JP2001026358A - Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To realize a sheet processing apparatus in which a stacking stopper is controlled so that a sheet bundle that is folded and discharged in two can be properly stacked on a discharge tray. A sheet bundle P _0, which is being folded in emissions
Is stacked on the discharge tray 246, the leading end of the sheet bundle is applied to the stacking stopper 252. The standby position of the stacking stopper is changed according to the sheet size and the number of sheets, and in the case of a large size sheet, the standby position is set to a position far from the discharge roller pair. As a result, a stacking failure such as a sheet bundle being discharged is not inserted into the already stacked sheet bundle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, and more specifically, takes in an image-formed sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer or the like into the apparatus. The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus that performs sheet alignment and binding processing near the center of a sheet, performs sheet processing such as folding, and discharges and loads the sheet on a sheet stacking unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a sheet processing apparatus, a plurality of sheets on which images have been formed are aligned, a binding process is performed at a substantially central portion thereof, and a folding process is performed at a substantially central portion by a pair of folding rollers. In some cases, the paper is discharged toward the lower discharge tray from the discharge port on the discharge side of the opposite part, with the folded part first.

[0003] The above-discharged folded sheet bundle is abutted against a stacking stopper movable on the discharge tray in the discharging direction and stopped, and the next sheet bundle is stacked on the already stacked sheet bundle. It is loaded so that it can be done. At this time, if the ejected sheet bundles gradually rise in a mountain shape due to the continuation of the overlapping, it will hinder the ejection of the subsequent sheet bundle, so the stacking stopper is moved in a direction gradually separated from the folding roller pair side. Let me.

When the stacking stopper is moved, the lower sheet bundle is moved in the same direction by the stacking stopper, so that the mountain portion of the sheet bundle gradually collapses, and the sheet bundle is moved to the leading end. Are stacked on the discharge tray in a state where they are slightly displaced from each other, so that the sheet bundle can be stably stacked.

[0005]

In the above conventional example,
The loading stopper, which regulates the folded portion of the discharged sheet bundle and adjusts the loading state, was at a fixed position from the discharge port.
If the stacking stopper is located at the standby position for restricting the large-size sheets, the leading end portion may protrude into the already-stacked sheet bundle when discharging the small-size sheets. Regarding the number of sheet bundles, for example, when the number of sheet bundles is large, the stacking sheet bundle is likely to be bulky.

In the case where the stacking stopper is moved in the discharge direction to break the ridges of the sheet bundle and bring the sheet bundle into a smooth alignment state, the moving amount of the stacking stopper is made constant regardless of the sheet size or the like. On the other hand, in the case of a large-size sheet, the mountain-shaped portion (stacking portion) becomes too large, and there is a fear that feeding failure may occur.

The present invention provides a sheet processing apparatus having a good stacking section by appropriately controlling the movement of a stacking stopper for regulating a discharged sheet bundle and aligning the sheet bundle in accordance with the sheet size and the number of sheets. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is
Binding means for binding a plurality of conveyed sheets, folding means for folding the sheet bundle bound by the binding means into two, and discharge for discharging the sheet bundle folded by the folding means from the folding section side Means, a sheet bundle stacking means for stacking the sheet bundle discharged by the discharge means, and a folding portion of the sheet bundle discharged onto the sheet bundle stacking means can be regulated, and , A sheet bundle leading end regulating member movable along the sheet discharging direction, a driving unit for driving the sheet bundle leading end regulating member along the discharging direction, a control unit for driving the driving unit, and a size of the sheet bundle. The sheet bundle leading end regulating member is configured to detect a sheet bundle first discharged according to the size of the sheet bundle detected by the sheet size detecting unit. And changes the standby position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means includes:
When the sheet size detected by the sheet size detecting means is large, the sheet bundle leading end regulating member controls the sheet bundle to be at a standby position far from the discharge means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet number detecting means for detecting the number of sheet bundles discharged from the sheet discharging means, and the control means includes means for detecting the number of sheets detected by the sheet number detecting means. When the number of sheets is large, the sheet bundle leading end regulating member is controlled so as to be at a distant standby position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a binding means for binding a plurality of conveyed sheets, a folding means for folding a sheet bundle bound by the binding means into two, and a folding means for folding the sheet bundle. A discharging unit for discharging the sheet bundle from the folding unit side, and a sheet bundle discharged by the discharging unit,
Sheet bundle stacking means to be stacked, and a sheet bundle tip end regulation capable of regulating a folded portion of a sheet bundle discharged onto the sheet bundle stacking means and movable on the sheet bundle stacking means in a sheet discharging direction. A member for driving the sheet bundle leading end regulating member along a discharge direction, a control unit for controlling the driving unit, and a sheet size detecting unit for detecting a size of the sheet bundle; The bundle leading end regulating member changes the amount of movement from the standby position in the discharge direction in accordance with the size of the sheet bundle detected by the sheet size detecting means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the control means includes:
When the sheet size detected by the sheet size detecting means is large, the sheet bundle front end regulating member is moved with a large stroke.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet number detecting means for detecting the number of sheet bundles discharged from the sheet discharging means, and the control means includes means for detecting the number of sheets detected by the sheet number detecting means. When the number of sheets is large, the sheet bundle front end regulating member is moved with a large stroke.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, after the discharge of the sheet bundle to the sheet bundle stacking means is completed, the control means moves the sheet bundle front end regulating member to the farthest part from the discharge means. It is characterized by.

[Operation] Based on the configuration described above, when the discharged sheet bundle has a large sheet size, the sheet bundle leading end regulating member sets the position far from the discharge means as the standby position. When the number of sheet bundles is large, the sheet bundle leading end regulating member sets a position far from the discharge unit as a standby position.

When the sheet bundle leading edge regulating member regulating the sheet bundle moves in the discharge direction, if the sheet size is large, the moving amount of the sheet bundle leading edge regulating member moves with a large stroke. When the number of sheets in the sheet bundle is large, the sheet bundle front end regulating member is controlled to move with a large stroke.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The main parts of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention are described in FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of a copying apparatus 1000 as an image forming apparatus to which the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied. The copying apparatus 1000 includes a document feeding unit 100, an image reader unit 200, and a printer unit 30.
0, a folding section 400, a finisher 500, a saddle stitcher 800, an inserter 900, and the like. Folding processing unit 400, saddle stitcher 800, inserter 9
00 etc. can be optionally equipped.

Referring to FIG. 1, on the tray 1001 of the document feeding unit 100, the user is in an upright state when viewed from the user, and
It is assumed that a document is set in a face-up state (a state where an image is formed is facing upward), and the binding position of the document is located at the left end of the document. Documents set on the tray 1001 are sequentially moved left by one by one from the top page by the document feeding unit 100 (in the direction of the arrow in the figure).
That is, the sheet is conveyed with the binding position at the leading end. Then, the original is further placed on the platen glass 102 through the curved path.
The paper is conveyed from left to right on the top, and then
12 is discharged. At this time, the scanner unit 104 is in a state of being held at a predetermined position, and the reading process of the document is performed when the document passes from the left to the right on the scanner unit 104. The above-mentioned reading method is referred to as "moving original reading". Original is platen glass 10
2 passes through the scanner unit 104.
The reflected light from the original is guided to an image sensor 109 via mirrors 105, 106, 107 and a lens 108.

The original document conveyed by the original feeding unit 100 may be temporarily stopped on the platen glass 102, and the original reading process may be performed by moving the scanner unit 104 from left to right in this state. This reading method is referred to as original fixed reading. When reading a document without using the document feeding unit 100, the user
The document feeding unit 100 is lifted, and the document is set on the platen glass 102. In this case, the fixed original reading described above is performed.

The image data of the document read by the image sensor 109 is subjected to predetermined image processing and sent to the exposure control unit 110. Exposure control section 110 outputs a laser beam according to the image signal. The laser beam is scanned by the polygon mirror 110a while the photosensitive drum 111 is being scanned.
Irradiated on top. On the photosensitive drum 111, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the scanned laser beam is formed.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 111 is developed by the developing device 113 and is visualized as a toner image. On the other hand, the recording paper is a cassette 114, 115,
The sheet is conveyed to the transfer unit 116 from one of the manual sheet feeding unit 125 and the double-sided conveyance path 124. Then, the visualized toner image is transferred to recording paper in the transfer unit 116. The recording paper after the transfer is subjected to a fixing process in a fixing unit 117.

The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 117 is once guided to a path 122 by a flapper 121, is switched back after the trailing edge of the recording paper has passed through the flapper 121, and is conveyed to a discharge roller 118 by the flapper 121. Then, the recording paper is discharged from the printer unit 300 by the discharge roller 118. As a result, the surface on which the toner image has been formed can be discharged from the printer unit 300 in a face-down state. This is referred to as reverse paper discharge.

As described above, when the recording paper is discharged face-down to the outside of the apparatus, the image forming process is performed sequentially from the top page, for example, when the image forming process is performed using the document feeding unit 100, When performing image forming processing on image data from a computer, the page order can be made uniform.

Note that O conveyed from the manual paper feeder 125
When an image forming process is performed on a hard sheet such as an HP sheet, the printer unit 300 is driven by the discharge roller 118 with the surface on which the toner image is formed facing upward (face up) without guiding the sheet to the path 122. Discharged from

When image forming processing is performed on both sides of the sheet, the sheet is guided straight from the fixing unit 117 toward the discharge roller 118, and the sheet is switched back immediately after the rear end of the sheet has passed through the flapper 121. Flapper 12
1 leads to a double-sided conveyance path.

Next, the configurations of the folding processing section 400 and the finisher 500 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The folding section 400 has a transport path 131 for introducing the sheet discharged from the printer section 300 and guiding the sheet to the finisher 500 side. On the transport path 131, transport roller pairs 130 and 133 are provided. The switching flapper 135 provided near the transport roller pair 133 is for guiding the sheet transported by the transport roller pair 130 to the folding path 136 or the finisher 500 side.

When the sheet is to be folded, the switching flapper 135 is switched to the folding path 136 to guide the sheet to the folding path 420. The sheet guided to the folding path 420 is conveyed to the folding roller 421 and is folded into a Z shape. On the other hand, when the folding process is not performed, the switching flapper 4
10 is switched to the finisher side 500 and the printer unit 3
The sheet discharged from the sheet No. 00
Send directly.

The sheet conveyed along the folding path 136 is folded by the folding rollers 140 and 141 by a loop formed by abutting the leading end against the stopper 137. By folding the loop formed by abutting the bent portion against the upper stopper 143 by the folding rollers 141 and 142, the sheet is Z-folded. The Z-folded sheet is sent to the transport path 131 via the transport path 145, and is discharged by the discharge roller 133 to the saddle stitcher 800 and the finisher 500 on the downstream side.

The sheet sent from the folding section 400 is
Switching to the finisher 500 or the saddle stitcher 800 is performed by the switching flapper 235. First, the configuration of the finisher 500 will be described.

The finisher 500 includes a folding processing unit 400
Fetching sheets from the printer unit 300 conveyed via the printer unit, aligning the fetched sheets and binding them as one sheet bundle, staple processing (stapling processing) for stapling the rear end side of the sheet bundle, and sorting This is for performing sheet processing such as processing, non-sort processing, and bookbinding processing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the finisher 500
Has an inlet roller pair 232 for taking the sheet conveyed through the folding processing unit 400 into the inside of the apparatus. Downstream of the entrance roller pair 232, a switching flapper 2 for guiding a sheet to a finisher pass or a lower binding pass.
35 are provided.

The sheet guided to the finisher path is conveyed toward a buffer roller 513 via a pair of conveying rollers 510. Note that the transport roller pair 510 and the buffer roller 513 are configured to be capable of normal and reverse rotation.

Transport roller pair 510 and buffer roller 51
3, a punch unit 512 is provided. The punch unit 512 is operated as needed, and performs a punching (perforation) process near the rear end of the sheet conveyed via the conveying roller pair 510.

The buffer roller 513 includes the transport roller 51
The roller is a roller capable of winding a predetermined number of sheets conveyed through the roller 0. The sheet is wound by the pressing roller 515 while the buffer roller 513 is rotating. The sheet wound around the buffer roller 513 is conveyed in a direction in which the buffer roller 513 rotates.

In the middle of the buffer path 516 formed on the peripheral surface of the buffer roller 513, the switching flapper 5
17 is provided below the switching flapper 5.
20 are provided. The switching flapper 517 is for peeling the sheet wound around the buffer roller 513 from the buffer roller 513 and leading the sheet to the non-sort path or the sort path 521 on the sample tray 701 side.

The switching flapper 520 is connected to the buffer roller 5.
13 is wound on a buffer roller 513.
And is guided to the sort path 521. Further, it is for guiding the sheet wound around the buffer roller 513 to the buffer path 516 in the wound state. The sheet guided to the non-sort path by the switching flapper 510 is discharged onto the sample tray 701 via the discharge roller pair 519.

On the other hand, the sheets guided to the sort path 521 by the switching flapper 517 are stacked on a processing tray 630 as an intermediate tray via a pair of conveying rollers 523. The sheet group stacked in a bundle on the processing tray 630 is subjected to alignment processing and stapling processing in accordance with settings from the operation unit 1 (FIG. 7).
The sheets are discharged onto the stack tray 700 by a and 610b.

The above-described stapling process is performed by the stapler 601. The stack tray 700 is
It is configured to be able to run in the vertical direction.

Next, the configuration of the saddle stitcher 800 will be described.

The sheet switched downward by the switching flapper 235 is selected by the flapper 236 in accordance with the size, and is carried into the storage guide 237 of the saddle stitcher 800, and the leading end of the sheet is movable. The sheet is conveyed until it comes into contact with the sheet positioning member 239. Further, two pairs of staplers 240 are provided at an intermediate position of the storage guide 237, and an anvil is provided at a position facing the stapler 240. The stapler 2
Reference numeral 40 is configured to cooperate with the anvil to bind the center of the sheet bundle.

On the downstream side of the stapler 240, folding roller pairs 242 and 243 are provided.
A protruding member 241 is provided at a position facing 42 and 243. By projecting the protruding member 241 toward the sheet bundle stored in the storage guide 237, the sheet bundle is pushed out between the pair of folding rollers 242 and 243, and is folded by the pair of folding rollers 242 and 243. Then, the sheet is discharged to a discharge tray (sheet bundle stacking unit) 246 via the discharge roller 245. 247 is
A guide plate that guides a discharged sheet bundle to a discharge tray 246 is illustrated.

When the sheet bundle bound by the stapler 240 is folded, the sheet positioning member is positioned so that the staple position of the sheet bundle is at the center position (nip point) of the pair of folding rollers 242 and 243 after the stapling process is completed. 239 is lowered a predetermined distance from the place where the staple processing is performed. Thus, the sheet bundle can be folded around the position where the stapling process has been performed.

Next, the inserter 900 provided above the finisher 500 will be described with reference to FIGS.

An inserter 900 is provided on the finisher 500. The inserter 900 is for inserting a sheet (insert sheet) different from a normal recording sheet into the first page, the last page, or the middle page of the recording sheet. This is for inserting an insert sheet or a cover sheet between the sheets.

The inserter 900 includes the insert tray 9
The sheet set to “01” is fed to any one of the sample tray 701, the stack tray 700, and the discharge tray 246 without passing through the printer unit 300. In the present embodiment, a cover or a sheet I for an insert sheet is set on the insert tray 901 of the inserter 900 in a face-up state (a state in which the front surface is up) by the user. The sheet bundle I stacked on the insert tray 901 by the user is sequentially separated one by one, and the
3, or conveyed to the bookbinding path 234. Hereinafter, the configuration of the inserter (sheet feeding device) 900 will be described with reference to FIG.

The insert sheet bundle I (FIG. 3B) placed on the insert tray 901 is
2, the sheet is conveyed to a separation unit including a conveyance roller 903 and a separation belt 904. Reference numeral 923 denotes an alignment plate that aligns the sheet bundle. Then, the transport roller 903
The sheet is separated one by one from the uppermost sheet by the separation belt 904. Then, the separated sheet is pulled out by a pair of pulling-out rollers 905 close to the separation unit, and is conveyed on a sheet conveying path 922 by conveying rollers 921. The inserted inserter sheet I has a discharge port 922a.
From the sheet transport path 230 of the apparatus main body. Sheet conveying path 9 near the discharge port 922a
22 and the sheet conveying path 230 are vertically oriented, and the discharge port 922a and the carry-in port 230a join at a position facing each other.

At the end of the inserter tray 901, an auxiliary tray 930 is rotatably provided by a support shaft 931. 3A shows a state in which the auxiliary tray 930 is closed at the storage position, FIG.
FIG. 3C shows a cross section taken along line CC of FIG. When the insert tray 239 is used, the insert tray 239 is rotated so as to be opened to the operating position as shown in FIG.

The auxiliary tray 930 has a mounting plate 930a and a rib 930b integrally provided on the back surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 3C, the height of the rib 930b is
When the auxiliary ratio tray 930 is at the storage position shown in FIG.

As a result, the inserter sheet I cannot be placed on the inserter tray 901 when the auxiliary tray 930 is closed as shown in FIG. In this case, the auxiliary tray 930 must be used in an open state.

As described above, by making the paper supply impossible in the state where the auxiliary tray 930 is closed, the paper supply failure that occurs when the large tray is fed in the state where the auxiliary tray 930 is forgotten to be opened is prevented in advance. be able to.

The rib can function as a handle when changing the auxiliary tray 930. Further, when the apparatus is not used, by closing the auxiliary tray 930, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and improve the visibility of the sample tray 701 (FIG. 2) below.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the copying apparatus 1000. The CPU circuit unit 150 has a CPU (not shown), and follows the control program stored in the ROM 151 and the settings of the operation unit 1, and according to the settings, the original feed control unit 101, the image reader control unit 201, and the image signal control unit 202. , The printer control unit 301, the folding process control unit 401, the finisher control unit 501, and the external I / F 203. The document feed control unit 101 controls the document feed unit 100, the image reader control unit 201 controls the image reader unit 200, the printer control unit 301 controls the printer unit 300, the folding process control unit 401 controls the folding process unit 400, Finisher control unit 50
1 controls the finisher 500. The operation unit 1 includes a plurality of keys for setting various functions related to image formation, a display unit for displaying a setting state, and the like, and outputs a key signal corresponding to an operation of each key by a user to the CPU circuit unit 150.
And displays the corresponding information on the display unit based on the signal from the CPU circuit unit 150.

The RAM 152 is used as an area for temporarily storing control data and as a work area for calculations involved in control. An external I / F 203 is an interface between the copying apparatus 1000 and an external computer 204,
The print data from the computer 204 is developed into a bitmap image, and the image signal
Output to 2. Also, an image sensor (not shown) is provided from the image reader control unit 201 to the image signal control unit 202.
Is output. The printer control unit 301 outputs the image data from the image signal control unit 202 to an exposure control unit (not shown).

Next, a method for setting an operation mode will be described with reference to FIG. 8 (a) and 8 (b)
Shows a screen displayed on the display panel of the operation unit 1 of the copying apparatus main body 1000. The screen is a touch panel, and the function is executed by touching the frame of the displayed function.

Next, the processing tray section and the retreat tray section will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 4, reference numerals 605 and 606 align the side portions of the sheet bundle stacked on the processing tray 630. Racks 607 and 609 integrated with the respective bundles are independent pinions of the drive motors M1 and M2. The width alignment plate 603, which is movable by the stapler 601, regulates and aligns the stacked sheets (or sheet bundle) at the solid line position, and when the stapler 601 performs the binding processing of the sheet bundle, the position of the chain line about the support shaft 602. The rear end regulating plate 616 to be retracted to
Rotating around the support shaft 615 in the direction of the arrow (clockwise),
The sheets stacked on the processing tray 630 are moved to the rear end regulating plate 60.
The paddle 525 sweeping to the position 3 is rotated by the rotation of the discharge roller 523 to indicate a flexible knurl belt 525 for moving the sheet to the rear end regulating plate 603.

Inside the knurl belt 525,
The engaging portion 529 provided at the tip of the operating member 527 of the solenoid 526 is engaged, and the solenoid 526 is turned on.
Occasionally, from the operating position shown by the solid line, the position of the chain line
To be evacuated.

The discharge rollers 610a and 610b are driven by a discharge motor M11 so as to be able to rotate forward and backward. The upper discharge roller 610b is rotatably mounted on the free end of a swing member 612. The swing member 612 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 611 driven by a swing motor M13, and swings by rotation of a cam 613 driven by the swing motor M13.

4 and 5, below the processing tray 630, there is provided a retractable tray 620 that can move forward and backward in the arrow X direction.
21 is movable along a guide 626 provided on the same. The base of a drive lever 622 is pivotally attached to the frame 621 by a support shaft 623. Haunting tray 620
A guide groove 624 is formed in a base portion of the drive lever 622 in a direction intersecting with a sheet conveying direction (a direction in which the retractable tray 620 advances and retreats). The guide groove 624 is rotatably provided at a free end of a drive lever 622. Roller 625 is movably mounted.

When the drive lever 622 rotates in the direction of arrow 627, the retractable tray 620 projects from the solid line position to the chain line position in FIG. The sheet bundle is supported from the side to stably discharge the sheet bundle.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a mechanism for moving the stopper of the sheet bundle discharged from the saddle stitcher 800.

On the discharge tray 246 (FIG. 2), a bottom plate 252a of a stacking stopper (sheet bundle leading end regulating member) 252 is provided so as to be movable in the discharge direction, and a guide groove 256 provided on the bottom plate 252a is provided with a guide rib 255. Is slidably supported. The rotational driving force of the stopper motor M15 is controlled by the pulley 257 and the belt 26 integrated with the output shaft.
0, transmitted to a gear 261 integral with the pulley 259 via the pulley 259, and further meshed with the gear 261.
The power is transmitted to the two-stage gears 262 and 267. Gear 263
Is a rack 262 formed on the side of the bottom plate 252a.
b. Thereby, the stopper motor M15
The stacking stopper 252 can be freely moved in the discharging direction of the bound sheet bundle by the forward and reverse rotation of.

Next, the stacking and discharging of the sheet bundle to the processing tray 630 and the discharging tray 24 of the saddle stitcher 800 are performed.
The basic operation of discharging the bound sheet bundle to the sheet bundle 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 9A, the finisher 500
Is transported to the buffer roller 513 by the transport rollers 510 and 511, and is discharged to the sample tray 701 by the discharge roller 519 in the non-sort mode. In the case of the sort mode, after a plurality of sheets (for example, three sheets) are accumulated in the buffer path 516 around the buffer roller 513, the sheet is conveyed through the sort path 521 and discharged to the processing tray 630 by the discharge roller 523. The aligned sheet bundle P on the processing tray 630
₀ is discharged to the stack tray 700 by the discharge rollers 610a and 610b after the binding process is performed by the stapler 601 as necessary (FIG. 7B). Sheet bundle P ₀
When the sheet is discharged, the emergence tray 620 protrudes above the stack tray 700 as shown in (a), retreats as shown in (b) during the discharge, and the sheet bundle P ₀ is removed from the stack tray as shown in (c). 700.

In FIG. 10, when a sheet bundle P ₀ bound and bound in a binding process is discharged to a discharge tray 246 by a discharge roller 245, the upper portion thereof is pressed by a pressing lever 249 weight 251 and a projection 249a. It is ejected while being held down. Discharged sheet bundle P ₀
Gradually increases, the stacking stopper 252 moves little by little in the direction of the arrow 2a, and the sheet bundle becomes (b).
As shown in the figure, the sheets are stacked in a shifted state. As a result, the sheet bundle becomes too high or the discharged sheet bundle is properly stacked without the operation of sneaking into the preceding sheet bundle.

FIG. 12 shows a discharge tray (sheet bundle stacking means) unit 246 of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention.

The sheet bundle P ₀ discharged by the paper discharge roller (discharge means) 245 has a folded portion at the leading end thereof, and a stacking stopper (sheet bundle leading end regulating member) 25 which stands by at a standby position.
2 and are regulated and aligned (FIG. 7A). Standby position is a HP loading stopper 252, when the sheet size of the sheet bundle P ₀ to be discharged is large, is set to a position distant from the sheet discharge roller 245, is smaller, the position close to the discharge roller 245 Is set as the standby position. The control of the loading stopper 252 is performed by controlling the operation of a loading stopper motor (driving means) M15 for driving the loading stopper 252 by a control device (control means) 20 (FIG. 11). (A) The figure shows the loading state of the large size sheet,
FIG. 2B shows a stacked state of the small size sheets. The sheet bundle is stacked so that the rear end of the sheet bundle is held by the wall plate 260. As a result, the sheet bundle being discharged is
Loading failure can be prevented, such as slips in between the bundles of the sheet bundle P ₀ of the already stacked.

[0070] Also, flux number of the sheet bundle P ₀ to be discharged is detected by the bundle number detecting means 56 (FIG. 11), when the bundle number is large, loading stop 252 is positioned farther from the discharge roller 245 Is set as the standby position, and when the number is small, a position close to the transport roller pair 523 is set as the standby position. Thus, loading stop 252 is set to the standby position according to the sheet size, further, in consideration also the bundle number of the sheet bundle P _0, will be changed further waiting position.

Next, referring to FIG.
2A, the sheet bundle moves in the arrow direction (sheet bundle discharge direction) gradually separated from the transport roller pair 523 as the sheet bundle accumulates on the discharge tray 246, as shown in FIG. The ridges of P ₀ are broken down, and the sheet bundle P ₀ is aligned in a smooth state with a slight displacement.

The moving amount (stroke) of the loading stopper 252 is changed in accordance with the sheet size. When the sheet size is large, it moves with a large stroke, and when it is small, it moves with a small stroke.

Further, the moving amount of the loading stopper 252 is
Also in accordance with the beam number of the sheet bundle P ₀ it is changed to move a large stroke when the bundle number is large, if less is controlled to move a small stroke. Therefore, the amount of movement of the loading stopper 252, in addition to the sheet size, in consideration also the bundle number of the sheet bundle P _0, is further amount of movement is changed. The amount of movement of the loading stop 252 is detected by the stopper movement detector 57, the size of the sheet bundle P _0, the movement amount is changed to correspond to the bundle number.

By controlling the amount of movement of the stacking stopper 252 in this manner, the amount a of the sheet bundle being ejected during ejection is a
The rear end of the already loaded sheet bundle is positioned closer to the discharge roller 245 than in ((b) of FIG. 7), and the stacking failure of the discharged sheet bundle between the already loaded sheet bundles is prevented.

FIG. 14A shows a case where the stacking of the sheet bundle P ₀ on the discharge tray 246 is completed. Since the sheet bundle presser 249 is located in this sheet bundle,
It is inconvenient for the user to take out the sheet bundle.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the job is completed (after the sheet bundle is discharged to the discharge tray 246), the stacking stopper 252 is positioned farthest from the discharge roller 245 (the farthest position). ). Thus, above the sheet bundle P _0, wide space is formed, the removal of the sheet bundle P ₀ can be easily performed.

[0076]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the sheet bundle front end regulating member that regulates the discharged sheet bundle is changed according to the sheet size and the number of bundles,
This prevents a stacking defect such as a sheet bundle being ejected between the already stacked sheet bundles.

Further, the moving amount of the sheet bundle leading end regulating member is
Since the change is made in accordance with the sheet size and the number of sheets, a stacking defect such as a sheet bundle being discharged into the space between the already stacked sheet bundles is prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention.

3A and 3B are longitudinal front views of an inserter (sheet feeder), wherein FIG. 3A is a state in which an auxiliary tray is closed, FIG. 3B is a state in which the auxiliary tray is opened, and FIG. CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view of a processing tray section and a retreat tray section.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the auxiliary tray.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a loading stopper of the saddle stitcher.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram relating to control of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a display panel of an operation unit of the image forming apparatus.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are operation diagrams showing the flow of sheets in the sheet processing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 9A is a diagram of stacking sheets on a processing tray of a finisher, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a sheet bundle from a processing tray to a stack tray; FIG. 3C is a view showing the completion of discharge on the stack tray.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a stacking operation of a sheet bundle on a discharge tray of the saddle stitcher.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram relating to control of the sheet processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are side views illustrating a standby position of a stacking stopper of the sheet bundle stacking unit. FIG. 12A illustrates a standby position in the case of a large size sheet, and FIG. 12B illustrates a standby position of a small size sheet.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are side views showing the amount of movement of the stacking stopper. FIG. 13A is a stacking state at a standby position, and FIG. Relationship diagram.

14A is a side view showing the stacking stopper after a job is completed, and FIG. 14B is a side view showing a state where the stacking stopper is retracted to a farthest position.

[Explanation of symbols]

P sheet (Z-folded sheet) P ₀ sheet bundle M15 Stacking stopper motor 21 Sheet size detecting means 56 Bundle number detecting means 57 Stopper moving amount detecting means 111 Photosensitive drum (image forming means) 118 Discharge roller (discharging means of the apparatus body) 133 Discharge roller (discharge means of Z-folding portion) 242, 243 Fold roller pair 245 Discharge roller (discharge means) 246 Discharge tray (sheet bundle stacking means) 247 Guide plate 252 Stacking stopper (sheet bundle leading end regulating member) 252b Projection 400 Folding unit 500 Finisher 800 Saddle stitcher (Sheet processing device)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A binding unit for binding a plurality of conveyed sheets, a folding unit for folding a sheet bundle bound by the binding unit into two, and a folding unit for folding the sheet bundle folded by the folding unit. Discharging means for discharging the sheet bundle discharged by the discharging means, a sheet bundle stacking means for stacking the sheet bundle discharged by the discharging means, and a folding part of the sheet bundle discharged onto the sheet bundle stacking means, A sheet bundle leading end regulating member movable on the sheet bundle stacking unit in the sheet discharging direction, a driving unit for driving the sheet bundle leading end regulating member in the discharging direction, a control unit for driving the driving unit, A sheet size detecting means for detecting the size of the sheet bundle, wherein the sheet bundle leading end regulating member first discharges the sheet bundle according to the size of the sheet bundle detected by the sheet size detecting means. A sheet processing apparatus for changing a standby position for an output sheet bundle. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the sheet size detected by the sheet size detecting device is large, the sheet bundle leading end regulating member is controlled to be at a standby position far from the discharging device. Claim 1
A sheet processing apparatus as described in the above. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a bundle number detecting unit configured to detect the number of bundles of the sheet bundle discharged from the sheet discharging unit. 3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle front end regulating member is controlled so as to be at a distant standby position. 4. A binding unit for binding a plurality of conveyed sheets, a folding unit for folding a sheet bundle bound by the binding unit into two, and a folding unit for folding the sheet bundle folded by the folding unit. Discharging means for discharging the sheet bundle discharged by the discharging means, a sheet bundle stacking means for stacking the sheet bundle discharged by the discharging means, and a folding part of the sheet bundle discharged onto the sheet bundle stacking means, A sheet bundle leading end regulating member movable on the sheet bundle stacking unit along the sheet discharging direction, a driving unit for driving the sheet bundle leading end regulating member along the discharging direction, a control unit for controlling the driving unit, A sheet size detection unit for detecting a size of the sheet bundle, wherein the sheet bundle leading end regulating member is located at a standby position according to a size of the sheet bundle detected by the sheet size detection unit. A sheet processing apparatus for changing a moving amount of a sheet from a sheet to a sheet discharging direction. 5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller moves the sheet bundle leading end regulating member with a large stroke when the sheet size detected by the sheet size detector is large. . 6. A bundle number detecting unit for detecting the number of bundles of sheet bundles discharged from the sheet discharging unit, wherein the control unit, when the number of bundles detected by the bundle number detecting unit is large, The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sheet bundle front end regulating member is moved with a large stroke. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the discharge of the sheet bundle to the sheet bundle stacking means is completed, the control means moves the sheet bundle front end regulating member to the farthest part from the discharge means. 7. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. 8. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet based on image information; and a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming means is discharged to the sheet processing apparatus. An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharging unit.