The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-279568 filed in Japan on Dec. 15, 2010 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-042619 filed in Japan on Feb. 28, 2011.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that aligns sheet-like recording media such as sheets of paper, recording paper, transfer paper, or transparencies (simply referred to as “sheets” in the present specification) conveyed thereto and binds the sheets into a bundle, an image forming system including the sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, facsimile, or a digital multifunction peripheral, and a sheet processing method implemented in the sheet processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a stapler-equipped device called a finisher that stacks sheets having been discharged from an image forming apparatus on a staple tray, and aligns the sheets in a conveying direction (so-called a “longitudinal direction”) and a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (so-called a “width direction”), and then staples the sheets together. When stapling the edge of sheets with the stapler, the device can change a stapling position by moving the stapler in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction along an end (usually, a trailing end) of the sheets in contact with a reference fence which defines the position of the sheets in the conveying direction. At this time, in order to improve the accuracy in the alignment of a bundle of the stapled sheets, it is sufficient to maintain the posture of the trailing end of the sheets stacked on the staple tray. Therefore, there is known a configuration to press a bundle of sheets down while the trailing end of the bundle of the sheets is in contact with the reference fence. This configuration is implemented by a trailing end press lever illustrated in
However, in a configuration of a conventional edge binding unit (a configuration for maintaining the posture of the trailing end of sheets on a staple tray), sheets are aligned with the trailing end of the sheets abutting on a reference fence, and a positional relation in the conveying direction between the reference fence and a stapling unit is fixed during edge binding processing. Therefore, there has been a problem that the binding position in a sheet conveying direction in edge binding processing cannot be adjusted to a position that each user intends to set.
To cope with this problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-156073 discloses the invention of a sheet processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a conveyed sheet member and discharges the processed sheet member; in this invention, in order to eliminate the need for a retracting mechanism of a binding device and a drive source of a trailing end fence thereby decreasing the size of the apparatus and reducing a production cost, the sheet processing apparatus includes an intermediate tray on which a conveyed sheet member is temporarily stacked; a trailing end fence that is in contact with the trailing end of a plurality of sheet members stacked on the intermediate tray and conveys the sheet members to a delivery position; an ejection claw that takes over the conveyance of the sheet members from the trailing end fence at the delivery position and conveys the sheet members from the intermediate tray; and a conveyance drive mechanism that drives the trailing end fence and the ejection claw by driving force of a single motor.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-263127 discloses the invention of a sheet post-processing apparatus; in this invention, in order to align sheets by bringing a leading end stopper into contact with the leading end of the sheets certainly, the sheet post-processing apparatus includes a discharge roller that conveys a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus, and stacks the sheet on an alignment tray provided at a slant; and a movable leading end stopper that presses the leading end of sheets stacked on the alignment tray and brings the trailing end of the sheets into contact with an abutting surface of a reference fence, thereby aligning the sheets in a conveying direction. The invention discloses the sheet post-processing apparatus in which a pressing amount of the leading end stopper to press sheets is variable.
However, in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-156073, the trailing end fence enables the delivery of a sheet member to the ejection claw, but is unable to adjust the binding depth. Furthermore, in the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-263127, the reference fence on which the trailing end of sheets abuts when in the sheets are aligned in the sheet conveying direction is fixed, and accordingly, the binding position (binding depth) in the sheet-conveying direction in edge binding processing cannot be adjusted to a position that each user intends to set.
The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and there is a need for providing a compact and inexpensive sheet processing apparatus capable of allowing each user to arbitrarily set the binding position from an end face of a sheet bundle.
It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve the problems in the conventional technology.
A sheet processing apparatus includes: a sheet stacking unit on which sheets are accommodated and stacked as a sheet bundle; an aligning member that is movable along a trailing end, in a conveying direction, of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking unit and that aligns the trailing end of the sheet bundle in the sheet conveying direction by abutting thereon; a binding unit that moves along the trailing end of the sheet bundle in the sheet conveying direction and binds the aligned sheet bundle; and a moving unit that moves the aligning member in the sheet conveying direction. A distance from the trailing end of the sheet bundle in the sheet conveying direction to a binding position is adjusted by moving the aligning member in the sheet conveying direction.
An image forming system includes: the sheet processing apparatus mentioned above; and an image forming apparatus that includes an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet.
A sheet processing apparatus includes: a sheet stacking unit on which sheets are accommodated and stacked; a binding unit that is movable in a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction and binds a bundle of sheets at a predetermined binding position; an aligning unit that aligns the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit in the sheet conveying direction; and a moving unit that adjustably moves, in the sheet conveying direction, the binding position by the binding unit with respect to an aligning position by the aligning unit.
A sheet processing method includes: discharging sheets onto a sheet stacking unit and stacking the sheets on the sheet stacking unit as a sheet bundle; moving an aligning member that aligns trailing ends of the sheets in a sheet conveying direction by abutting thereon along a trailing end, in the sheet conveying direction, of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking unit; and binding a sheet bundle, for which alignment in a sheet conveying direction and in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction has been completed, at an intended position by moving a sheet binding unit along the trailing end, in the sheet conveying direction, of the sheet bundle. A distance from the trailing end of the sheet bundle in the sheet conveying direction to a binding position is adjusted by moving the aligning member in the sheet conveying direction.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained below.
In the present embodiment, a trailing end reference fence for supporting the trailing end of a sheet is configured to be movable in a conveying direction so that a binding position (binding depth) in the sheet-conveying direction on a staple tray in edge binding processing can be arbitrarily adjusted to a position that each user intends to set.
An embodiment is explained below with reference to accompanying drawings.
In
The sheet post-processing apparatus PD is provided on a lateral side of the image forming apparatus PR, and a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus PR is guided into the sheet post-processing apparatus PD. The sheet post-processing apparatus PD includes a conveying path A, a conveying path B, a conveying path C, a conveying path D, and a conveying path H, and the sheet is first conveyed into the conveying path A having a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on a single sheet (in this embodiment, a punch unit 100 serving as a punching unit).
The conveying path B is a conveying path leading to an upper tray 201 through the conveying path A, and the conveying path C is a conveying path leading to a shift tray 202. The conveying path D is a conveying path leading to a processing tray F on which alignment, stapling, and the like are performed (hereinafter, also referred to as an “edge binding tray”). A sheet passing through the conveying path A is configured to be led into any of the conveying paths B, C, and D by bifurcating claws 15 and 16, respectively.
This sheet post-processing apparatus can perform various processing on a sheet, such as punching (the punch unit 100), sheet alignment and edge binding (a jogger fence 53, an edge-binding stapler S1), sheet alignment and saddle stitching (a saddle-stitching upper jogger fence 250a, a saddle-stitching lower jogger fence 250b, a saddle-stitching stapler S2), sheet sorting (the shift tray 202), and center folding (a folding plate 74, a folding roller 81). Therefore, the conveying path A and a conveying path leading from the conveying path A, i.e., any one of the conveying paths B, C, and D are selected. Furthermore, the conveying path D includes a sheet accommodating unit E, and the edge binding tray F, a saddle-stitching/center-folding tray G, and a discharge conveying path H are provided on the downstream side of the conveying path D.
On the conveying path A commonly provided to the conveying paths B, C, and D on their upstream side, an entrance sensor 301 for detecting a sheet that the sheet post-processing apparatus PD receives from the image forming apparatus PR is provided at the entrance of the conveying path A, and an entrance roller 1, the punch unit 100, a punch waste hopper 104, a conveying roller 2, and the first and second bifurcating claws 15 and 16 are provided on the downstream of the entrance sensor 301 in this order. The first bifurcating claw 15 and the second bifurcating claw 16 are held in a state illustrated in
When a sheet is led into the conveying path B, the first and second bifurcating claws 15 and 16 are kept in the state illustrated in
When a sheet is led into the conveying path C, the first and second solenoids are both turned ON, so that the bifurcating claw 15 is turned upward from the state illustrated in
When a sheet is led into the conveying path D, the first solenoid for driving the first bifurcating claw 15 is turned ON and the second solenoid for driving the second bifurcating claw 16 is turned OFF, so that the bifurcating claw 15 is turned upward and the bifurcating claw 16 is turned downward, and the sheet is led to the side of the conveying path D by passing through the conveying roller 2 and a conveying roller 7. The sheet having been led into the conveying path D is led into the edge binding tray F, and sheets having been aligned and stapled on the edge binding tray F are guided, by a guide member 44, to one of the conveying path C leading into the shift tray 202 and the saddle-stitching/folding tray G on which folding and the like are performed on a bundle of sheets (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a “saddle stitching tray”). When the sheet bundle is led into the shift tray 202, the sheet bundle is discharged onto the shift tray 202 by the pair of discharge rollers 6. When the sheet bundle is led into the saddle stitching tray G, the sheet bundle is folded and bound on the saddle stitching tray G, and passes through the discharge conveying path H and is discharged onto a lower tray 203 by a discharge roller 83.
On the conveying path D, a bifurcating claw 17 is provided; the bifurcating claw 17 is held in a state illustrated in
When sheet alignment and edge binding are performed on a bundle of sheets having been led into the conveying path D, a sheet led into the edge binding tray F by the staple discharge roller 11 is sequentially stacked on the edge binding tray F. In this case, each sheet is aligned in a longitudinal direction (a sheet conveying direction) by a tapping roller 12 one by one, and further aligned in a lateral direction (a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, also referred to as a “sheet width direction”) by the jogger fence 53. In an interval between successive jobs, i.e., an interval between the last sheet of a sheet bundle and the first sheet of a subsequent sheet bundle, the edge-binding stapler S1 serving as a binding unit is driven in response to a staple signal from a control device (not shown), and the edge-binding stapler S1 staples the sheet bundle. The stapled sheet bundle is immediately conveyed to a shift discharge roller 6 by an ejection belt 52 (see
Incidentally, as shown in
As illustrated in
A home position (HP) of the ejection claw 52a is detected by an ejection-belt HP sensor 311; the ejection-belt HP sensor 311 is turned ON/OFF by the ejection claw 52a provided on the ejection belt 52. Two ejection claws 52a are provided on an outer circumferential surface of the ejection belt 52 so as to be opposed to each other, and alternately move and convey a sheet bundle accommodated in the edge binding tray F. Furthermore, by rotating the ejection belt 52 in a reverse direction as necessary, the leading end, in the sheet conveying direction, of a sheet bundle accommodated in the edge binding tray F can be aligned with the back side of the ejection claw 52a waiting to move the sheet bundle and the back side of the other ejection claw 52a arranged on the opposite side.
Incidentally, in
Furthermore, in
As can be seen from
After completion of the alignment, the sheet bundle SB is stapled by the edge-binding stapler S1, and, as can be seen from a perspective view of
On the downstream side of the edge binding tray F in the sheet conveying direction, a sheet-bundle deflecting mechanism I is provided. As illustrated in
To explain the detailed configurations, driving force of a drive shaft 37 is configured to be transmitted to a roller 36 of the conveying mechanism 35 by a timing belt, and the roller, 36 and the drive shaft 37 are connected and supported by an arm, so that the roller 36 can swing with the drive shaft 37 as a fulcrum of rotation. The roller 36 is driven to oscillate by the conveying mechanism 35 via a cam 40; the cam 40 rotates about a rotating shaft, and is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown). In the conveying mechanism 35, a driven roller 42 is provided to be opposed to the roller 36; a sheet bundle is interposed between the driven roller 42 and the roller 36, applied pressure exerted through an elastic material, and applied conveying force.
A conveying path for turning a sheet bundle from the edge binding tray F to the saddle stitching tray G is formed between the ejection rollers 56 and the inner surface of the guide member 44 on the side opposed to the ejection rollers 56. The guide member 44 is driven to turn about a fulcrum by a bundle bifurcation drive motor 169 (see
As shown in
Furthermore, an upper bundle conveying roller 71 and a lower bundle conveying roller 72 are provided above and below the upper bundle conveyance guide plate 92, respectively, and the saddle-stitching upper jogger fence 250a is provided along both of the side surfaces of the upper bundle conveyance guide plate 92 so as to bridge between the rollers 71 and 72. Similarly, the saddle-stitching lower jogger fence 250b is provided along both of the side surfaces of the lower bundle conveyance guide plate 91, and the saddle-stitching stapler S2 is provided in a place where the saddle-stitching lower jogger fence 250b is provided. The saddle-stitching upper jogger fence 250a and the saddle-stitching lower jogger fence 250b are driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and align a sheet bundle in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction (the sheet width direction). Two saddle-stitching staplers S2, each including a pair of a clincher unit and a driver unit, are provided in the sheet width direction by keeping a predetermined distance between the two saddle-stitching staplers S2.
Furthermore, a movable trailing end reference fence 73 is provided across the lower bundle conveyance guide plate 91, and is able to be moved in the sheet conveying direction (in up-and-down directions in
The folding mechanism is provided nearly at the center of the saddle stitching tray G, and includes the folding plate 74, the folding roller 81, and the conveying path H for conveying a folded sheet bundle. In
Furthermore, in this embodiment, a detection lever 501 for detecting the height of a stack of a center-folded sheet bundle SB is provided on the lower tray 203 so that the detection lever 501 can swing about a fulcrum 501a, and a sheet-surface sensor 505 detects an angle of the detection lever 501, thereby detecting the up-and-down movement of the lower tray 203 and whether the stack of the center-folded sheet bundles SB overflows on the lower tray 203.
In
In the width-direction moving mechanism 50, the supporting member 51a2 of the trailing end reference fence 51a is attached to one (50e1) of the parallel sides of the timing belt 50e and the supporting member 51b2 of the trailing end reference fence 51b is attached to the other side 50e2 of the timing belt 50e so that the supporting members 51a2 and 51b2 are symmetrical about a supporting member 50d5 provided at the center in the width-direction. Therefore, for example, when the timing belt 50e rotates to the right, the supporting members 51a2 and 51b2 symmetrically come close to the supporting member 50d5 (in directions indicated by arrows 50d6); when the timing belt 50e rotates to the left, the supporting members 51a2 and 51b2 symmetrically move away from the supporting member 50d5 (in the directions indicated by arrows 50d7). Consequently, the positions of the stack surfaces 51a1 and 51b1 and a distance between the stack surfaces 51a1 and 51b1 can be set by a rotating amount of the fence drive motor 50d3. Therefore, in view of the controllability and the control accuracy, for example, a stepping motor is used as the width-direction fence drive motor 50d3.
In
When the binding position in the conveying direction and the binding position in the width direction are set, the edge-binding stapler S1 is moved to the binding position as illustrated in
In this manner, the positions of the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b in the sheet width direction are set by the fence drive motor 50d3, and the positions of the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b in the sheet conveying direction are set by the conveying direction fence drive motor 50i. Incidentally, the position of a sheet S in the width direction is changed according to the sheet size and the stapling position in the width direction, and the position of the sheet S in the conveying direction is changed according to a set amount of the binding position from the sheet trailing end ST. Incidentally, the conveying direction moving mechanism 55 is not a part that is frequently required to run; therefore, preferably, the conveying direction moving mechanism 55 is configured to include, for example, a worm gear incapable of driving backward or a mechanical holding mechanism, thereby to minimize power necessary for driving the conveying direction moving mechanism 55.
Furthermore, control of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD in
On the other hand, when the adjustment of the binding depth is made (YES at Step S101), i.e., when a user selects the adjustment of the binding depth through the operation panel 105, it is further checked whether an adjusted value of the binding depth is to be automatically determined (Step S102). When an adjusted value is automatically determined (YES at Step S102), information on a number of sheets to be bound, thickness of a bundle of sheets to be bound, sheet size, and a type of sheet (information I1) is acquired from the CPU of the image forming apparatus PR. Although all the above four pieces of information is normally acquired, when at least one piece of information is acquired, a process at Step S103 is performed on the basis of the information. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, a type of sheet means the thickness of sheet (cardboard, plain paper, thin paper, and the like) and a type of special paper such as coated paper.
Then, the CPU 101 of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD calculates a moving amount of the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b on the basis of the acquired information I1 (Step S103), drives the conveying direction fence drive motor 50i and moves the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b by the calculated moving amount (Step S104), and then executes binding processing (Step S105).
At Step S102, when the adjusted value is not automatically determined (NO at Step S102), it is checked whether a user has input an adjusted value (Step S106). When a user has input an adjusted value, the adjusted value d that the user has input through the operation panel 105 of the image forming apparatus PR (information I2; see FIGS. 15A and 15B) is acquired, and the conveying direction fence drive motor 50i is driven to move the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b by a calculated moving amount (Step S107), and then binding processing is executed (Step S108). By performing this processing, the binding depth (the binding position from the sheet trailing end) can be set to an arbitrary and appropriate position to perform the binding process.
Incidentally, when the adjusted value d is changed, an adjusted value is input through an adjusted-value input screen (not shown) on the operation panel 105 through a numerical keypad. In response to this, the processes subsequent to Step S101 are repeated, and an adjustment of the binding position is made.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, following effects can be expected.
(1) It is possible to adjust the binding position (binding depth) in the sheet-conveying direction in edge binding processing to a position that an individual user intends to set.
(2) In the conventional technologies, a mechanism for retracting the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b and a sheet-bundle conveying unit for delivering a sheet bundle to the ejection claw 52a needs to be provided additionally because the edge-binding stapler S1 has to be configured to be movable in the sheet width direction (the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction), so that the trailing end reference fences 51 or the ejection claw 52a cannot be provided in a moving range of the stapler S1; however, in the present embodiment, the trailing end reference fence 51a is configured to be movable in the sheet conveying direction, so that it is possible to lift up a sheet bundle SB to a position where the sheet bundle SB is delivered to the ejection claw 52a, and the trailing end reference fence 51a can also function as the sheet-bundle conveying unit. Therefore, it is possible to downsize an apparatus and to reduce a production cost.
(3) When a user inputs a position of the binding depth, sheet size information and sheet type information are acquired from the image forming apparatus PR, and a moving amount of the trailing end fences 51a and 51b is calculated from these information and the depth position that has been input; therefore, it is possible to bind a sheet bundle at an intended position by moving the trailing end fences 51a and 51b for an appropriate moving amount.
In a second embodiment, a stapling unit is configured to be movable in a sheet conveying direction with respect to a trailing end reference fence that supports a trailing end of a sheet bundle, so that a binding position (binding depth) of the sheet bundle on a staple tray in the sheet conveying direction in edge binding processing can be arbitrarily adjusted to a position that an individual user intends to set. Hereinafter, the stapling unit having a different mechanism from that in the first embodiment is explained. Incidentally, because elements other than the stapling unit have the same configurations as those in the first embodiment, repeated descriptions thereof are omitted.
As will be described later, the base 161 is movable in the sheet conveying direction, and a pair of projections 166 to be freely fitted in a slide groove for moving the base 161 in the sheet conveying direction projects from each of the side surfaces of the base 161.
In
This movement is accomplished by the pinion 167c to which driving force is transmitted from a rotating shaft of the stapler drive motor 167d and the rack 167b that is provided on the end face of the apparatus-side side plate 167e and that is engaged with the pinion 167c; when the stapler drive motor 167d rotates, the pinion 167c moves integrally with the base 161 with respect to the rack 167b in the stationary side. Although a slide shaft for guiding the motion of the base 161 in the sheet conveying direction is not illustrated in
Incidentally, also in the present embodiment, in view of the controllability and the positional accuracy, a stepping motor is used for the stapler drive motor 167d. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the stapler drive motor 167d is provided on the side of the base 161, and the rack 167b is provided on side plate of the apparatus side; however, even if the elements are provided in the opposite side, the edge-binding stapler 51 can be moved in the sheet conveying direction. In addition, moving the edge-binding stapler S1 in the sheet conveying direction by using a timing belt or a periodic mechanism, such as a cam or a link, concerns design matters, and elements are arbitrarily selected according to a configuration and size of the apparatus.
When a binding position in the conveying direction and a binding position in the width direction are set, the edge-binding stapler S1 is moved to the binding position in the width-direction, and binds a sheet bundle SB by causing the stitcher S1a to drive a staple Sid into the sheet bundle SB and the clincher S1b to bend the tips of the staple Sid. Then, upon completion of the binding process, the edge-binding stapler S1 returns to a home position and waits for the next action, and the sheet bundle SB is discharged from the edge-binding stapler F by the ejection claw 52a in accordance with the rotation of the ejection belt 52.
In this manner, the positions of the trailing end reference fences 51a and 51b in the sheet width direction are set by the fence drive motor 503d3, and the position of the edge-binding stapler S1 in the sheet conveying direction is set by the stapler drive motor 167d. Incidentally, the position of a sheet S in the width direction is changed according to the sheet size and the stapling position in the width direction, and the position of the sheet S in the conveying direction is changed according to a set amount of a binding position from the sheet trailing end ST. Incidentally, the conveying direction moving mechanism 167 is not a portion that is frequently required to run; therefore, preferably, the conveying direction moving mechanism 167 is configured to include, for example, a worm gear incapable of driving backward or a mechanical holding mechanism, thereby to minimize power necessary for driving the conveying direction moving mechanism 167.
On the other hand, when an adjustment of the binding depth is made (YES at Step S201), i.e., when a user selects an adjustment of the binding depth through an operation panel PR1, it is further checked whether an adjusted value of the binding depth is to be automatically determined (Step S202). When an adjusted value is automatically determined (YES at Step S202), information on a number of sheets to be bound, thickness of a sheet bundle to be bound, sheet size, and a type of sheet (information I1) is acquired from the CPU of the image forming apparatus PR. Although all the above four pieces of information is normally acquired, when at least one piece of information is acquired, a process at Step S203 is performed on the basis of the information. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, a type of sheet means the thickness of sheet (cardboard, plain paper, thin paper, and the like) and a type of special paper such as coated paper.
Then, the CPU_PD1 of the sheet post-processing apparatus PD calculates a moving amount of the edge-binding stapler S1 on the basis of the acquired information I1 (Step S203), and drives the stapler drive motor 167d and moves the edge-binding stapler S1 by the calculated moving amount (Step S204), and then executes the binding process (Step S205). Therefore, a moving range of the edge-binding stapler S1 is at least on the back side of the sheet trailing end, i.e., on the upstream side in the conveying direction.
At Step S202, when an adjusted value is not automatically determined (NO at Step S202), it is checked whether a user has input an adjusted value (Step S206). When a user has input an adjusted value, the adjusted value d that the user has input through the operation panel 105 of the image forming apparatus PR (information I2; see
As described above, according to the present embodiment, a user can set a moving amount in the sheet conveying direction and another moving amount in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction through the operation panel 105; therefore, it is possible to adjust the binding position (the binding depth) in the sheet conveying direction in edge binding processing to a position that an individual user intends to set.
According to the present embodiment, a sheet processing apparatus includes a moving unit that moves an aligning member for performing alignment of a sheet bundle in a sheet conveying direction in the sheet conveying direction depending on the binding depth of the sheet bundle to be bound by a binding unit; therefore, it is possible to provide a compact and inexpensive sheet processing apparatus capable of allowing each user to arbitrarily set the binding position from an end face of a sheet bundle.
Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010-279568 | Dec 2010 | JP | national |
2011-042619 | Feb 2011 | JP | national |