Patent Application
20060214347
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 such a sheet finishing apparatus, as a sheet post process, the stapling process may be desired to perform manually. When manually performing the stapling process, sheets of paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus body to the sheet finishing apparatus and sheets of paper manually inserted into the stapler unit must be prevented from colliding with each other, so that the process of the image forming apparatus body is stopped once and then the stapling process is performed.
For example, 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. However, in such an example, when performing manually the stapling process, the offline mode must be selected, so that the process by the image forming apparatus body is stopped, thus the efficiency is lowered, and a user feels inconvenience.
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 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 and a lower paper supply roller.
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
Further, when manually stapling sheets of paper, the processing tray 12 supports sheets of paper inserted from an opening 70.
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 θ 1 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 θ 2 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. Further, on the top of the sheet finishing apparatus 7, a controlling unit 71 for the manual operation is installed, and as shown in
Further, as shown in
Further, the motors 26, 34, 40, 42, 46, and 48 and the driving units 49 and 52 for driving the various mechanisms aforementioned 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
Further, the first paper ejection tray 16 is arranged at an angle of inclination of θ 2 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 θ 2 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 θ 2 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 θ 1, 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 preceidingly 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 θ 1 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.
Next, a case that the stapling process is performed manually will be explained. In the manual operation, a user selects the stapling position by the selection switch 72 of the controlling unit 71 and then presses the start switch 73 to move to the manual mode. In the manual mode, when the user inserts a predetermined number of sheets of paper from the opening 70, the inserted sheets of paper are dropped onto the processing tray 12. The sheets of paper P dropped on the processing tray 12 are controlled on both sides by the horizontal matching plates 47a and 47b and are matched horizontally, and then are matched vertically by the upper and lower vertical matching rollers 38a and 38b and are led to the stapler 14.
The mechanism for matching sheets of paper horizontally and vertically via the opening 70 and leading them to the stapler 14 forms a manual introduction unit.
The sheets of paper loaded on the processing tray 12 are stapled by the stapler 14 to form a sheet bundle T, and then 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. The mechanism for sending the bundle onto the first paper ejection tray 16 using the conveying belt 50 forms an ejection mechanism.
On the other hand, when manually performing the stapling process, it is detected by sensors 76a and 76b that sheets of paper are clamped by the stapler 14. By doing this, the gate G shown in
Therefore, the body of the image forming apparatus 5 and the post processing apparatus 7 are kept in the online state, and the copy process by the body of the image forming apparatus 5 is not interrupted, so that the image forming apparatus receives the copy operation and if a copy instruction is issued, can eject the sheets of paper onto the fixing tray 19 on the top.
Further, the selection switch 72 is a switch for selecting the stapling position, and when it is pressed once, the LED 74a is turned on, and when it is pressed again, the LED 74b is turned on. Therefore, for example, depending on whether to insert sheets of paper vertically or horizontally, the stapling position can be selected, and in correspondence with each selection, the horizontal matching plates 47a and 47b are slidden in the direction v shown in
In this embodiment structured like this, the stapling process can be executed manually, and even when the stapling process is performed manually, the body of the image forming apparatus 5 and the post processing apparatus 7 are kept in the online state, and if a copy instruction is issued, the body of the image forming apparatus 5 performs the copy operation and leads and ejects sheets of paper to the fixing tray 19 on the top. Therefore, the efficiency by the image forming apparatus is not reduced and a sheet finishing apparatus convenient for a 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.
