SHEET CUTTING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM

Abstract

To provide a technique to prevent an increase in size of a sheet cutting device.SOLUTION: A sheet cutting device comprises cutting means that has a plurality of cutting blades for cutting a sheet along a conveyance direction, the plurality of cutting blades being movable to a cutting position for cutting the sheet and a retracted position not for cutting the sheet. The plurality of cutting blades are provided at different positions in a width direction orthogonal to both the conveyance direction and an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a surface of the sheet. At least one first cutting blade of the plurality of cutting blades can change the position in the orthogonal direction. A second cutting blade of the plurality of cutting blades can change the position in the width direction from the inside to the outside of a range in the width direction through which the sheet passes. Control means changes the position in the orthogonal direction of the first cutting blade to set the first cutting blade to the cutting position or the retracted position, and changes the position in the width direction of the second cutting blade to set the second cutting blade to the cutting position or the retracted position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet cutting device and an image forming system including the sheet cutting device. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a post-processing device that performs post-processing on a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming device such as a copier or printer. The post-processing includes a binding process and a cutting process for cutting the sheet. Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet cutting device that cuts the sheet along its conveying direction. According to Patent Document 1, in order to cut the sheet at different positions in the width direction, three slitter processing units that cut the sheet along the sheet conveying direction are provided. The width direction is a direction perpendicular to both the sheet conveying direction and the normal direction of the sheet. The three slitter processing units are configured to be detachable from the main body of the device and are replaced depending on the cutting position in the sheet width direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-52741 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the slitter processing unit must be replaced depending on the cutting position in the width direction of the sheet. Also, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide a space in the sheet cutting device for mounting three slitter processing units in series along the sheet conveying direction, which increases the size of the sheet cutting device.

[0005] The present invention provides a technique for preventing the sheet cutting device from becoming large in size. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a sheet cutting device includes a conveying means for conveying a sheet, a first cutting blade for cutting the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along a conveying direction of the sheet, a second cutting blade arranged on one side of the first cutting blade in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and cutting the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction, and a third cutting blade arranged on the other side of the first cutting blade in the width direction and cutting the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction. a cutting blade, a first moving means for moving the first cutting blade in the width direction, a second moving means for moving the second cutting blade in the width direction to move the second cutting blade to a second cutting position where the sheet is cut and a second retracted position where the sheet does not pass, a third moving means for moving the third cutting blade in the width direction to move the third cutting blade to a third cutting position where the sheet is cut and a third retracted position where the sheet does not pass, and a control means for controlling the first moving means, the second moving means, and the third moving means. the first cutting blade is configured to be able to change its position in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a surface of the sheet, when the first cutting blade cuts the sheet, the first cutting blade is located at a first cutting position where the sheet is cut, when the first cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the first cutting blade is located at a first retracted position where the sheet is not cut, which is within a passing area of ​​the sheet in the width direction and different from the first cutting position in the orthogonal direction, when the second cutting blade cuts the sheet, the second cutting blade is located at the second cutting position, when the second cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the second cutting blade is located at the second retracted position, when the third cutting blade cuts the sheet, the third cutting blade is located at the third cutting position, when the third cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the third cutting blade is located at the third retracted position The first moving means is configured so that the first cutting blade does not move outside a passing area of ​​the sheet in the width direction. . Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sheet cutting device from becoming large in size. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a cutter blade in a cutting state and a cutter blade in a retracted state; [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a cutting process by a second cutting unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a control configuration diagram of the image forming system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system 100 according to this embodiment. The image forming system 100 has an image forming apparatus A, a sheet cutting apparatus B, and a sheet processing apparatus C. The image forming apparatus A includes an image forming unit A1, a scanner unit A2, and a feeder unit A3.

[0011] The image forming unit A1 has image forming sections 200 for forming yellow, magenta, cyan and black toner images, respectively. The image forming section 200 forms yellow, magenta, cyan and black toner images on four photoconductors 225 by electrophotography. Specifically, each charger of the image forming section 200 charges the corresponding photoconductor 225. Each exposure device of the image forming section 200 exposes the corresponding photoconductor 225 to light, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the corresponding photoconductor 225. Then, each development device of the image forming section 200 develops the electrostatic latent image of the corresponding photoconductor 225 with toner to form a toner image on each photoconductor 225. The toner image of each photoconductor 225 is transferred to a transfer belt 226, which is an intermediate transfer body, by each transfer charger of the image forming section 200. Note that a full-color toner image can be formed by overlapping the toner images of each photoconductor 225 and transferring them to the transfer belt 226. During image formation, the transfer belt 226 is rotated clockwise in the drawing. Thus, the toner image transferred to the transfer belt 226 is transported to a position facing the secondary transfer device 231. The secondary transfer device 231 transfers the toner image on the transfer belt 226 to a sheet transported from one of the cassettes 240, 241 and the manual feed tray 253. The fixing device 234 fixes the toner image to the sheet by applying heat and pressure to the sheet to which the toner image has been transferred. The image forming unit A1 of this embodiment is configured to be capable of forming an image not only on one side of the sheet but also on both sides of the sheet. However, image formation on both sides of the sheet is not necessary for the description of this embodiment, so the description thereof will be omitted. In any case, the sheet on which the toner image has been formed by the image forming unit A1 is finally transported to the sheet cutting device B.

[0012] Feeder unit A3 transports the document placed on tray 22 along a transport path and discharges it onto tray 24. Scanner unit A2 optically reads the document transported by feeder unit A3 and outputs the read image data to image forming unit A1. Image forming unit A1 can form an image on a sheet based on the image data from scanner unit A2. Scanner unit A2 is configured to read not only the document transported by feeder unit A3, but also the document placed on platen 17. Image forming unit A1 can be configured to form an image not only based on image data from scanner unit A2, but also based on image data received from a computer via a network (not shown).

[0013] The sheet cutting device B cuts the conveyed sheets as necessary. The sheets that have passed through the sheet cutting device B are conveyed to the sheet processing device C. The sheet processing device C staples and folds the sheets as necessary, and discharges the sheets to one of the discharge trays 36, 44, and 46.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the sheet cutting device B. The inlet rollers 302 feed the sheet from the image forming device A to the sheet cutting device B. At this time, the rotation of the registration rollers 303 is stopped, and the inlet rollers 302 are stopped after the sheet hits the stopped registration rollers 303. This corrects the skew of the sheet. The timing to stop the inlet rollers 302 is determined based on the timing when the inlet sensor 301 detects the sheet. After the skew is corrected, the sheet is conveyed by the registration rollers 303 to the first cutting section 305 via the detection sensor 304. The detection sensor 304 detects the end position of the sheet in the width direction. The width direction is a direction perpendicular to both the conveying direction of the sheet and the orthogonal direction (normal direction) perpendicular to the surface of the sheet.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first cutting unit 305. In FIG. 3, the detection sensor 304 between the registration roller 303 and the first cutting unit 305 is omitted for the sake of simplicity. The first cutting unit 305 has a guillotine blade 305a that cuts the sheet in the width direction. The sheet is cut by moving the guillotine blade 305a in the perpendicular direction by a driving unit (not shown). The position in the conveying direction at which the sheet is cut is determined by the amount of sheet conveyance by the registration roller 303. When the sheet is cut, the registration roller 303 is stopped to stop the conveyance of the sheet.

[0016] Returning to FIG. 2, the sheet that has passed through the first cutting section 305 is conveyed to the second cutting section 307 by the intermediate rollers 306. The second cutting section 307 cuts the sheet along the conveyance direction.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the second cutting section 307. In this embodiment, the second cutting section 307 has three cutter units 307L, 307C, and 307R. The cutter units 307L and 307R are provided near two ends of the sheet in the width direction, and the cutter unit 307C is provided near the center of the sheet in the width direction. The configurations of the cutter units 307L, 307C, and 307R are basically the same, and the configuration of the cutter unit 307L will be described below. The cutter unit 307L has a disk-shaped cutter blade (cutting blade) 307L-3 supported by a shaft 307L-4 and a top 307L-1 supported by a shaft 307L-2. The cutter blade 307L-3 is biased against the top 307L-1 by a biasing spring 307L-5. The cutter unit 307L is configured to be movable in the width direction by a drive unit (not shown). The sheet conveyed in the conveying direction is cut along the conveying direction by the cutter blade 307L-3 that rotates around the shaft 307L-4 as a rotation shaft. In this manner, the cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 are cutting members that cut the sheet along the conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the cutter unit 307C has a cam 311 that is provided outside the area through which the sheet passes in the conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 307C-4 of the cutter unit 307C extends to a position where the cam 311 is provided, and the cam 311 is biased against the shaft 307C-4 as described later.

[0018] Each of the three cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 is configured to be set to either a cutting state in which the sheet is cut or a retracted state in which the sheet is not cut. In this embodiment, the cutting control unit B1 (see FIG. 7) switches the state of the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 by moving the cutter units 307L and 307R in the conveying direction. Specifically, when the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 are set to the cutting state, the cutting control unit B1 moves the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 to positions within the sheet passing area in the width direction. More specifically, the cutting control unit B1 moves the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 to the sheet cutting position in the width direction. On the other hand, when the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 are to be put in the retracted state, the cutting control unit B1 moves the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 to retracted positions that are outside the sheet passing area in the width direction.

[0019] On the other hand, if the state switching configuration of the cutter blade 307C-3 is the same as that of the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3, the distance that the cutter blade 307C-3 is moved to switch the state becomes longer. Therefore, the time required to switch the state of the cutter blade 307C-3 becomes longer, which reduces productivity. For this reason, in this embodiment, the state of the cutter blade 307C-3 is switched by changing the position of the cutter blade 307C-3 in the orthogonal direction.

[0020] FIG. 5(A) shows the cutter blade 307C-3 in a cutting state, and FIG. 5(B) shows the cutter blade 307C-3 in a retracted state. The dashed line in FIG. 5 indicates the sheet surface. As shown in FIG. 5, the shaft 307C-4 of the cutter blade 307C-3 and the shaft 307C-2 of the top 307C-1 are connected by a link arm 313. The shaft 307C-4 is biased by a tension spring 314 to contact the peripheral surface of a cam 311 provided outside the sheet passing area. The cam 311 is configured to be rotatable around a cam shaft 312 as a rotation shaft. By rotating the cam 311 by a drive unit (not shown), the shaft 307C-4 moves in a direction away from the sheet surface, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the cutter blade 307C-3 also moves away from the sheet surface.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 5(A), in the cutting state, the cutter blade 307C-3 is set to a position (cutting position) that penetrates the sheet surface in a direction perpendicular to the sheet surface. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5(B), in the retracted state, the cutter blade 307C-3 is in a retracted position away from the sheet surface. In the perpendicular direction, the retracted position and the cutting position are different from each other. More specifically, the retracted position is a position where the cutter blade 307C-3 does not come into contact with the sheet surface.

[0022] For example, as shown in Fig. 6(A), by setting cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 to a cutting state and setting cutter blade 307C-3 to a retracted state, the vicinity of two ends of the sheet in the width direction (indicated by dotted lines) can be cut. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6(B), by setting all of cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 to a cutting state, the sheet can be cut near the center in the width direction in addition to the vicinity of the two ends of the sheet in the width direction. Each of cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 is configured to be individually settable to a cutting state or a retracted state.

[0023] In this embodiment, the cutter blade 307C-3 is also configured to be movable in the width direction in order to adjust the cutting position in the width direction. On the other hand, the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 are configured to be movable in the width direction in order to switch between the cutting state and the retreated state in addition to adjusting the cutting position in the width direction. For this reason, as described above, the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 are configured to be movable in the width direction within a range from an inner position of the area through which the sheet passes to an outer position of the area through which the sheet passes. On the other hand, the cutter blade 307C-3 is configured to be movable in the width direction within a range necessary for adjusting the cutting position in the width direction. For example, the movement range of the cutter blade 307C-3 in the width direction may be included in the width direction range through which the sheet passes. Instead, the cutter blade 307C-3 is configured to be changeable in the orthogonal direction to switch between the cutting state and the retreated state.

[0024] In this way, by configuring each of the cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 to be settable to either the retracted state or the cutting state, the sheet can be cut at a widthwise position according to the cutting process. This configuration eliminates the need to replace the cutting member according to the cutting position of the sheet. In addition, since it is possible to accommodate various cutting positions, it is no longer necessary to provide multiple cutting members in series along the sheet conveying direction, and the sheet cutting device can be prevented from becoming large. The cutting position in the second cutting unit 307 is determined based on the two ends in the width direction of the sheet detected by the detection sensor 304. In addition, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 309 denotes a waste box for storing sheet waste generated during the cutting process in the first cutting unit 305 and the second cutting unit 307.

[0025] FIG. 7 shows the control configuration of the image forming system 100. The image forming control unit A1 controls the entire image forming system 100, and the cutting control unit B1 controls the sheet cutting device B under the control of the image forming control unit A1. The image forming control unit A1 also controls the post-processing device C, but this is omitted in FIG. 7. The cutting control unit B1 controls the conveyance drive unit B2 to control the conveyance of the sheet in the sheet cutting device B. The cutting control unit B1 also controls the first drive unit B3 to control the cutting of the sheet by the guillotine blade 305a of the first cutting unit 305. The cutting control unit B1 also controls the second drive unit B4 to control the cutting of the sheet by the second cutting unit 307. This control includes state setting control of the cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 (retracted state, cutting state), and control to move the cutter blade to the cutting position when the state is set to the cutting state.

[0026] In this embodiment, three cutter blades 307L-3, 307C-3, and 307R-3 are provided at different positions in the width direction, but the number of cutter blades provided at different positions in the width direction is not limited to three. For example, the number of cutter blades can be any number equal to or greater than three. The number of cutter blades may be two. More generally, the multiple cutter blades are classified into a first cutter blade and a second cutter blade. The first cutter blade is a cutter blade that, when moved in the width direction to switch from the cutting state to the retracted state, takes a switching time of at least a predetermined time. On the other hand, the second cutter blade is a cutter blade that, when moved in the width direction to switch from the cutting state to the retracted state, takes a switching time of less than a predetermined time. In this case, the first cutter blade switches between the cutting state and the retracted state by changing the position in the orthogonal direction of the cutter blade, as in the case of the cutter blade 307C-3 described in the embodiment. The second cutter blade, like the cutter blades 307L-3 and 307R-3 described in the embodiment, switches between the cutting state and the retreated state by moving in the width direction.

[0027] The positions of all the cutter blades in the orthogonal direction can be changed, and the retracted state and the cutting state can be switched by changing the positions in the orthogonal direction. Also, among the multiple cutter blades, two cutter blades at both ends in the width direction can be switched between the cutting state and the retracted state by moving in the width direction, and the remaining cutter blades can be switched between the cutting state and the retracted state by changing the positions in the orthogonal direction.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first cutter blade is also configured to be movable in the width direction in order to adjust the cutting position in the width direction, but it is sufficient that the position in the width direction is changeable, and it is not necessary to make the movement direction coincide with the width direction. In other words, the direction in which the first cutter blade is moved to adjust the cutting position can be, for example, parallel to the sheet surface and intersecting the conveying direction. The same applies to the second cutter blade. However, the second cutter blade is configured to be able to change its position in the width direction from the inside to the outside of the width direction range through which the sheet passes, in order to set the retracted state by changing its position in the width direction.

[0029] In this embodiment, the cutter blade 307C-3 is rotated around the shaft 307C-2 as a rotation axis to change the position of the cutter blade 307C-3 in the orthogonal direction, thereby switching between the retracted state and the cutting state. However, the configuration for changing the position of the cutter blade 307C-3 in the orthogonal direction, such as moving the cutter blade 307C-2 in the orthogonal direction, is not limited to the configuration in FIG. 5.

[0030] As described above, each cutter blade is configured to be set individually to the retracted state and the cutting state. Then, for a cutter blade for which the switching time becomes long when the retracted state and the cutting state are switched by changing the position in the width direction, the position of the cutter blade in the orthogonal direction is configured to be changeable, and the retracted state and the cutting state are switched by changing the position in the orthogonal direction. With this configuration, it is possible to cut the sheet along the conveying direction at various cutting positions without providing multiple cutter blades in series along the conveying direction of the sheet. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sheet cutting device from becoming large. In addition, it is not necessary to replace the member for cutting the sheet according to the required cutting position. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the switching time between the retracted state and the cutting state of each cutter blade from becoming long, thereby suppressing a decrease in productivity.

[0031] [Other embodiments] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0032] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 302: entrance roller, 303: registration roller, 306: intermediate roller, 307: second cutting section, 307L-3, 307C-3, 307R-3: cutter blade, B1: cutting control section

Claims

1. A conveying means for conveying a sheet; a first cutting blade that cuts the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along a conveying direction of the sheet; a second cutting blade arranged on one side of the first cutting blade in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and cutting the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction; a third cutting blade disposed on the other side of the first cutting blade in the width direction and configured to cut the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction; a first moving means for moving the first cutting blade in the width direction; a second moving means for moving the second cutting blade in the width direction to a second cutting position where the sheet is cut and a second retreat position where the sheet does not pass; a third moving means for moving the third cutting blade in the width direction to a third cutting position where the sheet is cut and a third retracted position where the sheet does not pass; a control means for controlling the first moving means, the second moving means, and the third moving means; Equipped with The first cutting blade is configured to be able to change its position in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the sheet, When the first cutting blade cuts the sheet, the first cutting blade is located at a first cutting position where the sheet is cut, and when the first cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the first cutting blade is located at a first retracted position where the sheet does not cut, the first retracted position being within a passing area of ​​the sheet in the width direction and different from the first cutting position in the perpendicular direction; When the second cutting blade cuts the sheet, the second cutting blade is located at the second cutting position, and when the second cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the second cutting blade is located at the second retracted position; When the third cutting blade cuts the sheet, the third cutting blade is located at the third cutting position, and when the third cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the third cutting blade is located at the third retracted position; The sheet cutting device, wherein the first moving means is configured to prevent the first cutting blade from moving outside a passing area of ​​the sheet in the width direction.

2. A conveying means for conveying a sheet; a first cutting blade that cuts the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along a conveying direction of the sheet; a second cutting blade arranged on one side of the first cutting blade in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and cutting the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction; a third cutting blade disposed on the other side of the first cutting blade in the width direction and configured to cut the sheet conveyed by the conveying means along the conveying direction; a first moving means for moving the first cutting blade in the width direction; a second moving means for moving the second cutting blade in the width direction so that the second cutting blade can move within a first movable area including a first area through which the sheet passes and a second area through which the sheet does not pass in the width direction; a third moving means for moving the third cutting blade in the width direction so that the third cutting blade can move within a second movable area including a third area through which the sheet passes and a fourth area through which the sheet does not pass in the width direction; a control means for controlling the first moving means, the second moving means, and the third moving means; Equipped with The first cutting blade is configured to be able to change its position in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the sheet, The control means When the first cutting blade cuts the sheet, the first cutting blade is positioned at a first cutting position where the first cutting blade cuts the sheet, and when the first cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the first cutting blade is positioned at a first retracted position where the sheet does not cut, the first retracted position being within a passing area of ​​the sheet in the width direction and different from the first cutting position in the perpendicular direction; When the second cutting blade cuts the sheet, the second cutting blade is positioned at a second cutting position in the first area, and when the second cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the second cutting blade is positioned at a second retracted position in the second area; When the third cutting blade cuts the sheet, the third cutting blade is positioned at a third cutting position in the third region, and when the third cutting blade does not cut the sheet, the third cutting blade is positioned at a third retracted position in the fourth region; The sheet cutting device, wherein the first moving means is configured not to move the first cutting blade to either the second region or the fourth region in the width direction.

3. When the sheet cutting device does not cut the sheet, the first cutting blade is located at the first retracted position, the second cutting blade is located at the second retracted position, and the third cutting blade is located at the third retracted position, the first cutting position is a position between the second cutting position and the third cutting position in the width direction, The sheet cutting device according to claim 1 , wherein the first retracted position is a position between the second retracted position and the third retracted position in the width direction.

4. The sheet cutting device according to claim 1 , further comprising a fourth cutting blade that cuts the sheet along the width direction.

5. an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet; The sheet cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which cuts the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming means; An image forming system comprising:

6. 6. The image forming system according to claim 5, further comprising a sheet processing device that processes the sheet that has passed through the sheet cutting device.

Images