet binding device. Wherein prior to stapling the sheet binding device, a sheet processing method according to claim 9, further comprising an over extent that aligns a plurality of sheets in the bundle in its longitudinal and transverse directions. The sheet processing method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the cut surface is formed by forming a through hole as the cut portion in the plurality of sheets. An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet,
It is composed of a sheet processing unit that binds a plurality of sheets sent from the image forming unit into a sheet bundle.
The image forming system, wherein the sheet processing unit is the sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images