Patent Application
20060214345
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet finishing apparatus for post-processing sheets of paper ejected from an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, or a composite device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an image forming apparatus used in which to perform a post process of sorting and stapling sheets of paper after image forming, a sheet finishing apparatus is installed adjacent to the paper ejection unit of the image forming apparatus body.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-100563, a finisher having an online mode in which the image forming apparatus body and stapler are operated together and an offline mode in which the stapler is operated independently for performing the stapling process when the offline mode is selected is described. Further, there is a sheet finishing apparatus having a switching member, depending on a case requiring the post process or a case requiring no post process, for conveying sheets of paper to a separate conveying path.
However, in such a post processing apparatus, the so-called paper jamming, that is, jamming of sheets of paper in the conveying path may occur and it is not easy for a user to release the paper jamming.
Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Further, in each drawing, to the same parts, the same numerals are assigned and duplicated explanation will be omitted.
The sheet finishing apparatus 7 basically has a standby tray 10, a processing tray 12, a stapler 14, a first paper ejection tray 16, a second paper ejection tray 18, a fixing tray 19, and a gate G.
A sheet of paper P, which an image is formed thereon by the image forming apparatus 5 such as a copier and ejected from a pair of paper ejection rollers 6, is received by a pair of inlet rollers 22 installed in the neighborhood of the taking-in port. The inlet rollers 22 are composed of an upper inlet roller 22a and a lower inlet roller 22b. The inlet rollers 22 are driven by an inlet roller motor 26.
As shown in
Namely, the first position is used to select the path when sheets of paper P require the post process and the second position is used to select the path when sheets of paper P do not require the post process.
When the gate G is set in the first position, sheets of paper P are supplied to the first paper supply rollers 24 and are sent to the standby tray 10 from the paper supply rollers 24. Between the inlet rollers 22 and the standby tray 10, a paper path ceiling 36 for leading sheets of paper P to the first paper supply rollers 24 is installed. The first paper supply rollers 24 are composed of an upper paper supply roller 24a and a lower paper supply roller 24b.
Under the standby tray 10, the processing tray 12 for loading sheets of paper P dropped and supplied from the standby tray 10 is arranged.
The processing tray 12, while sheets of paper P are stapled by the stapler 14 which is a processing mechanism for performing the post process, matches and supports the sheets of paper P to be loaded. As shown in
As shown in
Further, when sheets of paper P are dropped and supplied onto the processing tray 12, at the position where the rear end of each sheet of paper P is dropped, a paddle 44 rotatable for matching the uppermost sheet of paper P loaded on the processing tray 12 in the vertical direction is arranged. The paddle 44, as shown in
At the end of the processing tray 12 on the side of the stapler 14, a stopper 45 for making contact with the rear end of each sheet of paper P and controlling the rear end position is installed. Almost at the center of the processing tray 12, a conveying belt 50 for conveying a sheet bundle T which is stapled and taken out from the stapler 14 by the upper and lower vertical matching rollers 38a and 38b to the first or second paper ejection tray 16 or 18 is installed. To the conveying belt 50, a feeding pawl 50a for catching the rear end of the sheet bundle T is attached.
The standby tray 10 can drop and supply sheets of paper P to the processing tray 12 and also can convey the sheets of paper P toward the first or second paper ejection tray 16 or 18 and conveying the sheets of paper P toward the paper ejection trays 16 and 18 is executed by a standby tray roller 28 for matching sheets of paper P making contact with the sheets of paper P on the standby tray 10. The standby tray roller 28 is controlled to move up and down by a standby tray roller driving source 30 and is driven to rotate by a standby tray roller motor 32.
The standby tray 10 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ1 so as to support sheets of paper P in a state that the front end of each sheet of paper P is positioned higher than the rear end thereof. The first or second paper ejection tray 16 or 18 is moved up and down by a paper ejection tray driving unit 52 and either of them is selected. The first or second paper ejection tray 16 or 18, when loading sheets of paper P, is moved up or down at an almost same height as that of the standby tray 10 or the processing tray 12 so as to improve the consistency of the position of sheets of paper P ejected. Further, the first or second paper ejection tray 16 or 18 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ2 so as to support sheets of paper P in a state that the front end of each sheet of paper P is positioned higher than the rear end thereof.
As shown in
The standby tray 10 is slidden and moved by the standby tray motor 34. Between the standby tray 10 and the processing tray 12, when dropping and supplying sheets of paper P from the standby tray 10 onto the processing tray 12, horizontal matching plates 47a and 47b, shown in
When the gate G is at the second position as shown in
A paper path 63 for leading sheets of paper P branching at the gate G from the inlet rollers 22 to the second paper supply rollers is installed. Further, between the second paper supply rollers 60 and the third paper supply rollers 61, another paper path may be installed. The reason is that sheets of paper P can be conveyed surely.
Furthermore, the sheets of paper P conveyed from the third paper supply rollers 61 are sent to the fixing tray 19 installed on the top of the sheet finishing apparatus 7. The fixing tray 19 is attached switchably to the top of the body 70 of the sheet finishing apparatus 7.
Between an upper end 71a of the first fixing member 71 and an intermediate part 72a of the second fixing member 72, a first link member 73 is connected and between an intermediate part 71b of the first fixing member 71 and a lower end 72b of the second fixing member 72, a second link member 74 is connected. The first and second link members 73 and 74 form parallel links and are arranged at a predetermined interval in parallel attached to the first fixing member 71 and the second fixing member 72.
Further, to an intermediate part 74a of the link member 74, one end of a connection link 75 is connected rotatably and another end 75a of the connection link 75 is connected rotatably to a sheet guidance member 76. To the sheet guidance member 76, the paper path ceiling 36 is attached and is supported rotatably by a lower end 71c of the first fixing member 71.
The first link member 73 rotates at the fulcrums of 71a and 72a and the second link member 74 rotates at the fulcrums of 71b and 72b. Further, the connection link 75 rotates at the fulcrums of 74a and 75a and the sheet guidance member 76 rotates at the fulcrum of 71c. Further, by the sheet guidance member 76, the upper inlet roller 22a of the pair of inlet rollers 22 and the upper paper supply roller 24a of the pair of paper supply rollers 24 are supported.
Further, the motors 26, 34, 40, 42, 46, and 48 for driving various mechanisms aforementioned and the driving units 49 and 52 are driven and controlled by a control circuit (not drawn).
Next, the operation of the invention will be described. When an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 5 and a sheet of paper P is supplied from the paper ejection rollers 6, the sheet finishing apparatus 7 performs a different operation depending on execution of the post process of the sheet of paper P or no execution thereof, or during execution of the post process of the preceding sheet of paper P or end of the post process.
When the post process is not performed, the pointed part of the wedge of the gate G is at the second position pointing towards the lower inlet roller 22b. The sheet of paper P supplied from the inlet rollers 22 is supplied to the second paper supply rollers 60 and then supplied to the third paper supply rollers 61. The sheet of paper P taken out from the third paper supply roller is ejected to the fixing tray 19 on the top.
Next, a case that the stapling process which is the post process is to be performed and there is no preceding sheet of paper P during execution of the stapling process on the processing tray 12 will be described. At this time, the standby tray 10 slides and moves the tray members 10a and 10b respectively up to the positions indicated by the dotted lines shown in
At the time of drop and supply, the upper vertical matching roller 38a is shifted upward and the receiver 44a of the paddle 44 receives the rear end of each sheet of paper P. The sheet of paper P drops in a state that both sides thereof are in contact with the horizontal matching plates 47a and 47b and is matched horizontally. Then, the paddle 44 rotates in the direction of the arrow o shown in
In this way, the sheets of paper P with an image formed thereon are sequentially matched in the horizontal direction and vertical direction and are loaded directly on the processing tray 12 from the paper supply rollers 24. When the sheets of paper Preach a predetermined number of sheets, the stapler 14 staples and bundles the sheets of paper P on the processing tray 12 at a desired position to form a sheet bundle T. Hereafter, as shown in
When the rear end of the sheet bundle T passes the upper and lower vertical matching rollers 38a and 38b, it is caught by the feeding pawl 50a of the conveying belt 50 rotating in the direction of the arrow t shown in
Further, the first paper ejection tray 16 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ2 and the front end of each sheet of paper is positioned higher than the rear end thereof, so that the sheets of paper P of the bundle precedingly sent onto the first paper ejection tray 16 are not pressed out by contact with the front end of the succeeding sheet bundle T. Further, even if the preceding sheet bundle T is slightly shifted by the succeeding sheets of paper P, the angle of inclination θ2 is provided, so that the sheet bundle T drops by its own weight and is matched and loaded on the first paper ejection tray 16 in the state that the rear ends are properly arranged, and the stapling process of the sheets of paper P is completed.
In this way, sheets of paper are sequentially loaded on the first paper ejection tray 16. Further, the first paper ejection tray 16 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ2 and the front end of each sheet of paper is positioned higher than the rear end thereof, so that for example, even if a sheet of paper P is ejected onto the first paper ejection tray 16 in a state that it is curved convexly as shown by the dotted line in
Next, a case that the stapling process which is the post process is to be performed and a preceding sheet of paper P during execution of the stapling process remains on the processing tray 12 will be described. At this time, the standby tray 10 slides and moves the tray members 10a and 10b from the positions indicated by the dotted lines shown in
The sheets of paper P loaded on the standby tray 10, by the standby tray roller 28 which drops on the standby tray 10 and rotates in the opposite direction of the direction of the arrow f shown in
Further, the standby tray 10 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ1, so that for example, even if a sheet of paper P is supplied from the paper supply rollers 24 in the state that it is curved convexly and supplied onto the standby tray 10, the sheet of paper P precedingly loaded on the standby tray 10 is not pressed out by contact with the front end of the succeeding sheet of paper P. Namely, the supplied sheet of paper P is sequentially loaded on the first paper ejection tray 16 unless the order is disturbed. Further, even if the preceding sheet of paper P is slightly shifted by being pressed by the succeeding sheet of paper P, the angle of inclination θ1 is provided, so that the sheet of paper P drops by its own weight down to the position where it makes contact with the standby stoppers 10c and 10d and is matched and loaded on the standby tray 10 in the state that the rear end is properly arranged.
During this period, when the preceding sheet of paper P on the processing tray 12 is ejected on the side of the first paper ejection tray 16 and the processing tray 12 becomes empty, the standby tray 10 slides and moves the tray members 10a and 10b respectively in the direction of the arrow m and the direction of the arrow n from the positions indicated by the solid lines shown in
The lower side sheet of paper P of the two sheets of paper P dropped on the processing tray 12 is sent in the direction of the arrow q by the lower vertical matching roller 38b rotating in the opposite direction of the direction of the arrow s shown in
The third and subsequent sheets of paper P ejected from the image forming apparatus 5 are directly dropped and supplied onto the processing tray 12 from the interval between the tray members 10a and 10b unless they wait on the standby tray 10. Hereafter, the third and subsequent sheets of paper P are sequentially matched on the sheets of paper P loaded on the processing tray 12 before the paddle 44.
When sheets of paper P loaded on the processing tray 12 reach a predetermined number of sheets, the sheets of paper P are stapled by the stapler 14 and a sheet bundle T is formed. Hereafter, the sheet bundle T is conveyed toward the first paper ejection tray 16 by the upper and lower vertical matching rollers 38a and 38b, and moreover the rear end thereof is caught by the feeding pawl 50a of the conveying belt 50, and the bundle is sent onto the first paper ejection tray 16, and the stapling process of the sheets of paper P is completed.
On the other hand, when the stapling process of sheets of paper is not required, the gate G shown in
Next, a measure when paper jamming occurs in the conveying path of sheets of paper will be explained by referring to
When the sheet guidance member 76 is opened, the upper inlet roller 22a and lower inlet roller 22b and the upper paper supply roller 24a and lower paper supply roller 24b are separated from each other, so that the conveying path of sheets of paper is exposed and even if a sheet of paper is jammed between the rollers 22 and 24, it can be taken out easily.
Further, by use of the parallel links 73 and 74, the fixing tray 19 rotates in the direction w and rises up to the high second height position, though even if this occurs, the angle of inclination of the fixing tray 19 is changed little. Therefore, even if there is already a sheet of paper ejected on the bottom 19a, it will not drop out though the fixing tray 19 is opened.
Further, to prevent the fixing tray 19 from a sudden open operation, a damper mechanism is installed, though it is not drawn. Further, when the fixing tray 19 is closed, a lock mechanism is operated. However, when paper jamming occurs, the lock mechanism is released and the fixing tray 19 can be opened.
In this embodiment structured like this, when paper jamming occurs, a user only opens the fixing tray 19, thus he can easily remove the sheet of paper jammed. Therefore, the efficiency by the image forming apparatus is not reduced and a sheet finishing apparatus convenient for the user can be obtained.
Further, in the present invention, the post process performed for sheets of paper loaded on the processing tray is the stapling process. However, the post process is not limited to the stapling process and for example, the post process such as a hole punching (hole boring) process performed for sheets of paper is not questionable. In this case, one sheet of paper instead of a plurality of sheets of paper may be loaded unquestionably on the processing tray. Further, needless to say, for a post processing apparatus having such a post processing mechanism, the present invention produces an effect.
Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit of the present invention. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as within the scope of the present invention.
