JP2007062290A - Sheet binding device and bookbinding apparatus using this - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bookbinding apparatus in which an adhesive penetrates between leaves and can rigidly cement when a heat-fusion adhesive is applied to the edge of a sheet bundle and, moreover, which does not spoil the fine appearance of binding with drips of the adhesive, etc. <P>SOLUTION: The adhesive application surface of the sheet bundle is heated in the process, between accumulation of sheets and conveyance, of conveying the sheet bundle from an accumulation means for loading the sheet in the bundle to an adhesive application position (processing positions) by a conveyor means. The constitution has the accumulation means for loading the sheet to be sequentially taken out in the bundle, a conveyor means which conveys the sheet from this accumulation means in predetermined processing positions, and an adhesive application means for applying the adhesive to the binding end surface of the sheet bundle conveyed in the processing positions. A heating means which heats the binding end surface of the sheet bundle is disposed to the accumulation means or the conveyor means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet binding device that stacks sequentially transported sheets in a bundle and conveys them to a processing position, and applies an adhesive such as glue at the processing position to bind the sheets, and the glued sheet bundle and cover sheet The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus that binds together.

  In general, a post-processing apparatus that prints an image created by a computer, a word processor, or the like with a printer, aligns a series of printed sheets in a bundle, and applies glue binding or the like is widely used. Recently, printing systems that output various business brochures as needed have been used as on-demand printing. In such a system, a bookbinding device is proposed that glues one edge (back) of a series of documents that are sequentially transported from the printer, folds the glued surface to the center of the cover sheet, and folds the front and back covers automatically. Has been. In such an apparatus that automatically processes the alignment of a series of documents and the pasting and binding, it is necessary to reliably bind each paper sheet.

  Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, a device has been proposed in which print sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus are stacked in a bundle and are subjected to a gluing process using a coating roller provided on a glue stick in a substantially vertical posture. . The glue paste is filled with a hot-melt adhesive and the adhesive paste impregnated in the application roller is applied to the edge of the sheet bundle. The adhesive is applied by running a roller impregnated with adhesive glue along the edge of the sheet bundle, and sticking the glue raised on the roller surface to the edge of the sheet bundle. When gluing in such a state, glue adheres to the back portion of the edge of the sheet bundle, but there is a problem that the sheet does not penetrate between the leaves of the sheet and the sheet is detached after bookbinding.

Accordingly, various attempts have been made to allow the adhesive paste to uniformly penetrate between the leaves of the sheet bundle. For example, a method of applying the adhesive by cutting the glued surface of the sheet bundle before applying the adhesive and performing a milling process for cutting in a jagged shape has been proposed, but the apparatus becomes large for milling, There is an expensive problem. Further, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes a method in which a glue roller and a sheet bundle edge are pressure-bonded and the sheet bundle edge is separated and glued.
JP 2004-114196 A JP 11-21006 A

  As described above, when the edges of the sheet bundle are bound together with a hot-melt adhesive, the applied adhesive does not sufficiently enter between the leaves of the sheet bundle, causing problems such as missing pages. On the other hand, conventionally, attempts have been made to process the edges of the sheet bundle such as milling or to devise a coating roller. However, such a device cannot solve the problem of the adhesive solidifying in the temperature environment. For example, the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus has a high or low temperature depending on the printing conditions such as single-sided or double-sided, the density of the image, or the type (apparatus configuration) of the image forming apparatus. When the temperature of the sheet is low, the adhesive solidifies in a short time and does not sufficiently penetrate between the leaves. In addition, when the sheet temperature is high, the permeability between the leaves is improved, but there is a problem that the cover is soiled or solidified by liquid dripping, and it takes time in the subsequent binding process to cause wrinkles.

  On the other hand, the temperature of the adhesive is kept constant in the glue container provided with the application roller, but once it is applied to the sheet bundle, it is affected by the temperature of the sheet. Therefore, there is a problem that the sheet supplied from the image forming apparatus or the like is contaminated by liquid dripping when the temperature is high, and conversely, when the sheet is low temperature, it causes a missing page. Even when the temperature of such an adhesive is bound to the cover sheet, the adhesive cannot be reliably bonded if the temperature of the sheet bundle is low, and conversely, if the temperature is high, problems such as dripping and wrinkles occur. Further, when the apparatus is stopped for some reason with the adhesive paste applied to the sheet bundle, the adhesive glue is solidified, and it becomes impossible to bind the cover sheet in a subsequent process after the apparatus is restarted. .

  Therefore, the present invention can apply a hot-melt adhesive to the edge of the sheet bundle and bind the sheets together so that the adhesive can penetrate between the leaves and firmly adhere to each other without causing problems such as missing pages. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet binding device that does not impair the aesthetics of the binding due to the dripping of the adhesive. Furthermore, the present invention provides a bookbinding apparatus capable of reliably binding a booklet with a substantially constant binding processing time when sheets conveyed from the image forming apparatus under various temperature conditions are collected in a bundle and glued together. Offering is the issue.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a process from stacking of sheets stacked in a bundle to a stack of sheets transported by a transporting unit to an adhesive application position (processing position). By heating the adhesive application surface of the bundle, it is possible to obtain a suitable adhesion condition in which the applied adhesive surface of the sheet is applied to a substantially uniform temperature condition so that the applied adhesive enters between the leaves of the sheet and does not cause dripping. It is based on an idea.

  Accordingly, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a stacking means for stacking sheets sequentially carried out in a bundle, a transporting means for transporting sheets from the stacking means to a predetermined processing position, and a sheet bundle transported to the processing position. In the apparatus configuration provided with an adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the binding end face, a heating means for heating the binding end face of the sheet bundle is arranged in the stacking means or the conveying means. For example, a positioning reference member is provided on the tray on which the sheet is placed, the edge of the sheet is aligned with the reference member, and a heating unit is disposed on the sheet abutting surface of the reference member to simultaneously align the sheet bundle. Is heated to a predetermined temperature, and then an adhesive is applied to the alignment end face of the sheet bundle. If comprised in this way, the adhesive application end surface of a sheet | seat can be heated simultaneously with alignment.

  The heating means may be arranged in a conveying means for carrying out the sheet from the stacking tray. In this case, the conveying means is constituted by a gripper member that holds the sheet bundle and conveys and holds it at the glue application position. Is configured to grip the edge of the binding end surface of the sheet bundle, and the heating means is disposed on the gripper member that grips the edge of the binding end surface. As a result, the glued end face of the sheet bundle is heated simultaneously with the glue application, and rapid cooling and solidification can be prevented.

  In the present invention, either a stacking unit that stacks sheets in a bundle or a transport unit that transports a sheet bundle from the stacking unit to a predetermined adhesive application position is provided with a heating unit that heats the binding end surface of the sheet bundle. Therefore, the hot-melt adhesive applied by the subsequent adhesive application means sufficiently penetrates between the sheet leaves and slowly solidifies, so that the sheet bundle can be securely bound, and the adhesive can be It is cooled rapidly by the temperature and solidifies without entering between the sheet leaves, so that problems such as missing pages can be improved.

  In particular, even if the sheet bundle is slightly irregular, it is possible to reliably bind the sheets by penetration of the adhesive. Therefore, even a user who is unfamiliar with bookbinding operations can align sheets in a bundle with a simple structure and perform robust bookbinding.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming system incorporating a sheet cutting apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a main part of a sheet cutting unit.

"Configuration of image forming system"
The image forming system shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus (a copying machine shown in the figure) A, a bookbinding apparatus (bookbinding section) B connected to a paper discharge port of the image forming apparatus A, and a bookbinding apparatus B. The sheet cutting apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated in the bookbinding apparatus B as a unit. The bookbinding apparatus B receives sheets from the paper discharge port of the image forming apparatus A, collects a series of documents in a bundle, and glues the sheets to one side edge (back) of the bundle to bind the cover sheet. Next, a predetermined amount of the peripheral edge of the sheet bound in the booklet shape is cut and accumulated in the storage stacker. Further, the post-processing apparatus C is attached to the bookbinding apparatus B, and is configured to receive a sheet not subjected to bookbinding processing and to perform post-processing such as step binding, punching (punching processing), stamp (printing processing), and the like. The illustrated post-processing apparatus C includes a paper discharge stacker that stores sheets formed with the image forming apparatus A.

  First, the image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The image forming apparatus A includes an image forming unit 3 provided in the main body device 2 and an image reading device (scanner unit) 7 disposed above the main body device 2. And a document feeder (ADF unit) 5. The main body apparatus 2 is provided with an image forming unit 3, and forms an image on a sheet such as plain paper or an OHP sheet supplied from the paper supply unit 9 via the conveyance roller 10. For example, the image forming unit 3 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 8 by the light irradiating unit 13, and attaches toner with a developing unit and transfers it onto a sheet. This sheet is fixed by the fixing device 6 and carried out from the paper discharge port 19. When performing double-sided printing, the sheet printed on one side is turned upside down by the switchback path 17, sent again from the circulation path 18 to the photosensitive drum 8, printed on the back side, and carried out from the paper discharge port 19. In addition, 12 in the figure is a manual sheet feeding port, and supplies special sheets such as thick paper such as a cover sheet and coating sheet.

  An image reading device (scanner unit) 7 is disposed above the main body device 2 configured as described above. The image reading device 7 scans a document placed on the platen with a photoelectric conversion element and transfers image data to the data storage unit 14 of the main body device 2. Further, the image reading device 7 is provided with a document supply device (ADF unit) 5 for automatically feeding a document to the platen. The document feeder 5 separates the documents set on the sheet feeding tray one by one and automatically feeds them to the platen. Such an image forming apparatus is widely used and has various structures. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited to the electrostatic printing system shown in the figure, and a system such as screen printing or ink jet printing can be employed.

"Configuration of bookbinding equipment"
A bookbinding device B is attached to the paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in detail in FIG. 1, for example, a stacking unit 42 that stacks and stores sheets in a bundle, for example, an adhesive application unit 22, a cover bonding unit 60, and a cutting unit 23 as adhesive application units. And a storage stack portion 34. Then, after receiving the sheet on which the image is formed from the sheet carry-in path T1 connected to the paper discharge port 19 of the image forming apparatus A, a series of sheets are stacked and aligned by the stacking unit 42, and then this is applied by the adhesive application unit 22. Gluing is performed on one side edge of the bundled sheet, and the cover sheet is bound together with the cover sheet by the cover sheet bonding portion 60. The adhesive application unit 22 and the cover sheet bonding unit 60 constitute a “binding means”. Thereafter, the cutting section 23 performs a series of bookbinding processes for cutting and finishing the peripheral edge of the booklet-shaped sheet. In particular, in the illustrated apparatus, the stacking unit 42 stacks and aligns sheets in a substantially horizontal posture, rotates the sheet bundle S1 by 90 degrees, glues it in a substantially vertical posture, binds it to a cover sheet, It is characterized by sequentially processing the cutting alignment in a substantially vertical posture. Thus, the apparatus is made compact by transferring the sheet bundle S1 from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction.

  Further, a conveyance path T2 for guiding the sheet to the stacking unit 42 and a conveyance path T3 for guiding the sheet to the post-processing apparatus C are connected to the sheet carry-in path T1 through a path switching flapper 27 as illustrated. 1 shows a configuration in which a cover sheet is supplied from the image forming apparatus A. However, an insert device that automatically supplies a cover sheet is provided in the sheet carry-in path T1, and the cover sheet is supplied from the insert device. A configuration may be adopted in which a sheet is supplied. 25 and 29 shown in the figure are conveying rollers arranged in each path. The bookbinding apparatus B configured as described above has a normal discharge mode in which the sheet from the image forming apparatus A is directly carried out to the discharge tray 35 of the post-processing apparatus C by the path switching flapper (switching means) 27, and After the sheet from the image forming apparatus A is sent from the carry-in path T1 to the transport path T2, the adhesive application unit 22 performs the gluing process, and then binds the bookbinding and finishes it in an uncut state, and the edge of the sheet after binding It is executed in the bookbinding / cutting mode for cutting and trimming.

  The configuration of the stacking unit 42 described above will be described. Stacking means for stacking sheets in a bundle by forming an upper and lower step on the downstream side of the sheet discharge port 40 is arranged in the transport path T2. 42a. Then, the discharge rollers 31 provided at the discharge port 40 sequentially carry out the sheets to the stacking tray 42a. An alignment roller (alignment means) 44 and a guide weight 45 capable of forward and reverse rotation are disposed between the paper discharge port 40 and the stacking tray 42a. The alignment roller 44 is supported by a bracket 47 swingable on a support shaft 46 so as to be movable up and down, and is rotated forward and backward by a drive motor (not shown). The bracket 47 is connected to an actuator (for example, a small stepping motor or a rotary solenoid) that moves the alignment roller 44 up and down between a retracted position spaced upward from the sheet and an operating position in contact with the sheet. Accordingly, the discharge roller 31 moves from the upper retracted position to the operating position in contact with the sheet, and conveys the sheet from the sheet discharge port 40 in the forward direction in the left direction of the unloading direction in FIG. Transport.

  A guide weight 45 is provided at the paper discharge port 40. The guide weight 45 is composed of a plate-shaped guide piece for guiding the sheet from the paper discharge port 40 onto the stacking tray 42a, and is supported so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 48. Then, it is connected to a stepping motor 49 so as to rotate about the support shaft 48, and the retracted position retracted above the discharge port 40 and the sheet conveyed to the discharge port 40 are guided onto the stacking tray 42a. The sheet discharge guide position is configured to be movable between a sheet discharge guide position to be pressed and a sheet pressing position at which the trailing edge of the sheet conveyed onto the stacking tray 42a is pressed and guided to a later-described reference member 37.

  Therefore, when the sheet is carried out from the paper discharge port 40, as shown in FIG. 4, the guide weight 45 guides the sheet toward the stacking tray 42a, and after the leading end of the sheet reaches the tray, the alignment roller 44 is retracted. The sheet is lowered from the position to a position in contact with the sheet, and the sheet is transferred in the carry-out direction. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the aligning roller 44 and the guide weight 45 are moved in the right direction by rotating the aligning roller 44 in a state in which the aligning roller 44 is in contact with the sheet after aligning the sheets. The guide member is guided to the reference member 37 while being lowered to a contact position and pressing the rear end of the sheet. In addition, a reference member 37 that restricts the rear end of the sheets stacked on the tray is disposed on the rear end side in the paper discharge direction in the stacking tray 42a. The reference member 37 may be formed integrally with the tray so as to form an abutting surface protruding on the tray integrally with the stacking tray 42a. However, the reference member 37 shown in the figure moves the stacking tray 42a up and down in FIG. In order to move, it is attached to a device frame (not shown).

  In general, when sheets are stacked, they do not align with the reference surface of the reference member 37 prepared at the front or rear end in the transport direction depending on the curl state of the sheet, and are slightly separated (around 0.1 to 0.5 mm) in the front and rear directions in the transport direction. There is a sheet that is uneven. When an adhesive (such as glue) is applied to the sheet bundle S1 in such a state, it is difficult to attach the adhesive to uneven sheets. This is because from the moment when the hot-melt adhesive is applied to the sheet bundle S1, the sheet bundle S1 is deprived of heat and solidifies by cooling, so that its viscosity increases and does not penetrate between the leaves of the sheet bundle S1. Therefore, it is necessary to reliably align the sheet with the abutting surface 37a of the reference member 37, and the stacking tray 42a is inclined to the reference member side so that the sheet abuts against the abutting surface 37a by its own weight. At the same time, the curled sheet is pressed by the guide weight 45 and guided to the abutting surface 37a. Further, the alignment roller 44 ensures that the rear end of the sheet reaches the abutting surface 37a.

  In addition to the above configuration, the present invention is characterized by including the following heating means 38. That is, the heating means 38 for heating the adhesive application surface of the sheet bundle S1 is provided in the process from the stacking means for stacking sheets in a bundle to the sheet bundle S1 being conveyed to an adhesive application position (processing position) described later. First, the case where a heating means is arrange | positioned to the stacking tray 42a is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the following heating means 38 is provided on the abutting surface 37 a of the reference member 37. The heating means 38 is for heating the end face of the sheet bundle S1 aligned with the reference member 37 and making the temperature uniform. The heating means 38 is composed of, for example, a heating element 38a and a temperature detection element 38b embedded in the heating member. ing. The heating element 38a is connected to, for example, a power supply control unit as a temperature control means (not shown), and the temperature detection element 38b is connected to the power supply control unit so that the temperature of the abutting surface 37a is maintained at a preset temperature. It has become. This set temperature is set based on the melting temperature of the adhesive paste applied by the subsequent adhesive paste application unit 22, but preferably the adhesive applied in the subsequent adhesive paste application process sufficiently penetrates between the leaves of the sheet, It is desirable to obtain and set an optimum temperature at which no sagging or the like occurs by experiments based on the temperature inside the bookbinding apparatus, the type of sheet, and the like. In addition, the heating unit 38 may be disposed in a conveying unit that conveys and holds the sheet bundle S1 at a predetermined adhesive paste application position, and the configuration in that case will be described later.

  The stacking tray 42a is provided with aligning means 70 for regulating the width of stacked sheets in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance. As shown in FIG. 3, the aligning means 70 includes a pair of aligning members 70a and 70b that are movable in the left-right width direction on the upper surface of the stacking tray 42a. The pair of aligning members 70a and 70b are arranged on the stacking tray 42a so that the left and right aligning members 70a and 70b move toward and away from each other by the same amount toward the center of the sheet when the sheet is aligned on the center. Install. Further, when aligning the sheets on the one-side side reference, the reference-side alignment member is fixed at the reference position, and the opposite-side alignment member is configured to be movable. Various methods are known for supporting the alignment members 70a and 70b. However, the alignment members 70a and 70b are supported on the back surface of the stacking tray 42a so as to be movable in the width direction (the sheet conveyance orthogonal direction; the same applies hereinafter). Then, a rack is provided in an appropriate apparatus frame in the width direction, and the alignment member is reciprocated in the width direction by forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor by engaging a pinion of the drive motor mounted on the alignment member with the rack. . In addition, a pair of aligning members are supported on the tray so as to be movable in the width direction, the aligning members are connected to wires laid between pulleys arranged on the left and right in the width direction, and one of the pulleys is rotated by a drive motor. May be.

  Note that the illustrated stacking tray 42a is configured to be shorter than the length in the sheet carry-out direction so that the leading end of the sheet hangs down outside the tray. This is because, when the sheets are narrowed by the aligning means 70, the sheet is curled in the orthogonal direction by curving the sheet in the carry-out direction, and at the same time, the sheet is stiffened. When the sheet is curved in this way, a buckling phenomenon does not occur when the sheet is shifted in the direction perpendicular thereto. Therefore, the stacking tray 42a is provided with a deflecting means 75, and the illustrated deflecting means 75 is constituted by a guide piece that hangs downward from the upper end of the stacking tray 42a so as to forcibly bend the leading end of the sheet. Accordingly, even a sheet such as cardboard or a sheet curled in the opposite direction can be bent into a predetermined shape.

  The alignment roller 44 is configured to come into contact with the sheet with an engaging force that does not hinder the movement of the sheet when the sheet is moved by the alignment members 70a and 70b. This is because the alignment roller 44 may be retracted to the upper retracted position when the sheets are moved by the aligning members 70a and 70b. However, the sheet carried out on the stacking tray 42a is moved from the curved leading end to the outside of the tray. In order to prevent this, a means for always pressing and holding the sheet is required. In the illustrated example, the sheet is pressed and held by the alignment roller 44. Therefore, the sheet holding means may be, for example, a lever member or a swingable elastic member.

  When a series of sheets are stacked on the stacking tray 42a having the above-described configuration in a substantially horizontal posture, the stacking tray 42a is lowered by a predetermined distance in the direction of the arrow a from the stacking position where the sheets are stacked, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The tray is moved to the first position P1. Next, the sheet bundle S1 is moved from the P1 position in the direction of an arrow b perpendicular to the P1 position, and is fed to the second position P2. In the second position P2, gripper members 55a and 55b for holding the end portion of the sheet bundle S1 carried out from the stacking tray 42a are provided. The gripper members 55a and 55b constitute a grip conveying means (conveying means) for conveying the sheet from the stacking tray 42a to a predetermined processing position (glue application position).

  The gripper members 55a and 55b deflect the sheet bundle S1 from a horizontal posture to a substantially vertical posture and convey the sheet bundle S1 to the adhesive application unit 22 disposed on the downstream side. At the same time, a thickness detecting means Sa (not shown) for detecting the thickness of the gripped sheet bundle is provided. As shown in FIG. 9, the illustrated gripper members 55a and 55b are main gripper members 56a and 56b for gripping the vicinity of the gluing end surface of the sheet bundle S1, and a sub gripper for guiding the sheet to the main gripper member and supporting the center portion of the sheet. It consists of members 57a and 57b. The gripper members 55a and 55b are attached to a device frame (not shown) so that the unit frame 131 can rotate about a shaft 130. The unit frame 131 is rotated by rotating a sector gear 136 with a turning motor 135 provided on the device frame. Rotate a predetermined angle. One main gripper member 56 a is fixed to the unit frame 131, and the other main gripper member 56 b is supported on the bearing guide 138 of the unit frame 131 by a rod 137.

  A rack 139 is provided on the rod 137, and a grip control motor 140 is connected to the rack 139. Sub gripper members 57a and 57b are attached to the main gripper members 56a and 56b, respectively. The illustrated sub gripper members 57a and 57b are rotatably supported on the main gripper members 56a and 56b by a shaft 141, and are prevented from rotating by a lock claw (not shown). This is to correct the posture (skew correction) of the sheet bundle S1 gripped by the sub gripper members 57a and 57b by rotating the sub gripper members 57a and 57b. The sheet bundle S1 is clamped. Therefore, when it is not necessary to correct the posture of the sheet bundle S1, the main gripper member and the sub gripper member may be integrally formed. Therefore, the gripper members 55a and 55b constitute a conveying means for conveying the sheet to the adhesive application position.

  Therefore, the gripper members 55a and 55b configured as described above are provided with thickness detecting means Sa (not shown) for detecting the thickness of the gripped sheet bundle, for example, with the following configuration. The movable main gripper member 56b has a thickness detecting means Sa built in a bearing guide 138 provided with a rod 137 for supporting it on the unit frame 131. This thickness detection means Sa is constituted by, for example, a slidac resistor, and is built in a bearing guide 138 and connected to a rod 137. The resistance value changes depending on the position of the thickness detection means Sa, and the amount of movement of the rod 137 can be detected. On the other hand, in the sub gripper member 57b supported by the movable main gripper member 56b, the grip sensor 142 for detecting a state in which the gripper members 55a and 55b grip the sheet detects a flag protruding to the sheet side by a photo sensor. Is arranged in. Accordingly, when the grip control motor 140 is driven to move the movable main gripper member 56b in the press-contact direction to grip the sheet bundle S1, the grip sensor 142 detects the operation and stops the grip control motor 140. Then, the positions of the main gripper members 56a and 56b can be detected from the resistance value of the thickness detecting means Sa, and the thickness of the sheet bundle can be calculated.

  Moreover, it is also possible to arrange | position the heating means 38 to the gripper member 55 which comprises the above-mentioned conveyance means, The structure in that case is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 9, the main gripper member 56 having the above structure grips the sheet bundle S1 between the movable side 56b and the fixed side 56a. A heating means 38 and a temperature detection means are provided. This heating means 38 is for heating the end face of the gripped sheet bundle S1 and making the temperature uniform. For example, the heating means 38 is composed of a heating element 38a embedded in the gripping surface, and the temperature detection means is composed of, for example, a temperature detection element 38b. ing. The heating element 38a is connected to, for example, a power supply control unit as a temperature control means (not shown), and the temperature detection element 38b is connected to the power supply control unit so that the temperature of the gripping surface is maintained at a preset temperature. It has become. The set temperature is set based on the melting temperature of the adhesive paste applied by the subsequent adhesive paste application unit 22, but preferably the adhesive applied in the subsequent adhesive application process sufficiently permeates between the leaves of the sheet, so It is desirable to obtain and set an optimum temperature at which the above does not occur by experiments based on the temperature inside the bookbinding apparatus, the type of sheet, and the like.

  Next, the adhesive application unit 22 includes an adhesive container 66a that stores an adhesive (for example, glue), and an application roller 66b that applies the adhesive stored in the adhesive container 66a to the edge of the sheet bundle S1. The adhering means 66 is provided. The adhesion means 66 is applied to an adhesive such as glue on the lower edge of the sheet bundle S1 held in the gripper members 55a and 55b in a substantially vertical posture. For this reason, the illustrated glue container 66a is supported by a guide rail (not shown) along a path longer than the length of the sheet so as to be movable in the front and back direction in FIG. 1, and moves along the lower edge of the sheet bundle S1. It is configured to be movable between the area, a standby position outside the application area, and a replenishment position where the adhesive is replenished.

  The glue container 66a is provided with an application roller 66b impregnated with glue such as heat-resistant rubber. The application roller 66b is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), and the glue container 66a moves along the end face of the sheet bundle S1. At the same time, a small gap is formed between the sheet and the sheet. The gluing amount is adjusted by changing the gap according to the thickness of the sheet bundle.

  When the adhering means 66 is positioned at the standby position, the transport path T4 of the sheet bundle S1 is secured, and the sheet bundle S1 subjected to the gluing process is sent to the cover sheet adhering portion 60 by the grippers 55a and 55b. A cover sheet bonding portion (cover sheet binding portion) 60 is provided at an intersection between the conveyance path T3 and the conveyance path T4. The cover sheet is conveyed on the conveyance path T3, and the center of the sheet is prepared at the intersection. ing. Therefore, the cover sheet and the sheet bundle S1 are aligned and joined in an inverted T shape so that the sheet bundle S1 coincides with the center (sheet center) of the cover sheet. At the time of this joining, a backup plate 59 is prepared on the transport path T3.

  The edge of the sheet bundle S1 coated with the adhesive is pressed in the vertical direction from above by the grippers 55a and 55b against the cover sheet positioned in this way and supported by the backup plate 59. Thereafter, the cover sheet and the sheet bundle S1 are pressed from both sides by a slidable back folded plate in a state of being abutted against the backup plate 59. Thereby, a fold (back) corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle S1 is formed on the cover.

  Next, when the backup plate 59 moves to the outside from the transport path T4 and retracts, the grippers 55a and 55b deliver the sheet bundle S1 to which the cover sheet is adhered to the lower cutting unit 23 while sandwiching the sheet bundle S1. The cutting section 23 is provided with a pair of carry-in rollers 113 as folding rolls, and takes over the sheet bundle S1 conveyed from the grippers 55a and 55b and sends it to the cutting section 23 on the downstream side.

  Next, the configuration of the cutting unit 23 will be described. The cutting unit 23 includes a cutting stage and a cutting unit 125 (cutting edge press units 120b and 120c and a cutting blade 120a, which will be described later). The gripper 122 is configured to sandwich the sheet therebetween. A conveyance path T4 is provided downstream of the carry-in roller 113 to cut a predetermined portion of the sheet bundle S1 from the cover sheet bonding portion 60 and carry it to the storage stack portion 34. A rotary table 121 and a gripper 122 are arranged on the transport path T4 at positions facing each other with the transport guide 119 interposed therebetween. The rotary table 121 and the gripper 122 are configured to be pivotable in a state in which the sheet bundle S1 is gripped, and a predetermined position (a top portion, a ground portion, a fore edge portion) of the sheet bundle S1 is cut at a downstream cutting position XX. (See FIG. 10C).

  At the cutting position XX, cutting edge press means 120b, 120c for holding the cutting edge under pressure and a cutting blade 120a are arranged as follows. A blade receiving member 150 is provided at the cutting position XX, and a flat blade-shaped cutting blade 120a performs a cutting operation facing the blade receiving member 150. And the cutting edge press means which presses and supports the cutting edge of the sheet bundle S1 shown in FIG. 10A at the position facing the blade receiving member 150 is constituted by the pressing member 120c, the movable pressure plate 120b and the pressure mechanism. Has been. The cutting blade 120a is constituted by a flat blade cutter, and is arranged at a cutting position XX on the downstream side of the rotary table 121 as shown in FIG. 10 (c), and is configured to reciprocate in the illustrated horizontal direction, The sheet bundle S1 is cut in the order of the base portion and the fore edge portion, and the cut sheet bundle S1 is stored in the storage stack portion 34.

  In the apparatus described above, a state in which sheets are stacked on the stacking tray 42a from the paper discharge port 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the sheets are carried into the stacking tray 42a, and the sheet S is conveyed to the paper discharge port 40 of the conveyance path T2 by the conveyance roller shown in FIG. The sheet S is unloaded from the discharge port 40 onto the stacking tray 42 a by the discharge roller 31. At this time, the guide weight 45 is held by the stepping motor 49 in the state of FIG. 4 and guides the sheet S onto the stacking tray 42a. The aligning roller 44 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing, and conveys the sheet S together with the discharge roller 31 onto the stacking tray 42a. Then, as described above, the stacking tray 42a is set to be shorter than the length of the sheet S in the conveyance direction. Therefore, when the leading edge of the sheet advances to the outside of the tray, the deflecting means 75 guides the sheet downward to the state shown in FIG. Curved so as to hang outward from the tray.

  By forcibly bending the leading edge of the sheet by the deflecting means 75, it is possible to prevent the sheet S from being scattered outwardly when the sheet S is curved upward and in the reverse direction. Further, the sheet S curved in the conveyance orthogonal direction is also forcibly curved in the illustrated direction. At this time, the aligning roller 44 stops and presses and supports the sheet S with a constant pressing force.

  In the state shown in FIG. 5, the pair of alignment members 70a and 70b are moved by a predetermined amount by the drive motor (not shown), and the sheets S are aligned in the width direction. In the illustrated example, since the sheets are aligned with the center reference, the alignment members 70a and 70b on both side edges move in the same amount of reciprocal directions to align the sheet with the reference position. The alignment roller 44 is in contact with the sheet with an engagement force that does not prevent the sheet from being moved in the width direction. In this way, the sheet S is shifted in the curved state, the sheet is stiffened in the conveyance orthogonal direction, and is moved to an accurate position by the alignment members 70a and 70b. Further, since the sheet S is immediately after being transported from the sheet discharge port 40 and is in a state of being lifted from the already stacked sheets, the frictional resistance received by contacting the stacked sheets is reduced, and the sheet S is brought to the reference position with a light shifting force. Moving.

Next, the aligning roller 44 rotates counterclockwise in the state shown in FIG. Then, the rear end of the sheet is abutted and aligned with the abutting surface 37a of the reference member 37 disposed on the stacking tray 42a in the state of FIG. This abutting surface 37a
Are provided with a heating means 38 and a temperature detection means, the heating means 38 is constituted by a heating element 38a, and the temperature detection means is constituted by a temperature detection element 38b, which are respectively embedded in the abutting surface 37a. The heating element keeps the abutting surface 37a at a predetermined temperature on the basis of the melting temperature of the adhesive by the power supply controller. Accordingly, the rear end of the sheet regulated by the abutting surface 37a is heated. On the other hand, when the sheet rear end is not heated and kept warm, particularly when the sheet bundle S1 is slightly uneven, the adhesive is not uniformly applied when the adhesive is applied to the end face.

  That is, since the sheet bundle S1 is deprived of heat and cooled from the moment when the hot-melt adhesive is applied to the sheet bundle S1, the viscosity of the adhesive increases, and the sheet bundle S1 is shown in FIG. 8B. Solidify without penetrating between the leaves of the sheet. In the sheet bundle S1 bound in this manner, the irregular sheets are detached and a missing page is invited. On the other hand, as described above, since the sheet edge accumulated on the accumulation tray 42a and aligned with the abutting surface 37a of the reference member 37 is heated by the heating means 38, the adhesive applied thereto is slowly solidified. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), it uniformly penetrates between the leaves of the sheet and securely bonds the sheet bundle. In particular, even if the sheet bundle is slightly uneven, the adhesive solidifies slowly, so that it can uniformly penetrate between the leaves of the sheets and can be bound together reliably.

  Therefore, even a user unfamiliar with the bookbinding operation does not need a complicated milling process and can perform robust bookbinding by simply aligning the sheets in a bundle with a simple structure. Further, it is desirable that the abutting surface 37a of the reference member 37 disposed on the stacking tray 42a is made of, for example, a metal member having good thermal conductivity. As a result, it is possible to reliably heat and keep warm. In addition, even if the sheet of the image forming apparatus A disappears during processing, or the apparatus stops due to a jam or the like, the adhesive application surface of the sheet bundle is heated and kept warm. Therefore, the bookbinding process can be continued promptly upon restarting, and the situation of discarding the in-process sheet bundle can be reduced.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating details of a sheet cutting unit in the bookbinding apparatus of FIG. 1. The perspective explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the accumulation | storage part in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and a heating means. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where sheets enter the tray of the stacking unit illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the sheets stored in the tray of the stacking unit illustrated in FIG. Explanatory drawing of the state which transfers the sheet | seat of the stacking | stacking part shown in FIG. 3 to a reference | standard member. Explanatory drawing of the state which abuts and matches the sheet | seat of the stacking | stacking part shown in FIG. 3 with a reference member. It is explanatory drawing of the aspect which binds a sheet bundle with an adhesive agent, (a) shows the binding state when a sheet is heated, (b) shows the binding state when a sheet is not heated. Explanatory drawing of the conveyance means (gripper member) which carries out a sheet | seat bundle from a stacking tray. The structure of the cutting blade for cutting the sheet at the cutting position is shown, (a) shows the state before cutting, (b) shows the state after cutting, and (c) shows the state of the sheet at the cutting position.

Explanation of symbols

22 Adhesive application part 37 Reference member 37a Abutting surface 38 Heating means 38a Heating element 38b Temperature detection element (temperature detection means)
40 Paper discharge port 42 Stacking unit 42a Stacking tray (stacking means)
44 Alignment roller 55a Gripper (grip conveying means)
55b Gripper (grip conveying means)
56a Main gripper (fixed)
56b Main gripper (movable)
57a Sub gripper 57b Sub gripper 60 Cover sheet bonding portion 70 Alignment means 70a Alignment member 70b Alignment member 75 Deflection means 120a Cutting blade 120b Cutting edge press means (movable pressure plate)
120c Cutting edge press means (presser member)

Claims (7)

Stacking means for stacking sheets that are sequentially carried out in a bundle;
Conveying means for conveying sheets from the stacking means to a predetermined processing position;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the binding end surface of the sheet bundle conveyed to the processing position;
A sheet binding apparatus comprising a heating unit disposed in the stacking unit or the transport unit to heat a binding end surface of the sheet bundle. The stacking means includes a tray on which sheets are placed, and a positioning reference member provided at a reference end of the sheet on the tray,
The heating means is disposed on the sheet abutting surface of the reference member,
2. The sheet binding device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive application unit applies an adhesive to a reference end surface of the sheet bundle regulated by the sheet abutting surface.   The sheet binding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a sheet aligning unit that aligns the sheet with the positioning reference member is disposed on the tray on which the sheet is placed. The transport unit includes a gripper member that grips and holds the sheet bundle from the stacking unit at the processing position, and the gripper member is configured to grip an edge of a binding end surface of the sheet bundle.
The heating means is arranged at the edge of the binding end surface of the sheet bundle gripped by the gripper member,
2. The sheet binding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive application unit applies an adhesive to a binding end surface of the sheet bundle held by the gripper member.   The temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the heating means is provided, and the temperature control means controls the temperature of the heating means based on the melting temperature of the adhesive. The sheet binding apparatus according to item. Stacking means for stacking sheets sequentially carried out in a bundle in a substantially horizontal posture;
Grip conveying means for turning the sheet from the stacking means in a substantially vertical posture and conveying and setting it to a predetermined processing position;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the binding end surface of the sheet bundle set at the processing position, and a sheet binding apparatus comprising:
The stacking means includes a tray on which the sheet is placed, and a reference member that positions an edge in the conveyance direction of the sheet carried on the tray,
A sheet binding apparatus, wherein a heating means for heating a binding end surface of the sheet bundle is disposed on a sheet abutting surface of the reference member. Stacking means for stacking sheets that are sequentially carried out in a bundle;
Conveying means for conveying the sheet from the stacking means to a predetermined adhesive application position;
An adhesive application means for applying an adhesive to the binding end surface of the sheet bundle conveyed to the adhesive application position;
A transport path arranged on the downstream side of the adhesive application position to transport the cover sheet;
A binding means for binding the sheet bundle from the adhesive application means to the cover sheet fed to the transport path,
The bookbinding apparatus, wherein the stacking unit or the conveying unit is provided with a heating unit for heating a binding end surface of the sheet bundle.