JP3412389B2 - Clamping device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sandwiching device for folding a substantially flat sandwiching plate and sandwiching it at an end of a sheet material. The present invention relates to a sandwiching device intended to improve the sandwiching force of a bent portion of a plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a sandwiching machine for sandwiching an end portion of a plurality of sheet materials with a sandwiching plate.
12089).

As shown in FIGS. 33 to 35, such a pinching machine has a handle 2 which is rotatably provided at one end of a base 1.
And a cover 3 provided between the base 1 and the handle 2, a guide groove 4 is formed on the upper surface of the base 1, and a connecting sandwiching plate 5 is housed between the guide groove 4 and the cover 3. ing. The connecting and sandwiching plate 5 is formed by connecting the sandwiching plates 5N with an adhesive like a staple, and each sandwiching plate 5N is U-shaped.
It is bent in a letter shape.

The other end (rear end) of the connecting and sandwiching plate 5 is shown in FIG.
5 is abutted against a metal fitting 7 slidably provided on a push rod 6 shown in FIG. 5, and the metal fitting 7 urges the connecting and sandwiching plate 5 leftward (in FIG. 34) by a spring 9 provided on the push rod 6. ing. Due to this biasing, one end side (tip portion) of the connecting and sandwiching plate 5 is in contact with the one end 4A of the groove 4.

A push plate 8 is provided on the lower surface of the handle 2. When the handle 2 is rotated from the solid line position in FIG. 33 to the chain line position, the push plate 8 is attached to the holding plate at the tip of the connecting and holding plate 5. 5N
The sandwiching plate 5N is separated from the connecting sandwiching plate 5 by abutting on the bent base portion of. Then, only the separated sandwiching plate 5N is further compressed and deformed by the pressing of the pressing plate 8, and the ends of the plurality of sheets inserted in the arrow P direction are sandwiched by the sandwiching plate 5N. .

[0006]

By the way, the sandwich plate 5N
In order to secure the sandwiching by means of the sandwiching plate 5
It is necessary to widen the width of N, but if this width is widened, the number of the sandwiching plates 5N that can be stored decreases, and the connecting sandwiching plate 5
Had to be replenished frequently, which was very inconvenient.

On the other hand, when the edges of a plurality of sheets are sandwiched by the sandwiching plate 5N, a springback against the bending force of the leading end acts on the bent portion of the sandwiching plate 5N to weaken the sandwiching force. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to increase the number of holding plates that can be stored even if the holding plates have a wide width. , When bundling multiple sheets of paper or other laminates with a sandwich plate, prevent the vicinity of the folded part of the sandwich plate from trying to return to its original shape by spring back, and An object of the present invention is to provide a clamping device that improves the clamping force.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sandwiching device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a pair of openable and closable end portions between a pair of end portions in the longitudinal direction of a flat sandwiching plate. The end portions of the bundled sheet materials are applied to the vicinity of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the sandwiching plate at a substantially right angle, and the sandwiching plate is bent by the opening and closing operation of the pair of end portions so that the sheet material A pair of clamp means for sandwiching the end portion from the thickness direction ,
The pair of clamping means, wherein a bent boundary vicinity of the clipping plate includes a caulking portion that pressurizes the opposite site to each other through the sheet material Rutotomoni, the pair of class
The pump means is a drive machine for opening and closing the pair of ends.
It is characterized by having a structure . The clamping device according to claim 2.
The clamping device according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is a front
The sandwiching plate is held between the pair of end portions by the delivery mechanism.
Then, the operation of closing the pair of ends is performed in a series of operations.
Cam mechanism for performing and drive gear for driving the cam mechanism
And a drive motor for driving the drive gear
It is characterized by The pinching device of claim 3 is the same as that of claim 1,
The clamping device according to claim 2, wherein the pair of clamps
The sandwich plate is supplied from the side of the pair of ends of the pump means.
It is characterized by having a delivery mechanism. Clamp of claim 4
The attachment device is the attachment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The pair of clamping means is a shaft that swings when opening and closing.
Is held by the pair of claws,
When the opening and closing means are opened and closed, the parts facing each other swell
A bulging portion, and the bulging portion is formed by the pair of claws.
In the ramp means, the clamp plate is clamped from the bending boundary portion of the clamp plate.
A surface that presses near the bending boundary that is separated from both ends of the plate
It is characterized in that it is formed in.

According to the sandwiching device of the first aspect, when the bundle of sheet materials is bent and bundled by the sandwiching plate, the tip of the bent portion of the sandwiching plate firmly grasps the bundle of sheet materials. Not only by crimping, but also by crimping near the bending boundary of the sandwich plate,
The force of the tip of the sandwich plate trying to spread due to springback is reduced, and the sandwiching force for sandwiching the bundle is improved. Only
Also, since the clamp member is driven by the drive mechanism, copying
Copy paper or fax even when attached to a machine or fax machine
Sheet materials such as paper can be bundled. Claim 2
According to the landing gear, the drive motor
Since the clamp member is driven, binding is performed by electrical control.
Bending operation can be performed. According to the clamping device of claim 3,
Then, it is pinched between the clamp members in the open state by the delivery mechanism.
The plate can be sent out, and the sandwiching plate is sent out and driven by the drive mechanism.
It is also possible to continue the sandwiching operation. Claim 4
According to the sandwiching device, when a bundle of sheet materials is bundled by a sandwiching plate.
In addition, the bulge should be bent away from the bending boundary of the sandwich plate.
Since the vicinity of the edge boundary is caulked, the holding power of the sheet bundle is large.
Sufficient sandwich plate even when the sheet material becomes thick and thick
Can be sandwiched between.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A sandwiching device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 6, reference numeral 10 denotes a sandwiching device which is attached to, for example, a copying machine or a facsimile to bundle a predetermined number of copy sheets and fax sheets for each transmitted information to improve the convenience of arrangement. A counter signal that reaches a predetermined number of copies or a data reception completion signal that indicates that transmission information has been sent. Etc. as a driving command.

The operation of the sandwiching device 10 will be briefly described. A plurality of sandwiching plates 105 (see FIG. 9) are stacked on the cartridge 100 that can be inserted into and removed from the housing 11 and cross the front end of the cartridge 100. The sandwiching plate 105 at the front end of the cartridge 100 is taken out by the slider 34 sheet by sheet, and the clamp member 5 of the clamp mechanism 50 is removed.
The sandwiching plate 105 is locked between the first and the second 52
The end portions of the copy sheets or fax sheets are bundled to the center folding part of the sheet and the clamp members 51 and 52 are closed to close the end portions of the copy sheets or fax sheet with the sandwiching plate 105.

The pinching device 10 includes a housing 11 and
A cartridge 100 that is detachably mounted in a cartridge chamber (storage chamber) 12 of the housing 11, a delivery mechanism 30 that sends out a sandwiching plate 105 (see FIG. 9) stored in the cartridge 100 to a sandwiching position 13, and a sandwiching mechanism. Clamping mechanism 5 for bending the sandwich plate 105 sent to the mounting position 13
0 and a drive mechanism 80 for driving the delivery mechanism 30 and the clamp mechanism 50. Hereinafter, each mechanism will be described step by step.

[Housing] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a table 160 is provided on the front surface of the housing 11 for mounting an end portion of a sheet material S, which is a bundle of copy sheets or fax sheets. The upper front wall portion 17 is provided above the table 160. This table 1
An opening 18 that communicates with the cartridge chamber 12 is provided between 60 and the upper front wall portion 17.

The front left side of the housing 11 (see FIG. 3)
At (), a vertically long rectangular opening 21 communicating with the clamp chamber 15 is formed, and the opening 21 and the opening 18 are continuous. The central portion of the opening 21 is set as the clamping position 13.

A recess 22 is formed in the front end surface 11Ca of the side wall 11C.
The bottom surface 22a of the concave portion 22 is flush with the upper surface of the table 160, and the side surface 22b of the concave portion 22 is an abutting surface for abutting and positioning the edge of the sheet material S.

[Cartridge] The cartridge 100 is
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a cartridge main body 102 having a storage chamber 101 for storing a large number of sandwiching plates 105, and a sandwiching plate 105 that is movably disposed in the storing chamber 101 and is pressed toward the front end side. The contact plate 103 is provided. On the upper surface and the lower surface of the cartridge body 102, the housing 1
Recesses 102a and 102b slidably fitted in the upper and lower protrusions (not shown) of the first cartridge chamber 12 are provided. Then, the recess 102a of the cartridge 100,
By inserting the cartridge 100 into the inside of the housing 11 from the rear opening while engaging the protruding portions 11a and 11b of the cartridge chamber 12 with the cartridge chamber 102b.
00 is mounted in the cartridge chamber 12.

Further, on the upper surface of the rear portion of the cartridge body 102, there is provided a projection 111 which engages with the shaft 112 shown in FIG.
When the cartridge 100 is inserted into the cartridge chamber 12 of the housing 11, the shaft 112 provided in the housing 11
Passes over the inclined surface 111a of the protrusion 111 and the protrusion 111
It is adapted to come into contact with the rear surface 111b. As a result, the cartridge 100 is fixed in the cartridge chamber 12. The shaft 112 is biased downward by a spring (not shown).

In the storage chamber 101 of the cartridge 100,
A plurality of rectangular and flat plate-like sandwiching plates 105 made of metal (for example, iron, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, alloy, etc.) are stored in a stacked state. The sandwich plate 105 may be coated with resin or the like. The contact plate 103 biases the sandwich plate 105 forward (to the left in FIG. 9) by a spring 104. By this urging, the sandwiching plate 105A at the leftmost end (in FIG. 9) is moved to a position where it comes into contact with the front wall 107 of the cartridge body 102.

An opening 107A is formed in the middle of the front wall 107.
Is formed, and a recess 108A is formed in the side wall 108 of the cartridge main body 102 continuously from the opening 107A. The depth of the recess 108A is set to be larger than the thickness of the sandwiching plate 105. The opening 107A and the recess 108A expose part of the front surface and the side surface of the sandwiching plate 105A.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the case body 10
A gap 110 for passing the sandwiching plate 105A is formed between the tip of the side wall 109 and the front wall 107, and when the side surface of the sandwiching plate 105A is pushed in the direction of arrow Z, the sandwiching plate 1
05A comes out of the gap 110.

The cartridge 100 is fixed in the cartridge chamber 12 of the housing 11, and when the cartridge 100 is inserted inside and the protrusion 111 gets over the shaft 112,
The sandwiching plate 105A of the cartridge main body 102 is brought into contact with the back surface of the slider 34 to be positioned.

[Drive Mechanism] The drive mechanism 80 for driving the slider 34 and the clamp mechanism 50, as shown in FIG.
The drive motor 81, the gear 83 provided on the drive shaft 82 of the drive motor 81, and the reduction gear 8 meshed with the gear 83.
4A, a reduction gear train 84, a drive gear 85 meshed with the reduction gear 84D of the reduction gear train 84, and a drive cam 90.
(See FIG. 10). The drive motor 81 is attached to the clamp chamber 15 as shown in FIG. 3, and the drive shaft 82 projects into the drive chamber 14. The gears 83 to 85 are arranged in the drive chamber 14, and the drive gear 85 is rotated clockwise (in FIG. 4) by the drive motor 81 via the gear 83 and the gear train 84.

On one side 85A of the drive gear 85, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a ring-shaped sliding contact surface 85B is set, and a projection portion 86 that projects in the axial direction on this sliding contact surface 85B.
Are formed. 1 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inclined surfaces 86A and 86B and the flat top 8
6C is formed. A drive cam 90 is integrally provided on the other side surface of the drive gear 85 via a shaft portion 87 as shown in FIGS. Drive cam 90
Controls the opening and closing of the clamp members 51 and 52, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, a shaft 88 inserted into the housing 11 is inserted into the shaft portion 87, and the drive gear 8
5 is rotatable with respect to the shaft 88 together with the drive cam 90.

The drive cam 90 has, as shown in FIG.
A small diameter portion R1 in which the diameter from the rotation center of the shaft 88 to the cam surface is minimum, a slightly increased portion R2 in which the diameter is slightly increased, a minute portion R3 in which the diameter is slightly decreased, and an increased portion in which the diameter is increased. R4, a large diameter portion R5 having the largest diameter, and a decreasing portion R6 where the diameter decreases are set. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the small diameter portion R1 of the drive cam 90 and the drive gear 8
5 corresponds to the inclined surface 86A, and the slightly increased portion R of the drive cam 90
2 and the top portion 86C of the drive gear 85 correspond to each other, and the drive cam 9
The small portion R3 of 0 and the inclined surface 86B of the drive gear 85 correspond to each other.

As a result, when the drive gear 85 rotates and the arm 32 is lifted to the inclined surface 86A, the slider 34 slides toward the clamp members 51, 52 side by the arm 32, while the clamp members 51, 52 are opened. To maintain a stable state. When the arm 32 rides on the top portion 86C, the slider 34 stops for a minute time,
The clamp members 51 and 52 are slightly closed by the slightly increased portion R2, and the sandwiching plate 105A is locked to the clamp members 51 and 52.
Further, the sandwiching plate 105A is bent so that the bending direction is one direction. At the same time as the gear 85 further rotates and the arm 32 begins to descend along the inclined surface 86B,
The clamp members 51 and 52 are slightly opened by the minute portion R3.
When the gear 85 further rotates, the arm 32 slides on the sliding contact surface 85.
While the sliding contact is made on B, the clamp members 51 and 52 are closed by the increased portion R4 and the large diameter portion R5, and the sandwiching plate 105A binds the end portion of the sheet material S.

[Delivery Mechanism] As shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 13, the delivery mechanism 30 for delivering the sandwiching plate 105A from the tip of the cartridge 100 to the clamp members 51, 52 has an arm 32 and this arm 32. And a slider 34 held by the tip portion 33. The arm 32 is a holding piece 2 of the cover plate 25 attached to the side wall 11B of the housing 11.
Guided by 6,26. Reference numeral 31 is a shaft that pivotally supports the arm 32.

A protrusion 32a that abuts the sliding contact surface 85B of the drive gear 85 is provided at the rear portion of the arm 32, and a spring 36 is provided between the arm 32 and the auxiliary wall 11G of the housing 11. The protrusion 32a of the arm 32 is always in contact with the sliding contact surface 85B by the biasing force of the spring 36. Then, as the drive gear 85 rotates, the protrusion 32 a of the arm 32 slides on the sliding contact surface 85 of the drive gear 85.
Sliding contact with B. By this sliding contact movement, the arm 32
The protrusion 32a moves on the protrusion 86 of the sliding contact surface 85B, and the arm 32 swings about the shaft 31 as a fulcrum to the position shown by the chain line in FIG.

A U-shaped holding portion 33A is formed at the tip portion 33 of the arm 32, and the holding portion 33A holds the rear end portion of the slider 34 from above and below by a shaft (not shown), and the slider 34 rotates around the shaft. It is movable.

The slider 34, as shown in FIG.
The side plate 35, an upper plate part 36 continuously formed on the upper part of the side plate 35, and a lower plate part 37 continuously formed on the lower part of the side plate 35.
And the side plate 35 and the upper and lower plate portions 36 and 37 have a U-shaped cross section. The end portion of the sheet material S is received by the U-shaped portion. Guide ridges 38, 3 extending in the longitudinal direction are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the upper and lower plate portions 36, 37.
9 is provided on the rear surface of the side plate 35, which extends in the longitudinal direction.
Two ridges 41, 41 are provided.

The thickness H of the protrusions 41, 41 is determined by the sandwiching plate 105.
The thickness of A is set to be almost the same, and the end portions of the ridges 41, 41 are in contact with the side surfaces of the sandwiching plate 105A.
It is 1A. The length L1 of the front end portion 35A from the contact surfaces 41A, 41A to the front end surface 35a of the side plate 35 is set longer than the width L2 of the sandwiching plate 105A (see FIG. 9). When the arm 32 makes sliding contact with the sliding surface 85B, the slider 34 is at the standby position. When the slider 34 is in the standby position, the holding plate 105A at the front end of the cartridge 100 is in contact with the rear surface of the front end portion 35A of the slider 34, and the pair of ridges 41, 41 on the rear surface of the slider 34 is in front of the cartridge 100. By laterally entering into the opening 107A of the wall 107, it is engaged with one side of the sandwich plate 105A,
It is designed to be sent out.

The lower portion of the tip portion 35A of the side plate 35 is shown in FIG.
4, a hole 35b is provided, and a sensor 130 for detecting the presence or absence of the sandwiching plate 105 is attached in front of the side plate 35 (see FIG. 6). This sensor 130
As shown in FIG. 13, the holding plate 105A is inserted from the hole 35b.
It is configured by a light emitting diode 131 that emits light toward, and a photodiode 132 that receives the reflected light reflected by the sandwiching plate 105A through the hole 35b.

The upper and lower plate portions 36, 37 of the slider 34 are
As shown in FIG. 4, it is inserted into the table receiving portion 16 provided with the table 160 and the concave portions 19 and 20 of the upper front wall portion 17, and the guide protruding portions 38 and 3 of the upper and lower plate portions 36 and 37.
9 is engaged with the engaging grooves 20a, 19a (see FIG. 1) of the recesses 20, 19. Then, the slider 34 is configured to move in the left-right direction by the swing of the arm 32 when the guide protrusions 38, 39 are guided by the engagement grooves 20a, 19a.

The front surface 3 of the side plate 35 of the slider 34
5c is a recess 22 provided on the side wall 11C of the housing 11.
6 is flush with the side surface 22b (see FIG. 6) of the sheet material S and serves as an abutment surface for abutting and positioning the end portion of the sheet material S. The front end of the table 160 is projected above the sensor 130, and the sheet material S is attached to the sensor 130 by the sensor 130.
It does not hit.

[Clamping Mechanism] As shown in FIGS. 15 to 18, the clamping mechanism 50 includes a pair of clamping members 51,
52, two clamp rotating members 53 and 54 sandwiching the clamp members 51 and 52, and the clamp rotating member 5
Shaft 62 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive cam 90.
It has and.

[Clamp rotating member] Clamp rotating member 5
3 is a pair of side plate parts 55 and 56 facing each other and a side plate part 5
5, 56 and a connecting plate portion 57 that connects the upper portions (in FIGS. 15 to 18) to each other. The lower portions of the side plate portions 55, 56 and the rear portions of the upper portions face each other and have holes 55a, 56a, 55b, respectively. 56
b is formed (see FIG. 17). Also, the connecting plate 5
7, the clamp portions 51, which correspond to the thickness of the sheet material S,
Hole 57 for passing the screw 65 for adjusting the opening angle of 52
a is formed.

The shaft 6 is provided in the holes 55a and 56a of the side plate portions 55 and 56.
3, the shaft 63 is fitted into the side walls 11B and 11C of the housing 11, and the clamp rotating member 53 is rotatable around the shaft 63 as a fulcrum. A shaft 62, which is a cam floor, is rotatably attached to the holes 55b and 56b of the side plate portions 55 and 56.

The clamp rotating member 54 is located inside the side plate portions 55 and 56 of the clamp rotating member 53 and has a pair of side plate portions 58 and 59 facing each other, and a connecting plate connecting the upper portions of the side plate portions 58 and 59. And a section 60.

Holes 58a, 59a, 58b, 59b, 58c, 59 are provided in front of and below the lower and upper portions of the side plate portions 58, 59 so as to face each other.
c is formed, and the shaft 64 is attached to the holes 58c and 59c. A connecting shaft 61 is provided between the lower portions of the side plate portions 58 and 59, and a spring 70 for urging the clamp rotating member 54 downward is applied. Further, the connecting plate portion 60 has a screw 6
A hole 60a through which the hole 5 passes is formed. The diameters of the holes 58b and 59b of the side plate portions 58 and 59 are the same as the holes 55b and 56b of the side plate portions 55 and 56.
Is set larger than the diameter of the holes 55a of the side plate portions 55, 56,
56a and the holes 58a, 59a of the side plate portions 58, 59 face each other, and the holes 55b, 56b of the side plate portions 55, 56 and the side plate portions 58, 5
Nine holes 58b and 59b face each other.

Then, the side plate portion 5 of the clamp rotating member 53.
The shaft 62 attached to the holes 55b and 56b of the Nos. 5 and 56 loosely fits the holes 58b and 59b of the side plate portions 58 and 59 of the clamp rotating member 54. In addition, the side plate portion 5 of the clamp rotating member 53
The shaft 63 fitted in the holes 55a, 56a of the holes 5, 56 penetrates the holes 58a, 59a of the side plate portions 58, 59 of the clamp rotating member 54.

A hole 57a in the connecting plate portion 57 of the clamp rotating member 53 and a hole 60a in the connecting plate portion 60 of the clamp rotating member 54.
A screw 65 is inserted into the screw 65, and a nut 66 is inserted in the screw 65.
Are screwed into contact with the lower surface of the connecting plate portion 60. Also,
A spring 67 is interposed in the screw 65 between the head 65A of the screw 65 and the connecting plate portion 57, and the spring 67 urges the connecting plate portions 57 and 60 of the clamp rotating members 53 and 54 toward each other. The clamp rotating member 54 is integrally rotated with the clamp rotating member 53 with the shaft 63 as a fulcrum. A washer 68 is disposed between the connecting plate portions 57 and 60.

Further, since the shaft 62 is loosely fitted in the holes 58b and 59b of the side plate portions 58 and 59, the clamp rotating member 53 is provided with the spring 57 with the shaft 63 as a fulcrum with respect to the clamp rotating member 54. By resisting the power, it is relatively rotatable by a predetermined amount.

One end of a spring 70 is locked to the shaft 61 of the clamp rotating member 54, and the other end of the spring 70 is locked to a locking portion (not shown) provided in the housing 11. The clamp rotating members 53, 54 are urged clockwise (in FIG. 15) about the shaft 63 as a fulcrum, and the urging force of the shaft 62 attached to the clamp rotating member 53.
Is always in contact with the peripheral surface of the drive cam 90.

Side plate portions 58 and 59 of the clamp rotating member 54
Clamp members 51 and 52 are arranged between them.

[Clamp Member] As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 (A) and (B), the clamp member 51 is provided with a bearing portion 72 below a flat plate-shaped arm portion 71.
A substantially rectangular clamp portion 73 having a width larger than the thickness of the arm portion 71 is provided on the upper portion of the arm portion 71, and a hole 71A is provided on the rear portion side of the upper portion of the arm portion 71.
The bearing portion 72 includes the side plate portion 5 of the clamp rotating member 53, 54.
The shaft 63 penetrating the holes 55a, 56a, 58a, 59a of the 5, 56, 58, 59 is penetrated, and the shaft 64 attached to the holes 58c, 59c of the side plate portions 58, 59 of the clamp rotating member 54 is inserted into the hole 71A. Has been inserted. The clamp member 51 rotates integrally with the clamp rotating members 53 and 54 with the shaft 63 as a fulcrum.

At the front end of the lower surface 73A of the clamp portion 73,
As shown in FIG. 21, a protrusion 73B that protrudes downward and extends in the left-right direction (parallel to the shaft 63) is formed, and the lower surface of this protrusion 73B is formed flat. On the rear side of the lower surface 73A, a bulging portion 73b that bulges slightly downward is formed as a caulking portion.

The clamp member 52 is provided with a flat plate-shaped arm portion 75 overlapping the arm portion 71 of the clamp member 51 and a bearing portion 76 on the upper portion of the arm portion 75.
A substantially rectangular clamp portion 77 having a width thicker than the thickness of the arm portion 75 is provided in the lower part of the arm portion 5, and an arc-shaped long hole 75A is provided in the middle portion of the arm portion 75.

The clamp portion 77 faces the clamp portion 73 of the clamp member 51, and the upper surface 77 of the clamp portion 77.
At the front end of A, it projects upwards and in the left-right direction (shaft 78
And a protrusion 77B extending in parallel with. The protrusion 77B of the clamp member 52 and the protrusion 73 of the clamp member 51
With B, both ends of the sandwiching plate 105A pulled out from the cartridge 100 by the slider 34 are held.

The upper surface of the protrusion 77B is formed flat. The projection 77B is opposed to the projection 73B, and the sandwiching plate 105A
Lock both upper and lower ends of. On the rear side of the lower surface 77A, a bulging portion 77b that bulges slightly upward is formed as a caulking portion.

The bulging portions 73b and 77b are for crimping the bent portion of the bent sandwiching plate 105A.
When the clamp members 51, 52 rotate about the shafts 63, 78 as fulcrums, the clamp portions 73, 77 are closed and the sandwiching plate 1
05A is bent. Clamp members 51, 52
When the sandwiching plate 105A is bent into a U shape, the sheet material S
The U-shaped portions in the vicinity of the bending boundary portion of the sandwiching plate 105A facing each other via the are pressed and caulked.

By forming the bulging portions 73b and 77b in this way, when the bundle of sheet portions S is bent and bundled in the sandwiching plate 105A, the vicinity of the folding boundary portion of the sandwiching plate 105A can be prevented. Since it is tightened, the force of the tip of the sandwiching plate 105A trying to spread due to springback is reduced, and the sandwiching force for sandwiching the bundle of sheet materials S is improved. Clamp member 5
Since the bulging portions 73b and 77b that press the vicinity of the boundary portion of the bent portion of the sandwiching plate 105A at 1, 52 are projected,
It is possible to firmly crimp the bent portion boundary of the sandwiching plate 105A with a simple configuration.

In addition, the cam members 51 and 52 have bulging portions 73.
By forming the b and 77b, when the thick sheet material S of about 20 to 30 sheets is closed, the bulging portion 73 is formed.
b, 77b is the sheet material S near the bent portion of the sandwiching plate 105A.
Since it is pressed to the side, the sandwiching plate 105A displaces both ends of the sandwiching plate 105A toward the sheet material S around the bent portion. With such a structure, the stress in the direction in which both ends of the sandwiching plate 105A come into contact with each other becomes stronger, so that the force with which both ends of the sandwiching plate 105A clamp the vicinity of the edge of the sheet material S also increases. Therefore, the presence of the bulging portions 73b and 77b increases the clamping force of the sheet material S as compared with the case where the bulging portions 73b and 77b are not provided.

The bearing portion 76 includes the side wall 1 of the housing 11.
A shaft 78 inserted into 1B and 11C is penetrated, and the clamp member 52 is rotatable around the shaft 78 as a fulcrum. Further, the shaft 64 attached to the holes 58c, 59c of the side plate portions 58, 59 of the clamp rotating member 54 penetrates the long hole 75A of the arm portion 75. Shaft 64 is long hole 75A
The slot 75A is formed in a shape such that the clamp members 51 and 52 move symmetrically.

Therefore, when the clamp member 51 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (arrow Q2 in FIG. 15) about the shaft 63 fixed to the housing 11 together with the clamp rotating members 53 and 54 as a fulcrum, the clamp member 52 becomes Axis 78
With the fulcrum as a fulcrum, it rotates clockwise (arrow Q3 in FIG. 15).

The drive motor 81 is controlled by a control circuit (not shown) such as an electronic control circuit, a relay sequence control circuit or a digital control circuit. In this control circuit, for example, a thyristor and a switch are provided in the power supply circuit of the drive motor 81, a manual operation switch of the sandwiching device is provided in the trigger pulse generation circuit of the gate of the thyristor, and the trigger pulse is gated by turning on this switch. May be input to rotate the drive motor 81.
In addition, an output signal of a counter output when the number of copy sheets in the copying machine body reaches a predetermined number may be input to such a trigger pulse generation circuit to control the drive motor 81 by the trigger pulse of this counter. . A photodiode may be provided as the sensor 130 in the trigger pulse generation circuit, and the drive motor 81 may be controlled so that no current flows in the trigger pulse generation circuit when the sensor 130 does not detect the sandwiching plate 105A.

[Operation] Next, the operation of the sandwiching device configured as described above will be described.

First, the cartridge 100 is attached to the housing 1
The cartridge chamber 12 of No. 1 is mounted. Then, before the drive motor 81 is driven, the drive gear 85 and the drive cam 90 are at the initial positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 15.
The slider 34 is in the home position shown in FIGS. 2 and 21, and the rear surface of the front end portion 35A of the slider 34 is in the opening 107A of the front wall 107 of the cartridge 100 and the rear surface thereof is the front surface of the sandwiching plate 105A. Abutting. The sensor 130 detects the sandwiching plate 105A housed in the cartridge 100. Further, the clamp members 51 and 52 are at the home position shown in FIGS.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the end portions of the sheet material S (the thickness of the sheet material S is thin), which is, for example, several copy sheets, are attached to the side plate 35 of the slider 34. The front surface 35c and the side surface 22b of the recessed portion 22 provided on the side wall 11C of the housing 11 are brought into contact with each other to be positioned and placed on the table 160.

When the sandwiching signal is output from the main body of the copying machine or the like, the control circuit detects the sandwiching plate 105A housed in the cartridge 100 because the sensor 130 detects the sandwiching plate 105A. The drive motor 81 is drive-controlled based on this. By driving the drive motor 81, the drive gear 85 is rotated clockwise (in FIG. 4) via the gear 83 and the reduction gear train 84, and the protrusion 32a of the arm 32 is rotated.
Along with the rotation, the sliding contact surface 85B of the drive gear 85 slides.

When the protrusion 32a of the arm 32 moves on the inclined surface 86A of the protrusion 86, the arm 32 rotates clockwise (in FIG. 13) about the shaft 31 as a fulcrum,
When the arm 32 rotates clockwise, the slider 34
Moves in the direction of arrow Q1 (see FIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 21). By the movement of the slider 34, the slider 34
The contact surfaces 41A, 41A of the protruding portions 41, 41 of the cartridge contact the side surface of the sandwiching plate 105A in the cartridge 100, and the sandwiching plate 1
05A is pulled out from the gap 110 of the cartridge body 102.

Further, the drive gear 85 rotates to rotate the arm 3
When the second protrusion 32a reaches the apex 86C of the protrusion 86,
The arm 32 rotates to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 13, and the slider 34 moves to the position shown in FIG. 22 to send the sandwiching plate 105A to the sandwiching position 13. The sandwiching plate 105A sent to the sandwiching position 13 is held by the protrusions 73B and 77B of the clamp members 51 and 52.

At the time when the sandwiching plate 105A is delivered to the sandwiching position 13, the drive cam 90 is rotating to the position shown in FIG. Up to this point, the shaft 62 attached to the clamp rotating member 53 has been in contact with the peripheral surface of the small diameter portion R1 of the drive cam 90, so the clamp members 51 and 52 do not rotate.

When the drive cam 90 rotates together with the drive gear 85 and the shaft 62 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the slightly increased portion R2 of the drive cam 90 as shown in FIG. 23, the clamp rotating member 53, 54 slightly rotates counterclockwise (in FIG. 23) about the shaft 63 as a fulcrum. With this rotation, the clamp members 51 and 52 are slightly rotated in the closing direction. At this time, since the protrusion 32a of the arm 32 moves on the apex 86C of the protrusion 86 of the drive gear 85, the slider 34 is in the position shown in FIGS. 22 and 24.

On the other hand, the rotation of the clamp members 51 and 52 narrows the space between the clamp portions 73 and 77, and the clamping plate 105A is bent while being displaced forward. At this time, the slider 34 is located in front of the sandwiching plate 105A and is not displaced in the front-rear direction.
While the front surface of 5A is pressed against the slider 34, it is bent into a dogleg shape. in this way,
Since the sandwiching plate 105A is bent while being pressed against the slider 34, the sandwiching plate 105A is surely bent in the right direction shown in FIG. 24, and the bending is also easy.

When the sandwiching plate 105A is bent into a dogleg shape as shown in FIG. 24, the shaft 62 attached to the clamp rotating member 53 contacts the peripheral surface of the minute portion R3 of the drive cam 90. . Due to this contact, the clamp rotating members 53, 5
4 slightly rotates in the clockwise direction (in FIG. 23) about the shaft 63 as a fulcrum, and the clamp members 51, 52 rotate slightly in the opening direction, so that the clamp portions 73, 77 are slightly opened.

On the other hand, while the shaft 62 attached to the clamp rotating member 53 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the minute portion R3 of the drive cam 90, the protrusion 32a of the arm 32 is rotated by the drive gear 85 as the drive gear 85 rotates. Since the inclined surface 86B of the protruding portion 86 is brought into contact with the arm 32, the arm 32 pivots back from the chain line position in FIG. 13 to the solid line position, and the slider 34 returns to the home position. When the slider 34 returns to the home position, as shown in FIG.
Since 1, 52 are slightly opened, the pressing of the sandwiching plate 105A against the slider 34 is released. Therefore, the slider 34 smoothly returns to the home position without resistance.

When the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the increasing portion R4 of the drive cam 90 as the drive gear 85 rotates, the clamp rotating members 53, 54 move to the shaft 6
Rotate counterclockwise around 3 as a fulcrum. With this rotation, the clamp members 51 and 52 rotate in the closing direction, and the sandwiching plate 105A in which the clamp portions 73 and 77 are bent in a dogleg shape is bent as shown in FIG. Further, when the drive gear 85 rotates and the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 abuts on the peripheral surface of the increasing portion R4 toward the large diameter portion R5 of the drive cam 90, the clamp members 51 and 52 are further increased. Is rotated in the closing direction, the clamp portions 73 and 77 are clamped to the sandwiching plate 105A as shown in FIG.
Fold it in half.

When the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 reaches the peripheral surface near the boundary between the increased portion R4 and the large diameter portion R5 of the drive cam 90, the clamp portions 73 and 77 are further closed. As shown in FIG.
5a and 105b are closed so that the end portion of the sheet material S is sandwiched and the bent portion 105c has an arc shape.

Further, the drive gear 85 rotates so that the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 moves the drive cam 9 as shown in FIG.
When reaching the peripheral surface of the large diameter portion R5 of 0, the clamp member 51,
52 further rotates in the closing direction. By the rotation of the clamp members 51 and 52, the bulging portions 7 of the clamps 73 and 77 are
As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, 3b and 77b crimp the bent portion 105c of the sandwiching plate 105A. Due to the crimping, the sandwiching plate 105A reliably sandwiches the end portion of the sheet material S.

By the way, since the clamp portion 73 of the clamp member 51 is located above the shaft 63 and the clamp portion 77 of the clamp member 52 is located below the shaft 78, the clamp members 51 and 52 are shown in FIG. When the clamps 73 and 77 are thus rotated in the directions of the arrows Q2 and Q3, the clamps 73 and 77 are moved forward (to the left in FIG. 15) along with the rotation. That is, the clamp members 51, 52 are the same as the clamp plate 10.
5A will be bent while pushing forward.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28,
The sandwiching plate 105A is bent while pressing the bent portion 105c of the sandwiching plate 105A against the end portion of the sheet material S, and the sheet material S is sandwiched only between the both end portions 105a and 105b of the sandwiching plate 105A. It is possible to prevent wearing.

When the drive gear 85 rotates and the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 makes contact with the peripheral surface of the reduced portion R6 of the drive cam 90, the clamp rotating members 53 and 54 use the shaft 63 as a fulcrum. Turning clockwise, the clamp member 5
Contrary to the above, 1,52 rotate in the opening direction. When the shaft 62 of the clamp rotating member 53 reaches the peripheral surface of the small diameter portion R1 of the drive cam 90, that is, when the drive gear 85 and the drive cam 90 make one rotation, the clamp member 51,
52 returns to the home position shown in FIGS. 15 and 21, and the drive of the drive motor 81 is stopped.

Thus, the sandwiching plate 105A housed in the cartridge 100 is extracted by the slider 34 and sent to the sandwiching position 13, and the sandwiching plate 105A is bent by the clamp members 51 and 52 to sandwich the sheet material S. Therefore, the sandwiching plate 105 housed in the cartridge 100 may be a flat plate. Therefore, even if the sandwiching plate 105 is wide, a large number of sandwiching plates 10
5 can be stored in the cartridge 100, and it is not necessary to frequently replace the cartridge 100 or refill the sandwiching plate 105. In addition, the sandwiching plates 105 may be adhered to each other,
Since it is not necessary to fold it into a U shape beforehand, the sandwich plate 1
05 will be cheap.

By the way, the sensor 130 has a slider 34.
Since the slider 34 removes the sandwiching plate 105 from the cartridge 100 and sends it to the sandwiching position 13, the sensor 130 continues to detect the sandwiching plate 105. That is, the sensor 1
Reference numeral 30 not only detects the presence or absence of the sandwiching plate 105 in the cartridge 100, but also reliably detects whether or not the sandwiching plate 105A has been sent to the sandwiching position 13. By this detection, it is possible to prevent the sheet material S from not being sandwiched by the sandwiching plate 105A.

Next, the case where the number of the sheet materials S is large and the thickness thereof is thick will be described.

When the number of sheet materials S is large and the thickness thereof is large, as shown in FIG. 31, the shaft 6 of the clamp rotating member 53 is provided.
2 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the increased portion R4 of the drive cam 90, the clamp rotating member 54 and the clamp member 5
The rotation of 1,52 is stopped and the drive cam 90 is locked. However, since the clamp rotating member 54 is rotatable with respect to the clamp rotating member 53 about the shaft 63, the clamp rotating member 53 rotates as the drive cam 90 rotates. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 32, the drive cam 90 is not locked and its rotation is not hindered.

In the above embodiment, the sandwiching plate 105 is stored in the storage chamber 101 of the cartridge 100, but it may be stored directly in the cartridge chamber 12.
Further, the sandwiching plate 105A has a flat plate shape, but may be slightly bent in a V shape. In this case, it is not necessary to bend the sandwich plate 105A while pressing it against the slider 34.

[0079]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
According to the sandwiching device of claim 4 , when the bundle of sheet materials is folded and bundled by the sandwiching plate, the tip of the bent portion of the sandwiching plate only firmly grasps the bundle of sheet materials. Instead, by caulking the vicinity of the folding boundary of the sandwiching plate, the force of the tip of the sandwiching plate trying to spread due to springback is reduced, and the force for fixing the bundle is improved. Moreover, the drive mechanism
Drive the clamp member, so copying machines, fax machines, etc.
Sheet material such as copy paper or fax paper even when attached to
Can be bundled. Further, according to the sandwiching device of claim 2,
If so, the drive motor will clamp the gear via the gear mechanism.
Since the material is driven, the binding operation can be performed electrically.
It can be carried out. According to the sandwiching device of claim 3,
The clamping plate between the clamp members in the open state by the delivery mechanism.
Can be sent out by the feeding mechanism of the sandwich plate and the drive mechanism
It is also possible to continue the pinching operation. Further claims
According to the sandwiching device of No. 4, the bundle of sheet materials is bundled by the sandwiching plate.
Sometimes, the bulge is folded away from the folding boundary of the sandwich plate.
Since the vicinity of the re-bending boundary is caulked, the holding force of the sheet bundle
Becomes large and the sheet material stack becomes thick enough to be pinched.
It can be sandwiched between the plates.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outer appearance of a sandwiching device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the sandwiching device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the clamping device in FIG.

4 is an explanatory view showing a drive mechanism of the sandwiching device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a delivery mechanism of the sandwiching device of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cartridge of the clamping device of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the cartridge of FIG.

9A is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of the cartridge shown in FIG. 7B is a partially enlarged view of the tip portion of the cartridge of FIG. 7. (C) is an explanatory view of a disposition state of springs. (D) is a perspective view of the contact plate.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a drive gear and a drive cam.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of a protruding portion provided on a sliding contact surface of a drive gear.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a drive gear and a drive cam.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a planar configuration of an arm and a slider.

FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view showing the configuration of the rear surface of the end portion of the slider on the clamp member side.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the configurations of a drive cam and a clamp mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a clamp mechanism.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of a clamp mechanism.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a clamp rotating member of the clamp mechanism.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a combined state of clamp members.

20A and 20B are side views of the clamp member.

FIG. 21 is a position explanatory view of a standby state of a clamp member and a home position of a slider.

FIG. 22 is a position explanatory view showing a state where the sandwiching plate is locked to the clamp member.

FIG. 23 is a side view showing an engagement state between a control area of a drive cam and a clamp member.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram in which the clamp member presses the sandwiching plate against the slider to start bending.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the slider is retracted from the clamp plate of the clamp member.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a bent state of the sandwich plate by the clamp member.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a bent state of the sandwich plate by the clamp member.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing a crimping start state of a bent portion of the sandwich plate by the clamp member.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the bent portion of the sandwiching plate by the clamp member is being crimped.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing a crimped state of the thin sheet material S.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a crimping start state of the thick sheet material S.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed crimping state of the thick sheet material S.

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional sandwiching device.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional sandwiching device.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory view showing the metal fitting and the push rod shown in FIG. 34.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 cartridge chamber 13 pinching position 30 sending mechanism 50 Clamping mechanism (clamping means) 73B protrusion 73b Bulging part (caulking part) 77B protrusion 77b Bulging part (caulking part) 80 Drive mechanism (drive means) 100 cartridges 101 storage room 105A sandwich plate

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. Between a pair of openable and closable end portions,
By holding both ends of the flat plate-like sandwiching plate in the longitudinal direction, the ends of the bundled sheet materials are applied to the vicinity of the central part in the longitudinal direction of the sandwiching plate at a substantially right angle, and the opening and closing operation of the pair of ends is performed. a pair of clamping means for clamped end portion in the thickness direction of the sheet material by bending the clamping plate, the pair of class <br/> pump means is a bent boundary vicinity of the clamping plate Rutotomoni includes a crimped portion that pressurizes the opposite site to each other through the sheet material there, the pair of clamping means, before
A sandwiching device comprising a drive mechanism for opening and closing a pair of ends . 2. The clamping device according to claim 1, wherein the driving machine
The structure is such that the sandwiching plate is provided between the pair of end portions from the delivery mechanism.
After holding the
A cam mechanism for performing a series of operations and the cam mechanism.
Drive gear for driving and drive motor for driving the drive gear
And a pinching device. 3. The clamping device according to any one of claims 1 and 2.
The side of the pair of end portions of the pair of clamp means.
And a delivery mechanism for supplying the sandwich plate.
A clamping device to be used. 4. The clamping device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The pair of clamping means swings when opening and closing.
It is held on a shaft, and the crimping portion is
When the pumping means are opened and closed, the parts facing each other will expand toward each other.
The bulging portion is formed by a pair of bulging portions.
From the folding boundary of the sandwich plate in the clamping means
Press the bending plate near both ends of the sandwich plate.
A clamping device characterized by being formed on a surface.