Electric stapler, post-processing device, and image forming system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11745382-B2
Application number	US-202117242794-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2021
Priority date	Apr 30, 2020
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

An electric stapler includes a clamp part, a penetration part, a clinch part, and a motor, the penetration part, and the clinch part. The electric stapler performs binding processing accompanying rotation of the motor by sequentially performing a clamping process, a penetrating process, and a clinching process. The electric stapler includes a first position detection unit that detects that a rotational position of the motor passes a first position, a braking unit that applies braking to the motor after it is detected that the motor passes the first position, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between a position at which the motor is stopped by the braking unit and a predetermined stop target position of the motor; and a motor control unit that moves a rotational position of the motor to the stop target position by rotating the motor forward or in reverse by the calculated difference.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electric stapler including a clamp part that clamps a paper bundle, a penetration part that causes a staple to penetrate the paper bundle, a clinch part that bends the staple penetrating the paper bundle to bind the paper bundle, a motor that drives the clamp part, the penetration part, and the clinch part, and a driven gear that transmits rotation of the motor to the clamp part, the penetration part, and the clinch part, and performing binding processing via the driven gear accompanying rotation of the motor by sequentially performing a clamping process of clamping the paper bundle with the clamp part, a penetrating process of causing the staple to penetrate the paper bundle with the penetration part, and a clinching process of bending the staple penetrating the paper bundle with the clinch part, the electric stapler comprising:
a home position sensor configured to detect a rotational position of the driven gear; and
a controller configured to set a stop target range to a predetermined range in a circumferential direction of the driven gear and set a stop target position of the driven gear at a central position between a start-point position and an end-point position of the stop target range in a rotation direction of the driven gear, and comprising:
a braking unit configured to perform braking control of applying braking to the motor after it is detected that the driven gear passes the start-point position by the home position sensor;
a difference calculation unit configured to calculate a difference between a position at which the motor is stopped by the braking unit and the stop target position; and
a motor control unit configured to move a rotational position of the driven gear to the stop target position by rotating the driven gear in reverse by the calculated difference when a stop position of the driven gear is located downstream of the stop target position in the rotation direction, move a rotational position of the driven gear to the stop target position by rotating the driven gear forward by the calculated difference when the stop position of the driven gear is located upstream of the stop target position in the rotation direction, and control the motor such that a rotational speed of the motor at which the rotational position of the driven gear is moved to the stop target position is lower than a rotational speed at which the clamping process, the penetrating process, and the clinching process are performed.

2. The electric stapler according to claim 1 ,
wherein the braking unit is configured to apply braking to stop the motor after causing the motor to decelerate and to rotate forward at a predetermined low speed over a predetermined time after it is detected that the driven gear passes the start-point position by the home position sensor.

3. The electric stapler according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a rotation amount detection sensor configured to detect a rotation amount of the motor from a start of deceleration of the motor to a stop of the motor,
wherein the first start-point position is located upstream of the stop target position in a rotation direction of the motor and is set at a position separated from the stop target position by a first distance, and
wherein the difference calculation unit is configured to calculate a difference between the rotation amount of the motor detected by the rotation amount detection sensor and the first distance.

4. The electric stapler according to claim 1 ,
wherein the braking unit is configured to apply braking to stop the motor after causing the motor to decelerate and to rotate forward at a predetermined low speed for a predetermined distance after it is detected that the driven gear passes the start-point position by the home position sensor.

5. The electric stapler according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a rotation amount detection sensor configured to detect a rotation amount of the motor from a start of the braking to a stop of the motor,
wherein the start-point position is located upstream of the stop target position in a rotation direction of the motor and is set at a position separated from the stop target position by a first distance, and
wherein the difference calculation unit is configured to calculate a difference between the rotation amount of the motor detected by the rotation amount detection sensor and the first distance.

6. The electric stapler according to claim 5 ,
wherein when the rotation amount of the motor is larger than the first distance, the motor control unit is configured to cause the motor to rotate in reverse by the calculated difference.

7. The electric stapler according to claim 5 ,
wherein when the rotation amount of the motor is smaller than the first distance, the motor control unit is configured to cause the motor to rotate forward by the calculated difference.

8. The electric stapler according to claim 1 ,
wherein the motor control unit is configured to rotate the motor through a clamping process range, then through a penetrating process range and then through a clinching process range, and the start-point position is within a range after the clinching process range.

9. A post-processing device comprising:
the electric stapler according to claim 1 .

10. An image forming system, comprising:
a post-processing device that includes the electric stapler according to claim 1 ; and
an image forming device.

Assignees

• Max Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takahashi Toshiyuki
• Chigira Yoshio

Classifications

• B27F7/36 Primary

  operated by electric power · CPC title

• B27F7/19

  with provision for bending the ends of the staples on to the work · CPC title

• B25C5/15 Primary

  operated by electric power · CPC title