U.S. patent application number 14/230052 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-09 for paper post-processing apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA. The applicant listed for this patent is KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Shoichi Dobashi, Mikio Yamamoto.
Application Number | 20140300047 14/230052 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51653896 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140300047 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yamamoto; Mikio ; et
al. |
October 9, 2014 |
PAPER POST-PROCESSING APPARATUS
Abstract
A paper post-processing apparatus comprises a processing tray
section; a post-processing section; a paper discharge tray section;
a first chuck section configured to hold the rear end of the paper
standing by in the buffer section; a second chuck section
configured to hold the rear end of the paper loaded on the
processing tray; and a third chuck section configured to hold the
rear end of the paper loaded on the paper discharge tray; wherein a
next paper is fed onto the paper held by the first chuck section in
the buffer section, a paper is fed onto the paper held by the
second chuck section from the buffer section in the processing tray
section, and a paper is discharged onto the paper on the paper
discharge tray held by the third chuck section from the processing
tray section in the paper discharge tray section.
Inventors: |
Yamamoto; Mikio;
(Izunokuni-shi, JP) ; Dobashi; Shoichi;
(Shizuoka-ken, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA |
Tokyo
Tokyo |
|
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI
KAISHA
Tokyo
JP
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
51653896 |
Appl. No.: |
14/230052 |
Filed: |
March 31, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/207 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2801/27 20130101;
B65H 31/10 20130101; B65H 2701/1313 20130101; B65H 31/34 20130101;
B65H 31/3081 20130101; B65H 31/3018 20130101; B65H 2404/1114
20130101; B65H 2405/50 20130101; B65H 2301/44331 20130101; B65H
29/34 20130101; B65H 2301/44331 20130101; B65H 2301/4213
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/207 |
International
Class: |
B65H 31/34 20060101
B65H031/34; B65H 31/00 20060101 B65H031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 4, 2013 |
JP |
2013-078176 |
Claims
1. A paper post-processing apparatus, comprising: a buffer section
configured to hold a standby paper fed from an image forming
apparatus; a processing tray section arranged below the buffer
section and configured to include a processing tray to which a
paper is fed from the buffer section, and be capable of conveying
the paper fed from the buffer section and loaded on the processing
tray towards a paper discharge direction; a post-processing section
configured to carry out a post-processing on the paper loaded on
the processing tray; a paper discharge tray section configured to
include a paper discharge tray to which a paper bundle loaded on
the processing tray and subjected to the post-processing is
discharged; a first chuck section configured to hold the rear end
of the paper standing by in the buffer section; a second chuck
section configured to hold the rear end of the paper loaded on the
processing tray; and a third chuck section configured to hold the
rear end of the paper loaded on the paper discharge tray; wherein a
next paper is fed onto the paper held by the first chuck section in
the buffer section, a paper is fed onto the paper held by the
second chuck section from the buffer section in the processing tray
section, and a paper is discharged onto the paper on the paper
discharge tray held by the third chuck section from the processing
tray section in the paper discharge tray section.
2. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the buffer section feeds a plurality of papers loaded on
the standby tray to the processing tray by letting the papers
fall.
3. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the buffer section feeds a next paper, in a state of
contacting the front end of the paper held by the first chuck
section with the paper on the processing tray, onto the paper held
by the first chuck section.
4. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the second chuck section has a structure in which the paper
is pressed from above.
5. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the third chuck section has a paper abutting section which
abuts the surface of the rear end of the paper loaded on the paper
discharge tray so as to hold the paper through an upward movement
of a paper discharge tray which is capable of moving in the
vertical direction.
6. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the second chuck section has a structure in which the paper
is pressed from above.
7. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the second chuck section has a structure in which the paper
is pressed from above.
8. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the third chuck section has a paper abutting section which
abuts the surface of the rear end of the paper loaded on the paper
discharge tray so as to hold the paper through an upward movement
of a paper discharge tray which is capable of moving in the
vertical direction.
9. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the third chuck section has a paper abutting section which
abuts the surface of the rear end of the paper loaded on the paper
discharge tray so as to hold the paper through an upward movement
of a paper discharge tray which is capable of moving in the
vertical direction.
10. The paper post-processing apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the third chuck section has a paper abutting section which
abuts the surface of the rear end of the paper loaded on the paper
discharge tray so as to hold the paper through an upward movement
of a paper discharge tray which is capable of moving in the
vertical direction.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-078176, filed
Apr. 4, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments described herein relate to a technology in which
a post-processing of a paper discharged from an image forming
apparatus such as a copier, a printer and a compound machine is
carried out.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A paper post-processing apparatus arranged at the paper
discharge side of an image forming apparatus comprises an
intermediate tray (buffering mechanism) configured to temporarily
load a plurality of papers discharged from the image forming
apparatus, a processing tray configured below the intermediate tray
to load a plurality of papers falling from the intermediate tray,
and a paper discharge tray configured to load the papers discharged
from the processing tray.
[0004] The intermediate tray includes a pair of intermediate tray
members which move along a horizontal direction orthogonal to a
conveyance direction (longitudinal direction), and the plurality of
papers temporarily loaded on the intermediate tray fall to the
processing tray if the intermediate tray members move in a
direction away from each other. At this time, the rear end part in
the longitudinal direction of the paper is hit onto the processing
tray through the rotation of a falling auxiliary member for
carrying the rear end part in the longitudinal direction of the
paper. Further, the rear end part in the longitudinal direction of
the loaded paper is held by a rear end holding section, thereby
preventing that the loaded paper is pushed forward due to the
friction contact with the front end in the longitudinal direction
of the next fed paper, that is, the front end in the conveyance
direction when a plurality of papers is loaded on the intermediate
tray in sequence.
[0005] It is preferred that the paper post-processing apparatus
discharges papers at a processing speed the same as that (the
number of printings per unit time) of the image forming apparatus.
Thus, as the processing speed of the image forming apparatus is
increased, it is necessary to increase the processing speed of the
paper post-processing apparatus, meanwhile, it is also necessary to
align the end parts of the discharged paper.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a paper
post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment;
[0007] FIG. 2 is an oblique view illustrating a buffer section
shown in FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 is an oblique view illustrating a processing tray
shown in FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first chuck
section shown in FIG. 1; and
[0010] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a paddle part
shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] In accordance with one embodiment, a paper post-processing
apparatus comprises a buffer section configured to hold a standby
paper fed from an image forming apparatus; a processing tray
section arranged below the buffer section configured to include a
processing tray to which a paper is fed from the buffer section,
and be capable of conveying the paper fed from the buffer section
and loaded on the processing tray towards a paper discharge
direction; a post-processing section configured to carry out a
post-processing on the paper loaded on the processing tray; a paper
discharge tray section configured to include a paper discharge tray
to which a paper bundle loaded on the processing tray and subjected
to the post-processing is discharged; a first chuck section
configured to hold the rear end of the paper standing by in the
buffer section; a second chuck section configured to hold the rear
end of the paper loaded on the processing tray; and a third chuck
section configured to hold the rear end of the paper loaded on the
paper discharge tray.
[0012] Then, the buffer section feeds a next paper onto the paper
held by the first chuck section, the processing tray section feeds
a paper from the buffer section onto the paper held by the second
chuck section, and the paper discharge tray section discharges a
paper from the processing tray section onto the paper on the paper
discharge tray held by the third chuck section.
[0013] The paper post-processing apparatus according to the
embodiment is described below with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the paper
post-processing apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an
oblique view illustrating the paper buffer section shown in FIG. 1,
and FIG. 3 is an oblique view illustrating the processing tray
shown in FIG. 1.
[0015] A paper post-processing apparatus 1 described herein
comprises a paper buffer section 3, a processing tray section 5, a
stapler section 7 serving as a post-processing section which
carries out a post-processing and a paper discharge tray section 9,
and is arranged next to a paper discharge side of an image forming
apparatus. A processing tray 51 of the processing tray section 5 is
arranged below the paper buffer section 3, and the paper discharge
tray section 9 and the stapler section 7 are respectively arranged
at the front and rear sides of the processing tray 51 in a paper
conveyance direction. In addition, the post-processing refers to,
for example, a sorting processing, drilling processing, folding
processing, saddle stitching processing and the like carried out on
a printed paper.
[0016] A paper P discharged from an image forming apparatus (not
shown) is continuously conveyed by a paper feed roller 11 to the
paper buffer section 3. As to the paper P fed by the paper feed
roller 11, the front end in the conveyance direction is referred to
as the front end of the paper, and the rear end in the conveyance
direction is referred to as the rear end of the paper. Further, the
direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is referred to as
a width direction and the conveyance direction is referred to as a
longitudinal direction.
[0017] The buffer section 3 holds one or a plurality of papers P on
a pair of standby trays 31 which are arranged opposite to each
other in the width direction, and contacts the rear ends of the
papers P with a paddle 32 to align the rear ends in the
longitudinal direction. The standby tray pairs 31 incline the front
end of the paper upwards and contact the rear end of the paper P
discharged to the standby tray 31 by the paper feed roller 11 with
the paddle 32. When a second paper P is conveyed to the buffer
section 3, the rear end part of the first paper P loaded on the
standby tray 31 is held by the first chuck section 33. Further, the
standby tray pairs 31 carry two ends in the width direction of the
paper P, and if the standby tray pairs 31 move in the width
direction and the distance therebetween is elongated, the paper P
carried falls onto the processing tray 51 below the standby tray
pairs 31.
[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 (a) and FIG. 4 (b), the first
chuck section 33 is arranged between a pair of paddles 32 which are
arranged opposite to each other in the width direction. In the
first chuck section 33, a base portion 33a is mounted, in a
rotatable manner, on a support shaft 34 which extends in the width
direction, and a plate-shaped chuck plate 33b extends from the base
portion 33a towards outside. The first chuck section is driven by a
first chuck driving section 35 to reciprocatingly rotate around the
support shaft 34 within a given angle range. The first chuck
driving section 35 reciprocatingly rotates the base portion 33a
with an electromagnetic solenoid 35a serving as a driving source
via a link part 35b, so as to rotationally move the chuck plate 33b
between a position (holding position) for holding the paper P as
shown in FIG. 4 (b) and a position (release position) away from the
holding position for releasing the paper P as shown in FIG. 4
(a).
[0019] In the paddle 32, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), a plate-shaped
first paddle part 32b serving as a pedestal part for carrying the
rear end part of the paper P, a plate-shaped second paddle part 32c
made of rubber member, a plate-shaped third paddle part 32d made of
rubber member and a plate-shaped fourth paddle part 32e made of
Mylar member are arranged around the base portion 32a at a given
interval in a circumferential direction, and seen from the rotation
direction, the second paddle part 32c is behind the first paddle
part 32b, the third paddle part 32d is behind the second paddle
part 32c and the fourth paddle part 32e is behind the third paddle
part 32d. A base portion 32a is, for example, arranged on the
support shaft 34 in a rotatable manner, and is intermittently
driven by a paddle driving section (not shown).
[0020] In the present embodiment, a position where the first paddle
part 32b waits to carry the rear end part of the paper P is
referred to as a standby position. When a given number of papers P
are conveyed to the paper buffer section 3, the standby tray pairs
31 move to enlarge the distance therebetween and the papers P fall;
meanwhile, the paddle driving section rotates the paddle part 32
from the standby position in a direction for one round, and stops
the first paddle part 32b again at the standby position.
[0021] In a standby state where the paper P is held on the standby
tray 31, the paddle 32 stands by in such a manner that the first
paddle part 32b is at an inclined position substantially parallel
to the standby tray 31. When the rear end part of the first paper P
is aligned and carried by the first paddle part 32b, the first
chuck section 33 rotates the chuck plate 33b from the release
position to the holding position. The holding position of the chuck
plate 33b described herein refers to such a position where the
paper P carried on the first paddle part 32b in the standby state
is properly clamped between the chuck plate 33b and the first
paddle part pairs 32b. In this way, by holding the rear end of the
first paper P, it can be prevented that the first paper P is pushed
forward due to the friction contact with the front end of the
second paper P when the second paper P is discharged by the paper
feed roller 11.
[0022] The first paddle part 32b is formed by hard resin such as
polyoxymethylene (POM) resin and the like. When the rotation of the
paddle part 32 is started, the rear end part of the paper P is no
longer carried by the first paddle part 32b, and therefore falls
and floats in the air, and then the rear end part of the paper P is
hit downwards by the rotating second paddle part 32c, and then the
paper P is loaded on the processing tray 51. The length of the
second paddle part 32c is set to a specific value such that it is
long enough to hit the paper P down to the processing tray 51.
[0023] Then, the rotating third paddle part 32d contacts with the
paper P loaded on the processing tray 51 and slides so as to
contact the rear end of the paper P with the stopper section 52
arranged at the rear side through friction force to align the rear
ends of the papers. Therefore, the third paddle part 32d is formed
longer than the second paddle part 32c. Then the paddle part 32
continues to rotate and stops in such a state where the first
paddle part 32b reaches the standby position. In this state, the
fourth paddle part 32e is brought into press contact with the
upmost paper P of the papers P loaded on the processing tray 51,
which prevents the paper P on the processing tray 51 from being
pushed forwards by accident, and thereby preventing a poor
alignment of papers.
[0024] The fourth paddle part 32e made of a Mylar sheet is weak in
elastic force, and for the papers P loaded on the processing tray
51, the fourth paddle part 32e almost has no forward paper
conveyance force against the fed paper P when the paper P falls
from the paper buffer section 3, therefore, the papers P on the
processing tray 51 won't be moved due to the falling paper P and a
good alignment is maintained.
[0025] However, if a strong forward paper conveyance force is
generated against the paper P fed from the paper buffer section 3,
there is a risk that the papers P on the processing tray 51 cannot
be held at the aligning position through the holding force of the
fourth paddle part 32e.
[0026] Thus, in the present embodiment, the papers P loaded on the
processing tray 51 are forcibly held at the aligning position by a
second chuck section 60.
[0027] The processing tray 51 holds the loaded papers P in an
aligned manner during a period when, for example, the papers P are
subjected to a stapling processing by the stapler section serving
as a processing mechanism for carrying out a post-processing. As
shown in FIG. 3, the papers loaded on the processing tray 51 are
aligned in a horizontal direction by a pair of horizontal alignment
plates 55, 55 which are arranged opposite to each other and are
capable of moving in a direction indicated by an arrow V according
to the width of the paper P.
[0028] The second chuck section 60 is arranged below the paddle
part 32 so as to avoid the interference with the stapler section 7.
The second chuck section 60 includes a second chuck main body
section 63 formed by, for example, mounting a pressing plate 62 at
the front end of an arm part 61, and a second chuck driving section
(not shown) for driving the arm part 61. In the second chuck main
body section 63, the pressing plate 62 is set to be capable of
reciprocatingly moving between a pressing position where the
pressing plate 62 is brought into press contact with the surface of
the upmost paper P loaded on the processing tray 51 and a
retracting position retracting upwards from the pressing
position.
[0029] The second chuck section 60 holds and presses the papers on
the processing tray 51 when the paper P is fed from the buffer
section 3 to the processing tray 51, and retracts the pressing
plate 62 to the retracting position during a period from the moment
the rotation of the paddle part 32 is started to the moment the
first paddle part 32b is stopped at the standby position again, and
moves the pressing plate 62 to the pressing position when the first
paddle part 32b is stopped at the standby position.
[0030] The second chuck section 60 mounts the arm part 61 on a link
mechanism (not shown) or a cam mechanism (not shown) which is
reciprocatingly driven by a driving source such as an
electromagnetic solenoid and the like, and moves the pressing plate
62 upwards or downwards between the retracting position and the
pressing position.
[0031] Though the number of papers loaded on the processing tray 51
is increased and the height of the loaded papers becomes high, if
the pressing plate 62 presses the papers, then the chuck section 60
stops the downward movement of the pressing plate 62 and can hold
the paper at a certain pressing force. For example, the pressing
plate 62 is energized by a spring member (not shown) against the
arm part 61, and moves against the spring force of the spring
member through the contact with the paper. Then if the movement of
the pressing plate 62 is detected, the driving source of the second
chuck section 60 is stopped. The outer periphery of the pressing
plate 62 is formed in an arc shape so as to avoid the interference
with the rear end of the paper P hit down by the second paddle part
32c.
[0032] On the other hand, when the paper buffer section 3 holds,
for example, two papers P on the standby tray pairs 31, the two
papers P are fed at a time. However, as the processing speed of the
image forming apparatus is increased, it is preferred to increase
the processing speed of the post-processing apparatus 1 such that
the post-processing apparatus 1 carries out a paper post-processing
at a speed the same as that of the image forming apparatus. In this
case, instead of waiting until, for example, two papers P are held
on the standby tray 31 of the paper buffer section 3 and then
moving the standby tray pairs 31 to let the two papers P fall
simultaneously, the first paper P is made to stand by on the
standby tray 31, and then the paper P falls by moving the standby
tray pairs 31 in a state where the rear end part thereof is held by
the first chuck section 33 before the second paper P is discharged
by the paper feed roller 11. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 (b),
the front end of the first paper P contacts with the paper P on the
processing tray 51.
[0033] Then, the second paper P is directly discharged on the first
paper P from the paper feed roller 11, and then the paddle part 32
is rotated. In this case, the time taken until the two papers P
falls and are loaded on the processing tray 51 is shortened,
thereby increasing the processing speed of the post-processing
apparatus 1. At this time, as the paper P or the paper bundle on
the processing tray 51 is held by the second chuck section 60, the
paper P on the processing tray 51 won't move towards the front end
side of the paper even if the friction force generated due to the
conveyance force in the paper conveyance direction of the paper P
fed from the paper buffer section 3 acts upon the paper P on the
processing tray 51, thereby maintaining as good alignment of the
papers.
[0034] In this case, as the standby tray 31 functions so as to hold
the rear end part of the first paper P in the first chuck section
33, the standby tray pairs 31 are not needed as long as the first
paper P discharged from the paper feed roller 11 can be guided to
the first paddle part 32b of the paddle 32 and the rear end part of
the paper P can be held by the first chuck section 33.
[0035] The rear ends of the paper P loaded on the processing tray
abut the stopper section 52 and are aligned in the longitudinal
direction, and if a certain number of papers P are loaded on the
processing tray 51, the stapler section 7 moves along the width
direction and carries out the stapling processing at a given
position. When the stapling processing is ended, the stopper
section 52 moves forward to move the paper bundle onto the
processing tray 51.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, a conveyance belt 53 for conveying the
paper to the paper discharge tray section 9 is arranged at the
center part in the width direction of the processing tray 51. A
paper feed claw 54 is arranged in the conveyance belt 53 to hook
and convey the paper bundle on the processing tray 51 to the paper
discharge tray section 9. Similarly, the loaded paper needs no
stapling processing is also conveyed to the paper discharge tray
section 9 by the paper feed claw 54.
[0037] In the paper discharge tray section 9, a plurality of paper
discharge trays 91 is obliquely arranged on the tray support
section 92 in such a manner that each paper discharge tray 91 can
be moved upwards or downwards against the tray support section 92
by a paper discharge tray driving section (not shown). A paper
discharge roller 93 is arranged at the conveyance end of the
processing tray 51 to discharge the paper P conveyed from the
processing tray 51 to the selected paper discharge tray 91.
[0038] A small gap is formed between the rear end of the paper
discharge tray 91 and a paper abutting aligning plate 94 which is
arranged on the tray support section 92 and is capable of sliding
upwards or downwards, and the rear ends of the papers or the paper
bundles loaded on the paper discharge tray 91 contact with the
paper abutting aligning plate 94 and are aligned in the
longitudinal direction.
[0039] As the paper discharge tray 91 is obliquely arranged in such
a manner that the front end thereof is inclined upwards, the
discharged paper P or the paper bundle slides down along the
inclined surface, and the rear end thereof contacts with the paper
abutting aligning plate 94 arranged on the tray support section 92
at a position more rear than the inclined down end of the paper
discharge tray 91, thereby carrying out an aligning processing in
the longitudinal direction.
[0040] In a case of continuously discharging the paper P or the
paper bundle to the paper discharge tray 91, the paper P or the
paper bundle moved by the paper discharge roller 93 along the paper
discharge direction contacts with the surface of the paper P or the
paper bundle which is already discharged and loaded on the paper
discharge tray 91, the paper or the paper bundle on the paper
discharge tray 91 is pushed forward and the alignment in the
longitudinal direction is disorganized. Particularly, as the paper
bundle is heavier than a case of discharging two or three papers at
a time, the paper on the paper discharge tray 91 will be pushed
forward more easily in a case of discharging a paper bundle.
[0041] In the present embodiment, the paper P loaded on the paper
discharge tray 91 is held by the third chuck section 70, thereby
preventing the paper P or the paper bundle loaded on the paper
discharge tray 91 from being pushed forward by the conveyance force
of the discharged paper.
[0042] In addition, the first chuck section 33, the second chuck
section 60 and the third chuck section 70 are arranged more rear
than the minimum paper size length L in the paper conveyance
direction.
[0043] The third chuck section 70 has a paper abutting section 71
arranged below the paper discharge position in an up-and-down
direction based on the paper discharge roller 93. The paper
abutting section 71 protrudes more forward than the paper abutting
aligning plate 94.
[0044] The paper abutting section 71 is formed in such a manner
that a paper abutting surface 73 thereof which is parallel to the
paper discharge tray 91 faces to the paper discharge tray 91.
Further, the paper abutting aligning plate 94 is arranged in a
specific range so that the paper abutting aligning plate 94 can
contact with the rear end of the paper or paper bundle loaded
between the paper abutting surface 73 of the paper abutting section
71 and the paper discharge tray 91, for example, the paper abutting
aligning plate 94 can be used as a gate for closing a paper
discharge port 95 through which the paper is discharged by the
paper discharge roller 93 positioned above the paper abutting
section 71. In the present embodiment, the paper abutting aligning
plate 94 moves downwards to open the paper discharge port 95 when
the paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 95, and moves
upwards to close the paper discharge port 95 when the paper
discharge operation is ended. A cutout part (not shown) is formed
on the paper abutting aligning plate 94 at the part corresponding
to the paper abutting section 71, so as not to interfere with the
paper abutting section 71 when the paper abutting aligning plate 94
moves upwards.
[0045] In a state of loading the papers P, the paper discharge tray
91 moves upwards until the surface of the loaded paper P contacts
with the paper abutting surface 73 of the paper abutting section
71, so as to hold the paper P in a manner of clamping the paper P
between the paper discharge tray 91 and the paper abutting surface
73. When a paper P or a paper bundle is discharged from the paper
discharge roller 93, the paper discharge tray 91 moves downwards to
form a gap between the paper discharge tray 91 and the paper
abutting surface 73 so that the discharged paper or the paper
bundle can enter the gap, and then moves upwards to hold the loaded
paper.
[0046] In the present embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 72
of the paper abutting section 71 is formed as an inclined surface,
therefore, the falling paper or paper bundle discharged from the
paper discharge roller 93 can be loaded on the paper discharge tray
91 smoothly without any interference even if the rear end thereof
contacts with the paper abutting section 71.
[0047] In addition, the component constituting the paper abutting
surface 73 may be energized by a spring member against the paper
abutting section 71, and a spring force of the spring member is
applied to the paper thereby holding the paper. In this case, the
upward movement of the paper discharge tray 91 can be stopped
through detection on the movement of the component constituting the
paper abutting surface.
[0048] In this way, the paper post-processing apparatus 1 described
herein holds the paper P standing by on the buffer section 3 by the
first chuck section 33, which prevents the paper P loaded on the
buffer section 3 from being pushed forward by a next fed paper,
thereby feeding the paper to the processing tray 51 of the
processing tray section 5 in a good alignment in the longitudinal
direction. At this time, as the rear ends of the papers or the
paper bundles loaded on the processing tray 51 are maintained in a
good alignment and held by the second chuck section 60, the paper
or the paper bundle loaded on the processing tray 51 can be
prevented from being pushed forward due to the contact with the
paper fed from the buffer section 3.
[0049] Further, when the paper or the paper bundle loaded on the
processing tray 51 is discharged to the paper discharge tray
section 9, the paper or the paper bundle loaded on the paper
discharge tray 91, which is held by the third chuck section 70, is
therefore prevented from being pushed forward due to the contact
with the paper or paper bundle discharged and conveyed by the paper
discharge roller 93.
[0050] Thus, the paper or the paper bundle discharged and loaded on
the paper discharge tray 91 is maintained in a good alignment in
the longitudinal direction at the buffer section 3, the processing
tray section 5 and the paper discharge tray section 9,
respectively, therefore the paper finally discharged to the paper
discharge tray 91 is loaded and maintained in a good alignment in
the longitudinal direction and horizontal direction. In addition,
the paper post-processing apparatus according to the present
embodiment is described as an apparatus independent from the image
forming apparatus; however, the present invention is not limited to
this, the paper post-processing apparatus may also be integrated
with the image forming apparatus.
[0051] While certain embodiments have been described, these
embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not
intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel
embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other
forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in
the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without
departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims
and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or
modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the
invention.
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