JPH09104184A - Bookbinding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To conduct a sure bookbinding work, in which no efflux of adhesive of a bookbinding tape occurs. SOLUTION: The temperature of a paper bulk 15 is detected with a temperature detecting mechanism 5 provided at a paper bulk adjusting part 2. The thickness of the paper bulk 15 is detected with a bulk thickness detecting mechanism 4 provided at clamping arms 3. The temperature of a bookbinding tape is detected with a tape temperature detecting means 13. The detection signals sent from the detecting mechanisms 4 and 5 and the detecting means 13 are inputted in a CPU 6. The controlling of a bookbinding tape 50 under heat and pressure is performed by the CPU 6 with the heaters 10 of a binder unit 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus which is online connected to a copying machine or the like and binds a sheet bundle with a bookbinding tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, staples are often used to bind a copy made by a copying machine or a printed matter by a printer into a simple book, but important documents or a bundle of papers. In many cases, a bookbinding tape with a hot-melt adhesive (adhesive that melts when heated) is heated by a heater and adhered to the spine of a sheet (eg, paper) bundle.

In a bookbinding apparatus for performing such bookbinding operation, in order to perform good adhesion between the paper bundle and the bookbinding tape, the adhesion conditions such as heater heating time must be adjusted according to the conditions of the paper bundle to be bound. I have to.

For example, when a thin paper bundle is bound, the heat capacity of the paper bundle is small and the hot-melt adhesive of the bookbinding tape melts quickly. Therefore, the heating time of the bookbinding tape is shortened to prevent the adhesive from flowing out. Must be done. On the other hand, when binding a thick bundle of paper, the heat capacity of the bundle of paper is large and the hot-melt adhesive of the binding tape does not melt easily. Therefore, it is necessary to lengthen the heating time of the binding tape to prevent defective adhesion.

In a bookbinding apparatus that is connected to a copying machine or printer online, it is desirable that the bookbinding operation takes an extra time to stop the continuous operation of the copying machine or the printer. Absent.

As a method of automatically controlling the adjustment of such strict binding work conditions (bonding conditions of the binding tape), for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-173695, bookbinding is performed. There is a means for detecting the thickness of the bundle of papers to be automatically controlled according to the thickness of the bundle of papers.

[0007]

However, in the conventional bookbinding apparatus as described above, the heating time of the heater is controlled by focusing only on the thickness of the bundle of sheets to be bound. There was a flaw.

For example, since the paper bundle just discharged from the fixing device of the copying machine has a considerable amount of heat, if the thickness of the bundle is the same, a hot-melt adhesive will be used rather than a paper bundle at the same temperature as room temperature. Should have a fast melting rate. However,
In the conventional bookbinding apparatus, if the thickness of the bundle of paper is the same, the bundle of paper is heated for the same time regardless of the initial temperature of the bundle of sheets. At times, the paper bundle was overheated, and the adhesive could flow out.

Further, if the temperature of the bookbinding tape immediately before use (before being used for bookbinding work) is high due to a temperature rise in the machine of the bookbinding apparatus or the like, the heating time of the bookbinding tape can be short. . On the other hand, in an environment where the room temperature is extremely low, if the temperature of the bookbinding tape is low, it is necessary to lengthen the heating time of the bookbinding tape. However, the conventional bookbinding device cannot adjust the heating time of such a bookbinding tape.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bookbinding apparatus capable of preventing a bookbinding failure caused by the temperature of a sheet bundle or the temperature of a hot-melt adhesive of a bookbinding tape.

[0011]

A bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention comprises a sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, Attached to the clamping means,
Sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness, control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means for outputting a control signal, and operated based on the control signal from the control means to apply an adhesive. Press the bookbinding tape on the end of the sheet bundle.
A binding device that heats and binds and fixes the end of the sheet bundle with a bookbinding tape, wherein the temperature of the sheet bundle is applied to either one of the sheet bundle aligning means or the clamping means. A sheet bundle temperature detecting means for detecting and outputting the detection signal to the control means is provided.

Further, the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention includes a sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, and a clamp attached to the clamp means. The sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness, the control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means for outputting a control signal, and operating based on the control signal from the control means, the adhesive agent A binding device, comprising: a binding unit that presses and heats the applied bookbinding tape to the sheet bundle end portion, and bonds and fixes the sheet bundle end portion with the bookbinding tape. It is characterized by comprising a tape temperature detecting means for detecting and outputting the detection signal to the control means.

Further, the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention is provided with a sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, and an attachment to the clamp means. The sheet bundle thickness detecting means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness, the control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means for outputting a control signal, and operating based on the control signal from the control means, the adhesive agent A binding apparatus, comprising: binding means for pressing and heating the applied bookbinding tape to the sheet bundle end portion to bond and fix the sheet bundle end portion with the bookbinding tape, the sheet bundle aligning means or The sheet bundle temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the sheet bundle and outputting the detection signal to the control means, and the temperature of the bookbinding tape are detected by one of the clamp means. It is characterized by comprising, a tape temperature detecting means for outputting to the control means.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of a bookbinding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bookbinding apparatus 1 of this embodiment is connected to a copying machine 11. The bookbinding apparatus 1 includes a sheet bundle aligning unit (sheet bundle aligning unit) 2 that stacks and aligns the sheets discharged from the fixing device 12 of the copying machine 11. Then, the paper bundle 15 aligned by the paper bundle aligning unit 2 is clamped by a clamp arm (clamping means).
It is designed to be clamped at 3.

The clamp arm 3 is provided with a bundle thickness detecting mechanism (sheet bundle pressure detecting means) 4 for detecting the thickness of the sheet bundle 15. Further, the sheet bundle aligning section 2 is provided with a temperature detecting mechanism (sheet bundle temperature detecting means) 5 for detecting the temperature of the sheet bundle 15. The bundle thickness detecting mechanism 4 and the temperature detecting mechanism 5 are connected to a CPU 6 as a control means and output a detection signal to the CPU 6.

Binder unit (binding means) 9
Bind the binding tape 50 with hot melt adhesive to the paper bundle 1
The back side of 5 (the right end side in FIG. 1) is pressure-bonded while being heated by the heater 10, and the bookbinding tape 50 binds the sheet bundle 15. The binder unit 9 is connected to a binder unit control device 8 which receives a control signal from the CPU 6 and controls the operation of the binder unit 9.

The binder unit 9 is used to stack the paper bundle 1.
The temperature of the bookbinding tape 50 adhered and fixed to the end of the sheet 5 is detected by the tape temperature detecting means 13 before being sent to the binder unit 9.
Then, the detection signal is inputted from the tape temperature detecting means 13 to the CPU 6. The tape temperature detecting means 13 is appropriately arranged in the storage portion of the bookbinding tape 50, in the middle of the bookbinding tape transport path, or the like.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 7 is a memory, and the memory 7 is linked to the CPU 6. The bundle thickness detecting mechanism 4 detects the position of the clamp arm 3 by using a slide resistance, and detects the thickness of the sheet bundle by the resistance value. Further, the temperature detecting mechanism 5 is adapted to detect the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 by a thermistor. In addition, in the present embodiment, the mode in which the temperature detection mechanism 5 is attached to the sheet bundle aligning unit 2 is shown.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the temperature detection mechanism 5 may be attached to the clamp arm 3.

The basic bookbinding operation of the bookbinding apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described below.

The paper discharged from the fixing device 12 of the copying machine 11 is conveyed to the paper bundle aligning section 2 in the bookbinding device 1 by a conveying mechanism (not shown). The number of sheets of paper to be bound is accumulated in the paper bundle aligning unit 2 and aligned as the paper bundle 15 in the paper bundle aligning unit. Then, the sheet bundle 15 is clamped by the clamp arm 3 so as not to lose the aligned state. In this clamp arm 3, the clamping pressure of the sheet bundle 15 is preset by a torque limiter.

When the clamping operation of the bundle of papers 15 by the clamp arm 3 is completed, the bundle thickness detection mechanism 4 reads the thickness of the bundle of papers 15 clamped by the clamp arm 3 with a constant clamping pressure, and the temperature detection mechanism 5 operates. The temperature of the sheet bundle 15 is detected.

The paper bundle 15 clamped by the clamp arm 3 is moved to the binder unit 9 by a drive mechanism (not shown) while being clamped. The binder unit 9 presses the bookbinding tape 50 at a constant pressure so as to press the bookbinding tape 50 in a U-shape against the back surface and the side surface of the sheet bundle 15 that has arrived at a predetermined position. The hot-melt adhesive 50 is heated and melted at a predetermined temperature by the heater 10, and the end portions of the sheet bundle 15 are bonded by the bookbinding tape 50.

Next, the operation control of the binder unit 9 based on the detection signals of the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle will be described.

It is already generally known that the time required for heating the bookbinding tape 50 increases almost linearly as the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 increases under the bookbinding condition of heating the bookbinding tape 50 at a constant temperature. Are known. Further, under the same condition (condition that the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 is the same), the sheet bundle 1 directly contacting the hot melt adhesive of the bookbinding tape 50.
It will be appreciated that as the temperature of 5 increases, the time required to heat the bookbinding tape 50 also decreases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the heating time of the bookbinding tape 50, that is, the pressing time of the heater 10 of the binder unit 9 is controlled according to these relationships.

Information about the sheet bundle 15 detected by the bundle thickness detecting mechanism 4 and the temperature detecting mechanism 5 is input to the CPU 6. The detection signal (information) input to the CPU 6 is
Processing is performed according to a program stored in the memory 7 in advance. Then, the CPU 6 determines an optimum pressurizing time for the heater 10 of the binder unit 9 and sends a control signal to the binder unit controller 8. Note that FIG. 3 shows an example of the pressurizing time corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 set in the program of the memory 7. When the set pressurizing time elapses, the pressurization state of the bookbinding tape 50 by the heater 10 is released, and a series of bookbinding operations ends.

In the above embodiment, the bundle thickness detecting mechanism 4 utilizing the slide resistance is used as the thickness detecting means for the sheet bundle 15, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a linear encoder or the like may be used. Any mechanism may be used as long as it can detect the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 with required accuracy. Further, the temperature detecting means for the sheet bundle 15 is not limited to the temperature detecting mechanism 5 using a thermistor, but may be a device capable of detecting the temperature at any stage using a thermostat, for example.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the bookbinding tape 50 by the heater 10 of the binder unit 9 is detected based on the detection signals of the bundle thickness of the bundle 15 and the temperature of the bundle.
By controlling the pressurizing time, that is, the heating time of the bookbinding tape 50 and heating the bookbinding tape under optimum conditions, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from flowing out due to overheating of the bookbinding tape, and perform a reliable bookbinding operation. Will be able to. (Second Embodiment) The first embodiment is the heater 1
While keeping 0 at a constant temperature (for example, 160 ° C.), the pressurizing time of the heater 10 corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 is set, but the set temperature of the heater 10 may be changed. You may If the set temperature of the heater 10 is raised, the temperature of the hot melt adhesive of the bookbinding tape 50 also rises quickly, and as a result, the time until the adhesive melts is shortened. Therefore, if the temperature of the heater 10 is controlled according to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15, the binding operation between the bookbinding tape 50 and the sheet bundle 15 can be performed without changing the pressing time of the heater 10. Can be optimized. FIG. 4 shows an example of the set temperature of the heater 10 corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 set in the program of the memory 7.

According to the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, only the temperature control of the heater 10 is performed according to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. Both the pressurizing time of the heater 10 and the set temperature are controlled so that the pressurizing time of the heater 10 is changed according to the thickness of the sheet 15 and the set temperature of the heater 10 is changed with respect to the temperature of the sheet bundle 15. May be combined. (Third Embodiment) In the first and second embodiments, pressurizing operation control and temperature control of a total of three heaters 10 for the spine cover and the side surface in the binder unit 9 are collectively performed. However, the pressure operation control and the temperature control may be separately performed on the spine cover and the side surface depending on the application and the specifications of the bookbinding tape.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 2, the case where a bookbinding tape 50 having two layers of hot melt adhesive on a base layer is used will be described.

This bookbinding tape 50 has an A layer of 100.
Has a softening point of ℃, the B layer has a softening point of 80 ℃, of which the A layer mainly contributes to the adhesion of the spine cover of the paper bundle 15, the B layer mainly Contributes to side adhesion. When the pressurizing times of the heaters 10 for the spine cover and the side surface of the sheet bundle 15 are the same, the heater 10 for the spine sheet of the sheet bundle 15 is controlled to the set temperature shown in FIG. The two heaters 10 and 10 for the side surface are controlled to a set temperature that is 20 ° C. lower than the set temperature of the heater 10 for the spine cover. In the present embodiment, a mode has been described in which the temperature of each heater 10 with respect to the spine and the side surface of the sheet bundle 15 is controlled to be changed.
By independently controlling the pressurizing operation of each heater 10,
The bookbinding operation may be optimized. (Fourth Embodiment) In the first, second, and third embodiments, the control method of the binder unit 9 corresponding to the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 has been described. Further, by adding the temperature of the bookbinding tape 50 to the control condition of the binder unit 9, a more reliable bookbinding operation can be performed. Below, as an example, a bundle of paper 15
A method of controlling the pressing time of the heater 10 based on the thickness of the sheet, the temperature of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the bookbinding tape 50 will be described.

When the bookbinding tape 50 is stored in the bookbinding apparatus 1 in operation, the temperature of the hot-melt adhesive on the bookbinding tape 50 is increased by the temperature rise in the machine (increase of the ambient temperature in the machine) to cause the surroundings of the bookbinding apparatus 1. It may be higher than the temperature (outside temperature). Here, the higher the temperature of the adhesive itself of the bookbinding tape 50 is, the more the heater 10 is kept at a constant temperature.
It is known that the time until the melting of the adhesive due to is shortened.

The temperature of the portion where the bookbinding tape 50 is stored is detected by a temperature detecting mechanism (tape temperature detecting means) 13 using a thermistor, and the detection signal is input to the CPU 6, whereby the CPU 6 detects the temperature of the bookbinding tape 50. Control is performed according to the temperature, the thickness of the sheet bundle 15 and the temperature of the sheet bundle 15. That is, if the temperature of the bookbinding tape 50 is less than 10 ° C., 0.5 seconds is added to the heater pressurization time of FIG. 3 determined based on the information of the thickness of the paper bundle 15 and the temperature of the paper bundle 15. If the temperature of the bookbinding tape 50 is 30 ° C. or higher, the pressurizing time of the heater 10 is determined by pulling out for 0.5 seconds, and the heater 10 is pressed according to the pressurizing time.

According to this embodiment, the first to third
The bookbinding operation can be performed more reliably than in the above embodiment, and the reliability of the bookbinding apparatus can be significantly improved.

[0036]

As described above, the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention applies pressure to a bookbinding tape for adhering and fixing the ends of the sheet bundle.
The heating control is the thickness of the sheet bundle and the temperature of the sheet bundle, or
Since it is designed to be performed based on the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle and the temperature of the bookbinding tape, compared to the conventional bookbinding device that controls the pressure and heating of the bookbinding tape based only on the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle. It is possible to pressurize and heat the bookbinding tape accurately according to the properties of the adhesive of the bookbinding tape, prevent the adhesive from flowing out of the bookbinding tape, and perform reliable bookbinding work.

Further, in the bookbinding apparatus of the present invention, the pressure / heat control of the bookbinding tape for adhering and fixing the ends of the sheet bundle is performed based on the bundle thickness of the sheet bundle, the temperature of the sheet bundle and the temperature of the bookbinding tape. Therefore, the bookbinding work can be performed more reliably, and the reliability of the bookbinding apparatus can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a bookbinding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a bookbinding tape made of a two-layer hot melt adhesive.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of heater pressurization time setting based on the thickness and temperature of a sheet bundle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of heater heating temperature setting based on the thickness and temperature of a sheet bundle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bookbinding Device 2 Paper Bundle Aligning Section (Sheet Bundle Aligning Means) 3 Clamp Arm (Clamping Means) 4 Bundle Thickness Detecting Mechanism (Sheet Bundle Thickness Detecting Means) 5 Temperature Detecting Mechanism (Sheet Bundle Temperature Detecting Means) 6 CPU (Control Means) 9 Binder unit (Binding means) 13 Tape temperature detecting means 15 Paper bundle (sheet bundle) 50 Binding tape

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, and a sheet bundle thickness attached to the clamp means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness. The sheet bundle thickness detecting means, the control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means and outputting a control signal, and the bookbinding tape which is operated based on the control signal from the control means and which is coated with an adhesive. In a bookbinding apparatus comprising: a binding unit that pressurizes and heats an end portion of the sheet bundle to bond and fix the end portion of the sheet bundle with a bookbinding tape, one of the sheet bundle aligning unit or the clamping unit, A bookbinding apparatus comprising a sheet bundle temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the sheet bundle and outputting the detection signal to the control means. 2. A sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, and a sheet bundle thickness attached to the clamp means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness. The sheet bundle thickness detecting means, the control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means and outputting a control signal, and the bookbinding tape which is operated based on the control signal from the control means and which is coated with an adhesive. In a bookbinding apparatus comprising: binding means for pressing and heating the end of the sheet bundle and fixing the end of the sheet bundle with a bookbinding tape, the temperature of the bookbinding tape is detected, and the detection signal is controlled by the control unit. A bookbinding apparatus comprising a tape temperature detecting means for outputting to the means. 3. A sheet bundle aligning means for aligning a plurality of sheets as a sheet bundle, a clamp means for sandwiching the sheet bundle aligned by the sheet bundle aligning means, and a sheet bundle thickness attached to the clamp means for detecting the sheet bundle thickness. The sheet bundle thickness detecting means, the control means connected to the sheet bundle thickness detecting means and outputting a control signal, and the bookbinding tape which is operated based on the control signal from the control means and which is coated with an adhesive. In a bookbinding apparatus comprising: a binding unit that pressurizes and heats an end portion of the sheet bundle to bond and fix the end portion of the sheet bundle with a bookbinding tape, one of the sheet bundle aligning unit or the clamping unit, A sheet bundle temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the sheet bundle and outputs the detection signal to the control unit, and detects the temperature of the bookbinding tape and outputs the detection signal to the control unit. Bookbinding apparatus comprising: the tape temperature detecting means, the for.