Patent Grant
8267391
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-109504 filed on May 11, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet folding device and a sheet post-processing device using such a sheet folding device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sheet folding device that can perform, for example, processing for folding a sheet of paper double or in three and to a sheet post-processing device using such a sheet folding device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a sheet folding device that can perform processing for folding a sheet of paper double or in three; for example, the sheet folding device is used as a post-processing device of an image forming device such as a copying machine or a printer by being combined with the image forming device. This post-processing device performs, for example, processing for folding a sheet ejected from the image forming device double in a predetermined center position and then ejects the sheet, and thus it is unnecessary to fold the sheet after an image is formed, with the result that it is possible to reduce time and labor.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-213473, there is disclosed a sheet post-processing device which includes a first folding roller pair for forming a first crease in a sheet member and a second folding roller pair for forming a second crease, which presses a leading edge of the sheet member in a transport direction against a first press-reception member to form a bend in the sheet member, which guides the formed bend between the nips of the first folding roller pair to form the first crease, which then presses the formed first crease against a second press-reception member to form a bend in the sheet member, which guides the formed bend between the nips of the second folding roller pair to form the second crease and in which the first press-reception member and the second press-reception member move freely in the transport direction.
However, in a method of regulating a bend in a sheet member with the shape of a transport path to control the position of the crease of the sheet member, there is a possibility that the crease is not properly formed in a predetermined position depending on the material quality and thickness of the sheet member, the state of curling or the like. When the bend in the sheet member is strictly regulated with the transport path, the capability of transporting the sheet member is reduced, and a failure in which, for example, the sheet member is jammed is disadvantageously encountered.
The present invention is made in view of such a problem in the sheet folding device; an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet folding device and a sheet post-processing device that can perform processing for reliably folding a sheet in a predetermined position regardless of the material quality, the thickness and the like of the sheet member.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet folding device including: a first folding roller pair that forms a first crease in a sheet; a second folding roller pair that forms a second crease in the sheet; a first stopper member that a leading edge of the sheet transported in a transport direction is pressed against and that places the sheet into position; and a second stopper member that the first crease in the sheet is pressed against and that places the sheet into position, in which the leading edge of the sheet in the transport direction is pressed against the first stopper member such that a position where the first crease in the sheet is to be formed is determined, the position where the first crease is to be formed is guided into a nip portion of the first folding roller pair such that the first crease is formed in the sheet, then the first crease in the sheet is pressed against the second stopper member such that a bend is formed in the sheet and the formed bend is guided into a nip portion of the second folding roller pair such that the second crease is formed in the sheet. The sheet folding device further includes a sheet pressing unit that assists the formation of the bend in the sheet and that freely swings to guide the bend into the nip portion of the second folding roller pair, in which a pivot point of the sheet pressing unit is arranged on a side of the nip portion of the first folding roller pair with respect to a common tangent of the first folding roller pair on a downstream side in the sheet transport direction, and is arranged to be lower than a line that is parallel to a common tangent of the second folding roller pair on an upstream side in the sheet transport direction and that passes through the center of an upper roller of the first folding roller pair.
In order for sheet folding processing to be further reliably performed in a predetermined position, the pivot point of the sheet pressing unit is preferably arranged on the side of the nip portion of the first folding roller pair with respect to a perpendicular bisector of a straight line intersecting centers of the second folding roller pair.
A free end of the sheet pressing unit is preferably arranged to be lower than a perpendicular bisector of a straight line intersecting centers of the first folding roller pair.
Furthermore, the free end of the sheet pressing unit preferably comes in contact with the lower roller of the first folding roller pair.
Preferably, the weight of the sheet pressing unit assists the formation of the bend in the sheet and guides the bend into the nip portion of the second folding roller pair.
The sheet pressing unit preferably includes a bar-shaped member and a support member that keeps a longitudinal direction of the bar-shaped member substantially in a horizontal state and that swingably hangs and supports the bar-shaped member.
Preferably, the sheet pressing unit uses a cylindrical sheet member as the support member, and the bar-shaped member having a circumferential length shorter than a circumferential length of the sheet member is inserted into the sheet member.
Preferably, the first folding roller pair is formed with a first roller and a second roller, and the second folding roller pair is formed with the second roller and a third roller.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet post-processing device including the sheet folding device described above.
A sheet folding device and a sheet post-processing device according to the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings; the present invention is not limited to an embodiment that will be described below.
An original document placed on the document rack of the automatic original document feed device DF is transported in the direction indicated by an arrow, and an image on one side of or images on both sides of the original document are read by the optical system of the image reading portion 1 and are read into a CCD image sensor 1A. An analog signal that is photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 1A is subjected to analog processing, A-D conversion, shading correction, image compression processing and the like in the image processing portion 2 and is then fed to the image writing portion 3.
In the image formation portion 4, processing such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, separation and cleaning is performed. Specifically, the surface of a photoconductor drum 4A is evenly charged by charging means, then semiconductor laser light is applied from the image writing portion 3 to the photoconductor drum 4A based on image data and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 4A. Then, toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image by development means to change it into a visual image, and thereafter the toner image is transferred by transfer means 4B to a sheet S1 fed by the paper feed means 6 from the paper feed cassette 5. The sheet S1 to which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressed by the fixing device 7, thus the toner image is fixed to the sheet S1, and the sheet S1 is fed from the paper ejection portion 8 to the sheet post-processing device FS.
When images are formed on both sides of the sheet S1, the sheet S1 in which an image has been formed on one side of the sheet is transported by a transport switch plate 8A to the ADU 9, the toner image is transferred again by the image formation portion 4 to the back side and is fixed, and then the sheet S1 is ejected from the paper ejection portion 8.
The sheet post-processing device FS, which is coupled to the image forming device A, includes a sheet reception portion 10, insertion paper feed portions 20a and 20b, a drilling processing portion 30, a stacking processing portion 40, a folding processing portion 50, binding processing portions 71 and 72 and a paper ejection portion 80.
Insertion paper S2 is placed in the insertion paper feed portion 20a, and the other insertion paper S3 is placed in the insertion paper feed portion 20b. The insertion paper S2 and S3 is insertion paper, such as a cover sheet or an insert sheet, that is inserted into the sheets S1 ejected from the image forming device A; as with the sheet S1, the insertion paper S2 and S3 is subjected to the drilling processing and the folding processing. The insertion paper S2 and S3 fed out from the insertion paper feed portions 20a and 20b is transported through a transport path (with no reference numeral) moving downward to the sheet reception portion 10. In the following description, the sheet S1 and the insertion paper S2 and S3 are also collectively referred to as a sheet S.
In the sheet reception portion 10, the drilling processing portion 30 is arranged that drills holes in predetermined positions of the sheet S. The folding processing portion 50 is arranged on a transport path H1 that branches downward from the sheet reception portion 10; the stacking processing portion 40 is arranged on the downstream side in a sheet transport direction of a transport path H2 that branches upward from the sheet reception portion 10 and is provided with an inside transport path H4 and an outside transport path H3 which are branched and doubly curved.
The stacking processing portion 40 places the subsequent sheet S on standby on the transport path H3 and the transport paths H4 and H5 so that the binding processing portion 71 arranged on the downstream side in the sheet transport direction obtains a time for performing the binding processing on the preceding sheet S. Specifically, transport rollers 21 are provided in the ejection port of the transport path H4, and, when the first one of the sheets S on which to perform the binding processing is transported, the rotation of the transport rollers 21 is stopped, and thus the sheet is received and placed on standby with a leading edge of the sheet in contact with the transport rollers 21. On the other hand, the subsequent sheet S is transported from the transport path H2 to the transport paths H3 and H5 to reach the transport rollers 21. With the preceding sheet S and the subsequent sheet S stacked, those two sheets are transported together from the transport rollers 21 to a collection portion 70.
The transport path H3 branches into the transport path H5 and a transport path H6, and the transport path H6 serves as a paper ejection path that leads to a paper ejection tray 81.
The paper ejection portion 80 has a paper ejection roller pair 22 and a justification mechanism. When the paper is not ejected, the paper ejection roller pair 22 is separated whereas when the paper is ejected, the paper ejection roller pair 22 comes in contact to nip and transport the sheet S and ejects the sheet S into an up-and-down tray 82. Although the justification mechanism is not shown, it reciprocates in vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the direction in which the sheets are ejected so as to justify the sheets in the width direction; a conventionally known mechanism is used as the justification mechanism.
Although the sheet S transported by the transport rollers 21 is transported toward the paper ejection roller pair 22, since, as described above, the paper ejection roller pair 22 is separated when the paper is not ejected, the sheet S is dropped to the collection portion 70 when the rear end of the sheet S separates from the transport rollers 21, then slips down on the inclined collection portion 70 and is received by a stopper (not shown), with the result that the sheet S is collected in the collection portion 70.
When a set number of sheets S are collected in the collection portion 70, the binding processing portion 71 is operated to perform the binding processing on the sheets S. The sheets S on which the binding processing has been performed are pushed up by the stopper, and are moved on the collection portion 70 toward the paper ejection roller pair 22 (the upper left side of the figure). Here, the paper ejection roller pair 22 is pressed to nip and eject the sheets S into the up-and-down tray 82.
A folding mode and a center binding mode of the sheet S will now be described. In the folding mode, the sheet S is transported downward on the transport path H1 from the sheet reception portion 10, is subjected to processing for folding the sheet S double in the center position or processing for folding the sheet S in three by the folding processing portion 50 and is ejected into a lower paper ejection tray 83. On the other hand, in the center binding mode, the sheet S is transported on the transport path H1 from the sheet reception portion 10, is subjected to center binding processing by a center binding processing portion 72, is then subjected to the processing for folding the sheet S double in the center position by the folding processing portion 50 and is ejected into the lower paper ejection tray 83.
As described above, the following four paths are present as the paths through which the sheet S is ejected.
(a) sheet reception portion 10→transport path H2→transport path H3→transport path H6→paper ejection tray 81
(b) sheet reception portion 10→transport path H2→transport paths H3, H4 and H5→collection portion 70→paper ejection portion 80→up-and-down tray 82
(c) sheet reception portion 10→transport path H2→transport path H4→paper ejection portion 80→up-and-down tray 82
(d) sheet reception portion 10→transport path H1→folding processing portion 50→lower paper ejection tray 83
The sheet ejection path (c) is a sheet ejection path that is selected when a large amount of image formation is performed without the binding processing and the folding processing being performed. The up-and-down tray 82 is moved downward as indicated by broken lines such that the uppermost surface of the sheets S ejected always has a constant height. Thus, several thousands of sheets can be collected in the up-and-down tray 82.
The transport path H1 is composed of a guide plate 51A and a guide plate 51B; on the downstream side of the transport path H1 in the sheet transport direction, the first stopper 51C is provided that regulates the position of the sheet S. The leading edge of the sheet S in the sheet transport direction is pressed against the first stopper 51C, and thus the first stopper 51C specifies the position of a first crease. The first stopper 51C moves either in the sheet transport direction or in the opposite direction according to the size of the sheet and the position where the first crease is formed.
The sheet folding plate 52 is arranged in a position opposite a nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54 through the transport path H1 such that the sheet folding plate 52 is retractable with respect to the transport path H1 The sheet folding plate 52 is generally retracted with respect to the transport path H1, and hence the movement of the sheet S transported on the transport path H1 is not prevented by the sheet folding plate 52. Then, when the first crease is formed in a predetermined position of the sheet S whose position is regulated by the first stopper 51C, the sheet folding plate 52 is protruded toward the nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54 by an unillustrated drive source. In this way, the predetermined position of the sheet S is guided to the nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54, and thus the first crease is formed in the sheet S.
The first roller 53 and the second roller 54 constituting the first folding roller pair are pressed against each other by unillustrated force application means; at least one of the rollers is driven and rotated in a direction indicated by the arrow of the figure. The outer circumferential surfaces of the first roller 53 and the second roller 54 have a high frictional resistance.
The transport path switch member 57 is provided such that the transport path switch member 57 can be swung by a solenoid SD. When the processing for folding the sheet S in three is performed, the transport path switch member 57 is placed in a position indicated by a solid line and guides the sheet S onto a transport path H10 formed with the guide plate 58. On the other hand, when the sheet S is folded double, that is, is folded double in the center position or is subjected to center binding/center folding processing, the transport path switch member 57 swings in the counterclockwise direction of the figure and thereby guides the sheet S onto a transport path H11 and transports it to an ejection port E1.
The transport path H10 is formed to intersect a straight line perpendicular to a straight light intersecting the rotation centers of the first roller 53 and the second roller 54. Thus, a bend is formed in the sheet S transported by the transport path H10. The transport path H10 is provided with the second stopper 581. The first crease of the sheet S is pressed against the second stopper 581, and thus the bend is formed in the sheet S; the second stopper 581 moves either in the sheet transport direction or in the opposite direction according to the position where a second crease is formed.
The second roller 54 and the third roller 55 constituting the second folding roller pair are pressed against each other by unillustrated force application means; at least one of the rollers is driven and rotated in a direction indicated by the arrow of the figure. The outer circumferential surfaces of the second roller 54 and the third roller 55 have a high frictional resistance.
The sheet pressing means 59 is provided on the downstream side in the sheet transport direction of the nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54 and on the upstream side in the sheet transport direction of the nip portion between the second roller 54 and the third roller 55.
Although the bar-shaped member 592 can be formed of a conventionally known material such as resin, rubber or metal, at least part thereof is preferably rigid and/or elastic. When the sheet pressing means 59 helps form the bend in the sheet S with its weight alone, the material of the bar-shaped member 592 is preferably determined as appropriate in consideration of the weight of the bar-shaped member 592, the type and thickness of the sheet S on which the folding processing is performed and the like.
As shown in
Moreover, as shown in
The folding processing performed by the folding processing portion 50 configured as described above will now be described.
Since the transport path switch means 57 is placed in such a position as to allow the sheet S to enter the transport path H10 and prevent the sheet S from entering the transport path H11, the sheet S is transported to the transport path H10 (
Then, the first crease is pressed against the second stopper 581 (shown in
For above reason, in the present invention, the sheet pressing means 59 further applies such a force that the sheet S is bent to be convex downward, and thus the conventional failures are avoided and the second crease is reliably formed in the desired position. Although, in the present embodiment, the weight of the sheet pressing means 59 itself produces the force that allows the sheet S to be bent to be convex downward, force application means may be provided in the sheet pressing means 59 such that the force described above is further increased. As a force produced by the force application means, it is preferable to use such a force that, when the sheet S is transported by the first roller 53 and the second roller 54, the sheet pressing means 59 is swung up in the transport direction by the transported sheet S.
When the sheet pressing means 59 is configured such that the bar-shaped member 592 is hung and supported by the sheet member 591, even if a strong force is applied to the sheet pressing means 59 at the time of processing for handing a paper jam or the like, the sheet pressing means 59 is unlikely to be deformed, and it is possible to stably perform the folding processing for a long period of time. When the bar-shaped member 592 is hung by the sheet member 591, for example, one side of the sheet member 591 may be attached to the base member 593 and the opposite side may be attached to the bar-shaped member 592. The support member used in the present invention is not limited to the sheet member 591; a conventionally known member can be used as long as it swingably hangs and supports a bar-shaped member such as a cord member.
Then, the sheet S bent to be convex downward enters the nip portion between the second roller 54 and the third roller 55, and is sandwiched and transported by these rollers, with the result that the second crease is formed in the sheet S (
Although, in the present embodiment described above, the sheet S is pushed into the nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54 by the sheet folding plate 52, and thus the first crease is formed in the sheet S, a bend may be formed by transporting the sheet S toward the first stopper 51C even after the leading edge of the sheet S is pressed against the first stopper 51C, and the formed bend may be guided into the nip portion between the first roller 53 and the second roller 54.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-109504 | May 2010 | JP | national |
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| 6663551 | Auerbach et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 7040612 | Garner et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7850155 | Mizubata et al. | Dec 2010 | B2 |
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| 20030123894 | Ueda et al. | Jul 2003 | A1 |
| 20040046304 | Itou et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20090189326 | Mizubata et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-193544 | Jul 2002 | JP |
| 2003-252522 | Sep 2003 | JP |
| 2004-099199 | Apr 2004 | JP |
| 2006-213473 | Aug 2006 | JP |
| 2010-006566 | Jan 2010 | JP |
| 2010-100347 | May 2010 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110281710 A1 | Nov 2011 | US |
