Aftertreatment Device

Abstract

To provide a post-processing device with a switching mechanism for switching a conveyance direction of sheets, which is the only one component additionally provided in order to enable switching among three conveyance directions of conveyed sheets.SOLUTION: A post-processing device 20 includes: a conveyance passage for conveying sheets which are conveyed sequentially from an image forming device 10 on the upstream side; a first conveyance path for conveying the sheet to be conveyed from the conveyance passage in a discharge tray 21 direction which is a first direction; a second conveyance path for conveying the sheet to be conveyed from the conveyance passage in a direction of an end binding unit 25 and a finisher tray 22, which is a second direction; and a third conveyance path for conveying the sheet to be conveyed from the conveyance passage into a saddle stitching unit 26 direction which is a third direction. Furthermore, in the post-processing device 20, one switching mechanism 27 is provided as a guide mechanism for guiding the sheet to be conveyed from the conveyance passage into one of the first, second, and third conveyance paths.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a post-processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a post-processing device in which the gate member is made of a ribbed resin and has a flat tip that is pressed by the transported printing paper and contacts a transport path component, and the flat part of the gate member comes into contact with the printing paper transported from upstream and is pushed down to allow the printing paper to pass, and once pushed down, a number of protrusions that are farther from the fulcrum than the flat part come into contact with the printing paper while the printing paper is passing through, thereby holding the printing paper in a state that allows it to pass. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-034972 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a post-processing device that performs various post-processing such as folding, stapling, and booklet creation on paper on which an image has been formed, a guide mechanism is used to guide the conveyed paper in various conveying directions. As such a guide mechanism, a gate member for switching the conveying direction is provided, and the conveyed paper can be switched between two conveying directions by driving the position of this gate member with a solenoid or the like.

[0005] However, when switching the conveyed paper between three conveying directions, it is necessary to place such gate members in two locations and provide two drive mechanisms to drive the two gate members respectively. Furthermore, if the two gate members are provided in different locations, installation space is required for each, which increases the size of the device.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing device that can switch the transport direction of transported paper between three directions by simply providing a single switching mechanism for switching the transport direction of the paper. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A post-processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a conveying path for conveying sheets sequentially conveyed from an upstream side, a first transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a first direction; a second transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a second direction; a third transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a third direction; a guide mechanism that guides the paper conveyed from the conveyance path to any one of the first, second, and third conveyance paths, The guide mechanism is composed of one switching mechanism.

[0008] A second aspect of the post-processing device of the present invention is the post-processing device of the first aspect, wherein the switching mechanism has a first gate member, a driving member that operates the first gate member, and a second gate member that operates in conjunction with the first gate member.

[0009] A third aspect of the post-processing device of the present invention is the post-processing device of the second aspect, wherein the second gate member is biased by an elastic member in the direction in which the first gate member is provided, and has a flat portion that is pressed down by contact with paper transported from the transport path to allow the paper to pass through.

[0010] A fourth aspect of the post-processing device of the present invention is a post-processing device of the third aspect, wherein the biasing force biasing the second gate member in the direction in which the first gate member is provided is set to be less than the force that would push the second gate member down due to the transport pressure when the paper transported from the transport path comes into contact with the flat portion, and greater than the force that can lift the second gate member to a position where it contacts the first gate member.

[0011] A post-treatment device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the post-treatment device according to the second aspect, wherein the second gate member is provided with a contact surface for contacting the first gate member.

[0012] A sixth aspect of the post-treatment device of the present invention is the post-treatment device of the fifth aspect, wherein a sound-absorbing member is provided on the contact surface of the first gate member with the second gate member for absorbing noise generated when the first gate member comes into contact with the contact surface of the second gate member. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the post-processing device of the first aspect of the present invention, the transport direction of the transported paper can be switched between three directions by providing only one switching mechanism for switching the transport direction of the paper.

[0014] According to the post-processing device of the second aspect of the present invention, even when the sheet transport direction is switched using two gate members, the number of drive members required can be reduced to one.

[0015] According to the post-treatment device of the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the need for a driving member for driving the second gate member.

[0016] According to the post-processing device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the second gate member is pressed down only when a sheet is transported from the transport path.

[0017] According to the post-processing device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the first gate member is driven, the second gate member can also be driven in conjunction with the first gate member.

[0018] According to the post-treatment device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the sound generated when the first gate member and the second gate member come into contact with each other can be reduced compared to a case in which no sound-deadening member is provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the structure of the post-processing device 20. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the periphery of a switching mechanism 27. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a diagram for explaining a switching mechanism for gate members 31 and 32. FIG. [Figure 6] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the switching mechanism 27 when switching the paper toward the finisher tray 22. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the gate member 32 when passing a sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. [Figure 8] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the switching mechanism 27 when switching the paper in the direction of the saddle stitching unit 26. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a side view of the gate member 31. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a side view of the gate member 32. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a gate member 31 and a gate member 32. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The image forming system of this embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 10 and a post-processing apparatus 20, as shown in FIG.

[0023] The image forming apparatus 10 is an electrophotographic printer that prints an image on a recording medium such as printing paper through processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and fixing in response to operations by an operator. Then, the recording medium on which the image has been formed is sent to a post-processing apparatus 20.

[0024] The post-processing device 20 has a plurality of post-processing units, and performs post-processing on recording media such as printing paper on which an image has been formed by the image forming device 10 .

[0025] Here, post-processing refers to processing that is performed on print paper or the like after an image has been formed, such as stapling, punching, bookbinding, and folding.

[0026] Next, an outline of the structure of the post-processing device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the post-processing device 20 has a transport path for transporting paper sheets transported in sequence from the image forming device 10 located upstream, and is equipped with a punching unit 24 for performing a punching process on the paper sheets transported from this transport path, an end binding unit 25 for stapling the transported paper sheets into a bundle of multiple sheets, and a saddle stitching unit 26 for binding the transported paper sheets into a bundle of multiple sheets.

[0028] The post-processing device 20 has three discharge destinations, namely, a discharge tray 21, a finisher tray 22, and a binding tray 23, for discharging paper after post-processing is performed by a punching unit 24, an end stitching unit 25, and a saddle stitching unit 26.

[0029] Because the post-processing device 20 is configured in this manner, there are provided inside the post-processing device 20 a first transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a first direction toward the discharge tray 21, a second transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a second direction toward the end binding unit 25 and the finisher tray 22, and a third transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a third direction toward the saddle stitching unit 26.

[0030] For example, when the transported paper is to be punched only by the punching unit 24, or when no post-processing is to be performed, the paper is discharged to the discharge tray 21 via the first transport path. Furthermore, paper to be stapled in the edge stitching unit 25 after passing through the punching unit 24 is discharged to the finisher tray 22 via the second transport path. Furthermore, paper to be bound 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.

[0031] As described above, since the post-processing device 20 has three transport paths, a single switching mechanism 27 is provided as a guide mechanism for guiding paper transported from the transport path to any one of the first, second, or third transport paths.

[0032] Next, an enlarged view of the switching mechanism 27 and its surroundings is shown in FIG.

[0033] The switching mechanism 27 is provided on a transport path along which paper is transported sequentially from the upstream image forming device 10, and switches the transport direction of the paper transported from the image forming device 10 to any one of the directions toward the discharge tray 21, the direction toward the end stitching unit 25 and the finisher tray 22, and the direction toward the saddle stitching unit 26.

[0034] The end stitching unit 25 includes a compile tray 29 for stacking the transported sheets to form a sheet bundle, and the sheets transported via the switching mechanism 27 are transported to the compile tray 29 by transport rolls 28. The transport rolls 28 function as a transport means for transporting the sheets on the transport path.

[0035] When the paper is transported in the direction of the saddle stitching unit 26, the paper is transported from the switching mechanism 27 in the direction of the compile tray 29, and then the transport direction of the transport rolls 28 is reversed so that the paper is transported in the direction of the saddle stitching unit 26.

[0036] An enlarged view of the switching mechanism 27 is shown in Fig. 4. Referring to Fig. 4, the switching mechanism 27 has a gate member 31, a drive member (not shown) that operates the gate member 31, and a gate member 32 that operates in conjunction with the gate member 31.

[0037] The gate member 32 is biased by an elastic member such as a spring in the direction in which the gate member 31 is provided, and has a flat portion that is pressed down by contact with the paper transported from the transport path to allow the paper to pass through.

[0038] The biasing force that biases the gate member 32 in the direction in which the gate member 31 is provided is set to be less than the force that would push down the gate member 32 due to the transport pressure when the paper transported from the transport path comes into contact with the flat portion, and greater than the force that can lift the gate member 32 to a position where it contacts the gate member 31.

[0039] Further, the gate member 32 is provided with a contact surface for contacting the gate member 31. A urethane cushion material is provided as a sound-deadening material on the contact surface of the gate member 31 with the gate member 32 to deadene the sound generated when the gate member 31 comes into contact with the contact surface of the gate member 32. The structure of the gate members 31 and 32 will be described in detail later.

[0040] First, the switching mechanism of the gate members 31 and 32 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0041] The gate member 31 is installed so as to be rotatable about a certain rotation axis. The gate member 31 is connected to a solenoid 41 by a link mechanism, and is configured to switch between a vertically upper position and a vertically lower position according to the on / off state of the solenoid 41. The solenoid 41 is controlled by the control unit 40, which controls the solenoid 41 to be in the on or off state according to the method for transporting the paper.

[0042] The gate member 32 is also installed so as to be rotatable about a certain rotation axis, and is biased by a spring 42 in a vertical upward direction, that is, toward the side where the gate member 31 is provided.

[0043] Therefore, the gate member 32 is configured to operate in conjunction with the gate member 31, and when the gate member 31 is switched to the upper position, the gate member 32 rotates upward to a position where it comes into contact with the gate member 31, and when the gate member 31 is switched to the lower position, the gate member 32 is pushed down by the gate member 31 and rotates downward.

[0044] The switching mechanism 27 is configured as described above, and switches the conveying direction of the paper conveyed from the image forming apparatus 10 between the three conveying directions as described below.

[0045] First, the operation of the switching mechanism 27 when switching the paper toward the discharge tray 21 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0046] When switching the paper toward the discharge tray 21, the control unit 40 switches the state of the solenoid 41 to move the gate member 31 to a lower position, as shown in Fig. 4. Therefore, the gate member 32 is pushed down by the gate member 31 and rotates downward.

[0047] As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet conveyed from the image forming device 10 is guided by the upper surface of the gate member 31, and the conveying direction is changed to the direction toward the discharge tray 21.

[0048] Next, the operation of the switching mechanism 27 when switching the paper toward the finisher tray 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0049] When switching the paper toward the finisher tray 22, the control unit 40 switches the state of the solenoid 41 to move the gate member 31 to the upper position, as shown in Fig. 6. Therefore, the gate member 32 also moves in conjunction with the gate member 31 and rotates upward.

[0050] As a result, the transport path for the paper transported from the image forming device 10 is blocked, as shown in Fig. 6. However, when paper is transported from the image forming device 10, a downward force is applied to the gate member 32 due to the transport pressure of the transported paper, as shown in Fig. 7. Therefore, the gate member 32 rotates downward due to the transport pressure of the paper and its own weight. As a result, the paper transported from the image forming device 10 passes through the gate member 32 and is transported in the direction of the finisher tray 22.

[0051] Finally, the operation of the switching mechanism 27 when switching the paper in the direction of the saddle stitching unit 26 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0052] After the paper passes through gate member 32 in the state shown in Fig. 7, control unit 40 rotates transport roll 28 in the reverse direction. Then, the paper that has passed through gate member 32 is transported toward gate member 32 and hits gate member 32. However, since the shape of gate member 32 as viewed from the transport roll 28 side is such that it guides the paper downward, the paper traveling in the reverse direction is guided downward without passing through gate member 32. As a result, the paper traveling in the reverse direction by transport roll 28 is transported toward saddle stitching unit 26.

[0053] Next, the detailed configuration of the gate members 31 and 32 described above will be described.

[0054] First, a perspective view of the gate member 31 in the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment is shown in Fig. 9. Also, a side view of the gate member 31 is shown in Fig. 10.

[0055] The gate member 31 is made of a resin having a ribbed structure reinforced by a plurality of ribs. The tip of the gate member 31 is curved to guide the conveyed paper vertically upward. The gate member 31 is attached so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 51 as shown in FIG. 10. The gate member 31 is provided with two contact surfaces 52 and 53 that come into contact with the gate member 32. The contact surface 52 is a contact surface that comes into contact with the gate member 32 when the gate member 31 is switched to the lower position. The contact surface 53 is a contact surface that comes into contact with the gate member 32 when the gate member 31 is switched to the upper position.

[0056] The contact surface 53 is provided with a urethane cushion material 54 for reducing noise generated when the contact surface of the gate member 32 comes into contact with the contact surface.

[0057] Next, a perspective view of the gate member 32 in the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment is shown in Fig. 11. Also, a side view of this gate member 32 is shown in Fig. 12.

[0058] The gate member 32 is also made of a resin with a rib structure reinforced by a plurality of ribs, similar to the gate member 31. The gate member 32 is attached rotatably around a rotation shaft 61 as shown in FIG. 12. The gate member 32 is provided with a contact surface 62 for contacting the gate member 31. The gate member 32 also has a flat surface 63 for contacting the conveyed paper. When a paper conveyed from the left side of the drawing comes into contact with the flat surface 63 and a conveying pressure is applied to the gate member 32, the gate member 32 rotates in a clockwise direction. When a paper travels in the opposite direction from the right side of the drawing, the paper is guided in a direction along the surface of the gate member 32. The gate member 32 is also provided with a urethane cushioning material 64 for muffling noise when it comes into contact with other members.

[0059] The positional relationship between gate member 31 and gate member 32 described above is shown in Fig. 13. In Fig. 13, other structures present in the vicinity are omitted in order to make the positional relationship between gate member 31 and gate member 32 easier to understand. Referring to Fig. 13, it can be seen that gate member 31 is disposed so as to cover the upper side of gate member 32. Fig. 13 also shows how the gate member 31 is in a state in which it has moved upward, causing a sheet conveyed from image forming apparatus 10 to enter between gate member 31 and gate member 32.

[0060] Due to the above-described structure, the gate member 31 guides the sheet conveyed from the upstream side of the conveying path so as to switch the conveying direction to the discharge tray 21 .

[0061] Furthermore, the gate member 32 is biased by a spring 42 in the direction in which the gate member 31 is provided, and is pushed down by the gate member 31 when the gate member 31 is guiding paper in the transport direction to the discharge tray 21. When the gate member 31 is not guiding paper in the transport direction to the discharge tray 21, the gate member 32 is positioned in a state in which it blocks the transport path by the biasing force of the spring 42, and is pushed down by the transport pressure of the transported paper to allow the transported paper to pass through and guide it in the transport direction to the finisher tray 22. Furthermore, the gate member 32 guides paper traveling in the opposite direction from the transport direction to the finisher tray 22 in the transport direction to the saddle stitching unit 26.

[0062] When the control unit 40 conveys the paper in the transport direction to the discharge tray 21, the control unit 40 switches the solenoid 41 to control the gate member 31 to be at a position where it guides the paper in the transport direction to the discharge tray 21. When the control unit 40 conveys the paper in the transport direction to the finisher tray 22, the control unit 40 switches the solenoid 41 to control the gate member 31 to be at a position where it does not guide the paper in the transport direction to the discharge tray 21. When the control unit 40 conveys the paper in the transport direction to the saddle stitching unit 26, the control unit 40 controls the transport roll 28 to rotate in the reverse direction after the rear end of the paper has passed through the gate member 32.

[0063] In the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment, the transport direction of the transported paper is switched between three directions by only one switching mechanism 27. Therefore, the post-processing device 20 of this embodiment can be made smaller than when two or more switching mechanisms are provided in separate locations to switch the transport direction between three transport directions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10 Image forming device 20 Aftertreatment device 21 Output tray 22 Finisher Tray 23 Binding Tray 24 Drilling Unit 25 Edge binding unit 26 Saddle stitching unit 27 Switching Mechanism 28 Transport roll 31 Gate material 32 Gate material 40 Control section 41 Solenoid 42 Spring 51 Rotation axis 52, 53 contact surface 54 Urethane cushion material 61 Rotational axis 62 Contact surface 63 Plane part 64 Urethane cushion material

Claims

1. a conveying path for conveying paper conveyed sequentially from an upstream side; a first transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a first direction; a second transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a second direction; a third transport path that transports the paper transported from the transport path in a third direction; a guide mechanism that guides the paper conveyed from the conveyance path to any one of the first, second, and third conveyance paths, The guide mechanism is constituted by one switching mechanism, The switching mechanism includes a first gate member, a drive member for operating the first gate member, and a second gate member that operates in conjunction with the first gate member. The switching mechanism of the post-processing device moves the first gate member and the second gate member toward the second transport path when transporting paper to the first transport path, and moves the first gate member and the second gate member toward the first transport path when transporting paper to the second transport path and the third transport path.

2. A post-processing device as described in claim 1, which transports paper to the third transport path by reversing the paper that has passed through the second gate member.

3. 3. The post-processing device according to claim 2, wherein the second gate member is biased by an elastic member in a direction in which the first gate member is provided, and has a flat portion that is pressed down by contact with the paper transported from the transport path to allow the paper to pass through.

4. 4. The post-processing device according to claim 3, wherein the biasing force biasing the second gate member in the direction in which the first gate member is provided is set to be less than the force that pushes the second gate member down due to the transport pressure when the paper transported from the transport path comes into contact with the flat portion, and greater than the force that can lift the second gate member to a position where it contacts the first gate member.

5. 3. The post-treatment device according to claim 2, wherein the second gate member is provided with a contact surface for contacting the first gate member.

6. 6. The post-treatment device according to claim 5, further comprising a sound-deadening member provided on a contact surface of the first gate member with the second gate member for deadening a sound generated when the first gate member comes into contact with the contact surface of the second gate member.

Images