Paper binding device, stitcher, control device and control method for stitcher

Abstract

To reduce resource wastage and reduce costs and improve productivity.SOLUTION: The stitcher includes a reciprocating stitcher head and a wire feeder that feeds a wire to the stitcher head and performs wire binding of a paper bundle placed at a wire binding position in each cycle of reciprocating movement of the stitcher head. A stitcher control unit 50 includes: a determination unit 62 that determines, for each cycle of the stitcher head, whether or not the thickness information of the paper bundle to be wire-bound in the following cycle has been acquired: and a wire feed control unit 63 that controls the wire feeder so as not to supply the wire in the current cycle when it is determined that the thickness information of the paper bundle to be wire-bound in the following cycle has not been acquired.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 21

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a paper binding device, a stitcher, and a control device and control method for a stitcher. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A stitcher that uses wire to stitch a bundle of paper sheets being conveyed is known. Patent document 1 discloses a stitcher that includes a reciprocating stitcher head, a drive mechanism that drives the stitcher head, a feed roller unit that feeds the wire in conjunction with the stitcher head, and a cutter unit that cuts the wire in conjunction with the stitcher head.

[0003] The stitcher disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs, in parallel, during one cycle of up-and-down movement of the stitcher head, an operation of driving wire prepared in the previous cycle into a stack of papers (hereinafter referred to as the "first stack of papers") and an operation of preparing wire to be driven into a stack of papers to be wire-stitched in the next cycle (hereinafter referred to as the "second stack of papers"). The operation of preparing wire mainly consists of feeding, cutting, and setting the wire.

[0004] Here, the vertical stroke position of the stitcher head is determined according to the thickness of the first stack of paper-sheets into which the wire will be driven in this cycle, but because the vertical stroke of the stitcher head and the feed of the wire are linked, the length of the wire prepared in this cycle (i.e., the wire to be driven into the second stack of paper-sheets in the next cycle) also depends on the thickness of the first stack of paper-sheets. For this reason, if the thicknesses of the first and second stacks of paper-sheets are different, a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the first stack of paper-sheets will be driven into the second stack of paper-sheets, which could result in a defective booklet. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, it is automatically determined whether or not a wire-stitched bundle of sheets is non-defective, and any bundle of sheets determined to be defective is removed.

[0005] Recently, a stitcher has been proposed that can supply wire of any length without being linked to the up and down stroke of the stitcher head (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The stitcher described in Patent Document 2 makes it possible to prepare wire of a length according to the thickness of the paper stack to be wire-stitched, thereby reducing the occurrence of defective products. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-193089 [Patent Document 2] German Patent Application Publication No. 102017202571 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The saddle stitching machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 can always prepare wire that matches the length of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle when jobs are flowing continuously. However, if information about the next job has not been received when one job is completed, the thickness of the next bundle of paper to be wire-stitched is unknown. For this reason, in the past, the operation of the stitcher was stopped with wire prepared according to the length of the final bundle of paper for the current job. Therefore, in the past, when starting a new job, a test bundle of paper was used to insert wire of an inappropriate length prepared for the previous job, and a test bundle of wire of the appropriate length according to the thickness of the bundle of paper for the new job was required. However, this test printing wastes both the paper stack and the wire, which is a waste of resources and is undesirable from the environmental and cost perspectives.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a paper binding device, a stitcher, a control device for a stitcher, and a control method thereof that can reduce waste of resources, reduce costs, and improve productivity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A first aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a stitcher that includes a reciprocating stitcher head and a wire feed unit that feeds wire to the stitcher head, and that performs wire binding on a stack of paper sheets placed at a wire binding position with each cycle of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head.The method includes a computer that determines with each cycle of the stitcher head whether or not it has acquired thickness information for the stack of paper sheets that will be wire bound in the next cycle, and if it determines that it has not acquired thickness information for the stack of paper sheets that will be wire bound in the next cycle, it controls the wire feed unit so that it does not supply wire in the current cycle.

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above control method.

[0011] A third aspect of the present invention is a stitcher control device that includes a reciprocating stitcher head and a wire feed unit that feeds wire to the stitcher head, and that performs wire binding on a stack of paper sheets placed at a wire binding position with each cycle of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head, and that includes a judgment unit that determines with each cycle of the stitcher head whether thickness information for the stack of paper sheets that will be wire bound in the next cycle has been acquired, and a wire feed control unit that controls the wire feed unit so that wire is not supplied in the current cycle if it is determined that thickness information for the stack of paper sheets that will be wire bound in the next cycle has not been acquired.

[0012] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a stitcher including the above control device.

[0013] A fifth aspect of the present invention is a paper binding device including the above-mentioned stitcher. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention has the effect of reducing waste of resources, reducing costs, and improving productivity. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a paper-sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a stitcher according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a head driving unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing an example of the configuration of a stitcher when viewed from the X-axis direction. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an example of the configuration of a stitcher when viewed from the Y-axis direction. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a stitcher head according to an embodiment of the present invention is at a home position, as viewed from the X-axis direction. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 8 as viewed from the Y-axis direction. [Figure 10] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 11] 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 12] 1 is a schematic diagram of one aspect of a stitcher head according to one embodiment of the present invention when it is lowered, as viewed from the X-axis direction. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 12 as viewed from the Y-axis direction. [Figure 14] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 12. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. [Figure 16] 1 is a schematic diagram of a stitcher head according to an embodiment of the present invention at bottom dead center as viewed from the X-axis direction. FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 16 as viewed from the Y-axis direction. [Figure 18] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 16. [Figure 19] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the state of the driving section of the stitcher head shown in FIG. 17. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a stitcher control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions provided in a stitcher control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a stitcher control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a stitcher control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a paper-binding device, a stitcher, a stitcher control device, and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An example of a paper-binding device is a saddle stitcher used in bookbinding.

[0017] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a paper-sheet binding device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper-sheet binding device 1 includes, for example, a transport unit 2, a stopper (not shown), and a stitcher 10. The transport unit 2 transports the paper stack P in one direction along the transport path F. A stopper positions the paper stack P at a predetermined binding position S provided on the transport path F. The stitcher 10 wire-stitches the paper stack P at a predetermined position placed at the binding position S. Specifically, the stitcher 10 wire-stitches the paper stack P supplied to the predetermined binding position S at a predetermined location with each cycle of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head 15.

[0018] In this embodiment, the transport unit 2 transports the folded sheet bundle P in a saddle-hanging state, and the stitcher 10 wire-stitches the folded sheet bundle P at a predetermined position on the fold line, but this is not limiting. That is, the sheet bundle P may be transported while being placed on a horizontal plane, and the position to be wire-stitched may be the edge of the sheets or another portion.

[0019] The conveying unit 2 includes a first pulley pair 3 and a second pulley pair 4, which are arranged at an interval in the conveying direction (Y-axis direction) of the conveying path F and are supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis (X-axis direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction. The first pulley pair 3 includes, for example, an upper pulley 3a and a lower pulley 3b arranged at an interval in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). The second pulley pair 4 includes, for example, an upper pulley 4a and a lower pulley 4b arranged at an interval in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). An endless belt 5 is stretched between the first pulley pair 3 and the second pulley pair 4. Feed pawls 6 are provided on the endless belt 5 at a fixed interval.

[0020] When power is transmitted from a power source such as a motor to any of the pulleys (for example, pulley 4b) constituting the first pulley pair 3 and the second pulley pair 4, the endless belt 5 moves and the stack of sheets of paper straddled at intervals on the endless belt 5 moves along the conveying direction. Specifically, each time a stack of sheets of paper P is supplied onto the conveying path F from a processing device (for example, a folder) in a previous process of the paper binding device 1, the feed claw 6 comes into contact with the rear end of the stack of sheets of paper P. Then, the stack of sheets of paper P is conveyed on the conveying path F in a straddled state toward the binding position S, positioned by a stopper (not shown), and stopped at the binding position S. The configuration of the transport unit 2 is not limited to the above example, and various known configurations can be adopted.

[0021] 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the stitcher 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the stitcher 10 includes a stitcher head 15, a head drive unit 20, a wire feed unit 12, and a stitcher control device 50.

[0022] The stitcher head 15 reciprocates, for example, in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and wire-stitches the bundle of paper sheets placed at the binding position S with each cycle of the reciprocating motion. The head driving unit 20 is a driving unit that causes the stitcher head 15 to move back and forth. The wire feeding unit 12 supplies the wire to the stitcher head 15. The wire feeding unit 12 includes, for example, a feed roller 12a and a roller driving unit 12b. The stitcher control device 50 controls the stitcher head 15 and the wire feed unit 12. The stitcher control device 50 controls the reciprocating operation of the stitcher head 15, for example, by controlling the head drive unit 20. The stitcher control device 50 also controls the length of the wire supplied from the feed roller 12a to the stitcher head 15 by controlling the roller drive unit 12b.

[0023] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the head driving unit 20 according to this embodiment. The X-axis and Z-axis shown in Fig. 3 correspond to the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, in this embodiment, the axis parallel to the transport direction of the paper stack P is defined as the Y-axis, the axis parallel to the Y-axis on a horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis, and the axis perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis is defined as the Z-axis.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3, the head drive unit 20 includes a first oscillating shaft 21 having one end (the right end in the same figure) rotatably connected to the stitcher head 15, a first connecting shaft 23 rotatably connected to the other end (the left end) of the first oscillating shaft 21, a oscillating plate 25 rotatably connected to the lower end of the first connecting shaft 23, and a rotating plate 27 provided below the oscillating plate 25.

[0025] The rotating plate 27 is rotated in one direction by a power shaft 29 that receives power from a motor (not shown). A cam groove 27a is provided in the rotating plate 27. A cam roller 25a that runs within this cam groove 27a is provided on the swing plate 25. In response to the movement of the cam roller 25a, the swing plate 25 swings around a fulcrum 25b. This swing around the fulcrum 25b causes the first connecting shaft 23 to reciprocate in a substantially vertical direction. This reciprocating movement of the first connecting shaft 23 causes the first swing shaft 21 to swing around the fulcrum 21a. This swing of the first swing shaft 21 causes the stitcher head 15 connected to one end (the right end) of the first swing shaft 21 to reciprocate in a vertical direction.

[0026] One end (the left end in the figure) of a second swing shaft 31 is rotatably connected to the rotating plate 27. As the rotating plate 27 rotates, the second swing shaft 31 swings around a fulcrum 31a, driving a clincher 33, which is rotatably connected to the other end (the right end) of the second swing shaft 31, in the vertical direction. The clincher 33 is provided below the stitcher head 15 in a position that sandwiches the stack of paper-sheets P. The clincher 33 has a claw portion 35 at its upper end. The claw portion 35 bends the protruding portion of the wire W that has been driven into the stack of paper-sheets P.

[0027] The configuration of the head driver 20 described above is one example, and any known head driver configuration can be used as appropriate. The configuration described above has been described as an example in which the head driver 20 drives the clincher 33, but is not limited to this example. For example, a driver for driving the clincher 33 may be provided separately from the head driver 20.

[0028] Fig. 4 is a schematic front view showing an example of the configuration of stitcher 10 when viewed from the X-axis direction, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a schematic side view showing an example of the configuration of stitcher 10 when viewed from the Y-axis direction, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 6.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the stitcher 10 includes a wire reel 11, a wire feed unit 12, a cutter 14, a wire holder 15a, and a stitcher head 15. The wire feed unit 12 feeds the wire W from the wire reel 11 to the stitcher head 15, specifically to the wire holder 15a. The wire feed unit 12 includes, for example, a feed roller 12a and a roller drive unit 12b. The feed roller 12a includes, for example, a pair of rollers arranged to sandwich the wire W therebetween. A motor 13 included in the roller drive unit 12b is connected to the rotation shaft of one of the rollers in the pair, for example, directly or via a power transmission mechanism. The feed roller 12a is rotated by the power of the motor 13, thereby feeding the wire W to the wire holder 15a. An example of the motor 13 is a stepping motor. In this way, the wire feeding section 12 is configured as a self-propelled type that can feed out wire W of any length, regardless of the stroke length of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head 15. The configuration of the wire feed unit 12 is not limited to this example. The wire feed unit 12 may have a self-propelled structure that feeds a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle, and any known wire feed mechanism may be used.

[0030] The wire holder 15a grips the wires W and W1 fed from the wire feed unit 12. Here, the wire W1 is the wire that is driven into the paper stack in the current cycle and is cut to a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack, and for convenience of explanation, it is distinguished from the wire W supplied from the wire feed unit 12. The wire holder 15a is configured to be swingable around a fulcrum 16. For example, the wire holder 15a receives power from a motor (not shown) and swings around the fulcrum 16. The swinging of the wire holder 15a is controlled, for example, by the stitcher control device 50. The wire holder 15a is formed with a groove through which the wire W passes, and a gripping portion 15f for gripping the wire W (W1) is provided in front of the groove, in other words, on the stitcher head 15 side.

[0031] The cutter 14 is provided so as to be slidable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and cuts the wire W held by the wire holder 15a. The sliding movement of the cutter 14 is controlled by a stitcher control device 50, for example. The stitcher head 15 is formed, for example, in an inverted U-shape, and as described below, is provided with a bending portion 15c for bending the wire W1 held by the wire holder 15a into a U-shape, a groove 15e for holding the wire W1 after it has been bent into a U-shape, and a driving portion 15b (see Figure 10) for driving the wire W1 into a stack of paper.

[0032] During one cycle of reciprocating movement of the stitcher head 15, in this embodiment, up and down movement, the stitcher 10 performs in parallel the operation of driving the wire W1 prepared in the previous cycle into a stack of paper (hereinafter referred to as "sheet stack P1") and the operation of preparing the wire W to be driven into the stack of paper to be wire-stitched in the next cycle (hereinafter referred to as "sheet stack P2").

[0033] Next, a series of operations in one basic cycle (one reciprocation) of the stitcher 10 will be described. Each time the stitcher head 15 makes one reciprocation, the following operation is executed. In this embodiment, one reciprocation of the stitcher head 15 from the home position until it returns to the home position is defined as one cycle. The following operations of the stitcher are realized by the stitcher control device 50 controlling the drive of the head drive unit 20, roller drive unit 12b, wire holder 15a, and cutter 14.

[0034] [Home position] In this embodiment, the home position is set at the top dead center of stitcher head 15. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of stitcher head 15 at the home position as viewed from the X-axis direction, and Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of stitcher head 15 at the home position as viewed from the Y-axis direction. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 8, and Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 9.

[0035] 8 and 9, at the home position, the gripping portion 15f of the wire holder 15a is positioned so as to overlap the groove 15e of the stitcher head 15. At this home position, the gripping portion 15f of the wire holder 15a grips the wire W1 that has been cut to a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack P1 to be wire-stitched in the current cycle. In the following description, the paper stack P1 refers to the paper stack to be wire-stitched in this cycle, and the paper stack P2 refers to the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle.

[0036] Furthermore, at the home position, the wire feed unit 12 is driven to supply the wire W to the wire holder 15a. At this time, the wire feed unit 12 is controlled by the stitcher control device 50 based on the thickness information of the paper-sheet bundle P2. As a result, the wire W is fed to a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper-sheet bundle P2. 10 and 11, the driving portion 15b provided on the stitcher head 15 is disposed at a predetermined position (reference position) on the stitcher head 15.

[0037] [Down state] Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of one aspect of stitcher head 15 when it is lowered, as viewed from the X-axis direction, and Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 12, as viewed from the Y-axis direction. Also, Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 12, and Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 13.

[0038] As the stitcher head 15 begins to descend from the top dead point, the wire W1 held by the wire holder 15a is bent into a U-shape by the bending portion 15c, which is the bottom surface of the stitcher head 15. Then, as the stitcher head 15 continues to descend, the U-shaped wire W1 held by the holding portion 15f of the wire holder 15a is handed over to a wire holding portion (not shown) provided on the stitcher head 15. The stitcher head 15 continues to descend to the bottom dead point while still holding the wire W1. At this time, the driving portion 15b also continues to descend together with the stitcher head 15 (see FIGS. 14 and 15).

[0039] Meanwhile, after handing over the wire W1, the wire holder 15a swings from the home position around the fulcrum 16, retreating a predetermined distance away from the stitcher head 15 to the state shown in Figure 13. When the wire W from the wire feed section 12 is gripped by the gripping section 15f of the wire holder 15a, the cutter 14 slides downward to cut the wire W. This prepares the wire W1 to be driven into the paper stack in the next cycle.

[0040] Here, there is no particular limitation on the timing at which the wire feed unit 12 starts and finishes feeding the wire W. For example, the stitcher head 15 may start descending after the wire feed unit 12 has finished supplying the wire W. Alternatively, the wire feed unit 12 may start feeding the wire W after the stitcher head 15 has started descending.

[0041] [Bottom dead center] Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of stitcher head 15 at bottom dead center as viewed from the X-axis direction, and Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 16 as viewed from the Y-axis direction. Also, Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 16, and Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the state of driving section 15b of stitcher head 15 shown in Fig. 17.

[0042] When the stitcher head 15 reaches the bottom dead point, the lower end (bending portion 15c) of the stitcher head 15 presses the upper surface of the paper stack P1, and the driving portion 15b further descends, completely driving the wire W1 into the paper stack P1. At this time, the claw portion 35 of the clincher 33 bends the leg portion of the wire W protruding from the paper stack P1, thereby completing the wire binding.

[0043] When the wire stitching is completed, the stitcher head 15 rises toward the home position, and as the stitcher head 15 rises, the wire holder 15a swings about the fulcrum 16 toward the home position. The above-described cycle is repeated, thereby enabling continuous wire binding.

[0044] The movement of the wire holder 15a and the operation of one cycle of the stitcher head described above are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the home position of the stitcher head 15 is not limited to the top dead center. For example, the home position may be set at the midpoint between the top dead center and the bottom dead center. Furthermore, since it is sufficient that the wire for the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle is prepared during one cycle of the stitcher head 15, the timing of the start and end of wire feeding and the timing of cutting the wire can be designed as appropriate. Furthermore, the timing of the transfer of the wire W1 to be wire-stitched in the current cycle from the wire holder 15a to the stitcher head 15 is also merely an example; the transfer from the wire holder 15a to the stitcher head 15 can be completed at any timing before the wire is struck. Furthermore, the configuration of the stitcher head and the configuration and structure of the wire holder 15a etc. are also examples, and are not limited to these examples, and conventional structures can be appropriately adopted.

[0045] Next, a stitcher controller 50 according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the stitcher controller 50 according to this embodiment. The stitcher controller 50 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 51, a main memory 52, and a secondary storage 53. The stitcher controller 50 may also include a communication interface 54, an external interface 55, an input device 56, an output device 57, etc.

[0046] The CPU 51 controls the stitcher 10 using, for example, an OS (Operating System) stored in a secondary storage device 53 connected via a bus, and performs various processes by executing various programs stored in the secondary storage device 53. One or more CPUs 51 may be provided, and they may work together to realize processes.

[0047] The main memory device 52 is composed of writable memory such as cache memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and is used as a working area for reading out the execution program of the CPU 51 and writing data processed by the execution program.

[0048] The secondary storage device 53 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Examples of the secondary storage device 53 include a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a semiconductor memory. Examples of the secondary storage device 53 include a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid-state drive (SSD) flash memory. The secondary storage device 53 stores, for example, an operating system (OS) for controlling the stitcher 10, such as Windows (registered trademark), iOS (registered trademark), or Android (registered trademark), a basic input / output system (BIOS), various device drivers for operating peripheral devices, various application software, and various data and files. The secondary storage device 53 also stores programs for implementing various processes and various data required for implementing the various processes. A plurality of secondary storage devices 53 may be provided, and the programs and data described above may be stored separately in each secondary storage device 53.

[0049] The communication interface 54 functions as an interface for connecting to a network to communicate with other devices and transmitting and receiving information. For example, the communication interface 54 communicates with other devices via wired or wireless communication. Examples of wireless communication include communication via lines such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, mobile communication systems (3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, LTE, etc.), and wireless LAN. An example of wired communication is communication via lines such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network).

[0050] The external interface 55 is an interface for connecting to an external device. Examples of external devices include an external monitor, a USB memory, an external HDD, an external camera, etc. Although only one external interface is shown in the example shown in FIG. 16, multiple external interfaces may be provided.

[0051] Examples of the input device 56 include a touch panel and a keyboard. By operating the input device 56, an operator can input, for example, instructions and numerical values ​​for causing the paper binding device 1 and the stitcher 10 to perform predetermined operations. Examples of the output device 57 include a display, a printer, etc. Note that a touch panel has the function of the input device 56 and the function of the output device 57.

[0052] Here, the stitcher control device 50 exchanges information with the transport control device that controls the transport unit 2, and achieves wire binding of the paper stack P. The stitcher control device 50 may also have the function of a transport control device that controls the transport unit 2, and may be realized as a control device that controls the entire paper binding device 1.

[0053] FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram showing an example of functions provided in the stitcher control device 50 according to this embodiment.

[0054] A series of processes for realizing the various functions of the stitcher control device 50 is stored in the form of a program in the secondary storage device 53, for example, and the CPU (processor) 51 reads this program into the main storage device 52 and executes information processing and arithmetic processing to realize the various functions. Note that the program may be pre-installed in the secondary storage device 53, provided in a state stored in another non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, or distributed via wired or wireless communication means. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and semiconductor memories.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 21, the stitcher control device 50 includes, for example, a head control unit 61, a determination unit 62, and a wire feed control unit 63. The head control unit 61 controls the stitcher head 15. Specifically, the head control unit 61 controls the head drive unit 20 to control the up and down movement of the stitcher head 15. The head control unit 61 may also change the position of the bottom dead center of the stitcher head 15 depending on the thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the current cycle.

[0056] The determining unit 62 determines, for each cycle of the stitcher head 15, whether or not thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired. The wire feed control unit 63 controls the amount of rotation of the feed roller 12 a by controlling the roller drive unit 12 b , for example, and controls the supply of the wire W to the stitcher head 15 .

[0057] For example, when the judgment unit 62 determines that it has acquired thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle, the wire feed control unit 63 controls the roller drive unit 12b based on the thickness information of the paper stack, thereby controlling the amount of rotation of the feed roller 12a and supplying to the stitcher head 15 a wire W of a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack P to be wire-stitched. For example, when the determination unit 62 determines that thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired, the wire feed control unit 63 controls the wire feed unit 12 not to supply wire in the current cycle. Specifically, the wire feed control unit 63 stops driving the roller drive unit 12b in the current cycle.

[0058] Next, a stitcher control method executed by the stitcher control device 50 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23. FIGS. 22 and 23 are flowcharts showing an example of the processing procedure of the control method for the stitcher 10 according to this embodiment. The stitcher control method according to this embodiment is characterized by wire feeding when starting and stopping operation. The following description will be made with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following description will be given by way of example of a case where thickness information of a sheet stack is obtained by obtaining job information. In addition, in the following example, it is assumed that all sheet stacks specified in one piece of job information have the same thickness.

[0059] First, when the paper-sheet binding device 1 is not in operation, the stitcher head 15 is located at the home position described above.

[0060] When the operation of the sheet binding device 1 is started, the stitcher control device 50 determines whether job information, in other words, thickness information of the sheet stack to be wire-stitched, has been acquired (SA1). The job information includes, for example, the number of sheets in the sheet stack and thickness information of the sheet stack. The job information may be received from a pre-processing machine via a communication line or may be input by an operator via the input device 56. Examples of pre-processing machines include a collating machine and a sheet stacking machine. If the job information includes the number of sheets in the sheet stack and identification information that identifies the sheets, the thickness of the sheet stack may be calculated based on the number of sheets in the sheet stack and thickness data per sheet. If the job information includes thickness data per sheet, the number of sheets in the sheet stack may be counted using a sensor or the like, and the thickness of the sheet stack may be calculated based on the count and thickness data per sheet.

[0061] If the stitcher control device 50 has not acquired job information (SA1: NO), it will wait until it acquires it. On the other hand, if job information has been acquired (SA1: YES), the stitcher control device 50 acquires the thickness information of the paper stack contained in the acquired job information (SA2), and then drives the head drive unit 20 to make the stitcher head 15 move back and forth once (one cycle) to perform blank beating and prepare the wire for the next paper stack (SA3).

[0062] Specifically, the stitcher control device 50 lowers the stitcher head 15 from the home position. During the period from when the stitcher head 15 is at the home position until it reaches the bottom dead center, the stitcher control device 50 controls the wire feed unit 12 according to the thickness of the paper-sheet stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle, i.e., the paper-sheet stack thickness information acquired in step SA2. As a result, as described above, a wire W having a length according to the thickness of the paper-sheet stack P to be wire-stitched in the next cycle (i.e., the first paper-sheet stack of the current job) is fed to the wire holder 15a. Then, while held by the gripping portion 15f of the wire holder 15a, the wire W1 is cut by the cutter 14, and the wire W1 is prepared for the next cycle. On the other hand, when the stitcher head 15 reaches the bottom dead center, the driving operation by the driving unit 15b is completed. However, at this point, the stitcher head 15 is not gripping the wire. Therefore, the driving unit 15b performs a blank driving. After the blank driving is completed, the stitcher head 15 moves to the home position.

[0063] In this way, once the blank stitching is performed, the transport unit 2 starts transporting, and the first sheet bundle P to be wire-stitched is placed at the binding position S.

[0064] Next, the stitcher control device 50 determines whether or not a sheet bundle P has been placed at the binding position S (SA4). If it determines that a sheet bundle is not present at the binding position S (SA4: NO), the process waits until a sheet bundle is placed at the binding position S. On the other hand, if it determines that a sheet bundle is placed at the binding position S (SA4: YES), the process then determines whether or not the sheet bundle P to be wire-stitched in this cycle is the last sheet bundle in the job being executed (SA5). Whether or not the sheet bundle is the last can be determined, for example, by counting the number of booklets in the sheet bundle sent to the wire-stitching position S using a counter (not shown) connected to the stitcher control device 50. Alternatively, the determination may be made by reading a code printed on the last sheet bundle.

[0065] As a result, if it is determined that the sheet bundle is not the last one (SA5: NO), the stitcher control device 50 acquires the thickness of the sheet bundle P2 to be wire-stitched next (SA6). This process may be substituted by, for example, checking the thickness information of the sheet bundle P2 included in the job information.

[0066] Next, the stitcher control device 50 drives the head drive unit 20 to make one reciprocating motion (one cycle) of the stitcher head 15, thereby driving the wire into the stack of sheets at the binding position S. The stitcher control device 50 also controls the wire feed unit 12 to supply the stitcher head 15 with a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the next stack of sheets, and causes the wire holder 15a to grip the wire of the next stack of sheets (SA7). Once the wire binding for this cycle is completed in this way, the process returns to step SA4 and the subsequent processing is carried out.

[0067] Then, by repeating the processing of steps SA4 to SA7, wire is driven into the paper stack with each cycle of stitcher head 15, and a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle is prepared. Then, in step SA5, if it is determined that the paper stack set at binding position S is the last paper stack of the job being executed (SA5: YES), it is determined whether or not the next job information has been acquired (SA8).

[0068] As a result, if the next job information has been acquired (SA8: YES), the process proceeds to step SA6, where thickness information for the next bundle of sheets to be wire-stitched is acquired from the next job information (SA6).Then, the stitcher control device 50 drives the head drive unit 20 and drives the stitcher head 15 for one cycle, thereby driving wire into the last bundle of sheets of the current job at the binding position S and preparing wire W for the first bundle of sheets of the next job to be executed (SA7), and then returns to step SA4 to perform the subsequent processing.As a result, if information for the next job has been acquired at the end of one job, it is possible to execute these two jobs consecutively.

[0069] On the other hand, if the next job information has not been acquired in step SA8 (SA8: NO), the stitcher control device 50 drives the head drive unit 20 and controls the stitcher head 15 to move back and forth (one cycle), but does not drive the wire feed unit 12 and stops wire feeding (SA9). As a result, the wire is driven into the stack of sheets at the stitching position S, but the wire for the next stack of sheets is not prepared. In other words, the wire holder 15a does not grip the wire, and the stitcher head 15 returns to the home position.

[0070] Next, the stitcher control device 50 determines whether or not the operation has ended (SA10). That is, it determines whether or not an input to end the operation has been made. As a result, if the operation has ended (SA10: YES), the process ends. On the other hand, if the operation has not ended (SA10: NO), the process returns to step SA1 and enters a standby state until the next job information is acquired. During this time, if a command to stop the operation is acquired, the operation is stopped.

[0071] As described above, according to the paper-sheet binding device 1, stitcher 10, stitcher control device 50, and control method of this embodiment, for each cycle of up and down movement of the stitcher head 15, it is determined whether or not thickness information of the paper-sheet stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired, and if it is determined that thickness information of the paper-sheet stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired, it controls the wire feed unit 12 so as not to supply wire in the current cycle.On the other hand, if it is determined that thickness information of the paper-sheet stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired, the stitcher control device 50 controls the wire feed unit 12 in the current cycle to supply wire of a length based on the thickness information of the paper-sheet stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle.

[0072] As a result, if thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been obtained, wire holder 15a does not grip the wire, and stitcher head 15 stops. As a result, when information on the next job to be executed is obtained, thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched next is obtained from the job information, and then stitcher head 15 performs blank stitching, and further, during this blank stitching, a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack to be wire-stitched next is prepared. Furthermore, if thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired, a wire of a length based on the thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle is supplied and prepared in the current cycle, which makes it possible to drive a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle as well.

[0073] In this way, in the cycle in which the stitcher head 15 is stopped, the wire feed is stopped, and when the stitcher head 15 starts to drive, an idle beating is performed, thereby reducing waste of resources and enabling cost reduction and productivity improvement.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the flow of the stitcher control method described in the above embodiment is also one example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be changed within the scope of the present invention.

[0075] In the above embodiment, the case where the thickness information of the paper stack is obtained from the job information has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the thickness information of the paper stack may be obtained for each paper stack by reading the barcode attached to each paper stack, and it may be determined whether or not the thickness information of the paper stack has been obtained for each up-and-down movement cycle of the stitcher head 15. Furthermore, the thickness information of the paper stack may be obtained by other known methods. For example, a sensor for detecting the thickness may be provided upstream of the predetermined binding position S in the transport flow of the paper stack P in the transport unit 2, and the thickness information of the paper stack may be obtained by the sensor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1: Paper binding device 2: Transport unit 6: Feed jaw 10: Stitcher 11: Wire reel 12: Wire feed section 12a: Feed roller 12b: Roller drive unit 13: Motor 14: Cutter 15: Stitcher head 15a: Wire holder 15b: Driving section 15c: Bent section 15e: Groove 15f: Grip part 16:Fulcrum 20: Head drive unit 33: Clincher 35: Claw part 50: Stitcher control device 51: CPU 52: Main memory 53 :Secondary storage device 54: Communication interface 55: External interface 56: Input device 57: Output device 61: Head control unit 62: Judgment section 63: Wire feed control unit

Claims

1. A method for controlling a stitcher that includes a reciprocating stitcher head and a wire feed unit that feeds wire to the stitcher head, and that wire-stitches a bundle of paper sheets placed at a wire-stitching position for each cycle of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head, The computer For each cycle of the stitcher head, it is determined whether or not thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired; If it is determined that the thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired, the wire feed unit is controlled so as not to supply wire in the current cycle. How to control the stitcher.

2. The computer A stitcher control method as described in claim 1, wherein if the next job information is not acquired before the cycle in which wire binding is performed on the last bundle of paper in the job being executed, it is determined that thickness information of the bundle of paper to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired.

3. The computer 3. The method for controlling a stitcher according to claim 1, wherein the stitcher head is made to perform a blank beating operation when the operation of the stitcher is started.

4. The computer Before causing the stitcher head to perform blank stitching, thickness information of the paper bundle to be first wire-stitched after the start of operation is obtained; 4. The method for controlling a stitcher according to claim 3, wherein the wire feeding unit is controlled so as to supply a wire having a length corresponding to the thickness of the obtained sheet bundle in a cycle in which blank stitching is performed.

5. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A control device for a stitcher comprising a reciprocating stitcher head and a wire feed unit that feeds wire to the stitcher head, wherein the control device performs wire binding on a bundle of paper sheets arranged at a wire binding position for each cycle of the reciprocating motion of the stitcher head, a determination unit that determines whether or not thickness information of a sheet bundle to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has been acquired for each cycle of the stitcher head; a wire feed control unit that controls the wire feed unit so as not to supply wire in the current cycle when it is determined that thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired; A control device for a stitcher comprising:

7. The control device for a stitcher according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit determines that thickness information of the paper stack to be wire-stitched in the next cycle has not been acquired if the next job information has not been acquired before the cycle to wire-stitch the last paper stack of the job being executed.

8. 8. The control device for a stitcher according to claim 6, further comprising a head control section that causes the stitcher head to perform blank beating when the operation of the stitcher is started.

9. The determination unit determines whether or not thickness information of a sheet bundle to be wire-stitched for the first time after starting operation has been acquired before causing the stitcher head to perform blank stitching, When it is determined that the thickness information of the paper stack has been acquired, the head control unit causes the blank beating to be performed, A stitcher control device as described in claim 8, wherein the wire feed control unit controls the wire feed unit to supply a wire of a length corresponding to the thickness of the acquired paper stack in a cycle in which empty beating is performed when it is determined that thickness information of the paper stack has been acquired.

10. A stitcher comprising the control device according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

11. A paper binding device comprising the stitcher according to claim 10.

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