JP2005263441A - Paper post-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To certainly detect existence of a binding needle in a paper bundle after staple processing. <P>SOLUTION: The staple processing is applied to a paper bundle P1 consisting of a predetermined number of sheets of paper P that is formed by sequentially receiving the paper P supplied from a copying machine 10 as an upstream side device in a device body 21. The device body 21 comprises an intermediate tray 41 as a paper storage section for temporarily storing the paper P sequentially received from the copying machine 10 in a stacking state, a stapler 45 for binding the paper bundle P1 in staple processing by driving the binding needle into the paper bundle P1 stored in the intermediate tray 41, and a conveyance structure 43 as a delivery means for delivering the paper bundle P1 after the staple processing by the stapler 45 from the intermediate tray 41 to the outside of the device body 21 along a conveyance passage formed in the intermediate tray 41. The conveyance passage is provided with binding needle presence/absence sensors 454 and 454' for detecting the presence or absence of the binding needle of the paper bundle P1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing a predetermined post-processing on a sheet output after a predetermined image forming process is performed by an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, or a printer attached to a computer. It is about.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet post-processing apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 is known. This paper post-processing device is arranged in parallel with the image forming apparatus, and punching processing (binding hole punching processing) by a punch machine and stapling processing (binding processing) by a stapler are performed on the paper on which the image is transferred by the image forming device. Etc. are post-processed. The stapler is loaded with a number of binding needles having a U-shape in advance. A binding needle is driven at a predetermined position on a predetermined number of sheets (sheet bundle) derived from the image forming apparatus by stapling processing of the stapler.

  By the way, when the stapling process is performed in a state where the binding needle loaded in the stapler has been consumed, only a driving operation is performed on the sheet bundle in the absence of the binding needle, so-called idle driving occurs. It will be. If the sheet bundle is ejected in an idle state, then the stapling process must be performed manually, resulting in a reduction in work efficiency.

  In order to eliminate such inconvenience, the paper post-processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 is provided with a needle penetration sensor that detects the penetration of the binding needle into the sheet bundle, and the binding needle is detected by the detection result of the needle penetration sensor. It is designed to determine whether or not it has penetrated the bundle. It is described that by using such a needle penetration sensor, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of stapling processing on a sheet bundle without detecting an overload of the stapler motor (paragraph number [0047]). A method of detecting the presence or absence of stapling processing by detecting the load of the stapler motor is also described in Patent Document 2 (paragraph number [0052], etc.).

Incidentally, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe a specific configuration of the needle penetrating sensor. However, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses a case where a backing paper is used as a sheet fed from a sheet feeding table. It is described that a metal detection means is employed to detect whether or not the binding needle remains on the backing paper (paragraph numbers [0038] to [0041]).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-203716 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 14-60122 Japanese Patent No. 3454383

  By the way, in the stapling process described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to detect whether or not the binding needle penetrates the sheet bundle. For this purpose, a needle penetration sensor is provided in the vicinity of the needle penetration position of the stapler. However, the stapler is composed of an operation part for driving the binding needle into the sheet bundle, and a receiving base for receiving and bending the binding needle disposed opposite to the operation part. It is a very narrow space.

  Therefore, even if it tries to arrange | position the metal detection means of patent document 3 in this narrow space, since this arrangement | positioning is very difficult, since the surrounding environment is almost metal, it becomes disturbance and it becomes a paper bundle. There is a problem that it is extremely difficult to selectively detect only a small binding needle that has been driven.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus that can reliably detect the presence or absence of a binding needle in a sheet bundle after stapling.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs a stapling process on a bundle of sheets formed of a predetermined number of sheets formed by sequentially receiving sheets supplied from an upstream apparatus into the apparatus body. Includes a sheet storage unit for temporarily storing sheets sequentially received from the upstream device in a stacked state, and binding the sheet bundle by a stapling process by driving a binding needle into the sheet bundle stored in the sheet storage unit. And a discharge unit that discharges the bundle of sheets after the stapling process from the sheet storage unit to the outside of the apparatus main body along a transport path formed in the sheet storage unit. A binding needle presence / absence sensor that detects the presence / absence of a binding needle in the sheet bundle is provided.

  If such a configuration is adopted, the presence or absence of the binding needle in the sheet bundle after the staple processing is performed by the stapler is detected by the binding needle presence / absence sensor provided in the conveyance path. Compared to the case where a sensor is provided on the machine, it is possible to arrange the binding needle presence / absence sensor with a margin without any positional restrictions, and it is possible to dispense with unreasonable assembly work. As a result, it is possible to avoid an unreasonable structure by a margin, and to avoid erroneous detection caused by an unreasonable structure, thereby improving detection accuracy.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the binding needle presence / absence sensor is a metal sensor that detects the presence or absence of metal.

  By adopting a metal sensor as the binding needle presence / absence sensor, the metal sensor outputs a predetermined signal in response to the metal binding needle in a state where the paper bundle is stapled. While it is detected by the signal that the paper bundle is stapled, it is detected that the paper bundle is not stapled by not outputting the signal.

  When a metal sensor is used as the binding needle presence / absence sensor, if the surrounding environment is a metal environment, only the small binding needle that is driven into the sheet bundle due to the surrounding environment is selectively detected. However, it is difficult to detect the metal sensor erroneously due to a disturbance by disposing the metal sensor along the conveyance path separated from the stapler.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, as the stapler, an end binding stapler that performs a stapling process on an end portion of a sheet bundle, and a saddle stitching that performs a stapling process on a central portion of the sheet bundle. A stapler is used.

  By adopting such a configuration, the stapler can perform edge binding or saddle stitching on the sheet bundle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the third aspect, the discharge means is configured such that the binding bundle presence / absence sensor has not detected the binding needle by the end binding stapler of the bundle of sheets. The saddle stitching stapler is configured to be raised to the staple processing position of the saddle stitching stapler, and the saddle stitching stapler is configured to perform an end binding staple process on the raised sheet bundle. It is characterized by being.

  By adopting such a configuration, even when the end-stapling stapling process is not performed on the sheet bundle, the end-stapling stapling process is performed on the sheet bundle by the saddle stitching stapler.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the third aspect, the discharge means is configured such that the binding bundle presence / absence sensor does not detect a binding needle by the stapler for saddle stitching of the bundle of sheets. The end binding stapler is configured to move to the staple processing position of the end binding stapler, and the end binding stapler is configured to perform end binding stapling processing on the moved sheet bundle. It is characterized by this.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the saddle stitching stapler is not subjected to the saddle stitching stapling process, the paper bundle is subjected to edge binding as a second best measure.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, in the state in which the discharge unit detects that the binding needle presence / absence sensor has not detected the binding needle by the stapler for saddle stitching of the paper bundle, Or forcibly ejecting the sheet bundle or moving the bundle of sheets to the staple processing position of the end binding stapler to cause the end binding stapler to perform the end binding staple processing. It is what.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the saddle stitching stapler is not subjected to the saddle stitching stapling process, it is possible to select whether to forcibly discharge the paper bundle or to perform edge binding. Can do.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the presence / absence of the binding needle in the sheet bundle after the staple processing is performed by the stapler is detected by the binding needle presence / absence sensor provided in the conveyance path. Compared to the case where a sensor is provided at a different position, it is possible to arrange the binding needle presence / absence sensor with a margin without being restricted by the position, so that it is not necessary to perform excessive assembly work. This can contribute to a reduction in assembly cost and can contribute to an improvement in detection accuracy due to a margin.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the metal sensor is employed as the binding needle presence / absence sensor, it is possible to reliably detect the binding needle while having a simple structure, thereby improving the detection accuracy. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, as the stapler, an end binding stapler that performs a stapling process on the end portion of the sheet bundle and a saddle stitching stapler that performs a stapling process on the center portion of the sheet bundle are employed. Further, edge binding or saddle stitching can be selectively performed on the sheet bundle, and the versatility of the stapler can be improved.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even when the edge binding staple processing by the edge binding stapler is not performed on the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is obtained by the saddle stitch stapler as a so-called backup function. Since the edge-binding stapling process is performed, the stapling process for the sheet bundle is not interrupted even if the edge-binding is not performed, which can contribute to the efficiency of the stapling process.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the saddle stitching stapler is not subjected to the saddle stitching staple process, the stapled stapler for edge binding binds the sheet bundle as a backup function. The inconvenience that the sheet bundle is discharged without being subjected to the stapling process can be solved.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the saddle stitching stapler is not subjected to the saddle stitching stapling process, the paper bundle is forcibly ejected or the edge binding is selected. Therefore, the degree of freedom in handling the stapling process according to the situation of the operator can be increased.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory front sectional view showing a state in which a sheet post-processing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a copying machine 10. First, the copying machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. A copying machine (upstream apparatus, image forming apparatus) 10 is configured by mounting a document reading unit 12, an image forming unit 13, and a paper feeding unit 14 on a box-shaped copying machine main body 11. Yes. The image forming unit 12 is provided on the upper surface side of the copying machine main body 11, whereas the image forming unit 13 is provided in a substantially central part in the copying machine main body 11, and the paper feeding unit 14 is It is provided below the document reading unit 13 in the copying machine main body 11.

  The original reading unit 12 includes a scanner that generates image data from an optically read original image, and includes a first contact glass 121 and a second contact glass 122 on an upper surface thereof. The first contact glass 121 is used when the document retainer 123 is opened and a document is set manually. The first contact glass 121 is provided on substantially the entire upper surface of the copier body 11. In contrast, the second contact glass 122 is used when a plurality of documents placed on the document holder 123 are automatically and sequentially read. The second contact glass 122 is driven by the document conveying mechanism 124. The image data of the original is read from the original sequentially conveyed so as to be in contact with 122.

  The document transport mechanism 124 includes a document placement unit 125, a carry-in drive unit 126 including a carry-in roller pair, a transport roller pair 127, a discharge roller pair 128, and a paper discharge table 129. Documents placed on the sheet 125 are automatically conveyed one by one in contact with the second contact glass 122 and discharged onto a sheet discharge tray 129 after exposure scanning of the document.

  The paper feed unit 14 is provided with a detachable paper feed cassette 141 in which transfer paper P is stored, and a manual paper feed unit 142. The sheet feeding unit 14 includes a first conveyance path 143 that conveys the sheet P from the sheet feeding cassette 141 to the image forming unit 13, and a second conveyance path 145 that conveys the sheet P from the manual sheet feeding unit 142 to the image forming unit 13. And. Each of the paper feed cassettes 141 and the manual paper feed unit 142 includes a pickup roller 146 for taking out the stored paper P and a paper feed roller pair 147 for feeding the paper P one by one to the transport path. Yes.

  The first transport path 143 is transported in front of the image forming unit 13 and the transport roller pair 148 that transports the paper P fed from each paper feed cassette 141 via the pickup roller 146 and the paper feed roller pair 147. A registration roller pair 149 for waiting the incoming paper P at a predetermined position is provided. The second transport path 145 joins the first transport path 143 on the upstream side of the registration roller pair 149.

  The image forming unit 13 includes a rotatable photosensitive drum 130, and along the periphery of the photosensitive drum 130, a charging unit 131, a developing unit 131, a cleaning unit 132, a laser scanning unit 133, A transfer roller 134 and a fixing roller pair 135 are provided.

  The charging unit 131 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 130 to a predetermined potential. The laser scanning unit 133 transmits a laser beam to the surface of the photosensitive drum 130 based on the image data transmitted from the control unit 2. And an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 130.

  The developing unit 131 causes toner to adhere to the electrostatic latent image to make the image appear. The transfer roller 134 transfers the made toner image to the paper P. The fixing roller pair 135 fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper P, and the cleaning unit 132 cleans and removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 130 after the image transfer. In preparation for the next electrostatic latent image formation.

  A paper discharge unit 136 including a discharge roller pair 138 and a discharge port 139 is provided in the upper part of the copying machine main body 11, and the paper P led out from the fixing roller pair 135 is discharged via the discharge roller pair 138. The paper is discharged from the paper mouth 139 out of the system. A discharge branch guide 137 is provided immediately downstream of the fixing roller pair 135, and the discharge branch guide 137 can switch the discharge direction of the paper P to either the paper discharge unit 136 or the conveyance path outside the system. It is like that.

  The discharge path 139 is provided at the downstream end of the transport path toward the outside of the system, and the discharge roller pair 138 is provided immediately upstream of the discharge port 139, and the side fixing roller pair 135. The sheet P conveyed from the sheet is discharged to the outside through the sheet discharge port 139 by driving the discharge roller pair 138.

  In addition, a copy information input unit 101 is provided at an appropriate position on the front side of the copying machine main body 11, and a post-processing information input unit 102 is provided adjacent to the copy information input unit 101. The copy information input unit 101 is used to input information related to copying, and the size of the original, the size of the paper P to be copied, the number of copies, A reduction magnification can be input. Copy processing is executed based on the input information from the copy information input unit 101.

  The post-processing information input unit 102 inputs post-processing information (conditions) when post-processing is performed on the paper P after the copying process has been executed by the copying machine 10. Presence / absence, presence / absence of stapling processing, stapling position when stapling processing is performed, and the like are input by a predetermined key button operation.

  A display unit 103 for displaying and outputting various types of information including alarms is provided in the vicinity of the copy information input unit 101 and the post-processing information input unit 102.

  Then, the fixed paper P discharged from the paper discharge port 139 is introduced into the paper post-processing apparatus 20 according to the present invention, and a predetermined post-processing based on the post-processing information from the post-processing information input unit 102. Processing will be performed. Hereinafter, the outline of the sheet post-processing apparatus 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the sheet post-processing apparatus 20 and shows a state in which the intermediate tray 41 is pulled out for maintenance or the like. 1 and 2, the XX direction is referred to as the width direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is forward, and the + Y direction is forward. It is called the back.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the post-processing device 20 includes a punch unit 30 that performs a punching process, which is one of the finishing processes, on the paper P carried from the copying machine 10 via the paper discharge port 139. A staple processing unit 40 provided on the downstream side of the punch unit 30 for performing a stapling process on the sheet bundle P1 (FIG. 7), and a sheet P or a sheet bundle P1 subjected to one or both of the punching process and the stapling process. The sheet discharge unit 50 that discharges the sheet to the outside of the system is formed by being mounted on the apparatus main body 21 having a box shape.

  A contact surface of the apparatus main body 21 with respect to the copier main body 11 is provided with a paper receiving port 22 facing the paper discharge port 139 of the copier main body 11 and is discharged from the copier 10 through the paper discharge port 139. The fixed sheet P is introduced into the sheet post-processing device 20 from the sheet receiving port 22.

  The punch portion 30 is formed on the downstream side of the sheet receiving port 22 in the apparatus main body 21. The punch unit 30 is provided with a predetermined punch machine 31 for punching a binding hole at a predetermined position of the fed paper P.

  The staple processing unit 40 is an intermediate tray (sheets) that temporarily stocks sheets P conveyed through a pair of carry-in rollers 201 and a conveyance branch guide 202 provided immediately downstream of the punch machine 31 as a sheet bundle P1. Storage part) 41. The paper P delivered from the punch unit 30 is sequentially supplied onto the intermediate tray 41 in a state in which the conveyance branch guide 202 is set so that the paper P is directed toward the staple processing unit 40, and the paper P is sequentially supplied onto the intermediate tray 41. The sheet bundle P1 (see FIG. 7) is stored. The stapling unit 40 performs stapling on the sheet bundle P1 in various manners.

  The paper discharge unit 50 includes a sort discharge tray 51 that can be moved up and down in the apparatus main body 21, a non-sort discharge tray 52 that is fixed to the apparatus main body 21 at a position above the sort discharge tray 51, and the sort And an elevating mechanism 53 for elevating and lowering the discharge tray 51. To the sorting discharge tray 51, the sheet bundle P1 subjected to the stapling process in the intermediate tray 41 is discharged through the first discharge roller pair 203. On the other hand, the paper P that has passed through the punch unit 30 and branched to the non-sort discharge tray 52 side by the conveyance branch guide 202 is discharged to the non-sort discharge tray 52. Therefore, the sheet bundle P1 subjected to the stapling process is not discharged to the non-sort discharge tray 52.

  In the lifting mechanism 53, the upper surface of the sheet bundle P1 discharged onto the sorting discharge tray 51 in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 2 is suitable for discharging the sheet bundle P1 from the first discharge roller pair 203. The sort discharge tray 51 is moved up and down so as to be positioned at the height level.

  Hereinafter, the staple processing unit 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as necessary. 3 and 4 are partially cutaway perspective views showing an embodiment of the staple processing unit 40, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view, and FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view. In addition, the direction display by X and Y in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is the same as that of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the stapling unit 40 includes an intermediate tray 41 that is disposed in the apparatus body 21 at an angle in the width direction, and a predetermined interval on the front side of the intermediate tray 41. One of the cover body 42 indicated by a two-dot chain line disposed oppositely, a transport structure (discharge means) 43 and a width adjusting mechanism 44 attached to the intermediate tray 41, and the intermediate tray 41 and the cover body 42 A stapler 45 mounted on both sides is provided.

  The intermediate tray 41 temporarily stores the paper P fed from the copying machine 10 for stapling. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the intermediate tray 41 is the first discharge roller pair. The sheet P, which is disposed obliquely so as to face 203 and have a lower end portion located on the lower right side of the apparatus main body 21, is introduced along the right surface of the intermediate tray 41. It has become so.

  The intermediate tray 41 is formed in a rectangular upper notch portion 411 formed by notching the center portion in the front-rear direction of the upper edge portion, and on the lower edge portion facing the upper notch portion 411. A lower notch 412. These notches 411 and 412 are used to mount upper and lower pulleys 431 and 432 of the transfer structure 43 described later.

  The intermediate tray 41 is provided with a pair of longitudinal guide upper holes 413 extending in the front-rear direction at positions slightly above the intermediate position in the vertical direction, and slightly below the intermediate position in the vertical direction. A pair of front and rear direction lower guide elongated holes 414 extending in the front and rear direction are formed. These guide long holes 413 and 414 are for mounting a width adjusting member 442 described later of the width adjusting mechanism 44 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.

  The lid body 42 is for forming a storage space for storing the paper P introduced into the staple processing unit 40 with the intermediate tray 41 facing the lid body 42, and through the pair of carry-in rollers 201. The paper P introduced into the staple processing unit 40 passes through the lid 42 and is supplied onto the intermediate tray 41 via the introduction roller pair 421 and the rotation guide member 422 (FIG. 1). .

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid body 42 is provided with a plurality of introduction roller pairs 421 arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and the left side of each introduction roller pair 421 is provided with its support. A rotation guide member 422 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable around an axis.

  The introduction roller pair 421 conveys the paper P introduced into the staple processing unit 40 along the lid body 42, and the rotation guide member 422 depends on the paper P of different sizes and the orientation of the paper P. The sheet P having a different length with respect to the transport direction is carried into a predetermined position of the intermediate tray 41 according to the size and direction of each sheet P.

  The rotation guide member 422 rotates forward and backward around the support shaft of the introduction roller pair 421, thereby directly feeding the paper P along the lid 42, and guiding for guiding the paper P to the intermediate tray 41. The posture can be changed between the postures (FIG. 1 shows a state where all the rotation guide members 422 are set to the direct feed posture), and any one of them depends on the size of the paper P or the like. When the rotation guide member 422 is set to the guide posture, the paper P is introduced to a predetermined position on the intermediate tray 41 while being guided by the rotation guide member 422.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transport structure 43 includes a pair of front and rear upper pulleys 431 attached to the upper notch 411 of the intermediate tray 41 and a pair of front and rear lower parts attached to the lower notch 412. The pulley 432 includes a pair of front and rear conveyance belts 433 stretched between the pair of upper and lower pulleys 431 and 432, and a sheet receiving member 434 installed between the pair of conveyance belts 433. ing.

  The upper pulley 431 is pivotally supported by the upper pulley shaft 431a. The upper pulley 431 is supported by penetrating and supporting the upper pulley shaft 431a by a bearing seat 411a projecting leftward from the front and rear opposing edges of the upper notch 411. It comes to be attached to. Further, the lower pulley 432 is pivotally supported integrally with the lower pulley shaft 432a. The lower pulley 432 has a lower notch 412a supported by penetrating a lower pulley shaft 432a through a bearing seat 412a projecting leftward from the front and rear opposing edges of the lower notch 412. It comes to be attached to.

  The lower pulley shaft 432a is concentrically connected with the drive shaft of the transport motor 435, and the upper pulley shaft 432a is driven by the lower pulley shaft 432a driven by the transport motor 435. A pair of front and rear conveying belts 433 stretched between the pulleys 431 and 432 circulate.

  The sheet receiving member 434 includes a receiving member main body 434a that is installed and fixed between a pair of conveying belts 433, and an anti-separation member that protrudes in parallel with the intermediate tray 41 upward from the right end surface of the receiving member main body 434a. The dam member 434b has an L shape in front view. A gap is formed between the weir member 434b and the intermediate tray 41 to accommodate the sheet bundle P1 made up of a predetermined number of sheets P.

  According to the transport structure 43, the transport belt 433 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions by driving the transport motor 435 in the forward and reverse directions while the sheet bundle P1 is supported by the sheet receiver member 434, whereby the sheet receiver member 434 is moved to the intermediate tray. 41 will be moved up and down. Further, by continuously driving the conveyance motor 435 to rotate the conveyance belt 433 in the counterclockwise direction, the sheet receiving member 434 continues to rise, and thereby the sheet bundle P1 stored in the sheet receiving member 434 is loaded into the staple processing unit. 40 can be discharged to the sort discharge tray 51 via the first discharge roller pair 203.

  The width adjusting mechanism 44 is for so-called width adjusting processing that performs alignment in the front-rear direction with respect to the paper P discharged to the intermediate tray 41. In this embodiment, the width adjusting mechanism 44 is guided to the upper guide slot 413. And a pair of front and rear upper width adjusting mechanisms 440 that move forward and backward in the forward and backward direction, and a pair of front and rear lower width adjusting mechanisms 441 that move forward and backward in the front and rear direction while being guided by the lower guide slot 414. Yes. The reason why the width adjusting mechanism 44 is divided into the upper and lower width adjusting mechanisms 440 and 441 is that the saddle stitching stapler 450 described later can be moved in the front-rear direction without interfering with the width adjusting member 442 of the width adjusting mechanism 44. It is to do.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the width adjusting member 44 includes a width adjusting member 442 that can slide forward and backward on the surface of the intermediate tray 41 in the front-rear direction, and a rack 446 that is integrally fixed to the width adjusting member 442. A pinion 447 that meshes with the rack 446 and a width adjusting motor 448 that rotationally drives the pinion 447 around its axis.

  The width adjusting member 442 includes a sliding contact plate 443 that is in sliding contact with the intermediate tray 41, and a width adjusting plate 444 that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the sliding contact plate 443 from a front and rear outer edge of the sliding contact plate 443. And a guided projection 445 protruding from the left surface of the sliding contact plate 443 so as to be fitted in the guide long holes 413 and 414 in a sliding contact state. The width adjusting member 442 can move forward and backward in the front-rear direction while being guided by the guide long holes 413 and 414 by the guided projections 445 being fitted into the guide long holes 413 and 414.

  The rack 446 is fixed to the left end surface of the guided projection 445 in a state where the guided projection 445 is fitted in the guide long holes 413 and 414. The rack 446 is fixed to the guided projection 445 so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the width adjusting member 442 extends, whereby the rack surface can move in the front-rear direction. The installation position of the pinion 447 is set so as to mesh with such a rack 446.

  Then, in a state where each width adjusting mechanism 44 is attached to the intermediate tray 41 through the guide long holes 413 and 414, the width of the lower edge portion of the width adjusting member 442 of the upper width adjusting mechanism 440 and the width of the lower width adjusting mechanism 441 is obtained. A gap 415 for moving a saddle stitching stapler 450, which will be described later, forward and backward in the front-rear direction of the intermediate tray 41 is formed between the upper edge of the shift member 442.

  In addition, a pair of widthwise center guide elongated holes 416 extending in the front-rear direction are formed in the central portion of the intermediate tray 41 in the vertical direction of the gap 415 position, and are described later while being guided by the center guide elongated holes 416. The clincher 453 can move forward and backward in the front-rear direction.

  According to the width adjusting mechanism 44, this rotation is transmitted to the rack 446 by rotating the pinion 447 by driving the width adjusting motor 448, and the guided projection 445 is fitted into the guide long holes 413 and 414. As a result, it moves in the front-rear direction while being guided by the guide elongated holes 413, 414, so that the integrated width-adjusting member 442 moves in the front-rear direction via the rack 446 and the guided projection 445.

  Therefore, by appropriately controlling the driving of the width adjusting motor 448, between the pair of width adjusting plates 444 that are introduced onto the intermediate tray 41 and face each other according to the width dimension of the paper P (front and rear dimensions in FIGS. 3 and 4). A so-called shift operation can be performed in which the front and rear positions of the paper P on the intermediate tray 41 are changed in a state where the paper P is held between the pair of width adjusting plates 444.

  The stapler 45 performs a so-called stapling process in which the paper P discharged to the intermediate tray 41 is bound by a binding needle N (FIGS. 7 and 8). A pair of front and rear saddle-stapling staplers 450 capable of moving forward and backward in the front-rear direction to be stapled at an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the paper P on the paper 41, and a staple at the lower edge of the paper P on the intermediate tray 41 It comprises a pair of front and rear end staplers 451 that can move forward and backward in the front and rear direction of processing.

  The saddle stitching stapler 450 is set to have a vertical dimension so that it can pass through a gap 415 between the upper width adjusting mechanism 440 and the lower width adjusting mechanism 441. As shown in FIG. 3, the saddle stitch stapler 450 is a stapler body 452 provided on the lid 42 side, and a needle receiving member provided on the intermediate tray 41 side so as to face the stapler body 452. The clincher 453 and a saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 mounted on the clincher 453 are provided.

  The stapler main body 452 can be loaded with a plurality of binding needles N, and has a needle driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the binding needles N one by one into the sequentially formed sheet bundle P1. At the same time, it can be moved forward and backward by a predetermined moving mechanism.

  The stapler body 452 is connected to a predetermined moving mechanism provided in the lid body 42, and can be moved forward and backward in the front-rear direction by this moving mechanism. Incidentally, in the example shown in FIG. 3, a stapler moving motor 452a as a moving mechanism, a driving pulley 452b concentrically connected to a driving shaft of the stapler moving motor 452a, and a driving pulley 452b opposed to the driving pulley 452b in the front-rear direction. The driven pulley 452c is arranged, and an endless belt 452d stretched between the pulleys 452b and 452c. The endless belt 452d is fixed to the stapler body 452. The stapler main body 452 can move in the front-rear direction by the rotation between the pulleys 452b and 452c of the endless belt 452d by driving the stapler main body 452.

  The clincher 453 can move in the same direction while being synchronized with the stapler main body 452 while being guided by the central guide long hole 416 of the intermediate tray 41. A movement mechanism similar to the movement mechanism of the stapler main body 452 is provided on the back side of the intermediate tray 41, but the description thereof is omitted.

  A gap 450a having a predetermined size through which the paper P1 introduced into the intermediate tray 41 can pass is formed between the stapler main body 452 and the clincher 453, and the paper P is stacked on the intermediate tray 41 through the gap 450a. As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet bundle P <b> 1 formed as a result is in a state in which the center position in the vertical direction is sandwiched between the stapler body 452 and the clincher 453 and can be subjected to the saddle stitching process. In this state, a stapling process is executed in which the binding needle N is driven and bound to the center position in the vertical direction of the sheet bundle P1 by predetermined driving of the stapler 45.

  The saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 detects whether or not the sheet bundle P1 has been stapled by the saddle stitch stapler 450, and is provided at the upper end of the clincher 453. Specifically, an inclined surface 453c for guiding the paper P toward the gap 450a is formed at the upper end of the casing 453b of the clincher 453, and the saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 is flush with the inclined surface 453c. Is provided. The inclined surface 453c forms a part of the conveyance path according to the present invention for conveying the sheet bundle P1 on the intermediate tray 41.

  In the present embodiment, the saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 is formed by a so-called metal detection sensor that can detect the metal binding needle N. A magnetic sensor or a capacitance sensor can be used as the metal detection sensor.

  The magnetic sensor detects the presence of the metal when the magnetic flux generated between a pair of opposed electromagnetic coils is disturbed by the presence of the metal (magnetoresistance). The capacitance sensor detects a change in capacitance of the measurement space based on a change in the high-frequency oscillation operation state output from the electrode, and detects the presence of metal in the measurement space based on the change. Is. Any metal detection sensor may be used, and in this embodiment, since it is necessary to provide in a narrow place, a capacitance sensor that can only detect the detection end with an electrode is adopted. The sensor is not limited to a capacitance sensor, and a magnetic sensor may be adopted.

  By providing such a saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 at the upper end portion of the clincher 453, the sheet bundle P1 is moved upward from the saddle stitch stapler 450 by the counterclockwise rotation of the conveyance belt 433 driven by the conveyance motor 435. Immediately after the deviation, the saddle stitching binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 immediately detects whether or not stapling processing for saddle stitching is being performed with little time lag.

  The end binding stapler 451 performs a stapling process on the lower edge of the sheet bundle P1, and includes a stapler main body 452 ′ and a clincher 453 ′ that are integrally coupled, and various driving mechanisms. In addition, it is different from the previous saddle stitching stapler 450 in that it is mounted on the intermediate tray 41 side. Between the stapler body 452 ′ and the clincher 453 ′, a sheet bundle receiving groove 450 b having an upper surface opened and extending in the front-rear direction is formed, and the sheet bundle P <b> 1 formed by introducing the sheet P into the intermediate tray 41 is The lower edge portion is supported in a state where the stapler 451 for end binding can be stapled by fitting into the sheet bundle receiving groove 450b.

  The edge-binding stapler 451 is also provided with a movement mechanism similar to the movement mechanism of the previous saddle-stitching stapler 450, whereby the edge-binding stapler 451 moves forward and backward in the front-rear direction by driving the movement mechanism. Thus, the stapling position for the sheet bundle P1 can be changed, but the description thereof is omitted.

  The clincher 453 ′ is provided with an end-stitched binding presence / absence sensor 454 ′ similar to the saddle-stitched binding presence / absence sensor 454 on the inclined surface 453c ′ at the upper end thereof. The presence or absence of stapling processing is detected based on whether or not the binding needle N is present at the lower end of the sheet bundle P1.

  In the present invention, a control device 60 for controlling the stapling process in the stapling unit 40 as described above is provided. FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the control of the stapling process performed by the control device 60.

  The control device 60 is a so-called microcomputer, and counts the number of sheets P fed from the copying machine 10 based on a detection signal from a predetermined number sensor 65 (FIG. 5) and introduces it to the intermediate tray 41. 1 unit of paper bundle P1 to be determined, drive control of the punch machine 31 in the punch unit 30 is performed, or paper P discharged from the copier body 11 and paper discharge of the paper bundle P1 in the paper discharge unit 50 Various controls relating to the sheet post-processing apparatus 20 such as setting the destination (sorting discharge tray 51 or non-sorting discharge tray 52) are executed. FIG. 5 illustrates stapling among these various controls. Staple processing in the section 40, that is, control from a state in which a sheet bundle P1 consisting of a predetermined number of sheets P set in advance is introduced into the intermediate tray 41. It is extracted and shown things.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control device 60 includes a width adjusting member control unit 61, a stapler control unit 62, a sheet bundle conveyance control unit 63, and a staple abnormality determination unit 64.

  The width adjusting member control unit 61 outputs a control signal for width adjusting to the width adjusting motor 448 based on the paper size information from the copy information input unit 101. By driving the width adjusting motor 448 to which this control signal is input, the inner dimension between the opposing width adjusting plates 444 becomes the sheet width dimension of the sheet bundle P1 to be processed immediately before the sheet P is introduced. The paper P introduced into the intermediate tray 41 through the moving guide member 422 is stored between the pair of width adjusting plates 444.

  The stapler control unit 62 controls the movement and binding drive of the stapler 45 based on information from the copy information input unit 101 and the post-processing information input unit 102. Information transmitted from the copy information input unit 101 to the stapler control unit 62 is the paper size and the number of copies of the sheet bundle P1 to be stapled. The information transmitted from the post-processing information input unit 102 to the stapler control unit 62 is the position of the stapling process performed on the sheet bundle P1. There are two types of stapling positions: an end binding stapling process for performing stapling on the end of the sheet bundle P1, and a saddle stitching stapling process for performing stapling on the center of the sheet bundle P1.

  When the information (that is, the staple processing conditions) from the copy information input unit 101 and the post-processing information input unit 102 is input to the stapler control unit 62, the stapler control unit 62 sets the home position (intermediate position). A control signal is output toward either one of the saddle stitching staples 450 and 451 located at the end of the tray 41 in the front-rear direction.

  Which of the staplers 450 and 451 outputs the control signal depends on whether the saddle stitching staple processing or the end binding staple processing is performed on the sheet bundle P1. That is, when a saddle stitch signal (information) is output from the post-processing information input unit 102, the stapler control unit 62 controls the stapler moving motor 452a and the clincher moving motor 453a of the saddle stitching stapler 450. While a signal is output, a control signal is not output to the stapler moving motor 452a of the end binding stapler 451.

  Therefore, the saddle stitching stapler 450 (stapler main body 452 and clincher 453) moves from the home position to a predetermined stapling position, holds the sheet bundle P1 between the stapler main body 452 and the clincher 453, and is in a stapling standby state. On the other hand, since the control signal from the stapler control unit 62 is not input, the end binding stapler 451 does not move from the home position. In this state, after the staple position of the sheet bundle P1 is determined by raising and lowering the sheet receiving member 434, the sheet bundle P1 is controlled by a control signal for starting the stapling operation toward the saddle stitching stapler 450 from the stapler control unit 62. The binding needle N is driven into the center portion, and the saddle stitching staple processing is completed.

  On the other hand, when an end binding signal (information) is output from the post-processing information input unit 102, the stapler control unit 62 outputs a control signal toward the stapler moving motor 452a of the end binding stapler 451. On the other hand, no control signal is output to the stapler moving motor 452a and the clincher moving motor 453a of the saddle stitching stapler 450.

  Accordingly, the end binding stapler 451 is moved from the home position to a predetermined stapling position, and the sheet bundle receiving groove 450b faces the lower end edge of the sheet bundle P1 and is in a stapling standby state. Since no control signal is output from the stapler control unit 62 toward the saddle stitching stapler 450, the saddle stitching stapler 450 does not move from the home position. In this state, the lower end edge of the sheet bundle P1 is fitted into the sheet bundle receiving groove 450b when the sheet receiving member 434 is lowered from the home position (slightly above the end binding stapler 451). In response to the control signal for starting the stapling operation toward the end-binding stapler 451, the binding needle N is driven into the sheet bundle P1, thereby completing the end-binding staple processing for the sheet bundle P1.

  The sheet bundle conveyance control unit 63 supports the sheet bundle P1 based on a sheet size signal from the copy information input unit 101 and a binding position signal (saddle stitching or edge binding signal) from the copy information input unit 101. The sheet receiving member 434 is moved up and down. The sheet bundle conveyance control unit 63 controls the conveyance motor 435 to position the sheet receiving member 434 at an appropriate level in accordance with the sheet size of the sheet bundle P1 to be stapled and “saddle binding” or “end binding”. Output a control signal.

  By this forward / reverse drive of the transport motor 435, the sheet receiving member 434 moves up and down and stops at an appropriate height level. In this state, a control signal for stapling operation is output from the stapler control unit 62 to the saddle stitching stapler 450 or the end binding stapler 451, whereby the sheet bundle P1 is stapled at a predetermined position. .

  When the stapling process is completed, the conveyance belt 433 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4 by driving the conveyance motor 435 according to a control signal from the sheet bundle conveyance control unit 63, and the sheet bundle P1 is formed by the sheet receiving member 434. Is raised along the intermediate tray 41 and discharged to the sorting discharge tray 51 via the first discharge roller pair 203 (FIG. 1).

  The staple abnormality determining unit 64 determines whether or not the binding needle N has been driven into the sheet bundle P1 by stapling processing by the stapler 45 based on detection signals of the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′. . The binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ are provided at positions immediately above the gaps 450a and 450b between the stapler main bodies 452 and 452 ′ and the clinchers 453 and 453 ′, which are the staple processing positions of the staplers 450 and 451, respectively. Since the stapler 450 and 451 move together, the staple position of the sheet bundle P1 always passes above the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 'when the sheet bundle P1 is raised. Thus, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ can reliably detect the presence or absence of the binding needle N.

  When the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ detect the binding needle N (that is, when the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ output detection signals indicating the presence of the binding needle N), stapling is performed. When no control signal is output from the abnormality determination unit 64, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 'do not detect the binding needle N (that is, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454'). When a detection signal indicating no binding needle N is output from the stapler, the staple abnormality determination unit 64 outputs a drive stop control signal to the transport motor 435 and causes the display unit 103 to display an abnormality occurrence. For this purpose, a control signal (display instruction signal) is output.

  The transport motor 435 that has received the drive stop control signal stops its drive, so that the sheet bundle P1 being transported stops, and the display unit 103 that has received the display instruction signal notifies the abnormality. An abnormality occurrence notification is performed such as lighting up, displaying an abnormality occurrence message on the screen, and outputting a sound to notify the abnormality.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of the staple processing control by the control device 60. 7 and 8 are explanatory views taken along line A in FIG. 4 for explaining the operation of the stapling processing unit 40. FIG. 7 shows the state ((A)) in the end binding stapling process. A state in which the sheet bundle P1 is stored between the pair of upper and lower width-shifting members 442 in the width direction, (B) is a state in which the lower end portion of the sheet bundle P1 is being stapled, 8 shows a state where the applied sheet bundle P1 is being ejected from the intermediate tray 41), and FIG. 8 shows a state during the saddle stitching stapling process ((A) shows the sheet bundle between the pair of upper and lower width adjusting members in the width direction. (B) shows a state in which the staple processing is being performed on the central portion of the sheet bundle, and (c) shows a state in which the sheet bundle subjected to the staple processing is being discharged from the intermediate tray 41). ing. Hereinafter, stapling control will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 or 8 as necessary.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, a predetermined number of sheets P are introduced into the intermediate tray 41 to form a sheet bundle P1, and the sheet bundle P1 is supported by the sheet receiving member 434 positioned at the home position. Starting from the place. Further, as the paper P, four types of paper of A4 size, A3 size, B5 size, and B4 size are targeted.

  When the staple control is started, first, it is determined whether or not the sheet size of the sheet bundle P1 to be processed is A4 size based on the information from the copy information input unit 101 (step S1). (YES in step S1) is determined based on the information from the copy information input unit 101 whether or not the discharge to the intermediate tray 41 is the discharge in the landscape state (horizontal discharge) (step S2). . In the case of horizontal paper discharge (YES in step S2), the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is set to the long dimension of A4 paper by driving and stopping the width adjusting motor 448 (step S2). S3). Accordingly, the paper P sequentially discharged to the intermediate tray 41 becomes an A4 size laterally discharged paper bundle P1 while being sandwiched between the width adjusting plates 444.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the paper is not horizontally discharged (that is, vertically discharged), the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is set to the short size of A4 paper (step S3). Accordingly, the sheets P sequentially discharged to the intermediate tray 41 become A4 size vertically discharged sheet bundles P1 while being sandwiched between the width adjusting plates 444.

  On the other hand, if the paper size is not A4 size in step S1 (NO in step S1), it is determined whether or not the paper size is A3 (step S5). As a result of this determination, when the paper size is A3 size (YES in step S5), the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is set to the short size of A3 paper by driving and stopping the width adjusting motor 448. (Step S6). Note that it is not questioned whether or not the paper is discharged horizontally just before step S6 because, in the case of the A3 size paper P, the paper is not discharged horizontally and always discharged vertically.

  On the other hand, if the paper size is not A3 size in step S5, it is determined whether or not the paper size is B5 size (step S7). If the paper size is B5 size (YES in step S7), the horizontal size continues. It is determined whether or not the paper is discharged (step S8). In the case of horizontal paper discharge (YES in step S8), the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is set to the long dimension of A5 paper by driving and stopping the width adjusting motor 448 (step S8). S9). If it is determined in step S8 that the paper is not discharged horizontally (NO in step S8), the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is set to the short size of B5 paper (step S10).

  If it is determined in step S7 that the paper size is not B5 size (NO in step S7), since the paper P is B4 size, the distance between each pair of width adjusting plates 444 is the driving of the width adjusting motor 448. And the short dimension of B4 paper is set by the stop (step S11). Note that whether or not the paper is discharged horizontally before step S11 is the same as in the case of A3 size paper P.

  In the state in which the sheet bundle P1 is formed on the intermediate tray 41 by executing Steps S3, S4, S6, S9, S10 or S11, the sheet bundle P1 on the intermediate tray 41 is the same as that shown in FIGS. As shown in (a), the sheet receiving member 434 positioned at the home position and the pair of width adjusting plates 444 moved from the home position toward the center in the front-rear direction in accordance with the sheet size. Become.

  Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not a sheet bundle P1 having a predetermined number of sheets P has been formed on the intermediate tray 41. This determination is made based on the number information of the sheet bundle P1 input from the copy information input unit 101 to the stapler control unit 62. For this purpose, a sheet number sensor 65 for counting the number of sheets P introduced into the intermediate tray 41 is provided at an appropriate position of the intermediate tray 41, and the number of sheets counted by the sheet number sensor 65 is input from the copy information input unit 101. It is determined that the sheet bundle P1 has been formed when the number of sheets coincides.

  When the formation of the sheet bundle P1 on the intermediate tray 41 is completed (YES in step S12), it is determined whether or not the stapling process is edge binding based on the input information from the post-processing information input unit 102 (that is, “end edge”). In the case of edge binding (YES in step S13), the sheet receiving member 434 is driven by the conveyance motor 435 based on the control signal from the stapler control unit 62. The sheet bundle P1 supported by the sheet receiving member 434 is slightly lowered from the home position, and the sheet bundle P1 is set to the end binding position (the position where the lower end edge of the sheet bundle P1 faces the end binding stapler 451) (step). S14).

  When the sheet bundle P1 is moved, the sheet size is determined in the same manner as in steps S1, S2, S5, S7 and S8, and the amount of movement of the sheet receiving member 434 is set based on the determination result. However, since the description of the flowchart becomes redundant, the description of the detailed steps during this period is omitted (the same applies to the part that requires the determination of the paper size).

  Next, the end binding stapler 451 moves to a staple position corresponding to the paper size based on a control signal from the stapler control unit 62 (step S15), whereby the paper bundle P1 is as shown in FIG. In addition, the lower end edge portion is fitted into the sheet bundle receiving groove 450b of the end binding stapler 451.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that saddle stitching is determined in step S13 (NO in step S13), the sheet receiving member 434 is driven by the reverse drive of the transport motor 435 based on the control signal from the staple abnormality determining unit 64. As a result, the sheet bundle P1 supported by the sheet receiving member 434 is positioned at the saddle stitching position (the center of the sheet bundle P1 in the vertical direction faces the saddle stitching stapler 450). (Step S16).

  Next, the end binding stapler 451 moves to a staple position corresponding to the paper size based on a control signal from the stapler control unit 62 (step S17), whereby the paper bundle P1 is as shown in FIG. Further, the center portion in the vertical direction is fitted into the gap 450 a between the stapler main body 452 and the clincher 453 of the saddle stitching stapler 450, and is sandwiched between the stapler main body 452 and the clincher 453.

  In this state, the stapling process by the stapler 45 is executed (step S18), whereby the sheet bundle P1 is bound by the binding needle N. When the staple process is closed, only the end-stitching stapler 451 is driven for binding, while when the staple process is saddle-stitched, only the saddle-stitching stapler 450 is driven for binding.

  When the staple processing for the sheet bundle P1 by the stapler 45 is completed, the sheet receiving member 434 is lifted as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8C by the driving of the transport motor 435 by the control signal from the stapler control unit 62. As a result, the stapled sheet bundle P1 is discharged toward the sorting discharge tray 51 (step S19).

  In the present invention, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ detect whether or not the binding needle N is present in the sheet bundle P1 during this discharge process, and whether or not the staple processing has been normally performed. Is determined (step S20). That is, since staple needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ each including a metal detection sensor are provided at the tips of the clincher 453 and 453 ′ of the stapler 45, the staple in the sheet bundle P1 after being stapled by the stapler 45. The position always passes over the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ', so that whether or not the binding needle N is present in the sheet bundle P1 is reliably detected.

  If the staple processing is normally executed based on the detection result of the binding needle N by the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ (YES in step S20), the processing in the series of staple processing units 40 is completed. On the other hand, when the stapling process is not normally performed (that is, when the binding needle N is not detected by the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′), the staple abnormality determination unit 64 sends it to the transport motor 435. Then, a drive stop signal is output, and the conveyance of the sheet bundle P1 is interrupted when the conveyance motor 435 is stopped.

  At the same time, an abnormality display signal is output from the staple abnormality determination unit 64 to the display unit 103, whereby the display unit 103 displays and outputs that an abnormality has occurred in the stapling process. It is possible to know that an abnormality has occurred in the stapling process.

  At this time, for example, when an abnormality in the stapling process by the saddle stitching stapler 450 is detected, a post-processing information input unit determines whether the sheet bundle P1 is forcibly discharged or the end-stapling stapler 451 performs the stapling process. It may be configured such that an operator can select a predetermined input operation from 102. In this way, even if the saddle stitch stapler 450 is in a malfunction, it is possible to substitute the end binding according to the situation, so it is possible to provide such an option to the operator. Can be improved.

  In addition, when the staple processing abnormality occurs, the processing by the sheet post-processing device 20 may be temporarily stopped. However, when one of the staplers is malfunctioning by using the saddle stitching stapler 450 or the end binding stapler 451, You may make it back up using a stapler.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the end-binding binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 ′ does not detect the binding needle N by the end-binding stapler 451 of the sheet bundle P1, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet-bundle conveyance control unit 63 The edge binding position of the sheet bundle P1 is raised to the stapling position of the saddle stitching stapler 450 based on the control signal from the saddle stitching stapler 450, and the edge binding is applied to the sheet bundle P1 raised by the saddle stitching stapler 450. For example, a configuration in which stapling processing (alternative edge binding stapling processing) is performed may be used. By doing so, even if the edge binding stapler 451 is not subjected to the edge binding stapler 451, the sheet bundle P1 is subjected to the edge binding staple process by the saddle stitching stapler 450. Even if the end binding is not performed, the stapling process for the sheet bundle P1 is not interrupted, which can contribute to the efficiency of the stapling process.

  The alternative edge binding stapling process is interposed between step S19 and step S20 in the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the control of the alternative edge binding stapling process.

  That is, in the alternative end binding stapling process, it is determined whether or not the stapling process by the end binding stapler 451 is normally performed after step S19 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 (step S30). When the determination is made (YES in step S30), the process skips to step S20. On the other hand, for example, the binding needle N in the end binding stapler 451 has already been consumed and seems to be blank. In such a case, since the binding needle N is not detected (NO in step S30), first, the display unit 103 displays that the end binding is to be replaced by the saddle stitch stapler 450 (step S31), and continues to the transport motor 435. When the sheet receiving member 434 is lifted by driving the sheet bundle P1, the sheet bundle P1 is raised (step S32). End stapling position of bundle P1 is raised to saddle stitch stapling position by the end binding stapler 451 (step S32).

  In this state, the saddle stitching stapler 450 is driven to perform a stapling process at the end binding position of the sheet bundle P1 (step S33), and then the process is transferred to step S20 in FIG.

  When the stapling process is performed on each of the plurality of sheet bundles P1 sequentially formed on the intermediate tray 41, the flow from the start to the end of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is repeated. In this case, a step of performing a so-called shift process in which the sheet bundle P1 is slightly moved in the front-rear direction alternately is interposed between step S22 and the end. This shift process is performed by moving the width adjusting member 442 holding the sheet bundle P1 back and forth.

  By performing such a shift process, a plurality of copies of the sheet bundle P1 for which the stapling process has been completed is discharged to the sorting discharge tray 51 in a state of being alternately shifted back and forth by the rising of the sheet receiving member 434. Separation of the number of copies of the bundle P1 becomes clear, and subsequent handling of a plurality of copies of the sheet bundle P1 becomes easy.

  Further, each time the paper P is supplied to the intermediate tray 41, the step of swinging the width adjusting members 442 facing each other in the front-rear direction is set at a position immediately before step S12, whereby the paper bundle P1 is placed on the intermediate tray 41. Since the alignment process for the sheet bundle P1 is executed each time the sheet is introduced between the pair of width-adjusting members 442, it is possible to effectively prevent the inconvenience that the sheet bundle P1 is stapled without being aligned. .

  As described in detail above, the sheet post-processing apparatus 20 according to the present invention has a predetermined number of sheets P formed by sequentially receiving the sheets P supplied from the copying machine 10 as an upstream apparatus into the apparatus main body 21. In the apparatus main body 21, an intermediate tray 41 serving as a sheet storage unit for temporarily storing the sheets P sequentially received from the copying machine 10 in a stacked state, and the intermediate tray 41 are provided. A stapler 45 that binds the sheet bundle P1 by a stapling process by driving a binding needle into the sheet bundle P1 stored in the sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle P1 that has been stapled by the stapler 45 is formed on the intermediate tray 41. And a transport structure 43 serving as a discharge unit that discharges the intermediate tray 41 from the intermediate tray 41 to the outside of the apparatus main body 21. Since the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ for detecting the presence / absence of the staple are provided, the presence / absence of the binding needle N in the sheet bundle P1 after the staple processing by the stapler 45 is provided in the conveyance path. Compared with the case where a sensor is provided at a narrow position near the stapler 45, which is detected by the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ', the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454' are not subject to positional restrictions. It is possible to arrange with a margin, and the assembly cost can be reduced by not having to perform excessive assembly work. It is possible to contribute to improvement of detection accuracy by avoiding erroneous detection due to the above.

  Further, since a metal sensor for detecting the presence or absence of metal is employed as the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′, the metal sensor is a metal binding needle in a state where the staple processing is performed on the sheet bundle P1. A predetermined signal is output in response to N, and it is detected by this signal that the paper bundle P1 has been subjected to the stapling process. On the other hand, since the signal is not output, the paper bundle P1 has not been subjected to the stapling process. Can be detected.

  By adopting such metal sensors as the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ', the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454' can be detected with certainty while having a simple structure. In addition, the detection accuracy can be improved and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  When a metal sensor is used as the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′, if the surrounding environment is a metal environment, only the small binding needle N that is driven into the sheet bundle P1 due to the surrounding environment is disturbed. However, by arranging the metal sensor along the conveyance path spaced from the stapler 45, erroneous detection of the metal sensor due to disturbance can be effectively prevented.

  Further, since the stapler 45 is mounted on the intermediate tray 41 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction on the intermediate tray 41, the stapler 45 can be moved to various sizes of paper P by moving the stapler 45 according to the paper size and the staple position. A staple process can be performed and a staple position can be selected, and the stapler 45 can be made versatile.

  Further, as the stapler 45, a saddle stitching stapler 450 for performing a stapling process on the center portion of the sheet bundle P1 and an end binding stapler 451 for performing a stapling process on the end portion of the sheet bundle P1 are adopted. Is capable of selectively performing edge binding or saddle stitching on the sheet bundle P1, and can improve the versatility of the stapler 45.

  Further, when the transport structure 43 sequentially discharges each of the plurality of sheet bundles P1 that are sequentially subjected to the stapling process in the intermediate tray 41, the sheet bundles P1 are alternately shifted in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction. Therefore, a plurality of copies of the sheet bundle P1 are discharged onto the sorting discharge tray 51, and one set of the sheet bundle P1 is alternately shifted to be separated from each other. Therefore, a plurality of stacked sheet bundles P1 can be easily handled in subsequent distribution or the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ are provided on the clinchers 453 and 453 ′ of the staplers 450 and 451, and move integrally with the movement of the clinchers 453 and 453. However, instead of this, a sensor moving mechanism that moves only the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 independently of the staplers 450 and 451 is adopted, and this sensor moving mechanism is used as the moving mechanism of the staplers 450 and 451. You may make it drive in synchronization with. This makes it possible to select various installation positions of the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 and improve the versatility of the staple processing presence / absence detection.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the sheet bundle P1 for which the saddle stitching stapling process has been completed rises on the intermediate tray 41 by the upward movement of the sheet receiving member 434 via the conveyance belt 433 driven by the conveyance motor 435, The paper is discharged onto the sorting discharge tray 51 via the first discharge roller pair 203. Instead of this, the sheet bundle P1 is folded in half from the center at the lower position of the staple processing unit 40. You may connect the half-fold process part to process.

  In the case where such a half-folding processing unit is provided, the sheet bundle P1 for which the saddle stitching stapling processing has been completed is transferred to the middle folding processing unit by a clockwise turn in FIG. 4 of the paper receiving member 434 by reverse driving of the transport motor 435. Introduction is done. Then, the sheet bundle P1 introduced into the half-folding processing unit is folded in half at a position where the binding needle is present to be bound, and the bookbinding is discharged to a predetermined discharge tray. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually fold the discharged sheet bundle P1 into two, which can contribute to the improvement of work efficiency.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ are provided on the inclined surface 453c of the clincher 453 and 453 ′ of the stapler 45. However, in the present invention, the binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 is provided. , 454 ′ are not limited to being provided on the clincher 453, 453 ′ side, but may be provided on the width adjusting members 442 of the upper and lower width adjusting mechanisms 440, 441, and further on the upper surface of the intermediate tray 41. It may be provided. When the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ are provided on the upper surface of the intermediate tray 41, a plurality of binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ are provided in the front-rear direction in order to correspond to the stapling position that varies in the front-rear direction according to the paper size. preferable.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the stapler 45 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction, but may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction in addition to this. By doing so, the stapler 45 can be adapted to various wide staple processes.

  (5) In the above-described embodiment, when the saddle stitching binding presence / absence sensor 454 detects the binding needle N by the saddle stitching stapler 450 for the sheet bundle P1 in the transport structure 43, the center of the sheet bundle P1 Is moved to the stapling position of the end-stitching stapler 451, and the stapling process (alternative saddle-stitching stapling process) is performed on the sheet bundle P1 moved by the end-binding stapler 451. May be. Thus, even when the saddle stitching stapler 450 does not perform the saddle stitching staple process on the sheet bundle P1, the saddle stitching stapler 451 performs the saddle stitching staple process. Thus, the inconvenience that the sheet bundle P1 is discharged without being subjected to the stapling process can be solved.

  However, in order to perform the alternate saddle stitching stapling process, it is necessary to provide a conveyance path that can move the sheet bundle P1 further downward from the lower end of the intermediate tray 41.

  Note that this alternate saddle stitching staple processing is merely shown by changing “end stitching” to “saddle stitching” in the flowchart of the alternative edge stitching staple processing shown in FIG.

  Further, when the saddle stitching binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 does not detect the binding needle N by the saddle stitching stapler 450 of the sheet bundle P1, the lower end portion of the sheet bundle P1 is moved to the staple processing position of the end binding stapler 451. The sheet bundle P1 moved by the end binding stapler 451 may be configured to be stapled. As a result, even when the saddle stitching stapler 450 does not perform the saddle stitching stapling process on the paper bundle P1, the staple binding is applied to the paper bundle P1 as the next best measure. It is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that the sheet bundle P1 is discharged without being processed at all.

  (6) In the above embodiment, the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 ′ detect the presence or absence of the binding needle N in the sheet bundle P1 by detecting changes in magnetic resistance or capacitance. Although a metal sensor is employed, the present invention is not limited to the binding needle presence / absence sensors 454 and 454 'being a metal sensor. For example, when the sheet bundle P1 is discharged on the intermediate tray 41, the present invention is not limited to this. A pair of electrode terminals is arranged at a position through which the needle N passes, and an energization type in which the presence of the binding needle N is detected by energization between the terminals when the binding needle N abuts against these electrode terminals. A sensor may be employed.

  (7) In the above embodiment, the end binding stapler 451 is provided with the end binding staple presence / absence sensor 454 ′ in order to detect whether or not the staple processing by the end binding stapler 451 has been normally executed. However, the installation of the end-stitched binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 'is omitted, and the saddle-stitched binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 provided in the saddle stitching stapler 450 is also used to detect the presence / absence of the end-stitched binding needle N You may do it. That is, the saddle stitching binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 is positioned higher than the end binding position by the end binding stapler 451, and the end binding position is always the height of the saddle stitching in the discharge processing of the end-bound paper bundle P1. In order to pass the level position, the saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 is moved in advance to a position corresponding to the end binding position, so that the saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 causes the end binding staple N to be bound. The presence or absence of this can be detected.

1 is a front sectional view illustrating a state in which a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a copying machine (upstream apparatus) 10. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the paper post-processing apparatus 20 and shows a state in which an intermediate tray 41 is pulled out. It is a partially cutaway exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a staple processing unit. FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the staple processing unit shown in FIG. 3. It is a block diagram for demonstrating control of the stapling process by a control apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating one Embodiment of the staple process control by a control apparatus. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view taken along line A in FIG. 4 for explaining the operation of the stapling processing unit, and shows a state at the time of edge binding stapling processing; (A) is a sheet between a pair of upper and lower width-adjusting members in each width direction. A state where the bundle is stored, (B) is a state where the lower end portion of the sheet bundle is being stapled, and (C) is a state where the sheet bundle subjected to the staple process is being discharged from the intermediate tray 41. Respectively. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view taken along line A in FIG. 4 for explaining the operation of the staple processing unit 40, and shows a state at the time of saddle stitching stapling processing, in which (A) is a sheet between a pair of upper and lower width-shifting members in each width direction. (B) shows a state in which the staple processing is being performed on the central portion of the sheet bundle, and (c) shows a state in which the sheet bundle subjected to the staple processing is being discharged from the intermediate tray. ing. It is a flowchart which shows one Embodiment of control of an alternative end binding staple process.

Explanation of symbols

10 Copying machine (upstream device, image forming device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Copy information input part 102 Post-processing information input part 103 Display part 11 Copier main body 12 Image formation part 121 1st contact glass 122 2nd contact glass 123 Document suppression 124 Document conveyance mechanism 125 Document loading part 126 Carry-in drive part 127 Conveyance Roller pair 128 Discharge roller pair 129 Discharge stand 13 Document reading unit 131 Developing unit 132 Cleaning unit 133 Laser scanning unit 134 Transfer roller 135 Fixing roller pair 136 Paper discharge unit 137 Discharge branch guide 138 Discharge roller pair 139 Discharge port 14 Paper feed Section 141 Sheet cassette 142 Manual sheet feeding section 143 First transport path 145 Second transport path 146 Pickup roller 147 Feed roller pair 148 Transport roller pair 149 Registration roller pair 20 Paper post-processing device 201 Carry-in roller pair 202 Transport branch guide 03 First discharge roller pair 204 Second discharge roller pair 21 Main body 22 Paper receiving port 30 Punch part 31 Punch machine 40 Staple processing part 41 Intermediate tray (paper storage part) 411 Upper notch part 411a Bearing seat 412 Lower notch part 412a Bearing seat 413 Upper guide slot 414 Lower guide slot 415 Clearance 416 Center guide slot 42 Lid 421 Introduction roller pair 422 Rotating guide member 43 Conveying structure (discharge means) 431 Upper pulley 432 Lower pulley 432a Lower pulley shaft 433 Conveying belt 434 Paper receiving member 434a Receiving member main body 434b Weir member 435 Conveying motor 44 Width adjusting mechanism 441 Lower width adjusting mechanism 442 Width adjusting member 443 Slide contact plate 444 Width adjusting plate 445 Guided projection 446 Rack 447 Pinion 448 Width adjusting motor 45 s Piper 450 Saddle stitching stapler 450a Clearance 450b Sheet bundle receiving groove 451 End binding stapler 452, 452 'Stapler body 452a Stapler moving motor 452b Drive pulley 452c Driven pulley 452d Endless belt 453, 453' Clincher 453a Clincher moving motor 453b Casing 453c ′ Inclined surface 454 Saddle stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 454 ′ End stitch binding needle presence / absence sensor 50 Paper discharge portion 51 Sort discharge tray 52 Non-sort discharge tray 53 Lifting mechanism 60 Control device 61 Width adjustment member control portion 62 Stapler control Unit 63 sheet bundle conveyance control unit 64 staple abnormality determination unit 65 sheet number sensor N binding needle P sheet P1 sheet bundle

Claims (6)

In a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs a stapling process on a sheet bundle made up of a predetermined number of sheets formed by sequentially receiving sheets supplied from an upstream apparatus into the apparatus main body,
In the device main body, a paper storage unit that temporarily stores paper sequentially received from the upstream device in a stacked state; and
A stapler that binds a bundle of sheets by a stapling process by driving a binding needle into the bundle of sheets stored in the sheet storage unit;
A discharge unit that discharges the bundle of sheets after the stapling process from the sheet storage unit to the outside of the apparatus main body along a conveyance path formed in the sheet storage unit;
A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein a binding needle presence / absence sensor for detecting presence / absence of a binding needle in a bundle of sheets is provided in the conveyance path.   The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the binding needle presence / absence sensor is a metal sensor that detects presence / absence of metal.   3. The stapler according to claim 1, wherein an end-stitching stapler that performs a stapling process on an end portion of the sheet bundle and a saddle stitching stapler that performs a stapling process on a central portion of the sheet bundle are employed as the stapler. The paper post-processing device as described.   The discharge means raises the end binding position of the sheet bundle to the staple processing position of the saddle stitch stapler in a state where the binding needle presence / absence sensor has not detected the binding needle by the end binding stapler of the sheet bundle. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the saddle-stitching stapler is configured to perform an end-binding staple process on the raised sheet bundle.   The discharge means moves the end of the sheet bundle to the staple processing position of the end binding stapler in a state where the binding needle presence / absence sensor does not detect the binding needle by the saddle stitch stapler for the sheet bundle. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the edge-binding stapler is configured to perform an edge-binding staple process on the moved sheet bundle.   The discharge means forcibly discharges the sheet bundle in a state where the binding needle presence / absence sensor has not detected the binding needle by the saddle stitching stapler of the sheet bundle or staples the sheet bundle to the staple of the end binding stapler. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is configured to be able to select whether or not the end-binding stapler is moved to the processing position and subjected to the end-binding staple processing.

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