CN101298303A - Paper processing apparatus, paper processing method and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a paper treatment device, a paper treatment method and an image processing system. The paper treatment device includes a transportation electric motor that feeds a piece of paper along the feeding path, a deflexion detection device that detects the deflection of the paper that is being fed, a punch device that is arranged at the downstream of the deflexion detection device, a posture control device that can change the declination angle of the punch device and make skew rectification, a detection device that detects the front end and rear end of the paper that is fed to the punch device, and a control device that controls the transportation electromotor and the feeding speed of the paper. During the period from the detection on the front end of the paper to the detection on the rear end of the paper by the detection device, the feeding speed of the paper is reduced from a first speed to a second speed, the feeding of the paper is stopped when the rear end of the paper has been detected and the punching operation is made on the paper when the paper is stopped.

Description

Paper processing device, paper processing method, and image forming device

technical field

The present invention relates to a paper processing device and a paper processing method for performing skew correction and punching processing on paper output from image forming units such as MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals), copiers, and printers.

Background technique

In image forming apparatuses such as MFPs, copiers, and printers, in order to perform post-processing such as perforation processing and stapling processing on paper after image formation, a post-processing device (finisher, finisher) is provided adjacent to the paper discharge portion of the image forming apparatus body. ).

In such a post-processing device, the paper ejected from the main body of the image forming apparatus may be skewed with respect to the transport direction (hereinafter referred to as skew), and if the punching process (punching) is performed in the skewed state, the punching position will be shifted. , causing inconvenience when filing. Therefore, it is desirable to perform the perforation process on the basis of providing a skew correction unit to correct the skew of the paper.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-153953 discloses a sheet processing apparatus capable of moving a punching unit in a direction intersecting with a sheet conveyance direction. In this example, it is described that the punching device is moved from the initial position (HP) in the direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the paper before punching, and the punching device is moved to the initial position (HP) to complete the punching. It moves to the standby position.

Also, a sheet processing apparatus having a roller pair and a punching unit for skew correction is described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-16129. In this example, an example is described in which a plurality of edge detection sensors are provided in order to detect the side end of the conveyed paper while conveying the paper by the roller pair for skew correction.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 10-194557 describes a printing medium (sheet) punching device having a detection unit for detecting a side end portion of a sheet being conveyed. In this example, the punching unit can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveying direction, and the moving position of the punching device can be determined according to the detection result of the detection unit.

Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-31877 describes a control device for a motor for conveying paper and the like. In this example, there is a first control system that moves the paper at a constant speed until it reaches the halfway position of the target stop position, and a second control system that moves the paper at a low speed from the halfway position to the target stop position. Each stage rotates the drive motor.

However, in recent years, image forming apparatuses have been required to perform high-speed processing, and as the speed increases, the conveyance speed of paper has also become high. Therefore, the motor for conveying the paper must also be controlled rapidly in accordance with the conveyance of the paper. When post-processing paper, it is necessary to cooperate with paper skew correction and perforation processing, etc., to drive, decelerate, or stop the conveying motor at a constant speed.

In addition, due to the increase in the speed of the image forming device, when the conveying speed of the paper is increased, the deceleration timing of the paper will be delayed, or the time from constant speed rotation to stop will not be sufficient, and it will be difficult to stop the paper at the correct position. The problem of the offset position of the perforation. In addition, there is also a disadvantage that the possibility of a detection error increases when skew detection is performed.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet processing device, a sheet processing method, and an image forming apparatus capable of reducing errors in skew detection of input sheets and performing punching at correct positions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper sheet processing apparatus including: a conveyance motor for conveying a paper on which an image is formed along a conveyance path; Skew amount; the perforation part is disposed downstream of the skew detection part in a manner perpendicular to the conveying path of the paper, and the perforation part is used to punch the conveyed paper; the attitude control part passes through the deflection detection part The detected skew amount is used to change the skew angle of the punching part, thereby performing skew correction; the first detection part detects the front end and rear end of the paper conveyed to the punching part; and the control part controls the conveying motor and While controlling the conveying speed of the paper, according to the conveying of the paper, control the skew correction and the perforation of the paper. The paper is decelerated from the first conveying speed to the second conveying speed during the period until the first detection unit detects the trailing end of the paper, the conveyance of the paper is stopped, and the paper is punched while stopping.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet processing method, which includes: arranging a punching portion for performing a punching process on the sheet orthogonal to a conveyance path of the sheet; conveying the sheet on which an image is formed along the conveyance path using a conveyance motor; In the upstream of the punching part, the skew amount of the front end and the rear end of the conveyed paper is detected; according to the skew amount detected by the skew detection part, the skew angle of the punching part is changed to perform skew correction; through the first The detection part detects the front end and rear end of the paper input to the punching part; responds to the detection result of the first detection part and controls the conveying motor, and starts from the front end of the paper detected by the first detection part until the rear end is detected. During this period, the paper is decelerated from the first conveying speed to the second conveying speed; after the first detecting unit detects the trailing end of the paper, the conveying of the paper is stopped; and when the paper stops, the punching unit performs punching process on the paper.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including: an image forming section including an operation panel and a printing section for forming an image on paper; Paper; a skew detection unit for detecting the amount of skew at the front end and the rear end of the paper transported along the transport path; the perforation unit is disposed downstream of the skew detection unit in a manner orthogonal to the transport path of the paper, It is used to perforate the conveyed paper; the first detection part is used to detect the front end and rear end of the paper fed into the punch part; the second detection part is used to detect the width direction of the paper fed into the punch part the end portion of the paper; the moving mechanism moves the perforated part in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the conveyed paper so that the position of the perforated part coincides with the position in the width direction of the conveyed paper. The deflection amount is used to change the deflection angle of the perforation part; and the control part controls the deflection correction and the perforation processing of the paper according to the conveyance of the paper while controlling the conveying motor and the conveying speed of the paper. Control is performed in such a way that the paper is decelerated from the first conveying speed to the second conveying speed during the period from the detection of the front end of the paper by the first detection unit to the detection of the rear end, and the paper is decelerated after the first detection unit detects the paper. After the end, the feeding of the paper is stopped, and while it is stopped, the punching process is performed on the paper.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the overall structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a plan view showing a movement mechanism of a punch portion in a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a plan view showing a rotation mechanism of a punching portion in a sheet processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6A to 6D are plan views illustrating basic operations of the sheet processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating basic operations of the sheet processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a time chart illustrating basic operations of the sheet processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the control operation of the sheet processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a time chart illustrating control operations of the paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Throughout, the illustrated embodiments and examples should be considered as illustrations rather than limitations of the apparatus and methods of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same place in each figure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus including a sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 10 is an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a main body 11 constituting an image forming section, and a sheet processing device 20 combined with the main body 11 .

In addition, in the following description, an MFP (Multi-Function Peripherals, Multi-Function Peripherals) which is an integrated machine is used as an example to describe the image forming apparatus, but the same applies to other image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers.

A document table (not shown) is provided above a main body 11 of the image forming apparatus 10, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 12 is provided on the document table so that it can be opened and closed. Furthermore, an operation panel 13 is provided on the upper portion of the main body 11 . On the operation panel 13 are an operation unit 14 including various keys and a touch panel display unit 15 .

The operation unit 14 includes, for example, numeric keys from 0 to 9, a reset key, a stop key, a start key, and the like. In addition, the paper size, the number of copies, punching processing, and the like can be specified through the touch-panel display unit 15 .

The main body 11 has a scanning unit 16 and a printing unit 17 inside, and a plurality of cassettes 18 for storing paper of various sizes are provided at the lower part of the main body 11 . The scanning unit 16 is used to read a document conveyed through the ADF 12 or a document placed on a document table.

The printing unit 17 includes a photosensitive drum and a laser, and scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum with a laser beam from the laser to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum. A charger, a developer, a transfer device, and the like are disposed around the photosensitive drum, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum is developed by the developer to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto paper by a transfer unit.

There are various configurations as the configuration of the printing unit 17, and it is not limited to the above examples. In addition, a paper processing device 20 is disposed on the paper discharge side of the main body 11 . The sheet processing device 20 is generally referred to as a finisher, and is referred to as a finisher 20 in the following description.

The paper on which an image is formed by the main body 11 (image forming unit) is conveyed to the finisher 20 . The finisher 20 performs post-processing on sheets supplied from the main body 11, for example, punching processing, sorting processing, binding processing, and the like.

The finisher 20 shown in FIG. 1 has a binding mechanism 21 for stapling a bundle of sheets and a punching mechanism 30 for punching holes in the sheets, and the post-processed sheets are discharged to a discharge tray 27 or a fixed tray 28. .

The paper output tray 27 is movable, and receives a bundle of paper sheets that has been punched or stapled. In addition, the binding mechanism 21 includes an aligning device that aligns the conveyed sheets in the width direction, and the sheets can be sorted and discharged by the aligning device. In addition, when the post-processing is not performed, the paper conveyed from the main body 11 is directly discharged to the paper discharge tray 27 or the fixed tray 28 without any processing.

Next, the binding mechanism 21 of the finisher 20 will be briefly described. Sheets fed from the main body 11 via the punching mechanism 30 are received by the entrance roller 22 provided near the entrance of the finisher 20 . On the downstream side of the entrance roller 22 , a paper feed roller 23 is provided, and the paper received by the entrance roller 22 is loaded onto the processing tray 24 via the paper feed roller 23 .

The sheets loaded on the processing tray 24 are guided to the stapler 25 to be bound. In addition, a conveyor belt 26 is provided for conveying the sorted or stapled sheets to a paper output tray 27 .

The paper conveyed by the conveyor belt 26 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 27, and the paper discharge tray 27 is raised and lowered by a drive unit (not shown) to receive the paper.

There is also a case where paper is discharged to paper discharge tray 27 without being stapled. In this case, the paper is discharged without dropping onto the processing tray 24 . In addition, paper that does not require post-processing may also be discharged to the fixed tray 28 . Although a conveyance path is provided for guiding the paper to the fixed tray 28 , it is omitted from illustration.

Next, the piercing mechanism 30 will be described. The punching mechanism 30 is disposed between the body 11 and the binding mechanism 21 , and the punching mechanism 30 includes a punching unit 31 and a dust box (dust box) 32 .

A punching blade (not shown) for punching paper is provided in the punching unit 31 , and when the punching blade falls down, it punches a hole in the paper. In addition, punched paper dust generated by the punching process falls into the dust box 32 .

Furthermore, a plurality of rollers 33 , 34 for conveying sheets are provided on a path from the main body 11 to the entrance roller 22 of the binding mechanism 21 . The paper discharged from the main body 11 is conveyed to the punching mechanism 30 and the binding mechanism 21 via the rollers 33 and 34 .

When the user operates the operation panel 13 and sets the punching mode, punching processing by the punching unit 31 is executed.

Next, the structure of the punching mechanism 30 of the sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 . In FIG. 2 , the punching mechanism 30 has a punching unit 31 . In addition, the dust box 32 is omitted from illustration. The punching unit 31 has a function of correcting the skew of the sheet S while performing the punching process on the sheet S.

The punching unit 31 includes: a punching section 35 for punching a sheet S fed from the main body 11 ; and a skew detecting section 60 for detecting skew. The perforated portion 35 is provided downstream of the skew detecting portion 60 .

The skew detecting portion 60 and the punching portion 35 are disposed approximately in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction Z of the paper, and a plurality of (two in FIG. 2 ) hole punching cutters are provided in the punching portion 35. )36.

The piercing blade 36 is driven up and down by the rotation of a piercing motor 58 ( FIG. 3 ). The paper S can be punched by the punching blade 36 descending in the paper surface direction of the paper S. FIG. In addition, since the drive mechanism which raises and lowers the piercing blade 36 is a generally well-known mechanism, illustration is abbreviate|omitted.

The structure of the punching part 35 can move along the direction of arrow A (horizontal direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the paper S, and one end (the lower end of the figure) of the punching part 35 is configured to be able to move along the direction of the paper S only within a prescribed range. The conveying direction is rotated in the direction of arrow B (longitudinal).

In addition, the moving mechanism for moving the perforated part 35 in the lateral direction (arrow A direction) is enlarged in FIG. 3 , and the movement mechanism for rotating the perforated part 35 in the longitudinal direction (arrow B direction) is enlarged in FIG. The body whose posture is controlled.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , protruding pieces 37 , 38 are respectively provided at both ends in the axial direction of the perforated portion 35 , and elongated holes 39 , 40 are respectively formed in the protruding pieces 37 , 38 . In addition, a rack 41 is formed on one side of the protruding piece 37 . A fixed shaft 42 provided on the main body side of the finisher 20 is fitted into the elongated hole 39 of the protruding piece 37 . Therefore, the punching portion 35 can move in the direction of the arrow A within the length range of the elongated hole 39 by using the fixed shaft 42 as a guide.

Further, a gear set 43 is provided to rotate the rack 41 in order to move the piercing portion 35 in the lateral direction (A direction), and a lateral resist motor 44 is provided to rotate the gear set 43 .

Furthermore, a sensor 45 is arranged at a position at a predetermined distance from the protruding piece 37 . The sensor 45 is used to detect that the punching portion 35 moves along the direction of the arrow A and reaches the home position (hereinafter referred to as HP in some places). A shutter 46 extending in the direction of the sensor 45 is provided on the protruding piece 37 , and the shutter 46 crosses the sensor 45 to detect the movement of the perforated part 35 to the initial position in the A direction.

On the other hand, a fan-shaped cam (cam) 47 is coupled to the protruding piece 38 of the punching portion 35 in order to rotate the punching portion 35 in the arrow B direction. The cam 47 rotates around a shaft 48 provided on the main body side of the finisher 20 as a fulcrum, and has a lever 49 at one end of the cam, and a gear 50 formed at the other end. A shaft 51 is provided on the rod 49 and engages in the elongated hole 40 of the protruding piece 38 .

In addition, a gear set 52 is provided to rotate the punching portion 35 in the longitudinal direction (B direction), and a gear set 52 is provided to rotate the gear 50 , and a vertical alignment motor 53 is provided to rotate the gear set 52 . Since the rotation of the longitudinal registration motor 53 rotates the cam 47 and thereby the lever 49, the perforated portion 35 rotates in the longitudinal direction (B direction) with the fixed shaft 42 as a fulcrum.

Furthermore, a sensor 54 is arranged at a position at a predetermined distance from the cam 47 . The sensor 54 detects the rotation of the punching portion 35 in the direction of arrow B and to the initial position. A baffle 55 is formed on the cam 47 extending along the direction of the sensor 54 , and the baffle 55 crosses the sensor 54 to detect that the punching portion 35 has rotated to the initial position.

Thus, the piercing portion 35 can be moved in the lateral direction (A direction) by the rotation of the lateral registration motor 44 and can be rotated in the longitudinal direction (B direction) by the longitudinal registration motor 53 . The movement mechanism in the transverse direction (direction A) and the rotation mechanism in the longitudinal direction (direction B) constitute the movable mechanism of the piercing portion 35 .

In addition, the moving distance of the perforated portion 35 is managed by the number of pulses when the lateral alignment motor 44 is driven. Likewise, the rotational control of the perforated portion 35 , that is, the angle is managed by the number of pulses when the longitudinal alignment motor 53 is driven.

Further, for the input size of the sheet S of the punching section 35, a sensor group 56 for detecting the lateral end (lateral end) of the sheet S is provided, and also provided for detecting the longitudinal end (the front end) of the sheet S when the sheet S is conveyed. and rear end) sensor 57. The sensor 57 constitutes a first detection unit, and the sensor group 56 constitutes a second detection unit.

For example, the sensor group 56 and the sensor 57 arrange the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element facing each other. When the paper S is conveyed, the paper S passes between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element to detect the lateral end, front end, and rear end of the paper S. .

On the other hand, sensors 61 and 62 for detecting skew are provided in the skew detecting unit 60 . The sensors 61 and 62 may, for example, arrange light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements facing each other, and detect the skew of the paper by passing the paper S between the light-emitting elements and the light-receiving elements when the paper S is conveyed.

That is, the sensors 61 and 62 are disposed upstream of the punching unit 30 and detect passage of the front end and the rear end of the conveyed sheet S. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 , the sensor 61 and the sensor 62 are located inside the minimum width dimension of the paper S, are only separated by a predetermined distance L1, and are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction.

Detection signals from the sensors 61 and 62 are sent to a control unit described later. A timer (time counter) is provided in the control section, and when the sensors 61 and 62 detect the passage of the front end of the paper S, the timers start timing respectively. For example, when the paper S is not skewed at all with respect to the conveyance direction, since the sensors 61 and 62 simultaneously detect the passing of the front end of the paper S, the timers also start counting simultaneously, and there is no time difference.

On the other hand, when the paper S is skewed and transported obliquely, since the first sensor 61 and the second sensor 62 are fixed at a predetermined distance, the paper S detected by the sensors 61 and 62 Through this, a time difference occurs, and it can be known that the paper S is skewed.

When the paper S is inserted skewed, for example, when the sensor 61 detects the paper S first and then the sensor 62 detects the paper S, the skew error distance (a) can be obtained from the detected time difference and the conveying speed V. In addition, when the distance between the first sensor 61 and the second sensor 62 is set as L1 and the deflection angle is set as (θ), the following formula (1) holds true:

a=L1·tanθ...(1)

When the skew angle θ is obtained according to the formula (1), the vertical registration motor 53 can be driven only by the number of pulses of the rotation angle θ, so that the perforated portion 35 can be skewed, and can be skewed according to the amount of skew of the paper. Correction.

In addition, as the lateral registration motor 44 and the longitudinal registration motor 53, a stepping motor (stepping motor) whose rotation speed can be controlled by the number of pulses or frequency can be applied. In addition, the transport roller 34 is driven by the transport motor 59 at a predetermined number of rotations, and it transports the paper S transported from the upstream side (the entrance side of the punch unit 30 ) to the downstream side (the exit side of the punch unit 30 ) at the transport speed V. to deliver.

Next, a control system for driving the punching unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 . FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the punching unit 30 .

In FIG. 5, 70 is a control unit for controlling the punching unit 30, which includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit, central processing unit), RAM, ROM, and the like. A lateral end detection sensor 71 including a sensor group 56 , a sensor 57 for detecting the front end/rear end of the sheet S, a skew detection sensor 72 including sensors 61 and 62 , and a home position sensor 45 are connected to the control unit 70 . 54 , 73 , the detection results from each sensor are input to the control unit 70 .

In addition, the horizontal registration motor 44, the vertical registration motor 53, the perforation motor 58, and the paper conveying motor 59 are also connected to the control unit 70, and the control unit 70 controls the rotation of each motor in response to the detection results of the above-mentioned various sensors. control.

In addition, the home position sensor 45 is used to detect the home position when the perforated portion 35 is moved in the transverse direction (A direction) by the lateral registration motor 44, and the transverse home position is located in the center of the sheet S conveyance path. .

In addition, the home position sensor 54 is used to detect the home position when the piercing portion 35 is rotated in the longitudinal direction (B direction) by the longitudinal registration motor 53 . The longitudinal starting position is the most deflected position of the perforation 35 .

Furthermore, the home position sensor 73 detects the home position when the piercing blade 36 is raised and lowered by the piercing motor 58 . The starting position of the punching blade 36 is a state where the punching blade 36 is pulled out from the paper S, that is, a position away from the paper surface of the paper S. As shown in FIG.

Furthermore, a control unit 80 for controlling the main body (MFP) 11 is also connected to the control unit 70 . Various parts of the main body 10, such as the operation panel 13, the printing unit 17, and the ADF 12, are connected to the control unit 80.

The control unit 70 and the control unit 80 cooperate to operate the operation panel 13 to instruct the punching process and designate the paper size, etc., and the punching unit 31 responds to the instructions and designations to execute the conveyance and deflection of the paper S. Skew correction, and perforation processing, etc.

Next, the basic operation of the punching unit 31 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D .

6A shows the initial state of the punching unit 31, that is, when the punching processing instruction is received from the main body 11, the control part 70 drives the longitudinal registration motor 53, so that the punching part 35 rotates in the direction of the arrow B1 in the paper S conveying direction. , and is set to a skewed state. This state is the starting position in portrait orientation. In addition, the control unit 70 drives the lateral registration motor 44 to move the punching unit 35 in the direction of the arrow A1 perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and set it at the retreat position.

Then, when the paper S is fed, the skew of the front end of the paper S is detected by the skew detection unit 60 . When the amount of skew is detected by the skew detection unit 60, the control unit 70 drives the longitudinal registration motor 53, as shown in FIG. incline.

The thin dotted line in FIG. 6B indicates a state in which the sheet S is skewed, and the posture of the punching portion 35 is controlled so as to be skewed according to the amount of skew. When the sheet S is not skewed, the posture of the punching portion 35 is controlled at an angle perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet S as indicated by the solid line. Since the rotation mechanism of the punching portion 35 is controlled by the control portion 70 , it is also a posture control portion of the punching portion 35 .

Then, the front end of the paper S is detected by the sensor 57, and when it is detected that the paper S has been conveyed by a predetermined amount, the lateral alignment motor 44 is driven to move the perforating portion 35 from the retracted position to the center of the conveying path in the direction of the arrow A2. In this moving step, the sensor group 56 detects the lateral end of the paper S along the paper S conveying direction.

When performing lateral edge detection, any sensor in the sensor group 56 is designated according to the paper size instructed by the operation panel 13, and the designated sensor performs detection. For example, the lateral end of the A4 size is detected using the outer sensor 561 . When the paper size is small, the inner sensor 564 is used to detect it. When the lateral end is detected by any one of the sensors in the sensor group 56, the lateral registration motor 44 stops, and the punching portion 35 also stops moving.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6C , when the paper S is further conveyed, the skew amount of the trailing end of the paper S is detected by the skew detection section 60 . At this time, if there is an error between the amount of deflection of the front end and the amount of deflection of the rear end, the longitudinal alignment motor 53 is driven to finely adjust the deflection angle of the perforated portion 35 only according to the magnitude of the error. At this time, if the lateral end of the sheet S deviates, the lateral registration motor 44 is driven to finely adjust the lateral position of the punching portion 35 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 6D , when the sensor 57 detects the rear end of the paper S, the paper S is conveyed from this position to a predetermined position for punching by a predetermined amount, and then the driving of the conveyance motor 59 is stopped. In this state, the punch motor 58 is driven, and the punch blade 36 falls to punch the sheet S. As shown in FIG.

In consideration of the time until the punching blade 36 comes into contact with the paper, the driving of the punching motor 58 may be started at a timing earlier than the stop of the conveying motor 59 . At this time, the drive of the punching motor 58 may be started after a predetermined time elapses from the detection of the rear end of the sheet S by the passing sensor 57 .

When the punching process of punching is completed, the control unit 70 drives the transport motor 59 again, and discharges the punched sheet. If the subsequent paper exists, the processing of FIGS. 6A to 6D is repeated, and if the subsequent paper does not exist, each device is set at the home position (HP) and the processing ends.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the above operation.

In FIG. 7, S0 is the start step of the punching process. In step S1, the longitudinal alignment motor 53 is driven to rotate the perforated portion 35 and set it at the initial position in the longitudinal direction. In step S2, the lateral registration motor 44 is driven to move the punching portion 35 in the direction of the arrow A1 perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet S, and set it to the retracted position.

In step S3 , the skew of the leading end portion of the input sheet S is detected by the skew detection unit 60 . When the skew amount is detected by the skew detection unit 60 , in step S4 , the longitudinal registration motor 53 is driven to rotate the punching unit 35 according to the skew amount of the paper sheet S being fed.

Then, when the front end of the sheet S is detected by the sensor 57 , the lateral registration motor 44 is driven to move the punching portion 35 from the retracted position to the center of the transport path. In step S5 , the lateral end of the paper S is detected by the sensor group 56 . When the lateral end is detected, the lateral registration motor 44 stops, and the punching portion 35 also stops moving. Then, when the paper S is further conveyed, in step S6 , the skew amount of the trailing end of the paper S is detected by the skew detection unit 60 .

In step S71 in step S7, it is judged whether there is an error between the deflection amount of the front end and the deflection amount of the rear end. 35 deflection for fine adjustment. At this time, if the lateral end of the sheet S deviates, the lateral registration motor 44 is driven to finely adjust the lateral direction of the punching portion 35 as well.

Next, after the skew correction, the sheet S is conveyed by a predetermined distance to a predetermined position where the punching process is performed, and the drive of the conveyance motor 59 is stopped. In step S8, the punching motor 58 is driven, the punching blade 36 is dropped, and the sheet S is punched. When the punching process of punching is completed, the transport motor 59 is driven again to discharge the punched paper. In step S9, if the subsequent paper exists, the process from step S1 to step S8 is repeated, if the subsequent paper does not exist, each device is set at the home position (HP), and the punching process ends in step S10.

FIG. 8 is a time chart illustrating operations based on the flowchart in FIG. 7 . 8 shows the operation timing of the transport motor 59, the sensors 61, 62 for skew detection, the front end/rear end detection sensor 57, the longitudinal registration motor 53, the lateral registration motor 44, and the perforation motor 58 ( timing).

In addition, S1 to S8 shown in FIG. 8 correspond to steps S1 to S8 in the flowchart of FIG. 7 , and various detections and processes are executed in the order from S1 to S8.

In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 8 , the transport motor 59 decelerates when a predetermined time ( t1 ) elapses, and then stops rotating, using the sensor 57 as a trigger to detect the rear end of the paper S. Next, when the conveyance motor 59 is stopped, the perforation motor 58 is driven and perforation processing is performed. Therefore, the punching position of the sheet S is determined by setting this time t1 correctly. For example, when a stepping motor is used as the transport motor 59, by setting the number of pulses, the number of rotations of the transport motor 59 within the time t1, that is, the transport distance of the paper S can be kept constant, and the punching position can be set. Certainly.

However, in the punching unit 31 that performs the basic operation described above, there is room for further improvement as follows.

That is, as the speed of the image forming apparatus 10 increases, when the conveyance speed of the sheet S also increases, it is necessary to rotate the conveyance motor 59 at a high speed. On the other hand, when the conveyance motor 59 is stopped, the rotational speed is first decelerated and then stopped.

In the example of FIG. 8 , after the rear end of the sheet S is detected by the sensor 57 , the deceleration starts and then stops when a certain time (t1) elapses. Therefore, when the conveyance motor 59 rotates at a high speed, if the time from detection of the rear end of the paper S to the stop of the conveyance motor 59 is short, the brake will fail and the paper S will overrun. Therefore, the paper S stops only after exceeding a predetermined stop position, resulting in deviation of the perforation position.

Also, if the time (t1) from detecting the rear end of the sheet S to stopping the conveyance motor 59 is increased, the conveyance motor 59 can be stopped at a correct position even when it rotates at a high speed. In addition, in this case, the distance between the sensor 57 for detecting the trailing end of the sheet and the perforated portion 35 needs to be increased, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus.

On the other hand, it is also conceivable to start the deceleration of the conveyance motor 59 and then stop it when a predetermined time elapses from the detection of the leading edge of the sheet S. However, in this case, since the deceleration operation is performed when detecting the trailing edge skew of the sheet S, the trailing end skew detection cannot be performed. That is, since the skew detection is calculated based on the detection time difference between the sensor 61 and the sensor 62 and the conveying speed of the paper S, if the speed is not constant, the skew amount cannot be calculated correctly.

Therefore, in the piercing mechanism 30 of the present invention, it is a feature of the present invention to drive the conveyance motor 59 by the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 .

In FIG. 9 , step S10 is a step of starting the drive of the transport motor 59 , and step S11 shows a state in which the transport motor 59 is driven at the first speed at which the sheet S is discharged from the main body 11 . The punching mechanism 30 receives the paper S discharged from the main body 11, and while the paper S is conveyed at a constant speed, detection of front end skew is performed by the skew detection section 60 in step S12.

Then, when the sensor 57 detects the leading edge of the paper S in step S13, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the conveying motor 59 is pulse-driven and rotated at the same speed from the time when the front end is detected until a predetermined number of pulses is counted. The number of pulses to be counted in step S14 is defined according to the size of the conveyed paper, and the predetermined number of pulses is set to increase as the paper size increases.

When the predetermined number of pulses is counted in step S14, the conveyance motor 59 is decelerated to a second speed slower than the first speed in step S15. The deceleration to the second speed is completed before the trailing end of the sheet S reaches the skew detection section 60 . While the sheet S is being conveyed at the second speed, the detection of the rear end skew of the sheet S is performed in step S16.

Then, in step S17, when the rear end of the paper S is detected by the sensor 57, in step S18, the conveyance motor 59 is decelerated in the second stage, and the paper S is stopped at a predetermined position.

Then, when the conveyance motor 59 is stopped, the punching motor 58 is driven in step S19, and the sheet S is punched by the punching unit 35 to perform punching. When the punching process of punching is finished, the transport motor 59 is rotated again at the first speed, and the sheet S is discharged. In step S20, if the subsequent sheet exists, the processing from step S11 to step S19 is repeated, and if the subsequent sheet does not exist, the conveyance process for the sheet ends in step S21.

In this case, since the conveyance speed of the paper S at the time of front-end skew detection is the first speed, and the conveyance speed of the paper S at the time of rear-end skew detection is the second speed, in the control section 70, the conveyance Based on the difference in speed, the detection of the amount of deflection is performed.

FIG. 10 is a time chart illustrating operations based on the flowchart in FIG. 9 . 10 shows the operation timing of the transport motor 59, the sensors 61, 62 for skew detection, the sensor 57 for front end/rear end detection, the longitudinal registration motor 53, the lateral registration motor 44, and the perforation motor 58. .

In addition, S11 to S19 in FIG. 10 correspond to steps S11 to S19 in the flowchart of FIG. 9 , and various detections and processes are executed in the order from S11 to S19.

As can be seen from FIG. 10 , the control unit 70 performs control as follows: during the period from when the sensor 57 detects the front end of the paper until the rear end is detected, the paper is conveyed at a speed decelerated from the first speed to the second speed. 57 stops conveyance of the paper S after detecting the trailing end of the paper S, thereby performing punching processing while the paper is stopped.

In addition, while the conveyance motor 59 conveys the sheet S at the first speed, the sensors 61 and 62 detect the front end skew. In addition, the transport motor 59 starts to decelerate when the sensor 57 detects the leading edge of the paper S, and decelerates to the second speed when a predetermined number of pulses is counted (after the time t2 elapses).

The timing of decelerating the conveyance speed of the paper S from the first speed to the second speed is set near (slightly before) the time when the sensor 57 detects the trailing end of the paper, by lengthening the period during which the paper S is conveyed at the first speed and shortening the period at the second speed. The period of speed delivery, thereby increasing the overall processing speed.

While the sheet S is being conveyed at the second speed, the sensors 61 and 62 detect the skew of the trailing end, and then the conveyance motor 59 stops rotating. In addition, when the conveyance motor 59 is stopped, the punching motor 58 is driven and the punching process is performed.

Therefore, since the detection of the skew is performed while the conveyance motor 59 is rotating at a constant speed, the amount of skew can be accurately detected.

In addition, since the conveyance motor 59 decelerates to the second speed and then enters the stop operation, it can be braked sufficiently and effectively when stopped, and the paper S can be stopped at the correct punching position. Thereby, it is possible to avoid displacement of the position of the perforation by the perforation part 35 .

In addition, since there is no need to increase the distance between the sensor 57 for detecting the front end/rear end and the perforated portion 35, the device can be miniaturized. In addition, since the conveyance motor 59 is generally rotated at a high speed at the first speed, it is possible to sufficiently cope with an increase in speed of the image forming apparatus 10 .

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the paper can be stopped at the correct position and the punching process can be accurately performed without affecting the skew detection or the like and without increasing the size of the device.

In addition, although the example in which the piercing mechanism 30 is comprised separately from the main body 11 was described in the said description, the piercing mechanism 30 may also be comprised in the main body 11. As shown in FIG. In addition, although the perforation mechanism 30 is used to punch the paper output from the main body 11 as an example, it is also possible to use an inserter to sequentially transport the paper to the perforation mechanism 30 and perforate the paper transported from the inserter. .

In addition, various modifications are possible within the range not departing from the protection scope of the present invention.

While specific exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, improve or modify. All such changes, improvements or modifications should therefore be considered as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (17)

1. a paper processing device is characterized in that, comprising:

Carry electrical motor, be used for carrying the paper that is formed with image along transport path;

The deflection test section is used to detect the front end of the paper of carrying along described transport path and the deflection of rear end;

Perforated portion is configured in the downstream of described deflection test section in the mode with the transport path quadrature of described paper, and described perforated portion is used for the paper that the is transferred processing of boring a hole;

Ability of posture control portion according to changing the angle of deviation of described perforated portion by the detected described deflection of described deflection test section, thereby carries out skew correction;

First test section, detection is fed to the front end and the rear end of the described paper of described perforated portion; And

Control part at the described conveying electrical motor of control and when the delivery speed of described paper controlled, according to the conveying of described paper, is controlled described skew correction and the perforation of described paper is handled,

Described control part is controlled as follows: the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till detecting the rear end during, make described paper be decelerated to second delivery speed from first delivery speed, after described first test section detects the rear end of described paper, stop the conveying of described paper, and when described stopping, described paper is carried out perforation handle.

2. paper processing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that,

Described control part is controlled described deflection test section, make described deflection test section when described paper is carried with described first delivery speed, detect the deflection of the front end of described paper, when described paper is transferred with described second delivery speed, detect the deflection of the rear end of described paper.

3. paper processing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that,

Described control part changes the delivery speed that makes described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed from described first delivery speed timing according to the size of the paper of described conveying.

4. paper processing device according to claim 3 is characterized in that,

The timing setting that described control part will make the delivery speed of described paper be decelerated to described second delivery speed from described first delivery speed detects at described first test section near rear end timer-operated of described paper.

5. paper processing device according to claim 3 is characterized in that,

The stepper motor that uses pulsed drive is as described conveying electrical motor, described control part according to the pulse count of setting respectively with respect to the size of described paper manage the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till the delivery speed of stating paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed during.

6. paper processing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that,

Described first test section constitutes the sensor that comprises the central portion that is configured in the described paper transportation path between described perforated portion and the described deflection test section.

7. paper processing device according to claim 1 is characterized in that,

Described paper processing device also comprises: second test section is used to detect the end of the Width of the paper that is fed to described perforated portion; And travel mechanism, according to the testing result of described second test section, move described perforated portion along direction, so that described perforated portion is consistent with the position of the Width of the described paper of conveying with the Width quadrature of the described paper of carrying.

8. a paper object processing method is characterized in that, comprising:

Dispose orthogonally with the transport path of paper and to be used for perforated portion that described paper is bored a hole and handled;

Use and carry electrical motor to carry the paper that is formed with image along described transport path;

In the upstream of described perforated portion, detect the front end of the described paper that is transferred and the deflection of rear end;

According to changing the angle of deviation of described perforated portion, thereby carry out skew correction by the detected described deflection of described deflection test section;

Detect front end and the rear end that is transfused to the described paper of described perforated portion by first test section;

Respond the testing result of described first test section and described conveying electrical motor is controlled, the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till detecting the rear end during, described paper is decelerated to second delivery speed from first delivery speed;

After described first test section detects the rear end of described paper, stop the conveying of described paper; And

When described paper stops, by described perforated portion described paper is carried out perforation and handle.

9. paper object processing method according to claim 8 is characterized in that,

Detect for described deflection, when described paper is transferred with described first delivery speed, detect the deflection of the front end of described paper, when described paper is transferred with described second delivery speed, detect the deflection of the rear end of described paper.

10. paper object processing method according to claim 8 is characterized in that,

Size according to the described paper that is transferred changes the timing that the delivery speed of described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed from described first delivery speed.

11. paper object processing method according to claim 10 is characterized in that,

The delivery speed that makes described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed from described first delivery speed timing setting detects at described first test section near rear end timer-operated of described paper.

12. paper object processing method according to claim 10 is characterized in that,

The stepper motor that uses pulsed drive is as described conveying electrical motor, according to the pulse count of setting respectively with respect to the size of described paper manage the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till the delivery speed of described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed during.

13. paper object processing method according to claim 8 is characterized in that,

Also detect the end of the Width of the paper that is fed to described perforated portion by second test section,

According to the testing result of described second test section, move described perforated portion along direction, so that described perforated portion is consistent with the position of the Width of the described paper of conveying with the Width quadrature of the described paper of carrying.

14. an image processing system is characterized in that, comprising:

Image forming part comprises guidance panel and is used on paper forming the printing portion of image;

Carry electrical motor, be used for carrying from the paper of described image forming part output along transport path;

The deflection test section is used to detect the front end of the paper of carrying along described transport path and the deflection of rear end;

Perforated portion is configured in the downstream of described deflection test section in the mode with the transport path quadrature of described paper, and described perforated portion is used for the paper that the is transferred processing of boring a hole;

First test section is used to detect the front end and the rear end that are transfused to the described paper of described perforated portion;

Second test section is used to detect the end that is transfused to the Width of the described paper of described perforated portion;

Travel mechanism, move described perforated portion along direction with the Width quadrature of the described paper of carrying, so that described perforated portion is consistent with the position of the Width of the described paper of conveying, simultaneously, according to the angle of deviation that changes described perforated portion by the detected deflection of described deflection test section; And

Control part at the described conveying electrical motor of control and when the delivery speed of described paper controlled, according to the conveying of described paper, is controlled described skew correction and the perforation of described paper is handled,

Described control part is controlled as follows: the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till detecting the rear end during, make described paper be decelerated to second delivery speed from first delivery speed, after described first test section detects the rear end of described paper, stop the conveying of described paper, and when described stopping, described paper is carried out perforation handle.

15. image processing system according to claim 14 is characterized in that,

Described control part is controlled described deflection test section, when described paper is transferred with described first delivery speed, detect the deflection of the front end of described paper, when described paper is transferred with described second delivery speed, detect the deflection of the rear end of described paper.

16. image processing system according to claim 14 is characterized in that,

Described control part changes the timing that the delivery speed of described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed from described first delivery speed according to the antiquarian by described guidance panel appointment.

17. image processing system according to claim 14 is characterized in that,

The stepper motor that uses pulsed drive is as described conveying electrical motor,

Described control part according to the pulse count of setting respectively with respect to the size of described paper manage the front end that detects described paper from described first test section begin till the delivery speed of described paper is decelerated to described second delivery speed during.

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