Recording material processing device and image forming system

Abstract

The present application provides a recording material processing device and an image forming system, which suppresses damage to a bearing portion of an alignment unit and deformation of an alignment portion of the alignment unit. A recording material processing device includes a guide shaft extending in a recording material width direction intersecting an ejection direction of a recording material and an alignment unit moving along the guide shaft, and the recording material processing device is characterized in that the alignment unit has: a bearing portion movably fitted to the guide shaft; an alignment portion provided so as to be exposed to an outside in the ejection direction and aligning a position of an end surface parallel to the ejection direction of the recording material from the outside of the recording material; a wrist portion linking the bearing portion and the alignment portion; and a protruding portion protruding from an outside of the wrist portion facing the recording material in an axial direction of the guide shaft and contacting a surface of a device main body parallel to the ejection direction when an external force is applied to the alignment unit at a position where the alignment unit is close to the surface of the device main body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a recording material processing apparatus and an image forming system. Background Technology

[0002] A sheet media processing apparatus is known, comprising: a discharge unit for discharging conveyed sheet media; a tray for stacking the sheet media discharged by the discharge unit; and a tray moving unit for classifying the sheet media stacked on the tray by moving the tray by a predetermined amount in a displacement direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the sheet media from the discharge unit, and further comprising an alignment unit for aligning the sheet media stacked on the tray, the alignment unit having a pair of alignment members that perform an alignment operation to align the alignment members to the sheet media stacked on the tray after being discharged from the discharge unit by contacting the alignment members with the two end faces of the sheet media parallel to the discharge direction, thereby aligning the end faces, and performing an alignment operation to align the sheet media stacked after the classification operation to a different position than the sheet media stacked before the classification operation (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-240295 Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to suppress damage to the bearing portion of the alignment unit and deformation of the alignment portion of the alignment unit when the alignment unit exposed to the outside is located near the surface of the device body that intersects the axial direction with the guide shaft, compared to the case where the bearing portion and the alignment portion are in contact with the device body.

[0005] To address the aforementioned problem, the recording material processing apparatus of Solution 1 includes a guide shaft extending axially along a recording material width direction intersecting the recording material discharge direction, and an alignment unit moving along the guide shaft. The recording material processing apparatus is characterized in that...

[0006] The alignment unit has:

[0007] The bearing portion is movably fitted into the guide shaft;

[0008] The alignment portion is provided so as to be exposed on the outside in the discharge direction and to align the position of the end face by contacting the end face parallel to the discharge direction of the recording material from the outside of the recording material.

[0009] The wrist portion, connecting the bearing portion and the alignment portion; and

[0010] The protrusion protrudes from the outer side of the wrist facing the recording material in the axial direction of the guide shaft, and contacts the surface of the device body when the alignment unit is subjected to an external force at a position close to the surface of the device body parallel to the discharge direction.

[0011] The invention described in Scheme 2, in the recording material processing apparatus described in Scheme 1, is characterized in that,

[0012] The alignment portion is supported by the wrist portion on the outer side of the guide shaft, which is further axially than the bearing portion. The wrist portion is bent along the axial direction, and the protrusion is formed to protrude from the outer side of the wrist portion on the axial direction.

[0013] The invention described in Scheme 3, in the recording material processing apparatus described in Scheme 1 or 2, is characterized in that,

[0014] The top of the protrusion that contacts the surface of the device body is located further outward along the axial direction than the alignment portion.

[0015] The invention described in Scheme 4, in the recording material processing apparatus described in Scheme 3, is characterized in that,

[0016] The top surface that contacts one side of the device body is composed of a plurality of intersecting surfaces.

[0017] The invention described in Scheme 5, in the recording material processing apparatus of any one of Schemes 1 to 4, is characterized in that,

[0018] The alignment portion is rotatable about the guide shaft and is positioned near the surface of the device body parallel to the discharge direction as a standby position. It also has a support portion that contacts the top of the protrusion in the standby position between the surface of the device body and the surface of the wrist portion, thereby supporting the alignment unit so that it does not rotate.

[0019] The invention described in Scheme 6, in the recording material processing apparatus described in Scheme 5, is characterized in that,

[0020] The support portion is located upstream of the discharge direction of the recording material, further than the front surface of the device body.

[0021] The invention described in claim 7, in the recording material processing apparatus described in claim 5 or 6, is characterized in that...

[0022] The support portion is approximately L-shaped in cross-sectional view along the axial direction.

[0023] The invention described in Scheme 8, in the recording material processing apparatus of any one of Schemes 1 to 7, is characterized in that,

[0024] An elastic member is provided on the wrist, and when the standby position is rotated to the upstream side of the discharge direction of the recording material, the elastic member contacts the surface of the device body facing the upstream side of the discharge direction of the recording material.

[0025] To address the aforementioned problem, the image forming system described in Solution 9 is characterized by having:

[0026] An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material;

[0027] The post-processing apparatus performs post-processing on the recording material on which an image has been formed by the image forming apparatus; and

[0028] The recording material processing apparatus of any one of Schemes 1 to 8 is positioned so as to align the end face parallel to the discharge direction of the recording material post-processed by the post-processing apparatus.

[0029] Invention Effects

[0030] According to the first and ninth embodiments of the present invention, compared with the case where the bearing part and the alignment part are in contact with the main body of the device, damage to the bearing part of the alignment unit and deformation of the alignment part of the alignment unit can be suppressed.

[0031] According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase the width of the recordable material that can be processed, while reducing the impact transmitted to the alignment portion.

[0032] According to the third aspect of the invention, when an external force is applied to the alignment portion, the protrusion can be made to contact one surface of the device body more reliably.

[0033] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the strength when the protrusion contacts one surface of the device body can be improved.

[0034] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to make it difficult for external forces to be applied to the alignment portion in the standby position.

[0035] According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the appearance of the device can be improved and it is not easily accessible from the outside.

[0036] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is not easily broken even when subjected to a load.

[0037] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, damage to the main body of the device can be suppressed. Attached Figure Description

[0038] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram illustrating the image forming system according to this embodiment;

[0040] Figure 2 This is a perspective view with the viewpoint positioned above the post-processing device and the recording material processing device.

[0041] Figure 3 This is a plan view showing the overall structure of the recording material processing device from a top-down perspective;

[0042] Figure 4 (a) is a three-dimensional view showing the alignment device. Figure 4 (b) is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the alignment part of the alignment device;

[0043] Figure 5 (a) is a side view showing the alignment device rotated to the side of the main body of the device. Figure 5 (b) is a side view showing the alignment device rotating from the main body of the device toward the recording material discharge direction to perform an alignment action;

[0044] Figure 6 It is a diagram illustrating the alignment of the end faces of a paper using an alignment device;

[0045] Figure 7 (a) is a top view showing the alignment device in the standby position. Figure 7 (b) is a diagram showing the state from the side view;

[0046] Figure 8 (a) is a top view showing the support portion of the modified example. Figure 8 (b) is a side view showing the support portion;

[0047] Figure 9 (a) is a diagram shown from the side, depicting the alignment device moving toward the alignment position. Figure 9 (b) is a diagram showing the state from a top-down view;

[0048] Figure 10 (a) is a diagram showing the alignment action at the alignment position from a top view. Figure 10 (b) is a diagram showing the alignment action from the side view.

[0049] Symbol Explanation

[0050] 1-Image forming system, 2-Image forming apparatus, 3-Post-processing apparatus, 4-Relay apparatus, 5-Recording material processing apparatus, 510-Guide shaft, 511-First guide shaft, 512-Second guide shaft, 516-Rotating plate, 520-Alignment device, 521-Bearing part, 522-Wrist, 522A-First wrist, 522B-Second wrist, 523-Alignment part, 523A-Support part, 523a-Contact part, 523b-Shaft part, 524-Protrusion, 524a-Top, 525-Elastomer, 526-Support part, TR-Paper pallet Detailed Implementation

[0051] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following embodiments and specific examples, the present invention will be described in further detail, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and specific examples.

[0052] Furthermore, in the following description using the accompanying drawings, the drawings are schematic diagrams, and it should be noted that the proportions of each dimension are different from those in reality. For ease of understanding, illustrations other than those of the parts required for the description have been appropriately omitted.

[0053] In addition, for ease of understanding of the following explanations, in the attached diagrams, the left and right direction is designated as the X direction, the front and back direction as the Y direction, and the up and down direction as the Z direction.

[0054] (1) The overall structure and operation of the image forming system

[0055] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the image forming system 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 This is a perspective view with the viewpoint positioned above the post-processing device 3 and the recording material processing device 5.

[0056] Figure 1 The image forming system 1 shown includes: an image forming apparatus 2 for forming an image on a paper P, which is a recording material; a post-processing apparatus 3 for performing post-processing on the paper P on which the image has been formed by the image forming apparatus 2; a relay device 4 disposed on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 2 and conveying the paper P discharged from the image forming apparatus 2 to the post-processing apparatus 3; and a recording material processing device 5 for aligning the end face of the paper P after post-processing by the post-processing apparatus 3.

[0057] The overall structure and operation of the image forming system 1 will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] (1.1) Structure and operation of the image forming apparatus

[0059] like Figure 1As shown, the image forming apparatus 2 is configured to include an image forming unit 10, a paper feeding device 20 installed below the image forming unit 10, a reading device 30 installed above the image forming unit 10, an operation display unit 40, a control device 50, and a manual paper feeding device 70 installed on the left side of the image forming unit 10.

[0060] The image forming unit 10 is configured to include an exposure device 12, a photosensitive unit 13, a developing device 14, a transfer device 15, and a fixing device 16, and to form image information as a tonal image on the paper P fed from the paper feeding device 20 or the manual paper feeding device 70.

[0061] The reading device 30 reads the image of the paper through an image sensor (not shown) such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) line sensor, and converts the image into image data of electrical signals.

[0062] A user interface, namely an operation display unit 40, is disposed on the front surface of the reading device 30. The operation display unit 40 is composed of a liquid crystal display panel, various operation buttons, a touch panel, etc., and the user of the image forming apparatus 2 inputs various settings or instructions through the operation display unit 40. Furthermore, various information is displayed to the user of the image forming apparatus 2 via the liquid crystal display panel.

[0063] The control device 50 includes an image forming control unit 501 that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 2, an image processing unit 502 that prepares image data corresponding to the print processing request, a power supply unit 503, etc. The image processing unit 502 converts print information input from an external information transmission device (e.g., a personal computer) into latent image forming image information and outputs a drive signal to the exposure apparatus 12 at a preset time. In this embodiment, the exposure apparatus 12 is composed of an LED head made of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) arranged in a linear fashion.

[0064] The power supply unit 503 applies a specified high voltage for image formation to the photosensitive unit 13, the developing unit 14, the transfer unit 15, etc., and supplies power to the exposure unit 12 and the fixing unit 16, etc.

[0065] The paper feeding device 20 contains a plurality of sheets of paper P. The paper feeding section 22 draws the sheets of paper P one by one from the top and forward (-X direction), and the sheets of paper P positioned in the width direction by the limiting plate (not shown) are conveyed to the pressing section of the registration roller pair 23.

[0066] The manual paper feeding device 70 feeds non-fixed-size paper that can be folded relative to the opening and closing component 90, specific thick paper, postcards, long strips of paper longer than the usual size, plastic film, and other recording materials that are difficult to be supplied and transmitted by the paper feeding device 20 to the pressing part of the registration roller pair 23.

[0067] The paper P fed from the paper feeding device 20 or the manual paper feeding device 70 is conveyed to the registration roller pair 23, and then conveyed to the secondary transfer pressing section after the front end is aligned by the registration roller pair 23.

[0068] The photosensitive unit 13 includes photosensitive drums 31 arranged side by side above the paper feeding device 20 and driven to rotate. On each photosensitive drum 31, where an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposure device 12, tonal images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are formed by each developing device 14.

[0069] The toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 31 of each photosensitive unit 13 are sequentially electrostatically transferred (first transfer) onto the intermediate transfer belt 51 of the transfer device 15, forming an overlapping toner image with each color toner superimposed on it. The overlapping toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 51 are then uniformly transferred onto the paper P, which is fed out from the registration roller pair 23 and guided by the conveying guide device, through the secondary transfer roller 52.

[0070] The fixing device 16 has a pair of heating modules 61 and pressure modules 62, and a fixing pressing section NP (fixing area) is formed in the pressing area of ​​the heating modules 61 and pressure modules 62. The paper P, on which the toner image has been uniformly transferred in the transfer device 15, is conveyed to the fixing pressing section NP of the fixing device 16 before the toner image is fixed, and the toner image is fixed under the action of heating and pressing.

[0071] Paper P, with an image formed by fixing toner, is guided by switching doors G1 and G2 and discharged from the lower first discharge roller pair 63 of the vertically arranged discharge roller pair to the relay device 4 disposed in the body S of the image forming apparatus 2. Then, the position of switching door G1 is switched, and the paper P is discharged from the upper second discharge roller pair 64 to the upper surface 4a of the relay device 4.

[0072] (1.2) Structure and operation of post-processing device, relay device and recording material processing device

[0073] The relay device 4 includes: an inlet roller 41 that receives paper P output from the first discharge roller pair 63 of the image forming apparatus 2; first conveyor rollers 42, 42 that convey the paper P received by the inlet roller 41 downstream; and a second conveyor roller 43 that conveys the paper P to the post-processing apparatus 3.

[0074] The post-processing apparatus 3 includes: a receiving roller 301 for receiving paper P output from the image forming apparatus 2 via a relay device 4; a collection tray 310 for collecting and holding a plurality of sheets of paper P; a pair of rollers, namely discharge rollers 302, for discharging paper P into the collection tray 310; a paddle 303 for rotating to press paper P into the end guide 310b of the collection tray 310; and a guide plate 305 for aligning the ends of paper P on the collection tray 310.

[0075] The post-processing device 3 also has a binding mechanism 320 for binding the ends of a stack of papers made up of a plurality of papers stacked on the collection tray 310.

[0076] The paper stacks bundled on the collection tray 310 or bound by the binding mechanism 320 are conveyed and discharged by the ejector roller 304.

[0077] A paper stacking tray TR is provided on the side of the post-processing unit 3. The paper stacking tray TR can be raised and lowered (Z direction: reference). Figure 1 The paper is stacked in a manner indicated by the middle arrow, so that users can easily remove the stack of paper discharged through the ejector roller 304.

[0078] Above the ejector roller 304, within the housing of the post-processing unit 3, there is a recording material processing device 5, which aligns the end faces of the paper stack discharged through the ejector roller 304 onto the paper stack tray TR, arranged as an integral unit. The recording material processing device 5 includes a guide shaft 510 extending along the width direction of the paper P, intersecting the discharge direction of the paper P, and an alignment device 520 serving as an alignment unit held movable by the guide shaft 510. Figure 2 As shown, the alignment part 523 of the alignment device 520 contacts the end face Pa of the paper P discharged onto the paper tray TR from the outside to align the end face Pa of the paper P (Y direction: reference). Figure 2 (middle arrow R).

[0079] (2) Recording material processing device

[0080] Figure 3 This is a plan view showing the overall structure of the recording material processing device 5 from a top-down perspective. Figure 4 (a) is a perspective view showing the alignment device 520. Figure 4 (b) is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the alignment portion 523 of the alignment device 520. Figure 5 (a) is a side view showing the alignment device 520 rotated to the side of the device body. Figure 5 (b) is a side view showing the alignment device 520 rotating from the device body side toward the recording material discharge direction to perform an alignment operation. Figure 6 This diagram illustrates the alignment of the end face Pa of the paper P by the alignment device 520.

[0081] The structure and function of the recording material processing device 5 will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0082] (2.1) Record the overall structure of the material processing device

[0083] like Figure 3 As shown, the recording material processing apparatus 5 includes a guide shaft 510 extending axially along the paper width direction (Y, -Y direction) that is orthogonal to the discharge direction of the paper P, and an alignment device 520 that moves along the guide shaft 510 as an alignment unit.

[0084] The guide shaft 510 includes a first guide shaft 511 and a second guide shaft 512 made of metal shafts, both ends of which are fixed to the main body of the device. A support platform 513 is slidably fitted onto the first guide shaft 511, and one end 513a of the support platform 513 is fixed to a synchronous belt 515 mounted on pulleys 514 along the axial direction of the first guide shaft 511. One of the pulleys 514 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor M1. The rotation of the motor M1 drives the synchronous belt 515 to rotate, thereby moving the support platform 513 along the first guide shaft 511.

[0085] The second guide shaft 512 is arranged parallel to the first guide shaft 511, and a pair of left and right alignment devices 520 are supported by a pair of left and right support platforms 513 in a relative manner and are slidably engaged with them. Thus, when the support platforms 513 move axially along the first guide shaft 511 by the rotation of the motor M1, the alignment devices 520 move in a manner that reduces or expands their interval along the second guide shaft 512.

[0086] The alignment device 520 is integrally formed by a bearing portion 521, an alignment portion 523, a wrist portion 522, and a protrusion 524. The bearing portion 521 is slidably fitted into the second guide shaft 512. The alignment portion 523 is positioned so as to expose the outer side in the discharge direction (X direction) and contacts the end face Pa, which is parallel to the discharge direction of the paper P, from the outer side (-Y direction) to align the position of the end face Pa. The wrist portion 522 connects the bearing portion 521 and the alignment portion 523. The protrusion 524 extends axially from the surface 522c of the wrist portion 522 (shown in the figure) in the second guide shaft 512. Figure 4 (a) protrudes outward from the paper P.

[0087] In this embodiment, when the alignment device 520 is near the surface 5a of the device body parallel to the discharge direction, Figure 3 When an external force is applied to the position (indicated by the dashed line), the top 524a of the protrusion 524 protruding from the surface 522c of the wrist 522 first contacts the surface 5a of the main body of the device, thereby suppressing damage to the bearing portion 521 and deformation of the alignment portion 523.

[0088] like Figure 4 As shown in (a), the wrist 522 includes a first wrist 522A bent to a position located further away from the end face Pa of the paper P in the axial direction (-Y direction) than the bearing portion 521, and a second wrist 522B integrally continuous from the first wrist 522A and supporting the alignment portion 523. The bearing portion 521, the first wrist 522A, the second wrist 522B, the support portion 523A of the alignment portion 523, and the protrusion 524 are integrally formed from a synthetic resin such as POM (polyacetal).

[0089] like Figure 4 As shown in (b), the alignment part 523 is movably inserted into the insertion through hole 523Aa of the support part 523A through the shaft part 523b and under the condition that the end face Pa of the paper P is applied by the spring 523c, and is mounted by the screw 523d ​​to the support part 523A which is continuously integrally formed from one end of the second wrist part 522B.

[0090] Thus, although the alignment portion 523 is formed into a double structure with thickness in the axial direction of the second guide shaft 512 due to the contact portion 523a being forced by the spring 523c in a manner that allows it to move relative to the support portion 523A, the second wrist portion 522B of the support portion 523A is bent along the axial direction of the second guide shaft 512 at the first wrist portion 522A, thus allowing contact to be made from a more outer side to align the end face Pa of the paper P. Furthermore, if the alignment portion 523 is not formed into a double structure, the alignment portion 523 becomes thinner, thus allowing contact to be made from an even more outer side to align the end face Pa of the paper P.

[0091] Furthermore, the alignment portion 523 is located on the outer side of the second guide shaft 512 in the axial direction relative to the bearing portion 521. As a result, the width of the paper that can be processed can be increased, while the width direction of the recording material processing device 5 can be miniaturized.

[0092] A rotating plate 516 is fixed on the second guide shaft 512. For example... Figure 3 As shown, a pulley 517 is fixed to one end of the second guide shaft 512, which is connected to the motor M2 via a synchronous belt 518. Thus, the motor M2 rotates for a predetermined number of pulses, driving the second guide shaft 512 to rotate, while the rotating plate 516 rotates simultaneously. Figure 5 As shown in (a), if the rotating plate 516 rotates ( Figure 5 In (a) indicated by arrow R2, the curved portion 516a of the rotating plate 516 contacts the first wrist portion 522A from below (in the -Z direction) to lift the first wrist portion 522A, thereby causing the alignment portion 523 to rotate toward the main body of the device. Figure 5 (In (a), it is represented by arrow R3).

[0093] When the alignment device 520 performs the alignment operation on the discharged paper P, after the alignment part 523 moves a predetermined distance along the axial direction (-Y direction, Y direction) while rotated to the side of the device body, the motor M2 rotates in the reverse direction for a predetermined number of pulses, thereby causing the second guide shaft 512 to rotate in the reverse direction, and simultaneously the rotating plate 516 to rotate in the reverse direction. If the rotating plate 516 rotates in the reverse direction ( Figure 5 In (b), represented by arrow R4, then as Figure 5 As shown in (b), the curved portion 516a of the rotating plate 516 separates from the first wrist portion 522A, and the alignment portion 523 rotates downward (in the -Z direction) by its own weight, becoming a state opposite to the end face Pa of the paper P. Figure 5 (In (b), it is indicated by arrow R5).

[0094] like Figure 6 As shown, if a pair of alignment devices 520 having such an alignment portion 523 moves along the second guide shaft 512 toward the end face Pa of the paper P, and the contact portion 523a is inserted into the end face Pa of the paper P in such a way that ( Figure 6 When the contact part 523a comes into contact with the spring 523c, it aligns with the end face Pa of the paper P while the spring 523c is pushed toward the support part 523A.

[0095] (2.2) Alignment Action

[0096] Figure 7 (a) is a top view showing the alignment device 520 in the standby position. Figure 7 (b) is a diagram showing the state from the side view. Figure 8 (a) is a top view showing the support portion 526 of the modified example. Figure 8 (b) is a side view showing the support portion 526. Figure 9 (a) is a side view showing the alignment device 520 moving towards the alignment position. Figure 9 (b) is a diagram showing the state from a top-down view. Figure 10 (a) is a diagram showing the alignment action at the alignment position from a top view. Figure 10 (b) is a diagram showing the alignment action from the side view.

[0097] (2.2.1) Standby position

[0098] When the paper P discharged from the post-processing unit 3 is received onto the paper stacking tray TR, the recording material processing unit 5 is in standby position. For example... Figure 7As shown in (a), the standby position is the position where the alignment part 523 of the alignment device 520 is furthest from the end face Pa of the discharged paper P in the axial direction of the second guide shaft 512, so as to separate the alignment device 520 from the predetermined opposing interval W at which the paper P can be received.

[0099] The alignment device 520 can rotate around the axis of the second guide shaft 512 via the rotating plate 516, and after the alignment operation is completed, it moves to a standby position with the alignment part 523 rotated to the device body side. Furthermore, in the standby position, as... Figure 7 As shown in (b), the alignment portion 523 is rotated to a nearly vertical position on the side of the device body, so that the alignment portion 523 does not protrude significantly in the discharge direction of the paper P. As a result, the alignment portion 523 is not easily accessible from the outside and appears compact in appearance.

[0100] The alignment part 523 maintains the state of rotating to the main body side by rotating the rotating plate 516 fixed to the second guide shaft 512 to lift the first wrist 522A from below. However, if an external force is applied to the alignment part 523, the rotating plate 516 will be loaded, and the motor M2 that supplies it with rotation will also be loaded.

[0101] Furthermore, when an external force is applied to the alignment portion 523, the rotating plate 516 is oriented relative to... Figure 5 When position (a) is rotated closer to the -R2 direction, for example in Figure 5 (a) to Figure 5 (b) refers to the movement of the rotating plate 516, where only the rotation amount is controlled. Figure 5 The position of (b) may also change. This would change the positional relationship between the alignment part 523 and the side of the paper, and may make alignment difficult.

[0102] In this embodiment, such as Figure 7 As shown, a support portion 526 protruding axially (Y direction) is provided on the upstream side of the surface 5a of the main body of the device, which is parallel to the discharge direction of the paper P. Figure 7 As shown in (b), the support portion 526 is generally L-shaped in cross-section, and in the standby position, it contacts the portion 524b between the top 524a of the protrusion 524 and the surface 522c of the second wrist portion 522B from below. Figure 7 (as indicated by arrow A in (b)) thus the support alignment device 520 will not rotate to the alignment position due to its own weight.

[0103] like Figure 8As shown, the support portion 526 can also be formed to protrude longer from the surface 5a of the device body in the axial direction (Y direction) to support the lower surface 522Ba of the second wrist portion 522B. It can directly support the second wrist portion 522B instead of the protrusion 524, thereby preventing deformation of the protrusion 524.

[0104] The support portion 526 is located upstream of the discharge direction of the surface 5a of the main body of the device, which is parallel to the discharge direction of the paper P. This improves the appearance of the device and makes it less likely to be touched from the outside. Furthermore, the support portion 526 is formed into a roughly L-shape in cross-section, so it is not easily broken even if a load of rotation by its own weight is applied to the alignment device 520.

[0105] Thus, the standby position is the position where the alignment part 523 of the alignment device 520 is furthest from the end face Pa of the discharged paper P in the axial direction of the second guide shaft 512, and is a position where the alignment part 523 rotates to the side of the device body without protruding significantly in the discharge direction of the paper P, so it is a position that is not easily contacted from the outside.

[0106] Furthermore, in the standby position, such as Figure 7 As shown in (b), the alignment part 523 will not be opposed to the surface 5a of the device body even when rotated to the device body side, and the screw 523d ​​on which the contact part 523a of the alignment part 523 is mounted to the support part 523A will not interfere with the surface 5a of the device body.

[0107] like Figure 7 As shown in (b), an elastic member 525 is provided near the front end of the alignment portion 523. The elastic member 525 is formed, for example, of a foamed material, and it contacts the surface 5b of the device body when the alignment device 520 rotates to the device body side, thereby suppressing damage to the device body.

[0108] In the standby position, when an external force is applied to the alignment device 520, the top 524a of the protrusion 524 contacts the surface 5a of the device body that is parallel to the discharge direction of the paper P. For example... Figure 4 As shown in (a), the top 524a is U-shaped, comprising a plurality of faces, which increases the strength when the protrusion 524 contacts the face 5a. Alternatively, the protrusion 524 can be formed as a hollowed-out prism, thus forming a quadrilateral with four faces. Furthermore, the protrusion 524 can also be cylindrical. In this case, for example, the cylinder is preferably hollow so that the rigidity does not become excessive.

[0109] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example is shown where the top 524a has a surface that contacts the surface 5a to a certain extent, but the top 524a can also be a point that contacts the surface 5a. As a specific example when the top 524a contacts the surface 5a at a point, the protrusion 524 can be formed into a semi-circular shape. When formed into a semi-circular shape, the amount of protrusion from the surface 522c is reduced, so the rotation stop can be served by other parts.

[0110] The protrusion 524 protrudes outward most extensively in the portion of the alignment device 520 opposite the surface 5a of the device body, such as... Figure 7 As shown in (a), if the external force ( Figure 7 (A) (indicated by arrow F) When applied to the alignment portion 523, the top 524a of the protrusion 524 will first contact the surface 5a of the device body. Figure 7 (as shown by arrow f in (a)). Therefore, the support portion 523A of the bearing portion 521 and the alignment portion 523 will not come into contact with the surface 5a of the main body of the device, thus suppressing damage to the bearing portion 521 and deformation of the alignment portion 523.

[0111] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the protrusion 524 does not protrude from the support portion 523A of the alignment portion 523, but rather from the surface 522c of the second wrist portion 522B, which has a lower rigidity than the support portion 523A. Therefore, the sound is less when the top 524a of the protrusion 524 contacts the surface 5a of the device body, and the second wrist portion 522B can easily bend with one end of the first wrist portion 522A as its base, thus easily absorbing deformation. Moreover, impacts are less likely to be transmitted to the alignment portion 523.

[0112] (2.2.2) Movement towards the alignment position

[0113] When moving from the standby position to align the end face Pa of the paper P with the end face Pa of the paper P that is discharged onto the stacking tray TR, as follows: Figure 9 As shown in (a), the rotating plate 516 is first rotated ( Figure 9 (in (a) indicated by arrow R6) causes the alignment part 523 to rotate toward the main body of the device. Figure 9 (indicated by arrow R7 in (a)), thereby separating the portion 524b between the top 524a of the protrusion 524 and the surface 522c of the second wrist portion 522B from the support portion 526 provided on the surface 5a of the device body. Figure 9 (r is used to represent in (a)).

[0114] Then, as Figure 9As shown in (b), if the alignment part 523 moves to a predetermined position along the axial direction (-Y direction, Y direction) while the alignment part 523 is rotated to the side of the main body of the device, and then the rotating plate 516 rotates in the opposite direction, the bent part 516a of the rotating plate 516 separates from the first wrist part 522A, and the alignment part 523 rotates downward (-Z direction) by its own weight, becoming a state opposite to the end face Pa of the paper P.

[0115] (2.2.3) Alignment Action

[0116] When the alignment part 523 moves to the alignment position, such as Figure 10 As shown, the contact portion 523a of the alignment portion 523 contacts the end face Pa of the paper P from the outside to align the paper P.

[0117] (2.2.4) Movement to the standby position

[0118] If the alignment action is completed, the rotating plate 516 rotates so that the alignment part 523 is rotated to the side of the main body of the device and moves to the standby position.

[0119] If the alignment part 523 moves to the standby position, the rotating plate 516 rotates in the opposite direction, and the alignment part 523 rotates downward (in the -Z direction) by its own weight, so that the portion 524b between the top 524a of the protrusion 524 and the surface 522c of the second wrist 522B contacts the support part 526, thereby preventing the support alignment device 520 from rotating to the alignment position due to its own weight.

[0120] In the standby position, if an external force is applied to the alignment portion 523, the top 524a of the protrusion 524 will first contact the surface 5a of the device body. As a result, the bearing portion 521 and the support portion 523A of the alignment portion 523 will not contact the surface 5a of the device body, thus suppressing damage to the bearing portion 521 and deformation of the alignment portion 523.

[0121] In the above embodiment, the case where the wrist 522 includes a first wrist 522A and a second wrist 522B has been described, but the wrist 522 may also be in a straight line.

[0122] The embodiments of the present invention described above are provided for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, these embodiments do not encompass the entirety of the invention, nor do they limit the invention to the disclosed methods. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations will be readily understood. These embodiments were chosen and described to most readily explain the principles and applications of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art can understand the invention through various modifications that are assumed to be optimized for specific uses of various embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the foregoing claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A recording material processing apparatus comprising a guide shaft extending axially along a recording material width direction intersecting a recording material discharge direction, and an alignment unit movable along the guide shaft, characterized in that, The alignment unit has: The bearing portion is movably fitted into the guide shaft; The alignment portion is provided so as to be exposed on the outside in the discharge direction and to align the position of the end face by contacting the end face parallel to the discharge direction of the recording material from the outside of the recording material. The wrist portion connects the bearing portion and the alignment portion; and The protrusion extends axially from the outer side of the wrist facing the recording material. When an external force is applied to the alignment unit near the surface of the device body parallel to the discharge direction, it contacts the surface of the device body. The alignment portion is rotatable about the guide shaft and is positioned near the surface of the device body parallel to the discharge direction as a standby position. It also has a support portion that contacts the top of the protrusion in the standby position between the surface of the device body and the surface of the wrist portion, thereby supporting the alignment unit so that it does not rotate.

2. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The alignment portion is supported by the wrist portion on the outer side of the guide shaft, which is further axially than the bearing portion. The wrist portion is bent along the axial direction, and the protrusion is formed to protrude from the outer side of the wrist portion on the axial direction.

3. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The top of the protrusion that contacts the surface of the device body is located further outward along the axial direction than the alignment portion.

4. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The top surface that contacts the body of the device is composed of a plurality of surfaces.

5. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support portion is located upstream of the discharge direction of the recording material, further than the surface of the device body.

6. The recording material processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, The support portion is L-shaped in the axial cross-section.

7. The recording material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 5, characterized in that, An elastic member is provided in the alignment portion, and when the elastic member is rotated to the upstream side of the discharge direction of the recording material in the standby position, it contacts the surface of the device body facing the upstream side of the discharge direction of the recording material.

8. An image forming system, characterized in that, have: An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material; A post-processing apparatus performs post-processing on the recording material on which the image has been formed by the image forming apparatus; and The recording material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is positioned so as to align the end face of the recording material being processed by the post-processing apparatus with a position parallel to the discharge direction of the recording material.

Images