Post-processing device

Abstract

A post-processing apparatus comprising: a conveying path for conveying paper sequentially conveyed from an upstream side; a first conveying path for conveying paper conveyed from the conveying path along a first direction; a second conveying path for conveying paper conveyed from the conveying path along a second direction; a third conveying path for conveying paper conveyed from the conveying path along a third direction; and a guiding mechanism for guiding the paper conveyed from the conveying path to any one of the first, second, and third conveying paths, the guiding mechanism being composed of a switching mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a post-processing apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a post-processing device in which a gate component is made of ribbed resin and is provided with a planar portion at the front end that is pressed by the conveyed printing paper and contacts the component of the conveying path. The planar portion of the gate component is pressed by contacting the printing paper conveyed from upstream, thereby allowing the printing paper to pass through. Once pressed, during the passage of the printing paper, a plurality of protrusions that are farther from the fulcrum than the planar portion contact the printing paper, thereby maintaining a state in which the printing paper can pass through.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-034972

[0004] In post-processing apparatuses that perform various post-processing operations on paper with images, such as folding, stapleing, and booklet making, a guide mechanism is used to guide the incoming paper in various transport directions. This guide mechanism can be equipped with a gate component for switching transport directions, and the position of this gate component is driven by a solenoid or the like, thereby switching the incoming paper to two transport directions.

[0005] However, if the incoming paper is switched to three conveying directions, two such gate components need to be configured, and two drive mechanisms are required to drive the two gate components respectively. Furthermore, placing the two gate components in different locations requires their own placement positions, which leads to a larger device size. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a post-processing device that can switch the incoming paper to three conveying directions by setting only one switching mechanism for switching the paper conveying direction.

[0007] The post-processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention includes: a conveying path for conveying paper sequentially conveyed from the upstream side;

[0008] The first conveying path conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the first direction;

[0009] The second conveying path conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the second direction;

[0010] A third conveying path, conveying paper transported from the conveying path along a third direction; and

[0011] The guiding mechanism guides the paper conveyed from the conveyor path to any one of the first, second, and third conveyor paths.

[0012] The guiding mechanism consists of a switching mechanism.

[0013] In the post-processing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus of the first aspect, the switching mechanism has a first gate component and a drive component for actuating the first gate component, and a second gate component that operates in conjunction with the first gate component.

[0014] In the post-processing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus of the second aspect, the second gate component has a flat portion that is subjected to force by an elastic member in the direction in which the first gate component is provided, thereby contacting and pressing the paper conveyed from the conveying path, thereby allowing the paper to pass through.

[0015] In the post-processing apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus of the third aspect, the force applied to the second gate component in the direction in which the first gate component is provided is set as follows: the force pressing the second gate component when the paper conveyed from the conveying path contacts the flat portion is less than the force, and the force capable of lifting the second gate component to a position in contact with the first gate component is greater than the force.

[0016] In the post-processing apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus of the second aspect, the second gate component is provided with a contact surface for contacting the first gate component.

[0017] In the post-processing apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, a noise-reducing component for eliminating the sound when the first gate component contacts the second gate component is provided on the contact surface of the first gate component and the second gate component.

[0018] Invention Effects

[0019] According to the post-processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the incoming paper can be switched to three conveying directions by providing only one switching mechanism for switching the conveying direction of the paper.

[0020] According to the post-processing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, when switching the paper conveying direction using two gate components, the required driving component can also be set as one.

[0021] According to the post-processing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the driving component for driving the second gate component can be omitted.

[0022] According to the fourth aspect of the post-processing apparatus of the present invention, a structure is achieved in which the second gate component is pressed only when paper is being conveyed from the conveyor path.

[0023] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the post-processing apparatus is capable of driving the second gate component in conjunction with the first gate component when the first gate component is driven.

[0024] According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the post-processing apparatus can reduce the sound when the first gate component and the second gate component come into contact, compared with the case where no silencing component is provided. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the general structure of the post-processing device 20;

[0028] Figure 3 This is an enlarged view of the area surrounding the switching mechanism 27;

[0029] Figure 4 This is an enlarged view of the switching mechanism 27;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the switching mechanism of gate components 31 and 32;

[0031] Figure 6 This diagram illustrates the action of the switching mechanism 27 when switching paper towards the paper output processor tray 22;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating the action of the gate component 32 as it passes through the paper fed from the image forming apparatus 10;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating the action of the switching mechanism 27 when switching paper towards the saddle-mounted order unit 26;

[0034] Figure 9 This is a perspective view of the gate component 31;

[0035] Figure 10 This is a side view of the gate component 31;

[0036] Figure 11 This is a three-dimensional view of the gate component 32;

[0037] Figure 12 This is a side view of the gate component 32;

[0038] Figure 13 This is a diagram showing the positional relationship between gate component 31 and gate component 32.

[0039] Symbol Explanation

[0040] 10-Image forming apparatus, 20-Post-processing apparatus, 21-Paper tray, 22-Paper processor tray, 23-Binding tray, 24-Punching unit, 25-End binding unit, 26-Saddle binding unit, 27-Switching mechanism, 28-Conveyor roller, 31-Gating component, 32-Gating component, 40-Control unit, 41-Solenoid, 42-Spring, 51-Rotating shaft, 52, 53-Contact surfaces, 54-Polyurethane buffer component, 61-Rotating shaft, 62-Contact surface, 63-Flat surface, 64-Polyurethane buffer component. Detailed Implementation

[0041] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, the image forming system of this embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 10 and a post-processing apparatus 20.

[0044] The image forming apparatus 10 is a printer for an electrophotographic system. Based on the operator's instructions, it prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing. The recording medium with the image formed is then sent to the post-processing apparatus 20.

[0045] The post-processing apparatus 20 has a plurality of post-processing units that perform post-processing on recording media such as printing paper on which an image has been formed by the image forming apparatus 10.

[0046] Here, post-processing refers to the processing performed on the printing paper or other materials after the image is formed, such as staple processing, punching processing, binding processing, folding processing, etc.

[0047] Next, refer to Figure 2 A summary of the structure of this post-processing device 20 will be provided.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, the post-processing apparatus 20 has a transport path for transporting paper sequentially fed from the image forming apparatus 10 on the upstream side, and includes a perforation unit 24 for perforating the paper fed from the transport path, an end-loading unit 25 for stapled after forming the fed paper into a bundle of multiple sheets, and a saddle-stitching unit 26 for stapled after forming the fed paper into a bundle of multiple sheets.

[0049] Furthermore, the post-processing device 20 has three paper discharge destinations: a paper discharge tray 21, a paper discharge processor tray 22, and a binding tray 23, which serve as paper discharge destinations for discharging the paper that has undergone post-processing through the perforation unit 24, the end-binding unit 25, and the saddle-binding unit 26.

[0050] The post-processing device 20 has this structure, and therefore the following paths are provided inside the post-processing device 20: a first conveying path, which conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the direction of the paper tray 21, which is the first direction; a second conveying path, which conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the direction of the end-loading unit 25 and the paper discharge processor 22, which is the second direction; and a third conveying path, which conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the direction of the saddle-loading unit 26, which is the third direction.

[0051] For example, when the incoming paper is only punched using the punching unit 24 or without any post-processing, the paper is discharged to the paper output tray 21 via the first transport path. Furthermore, paper that undergoes stapled processing in the end-binding unit 25 after passing through the punching unit 24 is discharged to the paper output processor tray 22 via the second transport path. Moreover, paper that undergoes binding processing in the saddle stitching unit 26 after passing through the punching unit 24 is discharged to the binding tray 23 via the third transport path.

[0052] Thus, the post-processing device 20 is provided with three transport paths, and therefore a switching mechanism 27 is provided as a guiding mechanism to guide the paper transported from the transport path to any of the first, second and third transport paths.

[0053] Next, an enlarged view of the area surrounding the switching mechanism 27 is shown. Figure 3 .

[0054] The switching mechanism 27 is provided on the conveying path from the image forming apparatus 10 upstream, and switches the conveying direction of the paper from the image forming apparatus 10 to any one of the following directions: the paper discharge tray 21 direction, the end-loading unit 25 and the paper discharge processor tray 22 direction, and the saddle-loading unit 26 direction.

[0055] Additionally, the end-loading unit 25 includes a collection tray 29 for stacking the incoming paper to form a paper bundle. The paper, delivered via the switching mechanism 27, is conveyed to the collection tray 29 by a conveyor roller 28. This conveyor roller 28 functions as a conveying unit for conveying paper along the conveying path.

[0056] Furthermore, when the paper is fed to the saddle-mounted order unit 26, after the paper is fed from the switching mechanism 27 to the collection tray 29, the feeding direction of the feed roller 28 is reversed, thereby feeding the paper to the saddle-mounted order unit 26.

[0057] Furthermore, an enlarged illustration of the switching mechanism 27 is shown in... Figure 4 . refer to Figure 4 The switching mechanism 27 has a gate component 31, a drive component (not shown) that actuates the gate component 31, and a gate component 32 that is linked to and actuates the gate component 31.

[0058] The gate component 32 has a flat portion that is subjected to force by an elastic member such as a spring in the direction in which the gate component 31 is provided, thereby contacting and pressing the paper conveyed from the conveyor path, thereby allowing the paper to pass through.

[0059] Furthermore, the force applied to the gate component 32 in the direction where the gate component 31 is provided is set as follows: the force pressing the gate component 32 when the paper from the conveyor path comes into contact with the flat part is less than the force, and the force that can lift the gate component 32 to a position where it contacts the gate component 31 is greater than the force.

[0060] Furthermore, the gate component 32 is provided with a contact surface for contacting the gate component 31. Additionally, a polyurethane buffer material is provided on the contact surface between the gate component 31 and the gate component 32 as a sound-absorbing component to eliminate sound when the contact surface of the gate component 31 and the gate component 32 is in contact. The detailed structure of the gate components 31 and 32 will be described later.

[0061] First, refer to Figure 5 The switching mechanism of the gate components 31 and 32 will be explained.

[0062] The gate component 31 is configured to rotate around a certain rotation axis. Furthermore, the gate component 31 is connected to the solenoid 41 via a linkage mechanism, and its operation switches between an upper and lower position in the vertical direction depending on the opening / closing state of the solenoid 41. The solenoid 41 is controlled by a control unit 40, which controls the solenoid 41 to be in an open or closed state according to a paper feeding method.

[0063] The gate component 32 is also configured to rotate about a certain axis of rotation. Furthermore, the gate component 32 is subjected to force on the side that is located vertically upward relative to the spring 42, i.e., the side where the gate component 31 is located.

[0064] Therefore, the gate component 32 is configured to operate in conjunction with the gate component 31. When the gate component 31 is switched to the upper position, it rotates upward to the position where it contacts the gate component 31. When the gate component 31 is switched to the lower position, it is pressed down by the gate component 31 and rotates downward.

[0065] The switching mechanism 27 has a structure that switches the paper fed from the image forming apparatus 10 to three transport directions in the following manner.

[0066] First, refer to Figure 4 The action of the switching mechanism 27 when switching paper to the paper tray 21 is explained.

[0067] When switching paper towards the paper tray 21, such as Figure 4 As shown, the control unit 40 switches the state of the solenoid 41 to move the gate component 31 to a downward position. Therefore, the gate component 32 is pressed by the gate component 31 and rotates in the downward direction.

[0068] The result, such as Figure 4 As shown, the paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus 10 is guided by the upper surface of the gate component 31 and the conveying direction is switched to the direction of the paper discharge tray 21.

[0069] Next, refer to Figure 6 The action of the switching mechanism 27 when switching paper to the paper output processor tray 22 is explained.

[0070] When switching paper towards the paper feeder tray 22, such as Figure 6 As shown, the control unit 40 switches the state of the solenoid 41 to move the gate component 31 to an upward position. Therefore, the gate component 32 also moves in conjunction with the gate component 31 and rotates in the upward direction.

[0071] The result, such as Figure 6 As shown, the paper transport path from the image forming apparatus 10 becomes blocked. However, if paper is transported from the image forming apparatus 10, then... Figure 7 As shown, the conveying pressure of the incoming paper applies a downward force to the gate component 32. Therefore, the gate component 32 rotates downward due to the paper's conveying pressure and its own weight. As a result, the paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus 10 is conveyed through the gate component 32 towards the paper discharge processor tray 22.

[0072] Finally, refer to Figure 8 The action of the switching mechanism 27 when switching paper to the direction of the saddle-mounted order unit 26 is explained.

[0073] In such Figure 7In the state shown, after the paper passes through the gate member 32, the control unit 40 causes the conveyor roller 28 to rotate in the opposite direction. As a result, the paper passing through the gate member 32 is conveyed along the direction of the gate member 32 and comes into contact with it. However, the shape of the gate member 32, viewed from the side of the conveyor roller 28, is such that it guides the paper in a downward direction; therefore, the paper traveling in the opposite direction does not pass through the gate member 32 but is guided downwards. Consequently, the paper traveling in the opposite direction via the conveyor roller 28 is conveyed towards the saddle-mount order unit 26.

[0074] Next, the detailed structure of the gate components 31 and 32 described above will be explained.

[0075] First, a perspective view of the gate component 31 in the post-processing apparatus 20 of this embodiment is shown below. Figure 9 Furthermore, a side view of the gate component 31 is shown. Figure 10 .

[0076] The gate component 31 is made of resin with a rib structure reinforced by a plurality of ribs. Furthermore, the front end of the gate component 31 has a curved surface that guides the incoming paper to its upper vertical position. This gate component 31 is as follows... Figure 10 The gate component 31 is mounted as shown and can rotate around the rotation axis 51. Furthermore, the gate component 31 is provided with two contact surfaces 52 and 53 that contact the gate component 32. Contact surface 52 is the contact surface when the gate component 31 is in the lower position, and contact surface 53 is the contact surface when the gate component 31 is in the upper position.

[0077] Furthermore, a polyurethane buffer member 54 is provided on the contact surface 53 to eliminate the sound when in contact with the contact surface of the gate member 32.

[0078] Next, a perspective view of the gate component 32 in the post-processing apparatus 20 of this embodiment will be provided. Figure 11 Furthermore, a side view of the gate component 32 is shown. Figure 12 .

[0079] The gate component 32, like the gate component 31, is made of resin with a rib structure reinforced by a plurality of ribs. Furthermore, this gate component 32, as... Figure 12The gate assembly is installed as shown, allowing it to rotate around the rotation axis 61. Furthermore, the gate assembly 32 has a contact surface 62 for contacting the gate assembly 31. The gate assembly 32 also has a flat surface 63 that contacts the incoming paper. If the paper, fed from the left side of the drawing, contacts the flat surface 63 and a conveying pressure is applied to the gate assembly 32, the gate assembly 32 rotates clockwise. When the paper travels in the opposite direction from the right side of the drawing, it is guided downwards along the surface of the gate assembly 32. Additionally, the gate assembly 32 is also equipped with a polyurethane buffer member 64 to eliminate noise when in contact with other components.

[0080] The positional relationship between the gate component 31 and the gate component 32 described above is shown in the figure. Figure 13 Additionally, in Figure 13 To facilitate understanding of the positional relationship between gate component 31 and gate component 32, illustrations of other surrounding structures are omitted. (Reference) Figure 13 It can be seen that the gate component 31 is configured to cover the upper side of the gate component 32. Furthermore, in Figure 13 The image shows a situation where the paper delivered from the image forming apparatus 10 enters between the gate component 31 and the gate component 32 as the gate component 31 moves upward.

[0081] With the structure described above, the gate component 31 is guided in such a way that the paper conveyed from the upstream side of the conveying path is switched to the conveying direction toward the paper discharge tray 21.

[0082] Furthermore, the gate component 32 is forced in the direction where the gate component 31 is located by the spring 42, and is pressed by the gate component 31 when the gate component 31 is guiding the paper in the conveying direction toward the paper discharge tray 21. When the gate component 31 is not guiding the paper in the conveying direction toward the paper discharge tray 21, the gate component 32 is in a state of blocking the conveying path by the force of the spring 42, and is pressed by the conveying pressure of the incoming paper to allow the paper to pass through, thereby guiding it in the conveying direction toward the paper discharge processor tray 22. Moreover, the gate component 32 guides paper traveling in the opposite direction from the conveying direction toward the paper discharge processor tray 22 toward the conveying direction toward the saddle-mounted order unit 26.

[0083] Furthermore, when feeding paper in the conveying direction toward the paper tray 21, the control unit 40 controls the flow by switching the solenoid 41, thereby positioning the gate component 31 to guide the paper in the conveying direction toward the paper tray 21. When feeding paper in the conveying direction toward the paper processor tray 22, the control unit 40 controls the flow by switching the solenoid 41, thereby positioning the gate component 31 to not guide the paper in the conveying direction toward the paper tray 21. When feeding paper in the conveying direction toward the saddle-mounted order unit 26, the control unit 40 controls the flow by reversing the conveyor roller 28 after the paper passes the gate component 32 at its rear end.

[0084] In the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment, the conveying direction of the incoming paper is switched to three directions using only one switching mechanism 27. Therefore, compared with setting two or more switching mechanisms in different positions to switch the conveying direction to three directions, the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment can be miniaturized.

[0085] 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 post-processing apparatus comprising: The conveyor path transports the papers sequentially from the upstream side; The first conveying path conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the first direction; The second conveying path conveys the paper conveyed from the conveying path along the second direction; A third conveying path, conveying paper transported from the conveying path along a third direction; and The guiding mechanism guides the paper conveyed from the conveyor path to any one of the first, second, and third conveyor paths. The guiding mechanism consists of a switching mechanism. in, The switching mechanism includes: a first gate component, a drive component for actuating the first gate component, and a second gate component that operates in conjunction with the first gate component. By switching the first gate component to the upper position, the second gate component rotates upwards until it contacts the first gate component. By switching the first gate component to the lower position, the second gate component is pressed down and rotated downwards by the first gate component. in, When the paper is conveyed to the first conveying path, the switching mechanism moves the first gate component to a downward position, so that the second gate component is pressed down by the first gate component and rotates downward. When the paper is conveyed to the second conveying path, the switching mechanism moves the first gate component to an upward position, so that the second gate component moves in conjunction with the first gate component and rotates upward. The second gate component also rotates downward due to the conveying pressure and its own weight, allowing the paper to pass through the second gate component. When the paper is conveyed to the third conveying path, the paper passing through the second gate component is conveyed in the direction of the second gate component and comes into contact with the second gate component. The paper traveling in the opposite direction will not pass through the second gate component, but will be guided in the downward direction.

2. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The second gate component has a flat portion that is subjected to force by an elastic member in the direction in which the first gate component is provided, thereby contacting and pressing the paper conveyed from the conveyor path, thereby allowing the paper to pass through.

3. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The force applied to the second gate component in the direction in which the first gate component is provided is set as follows: the force pressing the second gate component when the paper conveyed from the conveyor path contacts the flat portion is less than or greater than the force that can lift the second gate component to a position where it contacts the first gate component.

4. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The second gate component is provided with a contact surface for contacting the first gate component.

5. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, A noise-reducing component is provided on the contact surface between the first gate component and the second gate component to eliminate the sound when the first gate component contacts the second gate component.

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