Saddle Stitching Alignment Using Pre-Flattening Holding Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet processing apparatuses face issues with misalignment of stitches due to significant deviations in the folding lines of sheets during the saddle stitching process, leading to reduced capacity for stitching and staple buckling.
Innovation Solution
A sheet processing apparatus with a saddle unit, a staple inserting section, and a staple receiving section, where holding members and supporting members are used to accurately align and hold sheets during staple insertion, reducing misalignment and staple penetration length, and featuring a control section to manage the driving of these members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the staple receiving unit protrudes upward from the top of the saddle unit during staple insertion, then the staple inserting unit can insert staples into the sheets, but significant misalignment of the ridge line of the sheets occurs, resulting in misalignment of the stitch with the folding lines
Solution Approach 1:
The holding members are driven downward in advance to hold the sheets firmly on the saddle unit before the staple inserting unit inserts the staple. This preliminary action prevents sheet displacement during stapling, ensuring accurate alignment of the stitch with the folding lines while maintaining ease of operation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the sheets define the same folding angles as those when accumulated on the saddle unit, then the sheets maintain their folded structure, but a space is generated between the staple receiving unit and the sheets, causing the staple to buckle
Solution Approach 1:
The holding members are driven downward before staple insertion to flatten the ridge line of the sheets and eliminate spaces between the staple receiving unit and the sheets. This preliminary flattening action ensures that the sheets maintain their folding angles while preventing staple buckling during the stapling process.
3Manufacturing precision
If a longer penetration length of the staple is used to staple the sheets defining the same folding angles, then the sheets can be stapled, but a smaller number of sheets can be stitched compared to the side stitching process
Solution Approach 1:
The holding members flatten the ridge line of the sheets before staple insertion, reducing the required penetration length of the staple. This allows for more efficient stapling with shorter staples, enabling a larger number of sheets to be stitched while maintaining accurate penetration, thus improving productivity compared to conventional side stitching processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus ensures accurate alignment of stitches with the folding lines, reduces staple buckling, and increases the number of sheets that can be stitched by flattening the sheet ridge, thereby improving the efficiency of the saddle stitching process.
Implementation Method 1
holding members and supporting members are used to accurately align and hold sheets during staple insertion
Implementation Method 2
a drive unit which drives the holding members in the vertical direction
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet processing apparatus includes a saddle unit on which a mountain-folded sheet folded along a folding line is accumulated so as to straddle the saddle unit, a staple inserting section disposed above the saddle unit, and a staple receiving section accommodated in the saddle unit. The staple inserting section includes an inserting unit which inserts a staple into the folding lines of the sheets, and holding members disposed on both sides of the inserting unit in a direction parallel to the folding lines of the sheets. The staple receiving section includes a staple receiving unit which receives and bends the tips of the staple inserted by the inserting unit, and supporting members disposed on both sides of the staple receiving unit at positions opposite to the holding members.