Patent Application
20110062645
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a sheet finishing apparatus and sheet finishing method.
In the related art, as a sheet finishing apparatus installed on the downstream side of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a MFP (Multi-Functional Peripheral) and configured to bind booklets by performing a finishing process such as folding or stapling on printed sheets is known.
Many of the sheet finishing apparatuses of these type include a sheet placing unit (loading tray) for loading a plurality of the bound booklets.
The booklets themselves are bound in a finishing apparatus body, and the booklets discharged from a discharging port of the finishing apparatus body one after another are loaded on the sheet placing unit in sequence.
A bundle of the booklets to be loaded on the sheet placing unit does not necessarily have a uniform thickness, and a leading end portion (a portion where a fold line is formed) is thicker, and thus a center portion is depressed in many cases. Consequently, a leading end of the booklet discharged subsequently may hit against the depression or the depression of the booklet pushes back the leading end of the booklet, so that smooth discharge may be hindered. Accordingly, improvement of a mechanism is required to achieve smooth discharge of the subsequent booklets even if the thickness of the bundle of booklets loaded on the sheet placing unit is not uniform.
Referring now to the attached drawings, an embodiment of a sheet finishing apparatus and a sheet finishing method will be described.
The sheet finishing apparatus according to the embodiment includes a main body configured to fold a bundle of sheets to form a booklet, a base plate extending obliquely downward from a side wall of the main body to allow loading of a plurality of the booklets discharged in sequence from a discharging port provided in the side wall, a discharging roller pair configured to push the booklet out from the discharging port to discharge the booklet on the base plate, and a projecting member configured to project from the side wall substantially horizontally and support the lower portion of the booklet between the discharging port and the base plate when the discharging roller pair pushes the booklet out.
The image forming unit 12 of the image forming apparatus 10 includes a photoconductive drum 1 at a center thereof, and also includes a charging unit 2, an exposure unit 3, a developing unit 4, a transfer unit 5A, a charge removing unit 5B, a separating claw 5C, and a cleaning unit 6 disposed respectively around the photoconductive drum 1. A fixing unit 8 is provided on the downstream side of the charge removing unit 5B. Image formation is performed by these members in a sequence schematically shown below.
First, the charging unit 2 charges the surface of the photoconductive drum 1 uniformly. In the meantime, the document scanned by the scanning unit 11 is converted into image data, which is input to the exposure unit 3. The exposure unit 3 irradiates the photoconductive drum 1 with laser beams according to the level of the image data to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. The electrostatic latent image is developed by toner supplied from the developing unit 4, whereby a toner image is formed on the photoconductive drum 1.
A sheet stored in a sheet storage unit 7 (7A, 7B, 7C) passes through a sheet thickness detector 90 via several carrying rollers and is carried to a transfer position (a clearance between the photoconductive drum 1 and the transfer unit 5A). At the transfer position, the transfer unit 5A transfers the toner image from the photoconductive drum 1 to the sheet. The charge removing unit 5B removes a charge on the surface of the sheet having the toner image transferred thereto. The separating claw 5C separates the sheet from the photoconductive drum 1. An intermediate carrying unit 5D carries the sheet, the fixing unit 8 heats and pressurizes, whereby the toner image is fixed to the sheet. The sheet after the fixation is discharged from the discharging unit 5E and output to the sheet finishing apparatus 20.
The cleaning unit 6 arranged on the downstream of the separating claw 5C removes developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductive drum 1 for being ready for the next image formation.
The sheet finishing apparatus 20 includes a paper folding device 30 and a sheet placing unit 40 in addition to a sorter unit that sorts the sheets.
The paper folding device 30 staples the center portions of the plurality of printed sheets discharged from the image forming unit 12, then folds and bookbinds the same (saddle-stitching) at the centers thereof to form a booklet. The saddle-stitching with a staple may be omitted. In this case, the sheets are simply folded in the middle and the folded bundles of sheets are loaded on the sheet placing unit 40.
The booklets saddle-stitched and center-folded (or simply center-folded) by the paper folding device 30 are output to the sheet placing unit 40, where the booklets (bundles of sheets) are finally placed on.
The paper folding device 30 receives a sheet discharged from the discharging unit 5E of the image forming unit 12 by an inlet port roller pair 31, and feeds the same to an intermediate roller pair 32. The intermediate roller pair 32 in turn feeds the sheet to an outlet port roller pair 33. The outlet port roller pair 33 delivers the sheet to a standing tray 34 having an inclined placing surface. A leading edge of the sheet is directed upward of the inclination of the standing tray 34.
A stacker 35 waits below the standing tray 34 for receiving a lower end of the sheet being switched back and falling from upward of the inclination of the standing tray 34.
A stapler (saddle-stitching unit) 36 is disposed in a midsection of the standing tray 34. When saddle-stitching (stapling) the bundle of sheets, the position of the stacker 35 is adjusted so that a position of the bundle of sheets to be stapled (the center portion of the bundle of sheets in the vertical direction) opposes the stapler 36.
When the saddle-stitching of the bundle of sheets is finished by the stapler 36, the stacker 35 moves downward until the position of the bundle of sheets to be folded (stapled position at the center of the bundle of sheets in the vertical direction) comes to the front of a sheet-folding blade 37.
When the position to be folded comes to the front of the sheet-folding blade 37, a front end 37a of the sheet-folding blade 37 pushes the surface of the bundle of sheets, which is to be an inner surface when it is folded, inward.
A folding roller pair 38 is provided in front of the sheet-folding blade 37 in the direction of travel. The bundle of sheets pushed inward by the sheet-folding blade 37 is drawn into a nip of the folding roller pair 38, so that a fold line is formed at the center portion of the bundle of sheets. The sheet-folding blade 37 and the folding roller pair 38 constitute a sheet-folding unit.
The bundle of sheets on which the fold line is formed by the folding roller pair 38 is carried to a fold reinforcing unit 50 provided on the further downstream side thereof. The bundle of sheets carried to the fold reinforcing unit 50 stops temporarily on a placing bed 52.
The fold reinforcing unit 50 includes fold reinforcing rollers 51 (a pair of rollers including an upper roller 51a and a lower roller 51b). The fold reinforcing rollers 51 move while pressurizing the fold line in the direction orthogonal to the carrying direction of the bundle of sheets (the direction along the fold line) and reinforce the fold line.
The bundle of the sheets whose fold line is reinforced by the fold reinforcing unit 50 starts being carried again, is drawn into the nip of a discharging roller pair 39a and 39b, and is output to the sheet placing unit 40, where the saddled-stitched bundles of sheets, that is, booklets are placed on the sheet placing unit 40.
Note that a projecting member 80, which will be described later, is provided below the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b.
The sheet placing unit 40 includes a bed 903, a base plate 915, an upper arm 907, and a fore arm 908. A demountable guard 905 is provided at a front end of the base plate 915.
The base plate 915 is connected to an side wall 902 of the main body of the sheet finishing apparatus 20 via a spring 906, and extends obliquely downward from the side wall 902 of the main body together with the bed 903. The base plate 915 is a member for allowing the plurality of booklets discharged in sequence from the discharging port 901 provided in the side wall 902 to be loaded thereon.
A base end of the upper arm 907 is supported so as to be rotatable about a shaft 909 provided on a support 910, which is fixed to the side wall 902.
A shaft 914 is provided at a distal end of the upper arm 907, and an upper end of the fore arm 908 is rotatably supported by the shaft 914.
The base plate 915 forms a gentle hill at the center portion in the direction along the inclination, and includes a flapper 950 in the vicinity of the top of the hill. A depression is formed above the flapper 950 along the inclination. A lower end of the fore arm 908 engages the depression, and the fore arm 908 extends in the directions substantially orthogonal to the loading plane of the base plate 915.
The booklets to be loaded on the base plate 915 slide down along the bed 903 and the loading plane of the base plate 915 by their own weights, and the fore arm 908 receives the leading ends of the booklets.
The side wall 902 on the lower side of the discharging port 901 includes a slot 81 formed therein. When the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b pushes the booklet and discharges the same from the discharging port 901, the projecting member 80 projects substantially horizontally from the slot 81.
The discharging port 901 is provided in the side wall 902 of the main body, and the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b is provided inside thereof. The placing bed 52 is provided at the back of the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b. The booklet whose fold line is reinforced on the placing bed 52 is pushed by the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b and proceeds toward the sheet placing unit 40.
The sheet finishing apparatus 20 in this embodiment includes the plate-shaped or the rod-shaped projecting member 80 that projects from the side wall 902 substantially horizontally and supports the lower portion of the booklet between the discharging port 901 and the base plate 915 when the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b pushes the booklet out.
When the leading end of the booklet starts to be discharged from the discharging port 901, the projecting member 80 also starts to project horizontally from the slot 81, and proceeds toward the bed 903 while supporting the lower portion of the booklet.
The projecting member 80 moves in the direction opposite from the projecting direction toward the side wall 902 when the front end reaches a predetermined extending distance from the side wall 902. In contrast, the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b continues to push the booklet even after the projecting member 80 starts moving toward the side wall 902, drops the booklet from the projecting member 80, and loads the same on the bed 903 or the base plate 915. If focusing only on the function to load the booklets, the bed 903 and the base plate 915 have almost the same functions. Therefore, the description is given below on condition that the bed 903 is included in the base plate 915.
In the sheet finishing apparatus 20 in this embodiment, with the provision of the projecting member 80, smooth discharge of the booklets to the sheet placing unit 40 as well as stable and well-conditioned loading are achieved.
As mentioned above, booklets B0 loaded on the base plate 915 do not necessarily have a uniform thickness. Although it depends on the type or the number of sheets which constitute each booklet, they tend to be thicker at the leading end portions (portions in the vicinity of the fold lines) of the booklet. Therefore, when the number of the booklets B0 to be loaded is increased, a depression D may be formed in the vicinity of the center of the booklets B0. In
On the other hand, in general, while the booklet is hard to bend in the direction of the fold line, it is relatively easy to bend in the direction orthogonal to the fold line. Therefore, the booklet B1 discharged from the discharging port 901 tends to bend downward as shown in
In particular, if the leading end of the booklet B1 comes into abutment with the previously loaded booklets B0 substantially at a right angle as shown in
Therefore, even if the rear portion of the booklet B1 is pushed by the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b, the leading end of the booklet B1 cannot move further forward, and then the booklet B1 is placed on the base plate 915 in a bent state or in a displaced state. In addition, since the leading end of the booklet B1 is strongly pushed back, the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b may stop in the course of discharge of the booklet B1. If the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b stops, the subsequent booklet cannot be discharged to the sheet placing unit 40, so that a paper jamming occurs in the interior of the main body of the sheet finishing apparatus 20.
By contrast, in the sheet finishing apparatus 20 in this embodiment, such event is avoided by adding a relatively simple configuration such as the projecting member 80.
A method may be conceivable, which enhances the drive force of the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b and pushes the leading end of the booklet B1 forcedly toward the front against the depression D. However, since the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b is provided in the proximity of the inside of the discharging port 901, if the drive force of the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b is increased too much, it might cause a serious damage to a human body or the like when the human body such as a finger or a clothe is accidentally drawn therein. Therefore, the method of enhancing the drive force of the discharging roller pair 39a and 39b is not necessarily a preferable solving method.
By setting the discharging velocity of the booklet B1 and the moving velocity of the projecting member 80 toward the front to be substantially the same, the booklet B1 can be moved forward further stably without causing slippage between the lower portion of the booklet B1 and the projecting member 80.
When the projecting member 80 reaches a predetermined extending distance Dmax, the projecting member 80 changes the direction of movement and starts moving toward the home position. When the projecting member 80 starts moving toward the home position, the booklet B1 falls down from the leading end thereof toward the booklets B0 which are already loaded.
The extending distance Dmax is preferably a distance at which the position of the leading end of the booklet B1 gets beyond a position of half the length of the loaded booklets B0 in the discharging direction. In addition, the extending distance Dmax is preferably a distance at which the position of the leading end of the booklet B1 extends beyond the position of the front end of the depression D of the loaded booklets B0. It is because if the extending distance Dmax is a distance getting beyond a position of half the length of the booklets B0, or a distance getting beyond the position of the front end of the depression D, the position of the leading end of the booklet B1 which is falling down due to the backward movement of the projecting member 80 comes to a position beyond the deepest position of the depression D, and hence the pushing-back force that the leading end of the booklet B1 receives from the booklets B0 is alleviated.
The projecting member 80 is a plate-shaped member, that is, a blade. The blade is formed so that the longitudinal direction thereof is horizontal along the side wall 902 and the short side direction is a moving direction of the blade, as shown in
For example, the projecting member 80a may be formed of a rod-shaped member moving in the longitudinal direction thereof as shown in
A drive mechanism for the projecting member 80, 80a is not described in detail. Known drive mechanisms can be used.
As described thus far, with the sheet finishing apparatus 20 and a sheet finishing method (booklet discharging method) according to the embodiment, even though the thickness of the bundle of booklets to be loaded on the sheet placing unit is not uniform, the smooth discharge of the subsequent booklet is achieved only by adding the simple projecting member 80, 80a to the configuration in the related art.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel apparatuses and units described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the apparatuses and units described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from: U.S. provisional applications 61/242,715 filed on Sep. 15, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61242715 | Sep 2009 | US |
