JP4103700B2 - Staple detection mechanism of electric stapler - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, a cartridge containing linked staples is mounted on a magazine portion of an electric stapler, and the linked staples are sequentially supplied to a punching portion formed at the front end of the cartridge, and the staples supplied to the punching portion are molded into a U-shape. More particularly, the present invention relates to a staple detection mechanism for an electric stapler that detects the absence of connected staples loaded in a cartridge.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A large number of linear unformed staple materials are arranged in parallel, and adjacent unformed staple materials are connected to each other with an adhesive or the like to form a sheet-like or long belt-like connected staple. The cartridge is loaded into the magazine of the electric stapler, and the connected staples in the cartridge are sequentially supplied to the ejecting portion formed at the leading end of the cartridge. The staple material is formed into a U-shape by a forming plate immediately before the ejecting portion, the formed staple is ejected from the ejection path by the driver plate, and the staple leg is passed through the binding paper disposed on the lower surface of the cartridge. An electric stapler designed to perform binding Are (e.g., see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
In the electric stapler, a cartridge containing a stack of connected staples formed in a sheet shape is attached to a magazine, and the sheet-shaped connected staples in the cartridge are loaded by a staple supply mechanism formed in the magazine section. It is designed to be sequentially supplied to the punching portion formed at the front end portion of the magazine, and the straight unformed staple material supplied to the punching portion is formed on the stapler body so as to face the punching portion of the magazine. It is formed into a U-shape by a forming plate and is driven toward a sheet by a driver plate formed on the stapler body.
[0004]
Furthermore, the electric stapler is provided with a staple detection mechanism for detecting that the connected staples loaded in the cartridge are lost. The staple detection mechanism in the electric stapler is provided with a detection switch in the magazine that detects and outputs the presence or absence of staples in the cartridge, and the detection switch is located at a position corresponding to the opening on the lower surface of the cartridge containing the linked staples. It is arranged and arranged so that the switch lever of the detection switch is brought into contact with the lower surface of the linked staple in the cartridge at a position rearward of the staple supply mechanism. As a result, when the connected staples in the cartridge run out, the switch lever cannot contact the connected staples, so that the detection switch detects the absence of staples and stops the electric stapler to prevent blanking, or connected staples. The warning display that prompts replenishment is performed.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-30282 [0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in this type of electric stapler, the magazine side on which the cartridge loaded with the linked staples is mounted is formed with an ejection portion for ejecting the staples toward the binding paper, and this ejection portion and a clincher member for bending the staple legs, Are arranged opposite to each other, and before the staple is ejected from the ejection portion toward the binding paper, the magazine portion is slid or rotated in the direction of the binding paper so as to sandwich the binding paper with the clincher mechanism. It is configured as follows. In the above-described conventional staple detection mechanism, the detection switch for detecting the staples in the cartridge is formed in the magazine that operates when the staple binding operation is performed. Therefore, the detection switch operates together with the magazine every time the staple binding operation is performed. It will be.
[0007]
The electric stapler is equipped with a main control board for controlling an electric motor for driving the staple supply mechanism and the ejection mechanism, and a wiring cable is connected from the main control board to various sensors such as a staple detection switch. . When a sensor unit such as a switch for detecting staples is arranged on a member that moves during stapling operation as in the prior art, movement occurs between the wiring cables from the sensor unit to the main control board. The cable must be considered and the sensor board on which these sensors are mounted must be considered earthquake-resistant so that it will not be damaged by the shock caused by vibration generated during the operation of the magazine. This was a factor that increased the production cost of staplers.
[0008]
The present invention solves the above-described problems in the prior art, and there is no need to use a special distribution cable or to consider the distribution cable, and no trouble or malfunction occurs due to vibration during stapling operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a staple detection mechanism for an electric stapler.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the staple detection mechanism of the electric stapler according to the present invention is configured such that a cartridge loaded with connected staples in which a large number of straight staple members are arranged and connected is attached to a magazine of the electric stapler, and the magazine is loaded during staple binding operation. The staples are driven toward the binding paper, and the connected staples in the cartridge are sequentially supplied to the ejecting portion formed at the leading end of the cartridge, and the straight staple material of the connected staples is formed into a U-shape at the ejecting portion. In the electric stapler that is ejected toward the paper disposed on the lower side, a detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of staples and outputs a detection signal is formed on the frame that supports the magazine, and the electric stapler is not It is arranged opposite to the detection sensor when in the operating state A flag member that operates to cause the detection sensor to detect the presence or absence of staples is formed in the magazine, and is disposed so as to be able to enter the interior of the connected staple loading space of the cartridge, and is operated by the connected staple loaded in the cartridge. A detection member is formed on the cartridge, and a linkage member is further formed between the detection member and the flag member, and the operation of the detection member is linked to the flag member by the linkage member in a state where the cartridge is mounted on the magazine. It is characterized by that.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire electric stapler in which the staple supply mechanism of the present invention is implemented. The electric stapler 1 is disposed in a paper conveyance path inside a copying machine, a printing machine or the like, and is subjected to copying or printing processing. A plurality of sheets are bound. The electric stapler 1 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of straight staple members arranged in parallel, and the adjacent staple members are connected to each other by an adhesive or the like to form a connected staple S formed into a sheet shape with a forming anvil. The straight staple material at the head of the connected staple S is formed into a U-shaped staple, and the staple formed in the U-shape is driven out toward the paper. The staple driving unit 2 and a clincher unit 3 that bends the staple legs penetrating the binding sheet along the back surface of the sheet, and the staple driving unit 2 is disposed on one side of the sheet conveyance path. The clincher portion 3 is disposed on the opposite side of the conveyance path.
[0011]
The staple driving unit 2 includes a support frame 4 formed on one side of the paper transport path and a magazine 5 supported by the support frame 4 so as to be slidable toward the paper disposed in the transport path. A cartridge 7 containing a refill 6 in which sheet-like connected staples S are stacked and bundled is detachably mounted on the magazine 5. The cartridge 7 is formed with a staple loading section 8 for mounting a refill 6 bundled in a state where a large number of sheet-like connected staples S are stacked, and a staple guide is formed at the bottom of the staple loading section 8. The lowermost sheet-like connected staples S stacked and loaded in the cartridge 7 are guided to the ejection portion.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, between the cartridge 7 loaded with the sheet-like connected staple S, the magazine 5 in which the cartridge 7 is mounted, and the support frame 4 that slidably supports the magazine 5 A staple detection mechanism 10 that functions in cooperation with the cartridge 7 mounted in the magazine 5 is formed. The staple detection mechanism 10 includes a detection member 11 having a central portion rotatably supported by the cartridge 7 so that the upper end portion can enter the staple loading portion 8 of the cartridge 7, and a horizontal direction along the bottom portion of the cartridge 7. An interlocking rod 12 that is slidably supported and transmits the rotational operation of the detection member 11 as an operation in the horizontal direction in cooperation with the lower end portion of the detection member 11, and is rotated by the end portion of the interlocking rod 12. The flag member 13 is rotatably supported by the magazine 5 and the detection sensor 14 is supported by the frame 4 and detects the rotation of the flag member 13 and outputs a detection signal. ing.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the detection member 11 is rotatably supported on the cartridge 7 by a support shaft 15 that protrudes from the side, and the detection end 16 formed at the upper end is a staple of the cartridge 7. The connecting staple S accommodated in the loading unit 8 can be engaged. The interlocking rod 12 is slidably supported with respect to the cartridge 7 so that one end thereof corresponds to the lower end portion of the detection member 11, and the one end portion of the interlocking rod 12 is formed in a recess 17 formed in the lower portion of the detection member 11. The shaft 18 formed in this is loosely fitted, and the rotation operation of the detection member 11 is transmitted to the interlocking rod 12 so that the interlocking rod 12 is slid. The interlocking rod 12 is urged in a sliding direction by a spring 19, and the detection member 11 is moved in a direction in which the detection end 16 of the detection member 11 enters the staple loading unit 8 and engages the connected staple S by this urging force. Is urged to rotate.
[0014]
The magazine 5 is provided with a slider 20 that is slidably supported along the bottom of the magazine 5, and an engagement piece 21 is formed on the slider 20 so as to face the other end of the interlocking rod 12. The slider 20 is slid by the other end of the interlocking rod 12 pressing the engagement piece 21 by the sliding movement of the interlocking rod 12. Further, a flag member 13 having a flag arm 22 and an operating arm 23 projecting in the radial direction is rotatably supported on the magazine 5, and an end of the operating arm 23 is engaged with the slider 20. Thus, the flag member 13 is rotated by the sliding movement of the slider 20. A flag 24 for blocking the optical path of the detection sensor 14 is formed at the end of the flag arm 22 of the flag member 13 and is detected by the frame 4 supporting the magazine 5 so as to face the flag 24. A sensor 14 is installed. The slider 20 is spring-biased in a sliding direction by a spring 25, and the flag member 13 is rotated by the biasing force so that the flag 24 of the flag member 13 is disposed at a position where the optical path of the detection sensor 14 is not blocked. Energized.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 5, the detection member 11 and the interlocking rod 12 formed on the cartridge 7 side, and the slider 20 and the flag member 14 formed on the magazine 5 side load the linked staple S into the cartridge 7. Therefore, when the cartridge 7 is removed from the magazine 5, they are separated from each other. At this time, the slider 20 formed on the magazine 5 side is slid by the urging force of the spring 25, and the flag 24 formed at the end of the flag arm 22 of the flag member 14 blocks the optical path of the detection sensor 14. The flag member 13 is rotated to the position where it is not to be detected so that a staple-free state is detected. Further, when the cartridge 7 is mounted on the magazine 5, the end of the interlocking rod 12 and the engagement piece 21 of the slider 20 can be smoothly engaged with the end of the interlocking rod 12 and the engagement piece 21 of the slider 20. Guide surfaces 26 and 27 are formed between them.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 6, when the electric stapler 1 is in the standby state, the magazine 5 supported by the frame 4 is disposed at an upper position so as to be separated from the binding paper, and in this state, the magazine 5 is formed in the magazine 5. The flag 24 of the flag member 13 is positioned on the optical path of the detection sensor 14 formed on the frame 4, and the detection sensor 14 detects the state of stapling. When the electric stapler 1 is driven to bind the binding sheets, the magazine 5 in which the cartridge 7 is mounted is operated toward the binding sheets as shown in FIG. Although it operates on the frame 4 together with the magazine 5, the detection sensor 14 provided on the support frame 4 does not operate, so that damage to the sensor substrate due to vibration or the like can be prevented. At this time, the flag 24 deviates from the optical path of the detection sensor 14, but there is no problem if the staple detection timing is limited.
[0017]
The operation of the staple detection mechanism 10 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 8, when the connected staple S remains in the staple loading unit 8 of the cartridge 7, the detection end 16 of the detection member 11 engages with the connected staple S and the detection member 11 is rotated. Yes. As a result, the interlocking rod 12 is slid and moved against the biasing force of the spring 19, and the slider 20 is slid and moved against the biasing force of the spring 25 by the end of the interlocking rod 12. When the slider 20 is slid, the operating arm 23 engaged with the slider 20 is rotated to rotate the flag member 13, and the flag 24 formed at the end of the flag arm 22 is the optical path of the detection sensor 14. The detection sensor 14 detects the remaining state of staples.
[0018]
When the connected staple S in the cartridge 7 is completely consumed, the detection end 16 of the detection member 11 is brought into the staple loading unit 8 by the biasing force of the spring 19 biasing the interlocking rod 12 as shown in FIG. The detection member 11 is rotated so as to invade, whereby the interlocking rod 12 slides, and the slider 20 slides along with the movement of the interlocking rod 12. The flag member 13 is rotated by the movement of the slider 20 via the operating arm 23 by the movement of the slider 20, and the flag 24 formed on the flag arm 22 is rotated to a position off the optical path of the detection sensor 14. A state without S is detected.
[0019]
When the cartridge 7 is removed from the magazine 5 in order to load the connected staples S, as shown in FIG. 10, the end of the interlocking rod 12 formed on the cartridge 7 side and the slider 20 formed on the magazine 5 side. The slider 20 is separated from the engagement piece 21 by the urging force of the spring 25, whereby the operating arm 23 engaged with the slider 20 is rotated to rotate the flag member 13. Let As the flag member 13 is rotated, the flag 24 formed on the flag arm 22 of the flag member 13 is rotated to a position deviated from the optical path of the detection sensor 14, so that the absence of stapling continues to be detected and the cartridge 7 is removed. It is possible to prevent malfunction of the electric stapler 1 when it is detached from the magazine 5.
[0020]
Further, the flag member 13 is formed so as to be spring-biased by the spring 25 via the slider 20, and the flag 24 of the flag member 13 is detected by the detection sensor in a state where the cartridge 7 is removed from the magazine 5 for loading the linked staples. 14 can be used as a detection mechanism for detecting the non-mounted state of the cartridge 7, and a detection sensor for detecting the mounted state of the cartridge 7 is not necessary, thereby reducing the cost. It becomes possible.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the detection member that detects the connected staples in the cartridge is provided in the cartridge, the flag member that is operated by the detection member is formed in the magazine, and the detection sensor is opposed to the flag member. Is installed on the frame that supports the magazine, so that the sensor unit substrate including the detection sensor does not move during the staple binding operation, and there is no need to consider the vibration of the sensor substrate attachment, Furthermore, there is no need to consider the selection and handling of the wiring cable between the sensor board and the main control board, and the cost of the electric stapler can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric stapler according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a staple detection mechanism formed in the electric stapler. FIG. 3 is a staple detection formed in the electric stapler. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the component configuration of the staple detection mechanism. FIG. 5 is a side view of the staple detection mechanism with the cartridge removed from the magazine. FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view of a staple detection mechanism showing an operation state during staple binding operation. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an operation state in which connected staples remain in the cartridge. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an operating state in which staples are lost. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an operating state in which a cartridge is removed from a magazine. Description of]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric stapler 4 Support frame 5 Magazine 7 Cartridge 10 Staple detection mechanism 11 Detection member 12 Interlocking rod 13 Flag member 14 Detection sensor

Claims (1)

A cartridge loaded with connected staples in which a large number of straight staples are connected and connected is mounted on a magazine of an electric stapler, and when the staple binding operation is performed, the magazine is driven toward the binding paper, and the connected staples in the cartridge are connected to the cartridge. In an electric stapler which is sequentially supplied to a punching portion formed at the leading end, and a straight staple material of connected staples is formed into a U-shape at the punching portion and driven toward a sheet placed under the magazine. A detection sensor for detecting the presence / absence of staples and outputting a detection signal is formed on the frame supporting the magazine, and is disposed opposite to the detection sensor when the electric stapler is in an inoperative state and the detection A flag member that operates to cause the sensor to detect the presence or absence of staples. A detecting member that is formed in a gadget and is disposed so as to be capable of entering the connected staple loading space of the cartridge and that is actuated by the connected staple loaded in the cartridge; and the detecting member, the flag member, A staple detection mechanism for an electric stapler, wherein a linkage member is formed between the two, and the operation of the detection member is linked to the flag member by the linkage member in a state where the cartridge is mounted in the magazine.

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