Patent Application
20130156477
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet punching device and an image forming apparatus having the sheet punching device for forming a punch hole in a sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, some image forming apparatuses such as cameras and laser beam printers have a sheet punching device, which punches a punch hole in a sheet on which an image is formed. A user files and uses the sheet in which the punch hole is formed by the sheet punching device.
In the sheet punching device, there is a case in which a burr is generated in the punch hole depending on a kind of sheet, a use environment such as temperature and humidity, and a time-dependent change such as abrasion. If the burr is generated in the punch hole of the sheet, when stacking the punched sheets to form a sheet bundle in a post process, burr portions of the stacked sheets overlap.
As a result, a stacking state of the sheets may be in disarray, or the burr of a next stacked sheet may be caught on the sheet bundle to cause misalignment of the stacked sheets. Thus, it causes a problem in post-processing the punched sheets.
For this reason, several punching devices, which do not generate the burr in the punched punch hole as little as possible, have been suggested. For example, a front end portion of a punch may have a sharpened configuration to prevent the burr from being generated when punching is performed by the punch as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-245198.
As a punching device, which punches a hole in a hard material to be processed other than a paper without generating the burr, there is discussed a device having the following configuration in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-272496. As illustrated in
In the punching device, the punch 40 goes down in a Q direction, and punches a hole in the material to be processed by a blade A11 of the front end portion of the punch 40. Even when the burr is generated in the punch hole, the punch 40 further goes down in the Q direction to thereby remove the burr of the material to be processed by the corner portion B12 above the groove 41.
As described above, blades are formed in two portions of the punch 40, and when the punch 40 goes down, a punching operation is performed twice by the blades of the two portions and the die hole 35a. Therefore, generation of the burr at the time of punching the sheet is reduced.
However, in the conventional punching device for preventing the burr, it is difficult to sufficiently prevent the burr from being generated.
In the sheet punching device in which the front end portion of the punch is sharply configured, the burr may be generated when punching a sheet having low rigidity such as a thin paper or a sheet placed in the high-humidity environment.
The punching device illustrated in
As described above, since the burr cannot be sufficiently removed due to the material of the sheet to be punched or the use environment, there is a need for a sheet punching device that can certainly remove the burr.
The present invention is directed to a sheet punching device and an image forming apparatus having the sheet punching device.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a sheet punching device includes a first blade, a first die into which the first blade is fitted from a first surface of a sheet to form a punch hole in the sheet, a second blade, and a second die into which the second blade is fitted, wherein the second blade is inserted into the punch hole formed by the first blade from a second surface of the sheet.
Further features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
In
The image forming apparatus 900 operates as follows. Transfer paper (hereinafter, referred to as “sheet”), onto which an image is to be transferred, set in paper feed cassettes 902a, 902b, 902c, 902d, and 902e are fed by paper feed rollers 903a, 903b, 903c, 903d, and 903e, respectively. The fed sheets are conveyed up to a registration roller 910 by conveyance roller pairs 904.
On a photosensitive drum 906, a process of converting an electrostatic latent image into a visible image is performed by a primary charging unit 907, a development unit 909, and an exposure unit 908. The exposure unit 908 exposes digital document data that is obtained by an image reading device 951 that reads a document previously fed from the automatic document feed device 950. As a result, a copy toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 906.
At timing when a front end of the sheet meets with a front end of the toner image of the photosensitive drum 906, when the sheet is conveyed up to a transfer unit by the registration roller 910, a transfer bias is applied to the sheet by a transfer separation charging unit 905, so that the toner image on the photosensitive drum 906 is transferred onto the sheet side. The photosensitive drum. 906, the primary charging unit 907, the development unit 909, and the transfer unit configure an image forming unit.
The sheet onto which the toner image is transferred is conveyed up to a fixing unit 912 by a conveyance belt 911, and the toner image is thermally fixed by the fixing unit 912. At this time, a blade of a cleaning device 913 scratches and drops down the remaining toner on the photosensitive drum 906 surface, which is not transferred onto the sheet but being stuck to. As a result, the photosensitive drum 906 prepares for a next image forming operation in a state in which a surface thereof is cleared.
The fixed sheet is conveyed to the finisher 100 by a paper discharge roller 914 by switching a switching member 915. A two-sided reversing device 901 reverses the sheet that the image is formed on a first surface, and conveys the reversed sheet to the image forming unit again. The two-sided reversing device 901 is used when forming an image on a second surface of the sheet.
The image forming apparatus 900 of the present exemplary embodiment is configured to convey the sheet on a so-called center basis on which the sheet is conveyed in a state in which a center of a width direction of the sheet coincides with a center of a conveyance path orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction.
Next, a configuration of a controller for controlling the image forming apparatus 900 is described with reference to
The DF control unit 202 drives and controls the automatic document feed device 950 based on an instruction from the CPU circuit unit 206. The image reader control unit 203 performs drive control of a scanner unit (not illustrated) and an image sensor 952, and transmits an analog image signal output from the image sensor 952 to the image signal control unit 204.
The image signal control unit 204 converts the analog image signal from the image sensor 952 into a digital signal, and then performs various kinds of processing. The image signal control unit 204 converts the digital signal into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the printer control unit 205. The image signal control unit 204 performs various kinds of processing for a digital image signal input from an external computer 200 through the external I/F 201, converts the digital image signal into the video signal, and outputs the video signal to the printer control unit 205.
A processing operation by the image signal control unit 204 is controlled by the CPU circuit unit 206. The printer control unit 205 drives the exposure unit 908 based on the input video signal.
The operation unit 209 includes a plurality of keys for setting various functions for image forming and a display unit for displaying information representing a setting state. The operation unit 209 outputs a key signal corresponding to each key operation to the CPU circuit unit 206, and displays thereof on the display unit based on a signal from the CPU circuit unit 206.
The finisher control unit 210 is mounted in the finisher 100, and exchanges information with the CPU circuit unit 206 of the image forming apparatus 900 to perform drive control of the whole finisher 100. The finisher control unit 210 controls a motor and a sensor installed in the finisher 100.
Next, a configuration of the finisher control unit 210 that performs drive control of the finisher 100 is described with reference to
The finisher control unit 210 includes a CPU 800, a ROM 801, and a RAM 802. The finisher controller 210 communicates with the CPU circuit unit 206 installed on the image forming apparatus body 900A side through a communication integrated circuit (IC) 804 to perform data exchange. The finisher control unit 210 executes various programs stored in the ROM 801 based on an instruction from the CPU circuit unit 206, and performs drive control of the finisher 100.
When performing the drive control, the finisher control unit 210 receives detecting signals from various sensors. Sensors 101, 103, 107, 109, 112, and 114 are sensors, which detect sheet conveyance timing and further detects whether the sheet is present on the conveyance path. The finisher control unit 210 is connected with a driver 803, and the driver 803 controls driving of a motor 212, a motor 314, and a motor 422 based on a signal from the finisher control unit 210.
Next, the finisher 100, which stacks and aligns the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus body 900A and performs stapler-processing for the formed sheet bundle, is described with reference to
The finisher 100 includes an inlet conveyance roller pair 102, which receives the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus body 900A, a sheet end detection device 301, a sheet moving device 401, and a sheet punching device 202 according to the present invention. The finisher 100 includes intermediate roller pairs 104, 106, 111, and 113, which convey the sheet in the finisher 100.
The finisher 100 includes the sensors 101, 103, 107, 109, 112, and 114, which detect conveyance timing of the sheet and whether the sheet is present on the conveyance path, are disposed. Further, the finisher 100 includes switching members 105 and 108, which change the conveyance path of the sheet. The sheet end detection device 301, the sheet moving device 401, and the sheet punching device 202 will be described below in detail.
When the switching member 108 is switched to a stacking tray 121 side, the sheet is discharged to the stacking tray 121 by a paper discharge roller pair 110. When the switching member 108 is switched to a stacking tray 122 side, the sheet is conveyed by the intermediate roller pairs 111 and 113 and discharged onto a processing tray 117 by a paper discharge roller 115.
As a return belt 116 and a return paddle 118 rotate, the sheet discharged onto the processing tray 117 is abutted against a sheet rear end alignment wall 123 disposed on the processing tray 117, and aligned in the conveyance direction. Further, alignment is performed in a direction (hereinafter, a conveyance orthogonal direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the sheet by an alignment plate (not illustrated).
After alignment-processing a predetermined number of sheets, sheet bundle processing such as binding processing is performed by a stapler 120, and the sheet bundle is discharged to the stacking tray 122 by a bundle discharge roller pair 119.
A sheet punching unit 201, which forms a plurality of punch holes in the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus, is installed in the finisher 100. The sheet punching unit 201 punches the conveyance sheet in which an image is formed one by one. When forming the punch hole in the sheet, the sheet punching unit 201 operates to equally distribute a plurality of punch holes into left and right with respect to the center of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet.
The sheet punching unit 201 includes the sheet end detection device 301, the sheet moving device 401, and the sheet punching device 202. The sheet end detection device 301 includes a sensor 302, which is a device used to detect an end position of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet by the sensor 302. The sheet moving device 401 is a device used to convey the sheet, and conveys the sheet in the conveyance orthogonal direction based on the detection result of the sheet end detection device 301.
The sheet moving device 401 adjusts a position of the sheet so that a plurality of punch holes is equally distributed with respect to the center of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet. The sheet punching device 202 is a device for forming the punch hole in the sheet whose position is adjusted by the sheet moving device 401. The sheet end detection device 301, the sheet moving device 401, and the sheet punching device 202 are described below in detail.
First, the sheet end detection device 301 is described.
The sensor 302 is connected to a timing belt 311 through a fixing plate 310, and the timing belt 311 is stretched around a pulley 313 disposed on the motor 314 and a pulley 312 fixed to the finisher 100. As the motor 314 rotates, the timing belt 311 operates to move the sensor 302.
A method for detecting the end position of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet by the sheet end detection device 301 is described below. The sheet is conveyed to the finisher 100 on the center basis. Before the sheet end detecting operation, the sensor 302 is on standby at a position sufficiently apart from the end of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the conveyance sheet. While the sheet is passing through the sheet end detection device 301, the motor 314 rotates, so that the sensor 302 is directed toward the end of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet, and the sensor 302 detects the end of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet.
Based on the detection signal of the sensor 302, the finisher control unit 210 calculates how much the sheet is misaligned to the center basis by using the size of the conveyance sheet and a moving distance of the sensor 302.
Next, the sheet moving device 401 is described below.
The conveyance roller pairs 402 and 424 and the conveyance guides 403 and 404 are supported by frames 405, 406, 407, and 408. Bearings 409, 410, 411, and 412 fixed to the frames 405, 406, 407, and 408 are movable along guides 413 and 414.
A timing belt 418 is installed over a pulley 421 disposed on a motor 422 and a pulley 420 fixed to the finisher 100. The frames 405, 406, 407, and 408 are connected to the timing belt 418 through a fixing plate 419, and moves as the timing belt 418 moves by rotation of the motor 422. In other words, it is possible to move the conveyance roller pairs 402 and 424 in the conveyance orthogonal direction by rotation of the motor 422.
With this configuration, the sheet moving device 401 can moves the sheet in the conveyance orthogonal direction based on the calculation result of the control unit 210, and adjust the sheet position so that the punch holes can be equally distributed with respect to the center of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet.
Subsequently, the sheet punching device 202 is described below.
A punch 209 collectively means punches 209a, 209b, 209c, and 209d.
A punch guide 204 and a second die 205 are fixed by caulking, and the second die 205 and a first die 206 are fixed by caulking. A conveyance path 207 is formed between the second die 205 and the first die 206.
The parallel pins 223a, 223b, 223c, and 223d are inserted into the punches 209a, 209b, 209c, and 209d. One ends of the parallel pins 223a, 223b, 223c, and 223d are inserted into cam grooves 208a, 208b, 208c, and 208d formed on a slide rack 208.
The slide rack 208 moves in an arrow D direction of
A first die hole 218 (illustrated in
Next, configurations of the punch 209, the first die hole 218, and the second die hole 503 are described below. As illustrated in
Before the punch 209 starts a punching operation for the sheet, the front end blade 500 is positioned to face the first die 206. In a state in which the punch 209 punches through the sheet and moves down up to a lowest point, the stepped blade 501 is positioned to face the second die 205. The front end blade 500 and the stepped blade 501 are guided into the first die hole 218 and further guided into the second die hole 503.
A stepped portion 502 is formed along an outer circumference of the punch 209, and the stepped blade 501 is adjacent to the stepped portion 502. A step portion 505 is disposed to face the stepped blade 501. The step portion 505 is configured not to penetrate the first die 206 and protrude into the conveyance path 207 even in a state in which the punch 209 punches the sheet and moves down up to the lowest point. The second die hole 503 is disposed in the second die 205 and has a function of removing the burr of the sheet with the stepped blade 501.
Subsequently, an operation of the sheet punching device is described below. In
As illustrated in
As described above, since the stepped blade 501 is positioned not to protrude into the conveyance path 207, it is possible to certainly place the sheet between the stepped blade 501 and the second die hole 503.
As illustrated in
When the punch 209 moves (moves backward) in an Ha direction (inverse to the H direction) of
After the reciprocal movement (inverse movement Ha) of the punch 209, as illustrated in
As described above, in the reciprocal movement of the punch 209, at the time of moving forward (first movement), the punch hole is punched by the front end blade 500, and then, at the time of moving backward (second movement), the burr generated in the punch hole is removed from the reverse direction by the stepped blade 501 installed in the punch 209. As a result, it is possible to form the punch hole having small generation of the burr.
Next, a configuration for positioning the sheet at a punch position is described below. The rear end of the sheet is abutted against a rear end stopper 221, so that a distance from the sheet rear end to the punch hole portion becomes constant. The sheet P, which enters in the arrow F direction illustrated in
When the rear end of the sheet P comes out of the rear end stopper 221, the rear end stopper 221 returns to its original position by a spring (not illustrated) connected to the rear end stopper 221. Thereafter, the sheet P is conveyed in a reverse direction by the conveyance roller pairs 402 and 424, and abutted against a abutting portion 225 of the rear end stopper 221, so that the punching position of the sheet P from the sheet rear end is determined.
At this time, in step S120, the sensor 302 of the sheet end detection device 301 detects the end of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet, and specifies the end position of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet P. When the end position of the conveyance orthogonal direction of the sheet P is specified (YES in step S130), the sheet P is moved to a predetermined conveyance orthogonal direction position by the sheet moving device 401 to meet the punching position of the sheet punching device 202.
The operation is performed without stopping conveyance of the sheet P by the sheet moving device 401, and thus it can prevent productivity of the finisher 100 from being degraded.
Next, in step S140, the rear end of the sheet P passes through the rear end stopper 221 as illustrated in
Next, in step S160, as illustrated in
Thereafter, in step S180, as illustrated in
In the first exemplary embodiment, when the punch 209 reaches the lowest point as illustrated in
In a second exemplary embodiment, when the punch 209 reaches the lowest point, even though the stepped blade 501 protrudes into the conveyance path 207, it is possible to certainly position the sheet between the stepped blade 501 and the second die hole 503. The present exemplary embodiment is described below in detail below.
A configuration of the sheet punching device 202 is almost the same as that of the first exemplary embodiment, and the similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The operation is also almost the same as that in the first exemplary embodiment, and thus description of the similar operation will not be repeated. A different point is that a pressing member 507, which is retractable, is disposed. The pressing member 507 is described below in detail.
In
As described above, when the punch 209 moves forward, the punch hole is formed in the sheet P by the front end blade 500, and thereafter the sheet P is pressed onto the second die 205 by the pressing member 507 to thus move the sheet P between the stepped blade 501 and the second die hole 503.
Thereafter, in a state in which the sheet P is positioned between the stepped blade 501 and the second die hole 503, the punch 209 moves backward, and thus the burr of the sheet P is removed by the stepped blade 501 and the second die hole 503.
After the burr removal operation, the pressing member 507 moves back to the second die 206 not to protrude into the conveyance path 207. As described above, when the punch 209 reaches the lowest point, even though the stepped blade 501 does not pass through the inlet end inner circumference portion 218A of the first die 206, it is possible to certainly perform the burr removal operation.
A different point is that the brush 504 for removing paper powder accumulated on the stepped blade 501 and the stepped portion 502 of the punch 209 is disposed. The brush 504 is described below in detail.
As illustrated in
As the chip removing mechanism, the brush 504 may be disposed to surround the punch 209, which has moved back from the conveyance path 207. In this case, paper powder accumulated on the stepped portion 502 is removed by the reciprocal movement of the punch 209.
As described above, the brush 504 is disposed to remove paper powder accumulated on the stepped portion 502. It is possible to prevent the removed burr from remaining due to a repeated use, and thus it is possible to maintain the burr removal performance.
A configuration of the sheet punching device 202 according to a fourth exemplary embodiment is described below. The fourth exemplary embodiment is different from the first exemplary embodiment in configurations of the finisher control unit 210 and the sheet punching device 202, which is described below in detail. The other configuration is almost the same, and the similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The operations of the components other than the finisher control unit 210 and the sheet punching device 202 are almost the same as that in the first exemplary embodiment, and description of the similar operations will not be repeated.
Next, a configuration of the finisher control unit 210, which performs drive and control of the finisher 100, is described with reference to
The finisher control unit 210 communicates with the CPU circuit unit 206 disposed on the image forming apparatus body 900A side through the communication IC 804 to perform data exchange. The finisher control unit 210 executes various programs stored in the ROM. 801 according to an instruction from the CPU circuit unit 206 to perform drive and control of the finisher 100.
When performing the drive control, the finisher control unit 210 receives detection signals from various sensors. The sensors 101, 103, 107, 109, 112, and 114 are sensors to detect conveyance timing of the sheet and further detect whether the sheet is present on the conveyance path.
The finisher control unit 210 is connected with a driver 803, and the driver 803 drives a motor 612, a motor 314, a motor 422, and a motor 662 based on a signal from the finisher control unit 210.
The finisher 100 has the similar configuration as in the first exemplary embodiment, and thus description thereof will not be repeated.
As illustrated in
The sheet punching unit 201 includes the sheet end detection device 301, the sheet moving device 401, and the sheet punching device 202. The sheet end detection device 301 and the sheet moving device 401 have the similar configurations as those in the first exemplary embodiment, and thus description thereof will not be repeated.
The sheet punching device 202 is described below.
A first blade 609 collectively means first blades 609a, 609b, 609c, and 609d.
A first punch guide 604 and a second die 605 are fixed by caulking. A second punch guide 654 and a first die 655 are fixed by caulking. The second die 605 and the first die 655 are fixed by caulking. A conveyance path 607 is formed between the second die 605 and the first die 655.
The first blade 609 is supported by first punch slide support portions 604a and 604b of the first punch guide 604, is configured to slidably move up and down, and is configured to punch the sheet. The second blade 659 is supported by second punch slide support portions 654a and 654b of the second punch guide 654, is configured to slidably move up and down, and is configured to punch the sheet.
The first parallel pins 623a, 623b, 623c, and 623d are inserted into the first blades 609a, 609b, 609c, and 609d. One ends of the first parallel pins 623a, 623b, 623c, and 623d are inserted into first cam grooves 608a, 608b, 608c, and 608d formed in a first slide rack 608.
The first slide rack 608 moves in an arrow D direction of
The second blade 659a and the first blade 609a are separate bodies from each other, are disposed to face each other, and are coaxially disposed. Similarly, the second blades 659b, 659c, and 659d and the first blades 609b, 609c, and 609d are disposed to face each other and coaxially disposed respectively. The first blade 609 is guided into the second die hole 619 to move to be fitted into the first die 655. The second blade 659 is guided into the first die hole 618 to move to be fitted into the second die 605. The second parallel pins 673a, 673b, 673c, and 673d are inserted into the second blades 659a, 659b, 659c, and 659d.
One ends of the second parallel pins 673a, 673b, 673c, and 673d are inserted into the cam grooves 658a, 658b, 658c, and 658d formed in the second slide rack 658. The slide rack 658 moves in an arrow F direction illustrated in
At this time, the second parallel pins 673a, 673b, 673c, and 673d move along the cam grooves 658a, 658b, 658c, and 658d in which V grooves are formed, so that the second blades 659a, 659b, 659c, and 659d move in a G direction in
The punching operation of the sheet punching device 202 is described below. First, as the slide rack 608 is driven by the motor 612, the parallel pins 623a, 623b, 623c, and 623d move along the cam grooves 608a, 608b, 608c, and 608d in which V grooves are formed.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In order to remove the burr X, as illustrated in
The second blade 659 operates as follows. As the slide rack 658 is driven by the motor 662, the parallel pins 673a, 673b, 673c, and 673d move along the cam grooves 658a, 658b, 658c, and 658d in which V grooves are formed.
As the parallel pins 673a, 673b, 673c, and 673d move, the second blade 659 moves in the Ja direction in
As described above, in the sheet, the punch hole is formed from one surface by the punching operation of the first blade 609, and the burr is removed from the other surface by the movement of the second blade 659. After the burr removal operation by the second blade 659, the sheet P is conveyed in an H direction by the conveyance roller pairs 402 and 404.
As illustrated in
Specifically, a first front end portion 609A with a wave form including a continued concave-convex portion is formed in the front end of the first blade 609, and a second front end portion 659A of a wave form including a continued concave-convex portion is also formed in the front end of the second blade 659.
At the time of punching by the first blade 609, the sheet P is cut, starting from the blade edge contact portion 690 by the convex portion of the first front end portion 609A, toward (in an arrow direction) a last portion 691 cut by the concave portion of the first front end portion 609A. However, the deflection easily occurs around the last portion 691 to be cut. Therefore, the blade edge contact portion 690, which is initially contacted and cut by the convex portion of the punch blade edge, is clearly cut, but the burr is easily generated in the last portion 691 to be cut.
Thus, as illustrated in
In
As described above, even though the burr is generated by punching of the first blade 609, it is possible to remove the burr of the sheet by movement of the second blade 659. Further, even though the blade edge shape is applied to the first front end blade 500 and the stepped blade 501 of the first exemplary embodiment, the similar effect can be obtained.
The rear end of the sheet is abutted against the rear end stopper 621, so that a distance from the sheet rear end to the punched portion becomes constant. The sheet P entering from the arrow H direction in
When the rear end of the sheet P comes out of the rear end stopper 621, the rear end stopper 621 returns to its original position by a spring (not illustrated) connected to the rear end stopper 621. Thereafter, the sheet P is switched back by the conveyance roller pairs 402 and 424 illustrated in
The configuration of the sheet punching device 202 has been described focusing on the case in which the first blade 609 and the second blade 659, which are disposed in a horizontal path, punch the hole in the sheet in the nearly vertical direction. However, other than the above configuration, a configuration in which the first blade 609 and the second blade 659 are disposed in a vertical path and punching is performed in the nearly horizontal direction, or a configuration in which the first blade 609 and the second blade 659 are disposed in an inclined path can also have the similar effect to the present invention.
In the sheet punching device 202 of the fourth exemplary embodiment, a moving direction of the first blade 609 and the second blade 659 is the nearly horizontal direction, and the punch chip box 203 is disposed below the first blade 609 and the second blade 659. Since the punch chip box 203 is disposed as described above, the punch chips generated by punching of the first blade 609 fall into the punch chip box 203.
However, when the moving direction of the first blade 609 and the second blade 659 is the nearly vertical direction, the punch chips generated by punching of the first blade 609 may fall to the second blade 659 directly and be caught on the punch blade edge. Thus, the second blade 659 performs the burr removal operation while the punch chips are attached thereto, and the burr may not be sufficiently removed.
As illustrated in
As the punch chip removing mechanism to remove the punch chips attached to the punch blade edge, in the fifth exemplary embodiment, the chip removing brush 692 is disposed at the lowest point at the time of the punching operation of the first blade 609. However, as an alternative means, air may be injected onto the punch front to remove the punch chips. Further, if any means, which is capable of removing the chips attached to the punch blade edge, is disposed, it is possible to obtain the similar effect as that of the present invention.
The sixth exemplary embodiment is almost the same as the first and second exemplary embodiments except that the second blade 659 is not disposed coaxially with the first blade 609, two kinds of rear end stoppers 621 are present, and an operation of abutting the sheet rear end against the rear end stopper 621 is performed twice. Therefore, description of the portions whose operations have been already described therein will not be repeated.
For the punching operation in the sixth exemplary embodiment, in the same manner as in the fourth exemplary embodiment, the sheet is abutted against a first rear end stopper 621a, and punching is performed by the first blade 609. Thereafter, the sheet is moved in a punch position direction of the second blade 659, and then the conveyance roller pairs 402 and 424 are reversely rotated to abut the sheet rear end against a second rear end stopper 621b. The second blade 659 is moved in a reverse direction to remove the burr.
With the configuration described above, even though the moving direction of the punch blade is the nearly vertical direction, the punch chips generated by the punching operation of the first blade 609 do not fall to the punch blade edge of the second blade 659. Further, it is possible to stably remove the burr by movement of the second blade 659 without installing the punch chip removing mechanism.
In the configurations of the fourth to sixth exemplary embodiments, the first blade 609 disposed in an upper position moves downward to punch the holes, and thereafter the second blade 659 moves upward in the reverse direction to remove the burr. However, the moving order may be changed. Even though the second blade 659 first moves upward to punch the holes, and then the first blade 609 moves downward in the reverse direction to remove the burr, the similar effect can be obtained.
Further, in the configuration illustrated in
Further, in the sixth exemplary embodiment, a configuration, in which the first blade 609 and the second blade 659 are not coaxially disposed, is provided. After the punching operation of the first blade 609, the sheet is moved up to the punching position of the second blade 659, and the burr is removed in the reverse direction. However, after the punching operation by the first blade 609, the sheet may not be moved. In this case, the first blade 609 moves back from the punching position, and the second blade 659 then moves to the sheet punching position. The burr of the sheet is removed from the reverse direction by the second blade 659.
According to the exemplary embodiments, a first blade is fitted into a sheet from a first surface of the sheet to form a punch hole in the sheet, and a second blade can be inserted into the punch hole formed by the first blade from a second surface of the sheet. Accordingly, when punching a sheet having low rigidity such as thin paper or when punching in the high-humidity environment, it may be possible to remove or minimize the burr generated in the sheet when forming the punch hole. While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-152622 | Jun 2009 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/815,971 filed on Jun. 15, 2010 which claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2009-152622 filed Jun. 26, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12815971 | Jun 2010 | US |
| Child | 13770914 | US |
