Abstract:
A paper folding apparatus includes: a pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner; a carrying roller configured to carry paper in such a manner that the paper passes near a nip part of the pair of folding rollers; a unit configured to form, near the nip part, deflection of the paper carried by the carrying roller toward the nip part; a pushing member which is configured to push the paper, which is carried by the carrying roller, toward the nip part of the folding rollers, the pushing member being provided in a manner movable from a position retracted from a carrying path of the paper toward the nip part; a drive unit configured to generate driving force to move the pushing member; and an elastic member configured to transmit the driving force from the drive unit to the pushing member.

Description:
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-020887 filed on Feb. 6, 2014 including description, claims, drawings, and abstract are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a paper folding apparatus to fold paper at a predetermined position and an image forming apparatus including such a paper folding apparatus. Specifically, when paper is folded by forming deflection of paper between a pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner, pushing the deflection part of the paper toward a nip part of the folding rollers by a pushing member driven by a drive unit, and guiding the deflection part of the paper to the nip part of the folding rollers driven in a rotational manner, even in a case where various kinds of paper having different kinds of basis weight or the like is used, it is made possible to fold the various kinds of paper at a predetermined position adequately with a simple configuration. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     In the related art, paper is folded at a predetermined position by a paper folding apparatus. For example, when a booklet or the like is formed, after an image is formed on large paper by an image forming apparatus such as a copier, the large paper is folded at a predetermined position by a paper folding apparatus. 
     Here, in such a paper folding apparatus, generally, a leading end of paper is carried through a gap between a pair of folding rollers. Then, the leading end of the paper is abutted on a stopper or the like and stopped at a predetermined position. Deflection is formed at a part of the paper between the pair of folding rollers and the deflection part of the paper is guided to a nip part of the pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner, whereby the paper is folded. 
     However, a shape of the deflection formed at the part of the paper between the pair of folding rollers is not fixed. For example, the shape of the deflection varies depending on a kind or basis weight of the paper or an environmental condition. In this state, when the deflection part of the paper is guided to the nip part of the pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner and the paper is folded, a fold position of the paper is not fixed. Specifically, there has been a problem that a fold position of thick paper having high basis weight and high stiffness and that of thin paper having low basis weight and low stiffness are different from each other. 
     Then, in the related art, as described in JP 2002-284443 A, the following has been proposed. That is, in a state in which a leading end of paper is abutted on a stopper or the like and is stopped at a predetermined position, deflection part of the paper is formed between a pair of folding rollers and the deflection part of the paper is guided to a nip part of the pair of folding rollers, which is driven in a rotational manner, by a bend part of a fold position regulation member. 
     However, in what described in JP 2002-284443 A, a relationship between a speed to form deflection of paper at a part between a pair of folding rollers and a speed to push out the deflection part of the paper toward a gap between the folding rollers by a bend part of a fold position regulation member is not considered at all. 
     Thus, when the speed to push out the deflection part of the paper toward the gap between the folding rollers by the bend part of the fold position regulation member becomes higher than the speed to form the deflection of the paper, there has been the following problem. That is, the paper is pushed by the bend part of the fold position regulation member and a position of a leading end of the paper abutted on a stopper or the like is shifted, and thus, a position of the paper guided to a nip part of the pair of folding rollers is shifted and it becomes not possible to fold the paper at an adequate position in the nip part of the folding rollers. 
     On the other hand, when the speed to form the deflection of the paper becomes higher than the speed to push out the deflection part of the paper toward the gap between the folding rollers by the bend part of the fold position regulation member, there has been the following problem. That is, before the deflection part of the paper is pushed out toward the gap between the folding rollers by the bend part of the fold position regulation member, the deflection part of the paper is guided to the nip part of the folding rollers and a position of the paper guided to the nip part of the pair of folding rollers is not fixed, and thus, it becomes not possible to fold the paper at an adequate position in the nip part of the folding rollers. 
     Also, in JP 2-110078 A, the following has been proposed. That is, paper carried along a carrying track through a gap between a pair of folding rollers is detected by a sensor. The result is output to a simultaneous circuit storing a folding form or the like and a redirecting mechanism is moved toward the gap between the folding rollers by controlling of rotation of a cam or the like based on the result. The paper carried along the carrying track by the redirecting mechanism is guided to the gap between the folding rollers and the paper is folded in a nip part of the folding rollers. 
     However, it is very difficult to perform control, by the simultaneous circuit storing a folding form or the like as described above, to move the redirecting mechanism toward the gap between the folding rollers by controlling rotation of the cam or the like and to guide the paper, which is carried along the carrying track, to an adequate fold position toward the gap between the folding rollers. Thus, a configuration to perform the control becomes complicated, and thus, there has been a problem that a cost is increased and an apparatus becomes large, for example. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is to solve the foregoing problems in a paper folding apparatus to fold paper at a predetermined position. 
     Then, an object of the present invention is to provide a paper folding apparatus to fold paper by forming deflection of the paper between a pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner, pushing the deflection part of the paper toward a nip part of the folding rollers by a pushing member driven by a drive unit, and guiding the deflection part of the paper to the nip part of the folding rollers driven in a rotational manner, even when various kinds of paper having different kinds of basis weight or the like is used, so as to fold the various kinds of paper adequately at a predetermined position and to reduce variation in a fold position with a simple configuration. 
     To achieve the abovementioned object, according to an aspect, a paper folding apparatus reflecting one aspect of the present invention comprises: a pair of folding rollers driven in a rotational manner; a carrying roller configured to carry paper in such a manner that the paper passes near a nip part of the pair of folding rollers; a unit configured to form, near the nip part, deflection of the paper carried by the carrying roller toward the nip part; a pushing member which is configured to push the paper, which is carried by the carrying roller, toward the nip part of the folding rollers, the pushing member being provided in a manner movable from a position retracted from a carrying path of the paper toward the nip part; a drive unit configured to generate driving force to move the pushing member; and an elastic member configured to transmit the driving force from the drive unit to the pushing member. 
     In such a manner, when a pushing member retracted from a carrying path of paper is moved toward a nip part of folding rollers by the drive unit via an elastic member and deflection part of the paper is pushed toward the nip part of the folding rollers by the pushing member due to elastic force of the elastic member deformed by the drive unit, even in a case where a speed to form the deflection of the paper and a speed to push out the deflection part of the paper toward a gap between the folding rollers by the pushing member are not made identical to each other securely, impact force of the pushing member abutted on the paper is reduced due to the elastic force of the elastic member. Also, a fixed position of the deflection part of the paper is pushed adequately by the pushing member. Thus, even when various kinds of paper having different formation conditions of the deflection is used, it becomes possible to push the deflection part of these kinds of paper adequately toward the nip part of the folding rollers. 
     Here, as the pushing member, a pushing member rotatable with a fulcrum point as a center is preferably used. In this case, the pushing member retracted from a carrying path of the paper is rotated with the fulcrum point as the center and is moved toward the nip part of the folding rollers. 
     Also, in a case where a pushing member rotatable in such a manner with a fulcrum point as a center is used, a torsion coil spring is preferably used as the elastic member, rotation caused by the drive unit is preferably transmitted, vi a the torsion coil spring, to the pushing member which rotates with the fulcrum point as the center, and a deflection part of the paper is preferably pushed toward the nip part of the folding rollers by the pushing member due to torsion force of the torsion coil spring twisted by the rotation caused by the drive unit. 
     Also, in a paper folding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a case of forming deflection at a part of paper placed between a pair of folding rollers, an upstream-side carrying unit and a downstream-side carrying unit are respectively preferably provided on an upstream side in a carrying direction of the paper and a downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper relative to the pair of folding rollers. Deflection is preferably formed at a part of the paper placed between the pair of folding rollers by driving the upstream-side carrying unit in the carrying direction of the paper and driving the downstream-side carrying unit in a direction opposite to the carrying direction of the paper in a state in which the paper is carried to a predetermined position by driving the upstream-side carrying unit and the downstream-side carrying unit in the carrying direction of the paper. 
     Also, as the pushing member, a pushing member including a surface which faces at least one of the folding rollers and which is formed as a curved surface corresponding to an outer peripheral surface of the folding roller is preferably used. In such a manner, when the surface facing the folding rollers is formed as the curved surface corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the folding roller, deflection part of paper is guided to the gap between the folding rollers along the curved surface of the pushing member. Also, when a surface of the pushing member which surface faces the folding roller placed on the upstream side in the carrying direction of paper is formed as a curved surface corresponding to an outer peripheral surface of the folding roller, in a case where the paper is not to be folded between the pair of folding rollers, it is also possible to guide the paper to the gap between the folding rollers along the curved surface of the pushing member. 
     Also, in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a paper folding apparatus such as what has been described above is preferably included and paper on which an image is formed is folded at a predetermined position by the paper folding apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic description view illustrating an example of mounting a paper post-processing apparatus, which includes a paper folding apparatus, to an image forming apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D  are views illustrating a process to told paper by using the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment,  FIG. 3A  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which a pushing member is retracted on an upper side of a carrying path of paper and the paper is carried to a downstream-side guiding member,  FIG. 3B  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which adequate deflection is formed on the paper between a pair of folding rollers after the paper is fed to a predetermined position,  FIG. 3C  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which the retracted pushing member is rotated downward and the deflection part of the paper is pushed toward a gap between the pair of folding rollers by a leading end part of the pushing member, and  FIG. 3D  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which the deflection part of the paper is folded in a nip of the pair of folding rollers while downward rotation of the pushing member is stopped; 
         FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  are views illustrating a configuration to rotate the pushing member by a drive unit via an elastic member in the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment,  FIG. 3A  being a schematic perspective view and  FIG. 3B  being a partial perspective view; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic side view illustrating a state in which a deflection part formed on thin paper is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers by the pushing member in the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic side view illustrating a state in which a deflection part formed on thick paper is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers by the pushing member in the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are views illustrating a modification of a configuration to rotate a pushing member by a drive unit via an elastic member in the paper folding apparatus according to the embodiment,  FIG. 7A  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which the pushing member is retracted on an upper side of a carrying path of paper and the paper is carried to a downstream-side guiding member and  FIG. 7B  being a schematic side view illustrating a state in which the retracted pushing member is rotated downward and a deflection part of the paper is pushed toward a gap between a pair of folding rollers by a leading end part of the pushing member. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, a paper folding apparatus and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. Note that the paper folding apparatus and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention are not limited to what is described in the following embodiment and can be modified arbitrarily within the spirit and the scope thereof. 
     In the present embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a paper post-processing apparatus  3  is connected to an image forming apparatus  1  such as a copier via a horizontal carrying unit  2 . Although not illustrated, paper on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus  1  is fed to the paper post-processing apparatus  3  via the horizontal carrying unit  2 . The paper transmitted to the paper post-processing apparatus  3  in such a manner is folded at a predetermined position by a paper folding apparatus  10  which is provided inside the paper post-processing apparatus  3  and which will be described later. 
     Here, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in the paper folding apparatus  10 , an upstream-side carrying unit including a pair of upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  is provided on an upstream side in a carrying direction of paper S. Also, upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  which face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween in an up-down direction are provided at a position on a downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S compared to the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b . The upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  are rotated in the carrying direction of the paper S and the paper is guided to the gap between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b.    
     Also, at a position on a downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S compared to the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b , a pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  are provided on a lower side of a carrying path of the paper S. A pushing member  14  which is rotated by a drive unit  20  with a fulcrum point  14   a  as a center is rotated downward with the fulcrum point  14   a  as the center from a retracted state on an upper side of the carrying path of the paper S and is moved to a predetermined position near the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  on the lower side of the carrying path of the paper S. Here, in the pushing member  14 , an acute-angled leading end part away from the fulcrum point  14   a  is formed. Also, when the pushing member  14  is rotated downward and moved to a predetermined position near the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b , a surface facing the folding roller  13   a  on the upstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S is formed as a curved surface corresponding to an outer peripheral surface of the folding roller  13   a.    
     Then, as described above, the paper S carried between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  is carried between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the pushing member  14  retracted on the upper side of the carrying path. 
     Also, as a downstream-side carrying unit to carry the paper S, which is carried in such a manner between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the pushing member  14  retracted on the upper side of the carrying path, to a downstream-side guiding member  15  provided on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S, the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S in the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and a downstream-side feeding roller  16  facing the folding roller  13   b  are used. The folding roller  13   b  and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are rotated in the carrying direction of the paper S and the paper S is guided to the downstream-side guiding member  15 . Note that in such a manner, when the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S is rotated in the carrying direction of the paper S, the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  is rotated in a direction opposite to a direction of folding the paper S. 
     Also, in a case of detecting the paper S guided to the downstream-side guiding member  15  in such a manner and feeding the paper S to a predetermined position, an actuator  17  which rotates with a fulcrum point  17   a  as a center is provided in such a manner as to project downward compared to the downstream-side guiding member  15 . The actuator  17  is pushed and rotated upward by the paper S guided by the downstream-side guiding member  15  and the actuator  17  rotated upward in such a manner is detected by a photo-sensor  18 . Based on the detection, rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b , the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S, and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are controlled by a control unit (not illustrated) and the paper S is fed to the predetermined position. 
     Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , in a case of folding the paper S at a predetermined position in the paper folding apparatus  10  in the present embodiment, the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b , the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S, and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are rotated in the carrying direction of the paper S. By the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b , the paper S is made to pass between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b . Then, the paper S is guided to a gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the pushing member  14  retracted on an upper side of the carrying path and the paper S made to pass therebetween and guided to a gap between the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  is carried by the folding roller  13   b  and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  to the downstream-side guiding member  15 . 
     Then, by the paper S carried in such a manner to the downstream-side guiding member  15 , the actuator  17  is pushed and rotated upward as described above. When the paper S is fed to a predetermined position after the actuator  17  rotated upward in such a manner is detected by the photo-sensor  18 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  are stopped shortly after rotations of the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are stopped. Thus, adequate deflection is formed on the paper S between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b . Note that by performing control to stop the rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  later, the amount of deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  can be controlled. 
     Then, in such a state in which the adequate deflection is formed on the paper S between the folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b , as illustrated in  FIG. 3C , the retracted pushing member  14  is rotated downward by the drive unit  20  with the fulcrum point  14   a  as the center and the acute-angled leading end part of the pushing member  14  is moved toward the deflection part of the paper S. While the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  are rotated in the carrying direction of the paper S and the paper S is fed to the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b , the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are rotated in a direction opposite to the carrying direction of the paper S. Thus, the paper S guided to the downstream-side guiding member  15  is fed in a direction to be returned to the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b , whereby the deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  is made larger and the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14  rotated downward as described above. 
     Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 3D , the pushing member  14  is stopped by a stopper (not illustrated) in a state in which the leading end pare of the pushing member  14 , which is rotated downward and pushes the deflection part of the paper S toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b , is near a nip part of the folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b . In the state, the deflection part of the paper S is guided to the nip of the folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the paper S is folded at the deflection part. 
     Here, in the paper folding apparatus  10  of the present embodiment, when the pushing member  14  is rotated by the drive unit  20  via the elastic member, as illustrated in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , a rotary shaft  14   b  to rotate the pushing member  14  is extended in a direction orthogonal to the carrying direction of the paper S. To a leading end of the rotary shaft  14   b , a flange  14   c  is provided. To a rotary apparatus  21 , a worm gear  22  is provided. To an end part, which is on a side of the pushing member  14 , of a rotation transmission shaft  23  to which a worm wheel  23   a  rotated by engagement with the worm gear  22 , a flange  23   b  is provided in such a manner as to face the flange  14   c  provided to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14 . 
     Then, a torsion coil spring  24  which is an elastic member is placed between the flange  14   c  provided to the rotary shaft  14   b  and the flange  23   b  provided to the rotation transmission shaft  23 . While one end  24   a  of the torsion coil spring  24  is attached to the flange  14   c  provided to the rotary shaft  14   b , the other end  24   b  of the torsion coil spring  24  is attached to the flange  23   b  provided to the rotation transmission shaft  23 . A rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  is transmitted to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  via the torsion coil spring  24 . 
     Also, to an end part, which is on the opposite side of the flange  23   b , of the rotation transmission shaft  23 , a light-shielding member  23   c  is provided. When the pushing member  14  is rotated upward and retracted, the light-shielding member  23   c  is detected by a photo-sensor  25 . On the other hand, when the pushing member  14  is rotated downward and the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14 , the light-shielding member  23   c  is not detected by the photo-sensor  25 . Then, after the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the pushing member  14 , the pushing member  14  is rotated upward by the drive unit  20  and the light-shielding member  23   c  is moved back to a position detected by the photo-sensor  25 . 
     When the pushing member  14  is rotated downward by the drive unit  20  and the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14 , the worm gear  22  provided to the rotary apparatus  21  is rotated and the rotation transmission shaft  23  is rotated in a direction to rotate the pushing member  14  downward via the worm wheel  23   a  rotated by the engagement with the worm gear  22  and the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  is transmitted to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  via the torsion coil spring  24 . 
     In such a manner, until the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper S, the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated, without much load, along with the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  and the pushing member  14  is rotated downward. On the other hand, when the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper S and a load is applied between the rotation transmission shaft  23  and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14 , the torsion coil spring  24  is twisted by the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated while being biased by torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24 , whereby the pushing member  14  is rotated downward and the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14 . 
     In such a manner, when the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  is transmitted to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  via the torsion coil spring  24  and the pushing member  14  is rotated downward, even in a case where a speed to rotate the pushing member  14  downward becomes higher than a speed to form deflection on the paper S, impact force of when the pushing member  14  is abutted on the paper S is reduced by the torsion coil spring  24 . Thus, for example, the paper S is prevented from being torn. Thus, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to control a speed to rotate the pushing member  14  downward and a speed to form deflection on the paper S accurately. Thus, when the leading end part of the pushing member  14  is abutted on the deflection part of the paper S while a speed or timing to rotate the pushing member  14  downward is made higher or earlier than a speed to form the deflection on the paper S, it becomes possible to push the deflection part of the paper S adequately toward the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the pushing member  14 . 
     Here, in a case where thin paper Sa having low basis weight and low stiffness is used, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , when deflection is formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  rotations of which are stopped later as described above, deflection of the paper Sa which deflection is formed between the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  and the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  or between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  becomes small and deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  becomes large. 
     Then, in this state, as described above, when the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  is transmitted to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  via the torsion coil spring  24  and the pushing member  14  is rotated downward, the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated along with the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  until the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa, and the pushing member  14  is rotated downward. When the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa, a load is applied between the rotation transmission shaft  23  and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14 . By the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23 , the torsion coil spring  24  is twisted and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated while being biased by torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24 , whereby the pushing member  14  is rotated to a predetermined position to be stopped by the stopper (not illustrated). 
     Here, as described above, when the thin paper Sa is used, deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  is large. Thus, a rotation angle until the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa becomes large. An angle θa of rotation from a position where the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa to the predetermined position where the pushing member  14  is stopped by the stopper (not illustrated) while being biased by torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24  is small. Force to bias the pushing member  14  which force is applied due to the torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24  is small, and thus, the thin paper Sa is not torn. 
     On the other hand, in a case where thick paper Sb having high basis weight and high stiffness is used, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , when deflection is formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  rotations of which are stopped later as described above, deflection of the paper Sb which deflection is formed between the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  and the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  or between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  becomes large and deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  becomes small. 
     Then, in this state, as described above, similarly to the case of using the thin paper Sa, when the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  is transmitted to the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  via the torsion coil spring  24  and the pushing member  14  is rotated downward, the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated along with the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23  until the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa, and the pushing member  19  is rotated downward. When the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sa, a load is applied between the rotation transmission shaft  23  and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14 . By the rotation of the rotation transmission shaft  23 , the torsion coil spring  24  is twisted and the rotary shaft  14   b  of the pushing member  14  is rotated while being biased by torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24 ; whereby the pushing member  14  is rotated downward to the predetermined position to be stopped by the stopper (not illustrated). 
     Here, when the thick paper Sb is used, deflection formed between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  is small compared to the case of using the thin paper Sa. Thus, a rotation angle until the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sb becomes small compared to the case of using the thin paper Sa. Also, an angle θb of rotation from a position where the leading end part of the pushing member  14  touches the deflection part of the paper Sb to a predetermined position where the pushing member  14  is stopped by the stopper (not illustrated) while being biased by torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24  becomes larger than the angle θa of when the thin paper Sa is used. Thus, force to bias the pushing member  14  due to the torsion force of the torsion coil spring  24  becomes large and deflection part on the thick paper Sb can be guided adequately to the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the pushing member  14 . 
     Note that a method to rotate the pushing member  14  by the drive unit  20  via the elastic member is not limited to what has been described in the above embodiment. 
     For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , it is possible to provide, on an upper side of a pushing member  14 , a cam  27  rotated by a rotary apparatus  26 , to provide a coil spring  28  which is an elastic member between the cam  27  and the pushing member  14 , and to make a receiving member  28   a  of the coil spring  28  abutted on an outer periphery of the cam  27 . 
     Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 7A , until paper S is carried to a predetermined position as described above, an outer peripheral part of the cam  27  which part is close to a shaft  27   a  of the cam  27  is abutted on the receiving member  28   a  and the pushing member  14  is kept retracted on an upper side of a carrying path of the paper S. 
     On the other hand, as illustrated in  FIG. 7B , when the pushing member  14  is rotated downward and a deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward a gap between a pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by a leading end part of the pushing member  14 , the cam  27  is rotated by the rotary apparatus  26  and an outer peripheral part of the cam  27  which part is away from the shaft  27   a  of the cam  27  is abutted on the receiving member  28   a . Then, the coil spring  28  between the cam  27  and the pushing member  14  is compressed. By biasing force of the coil spring  28 , the pushing member  14  is rotated downward and the deflection part of the paper S is pushed toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14 . 
     Even in such a case, similarly to the above case, even when a speed to rotate the pushing member  14  downward becomes higher than a speed to form deflection on the paper S, impact force of when the pushing member  14  is abutted on the paper S is reduced by the coil spring  28 . Thus, for example, the paper S is prevented from being torn. Thus, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to control a speed to rotate the pushing member  14  downward and a speed to form deflection on the paper S accurately. Thus, when the leading end part of the pushing member  14  is abutted on the deflection part of the paper S while a speed or timing to rotate the pushing member  14  downward is made higher or earlier than a speed to form the deflection on the paper S, it becomes possible to push the deflection part of the paper S adequately toward the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the pushing member  14 . 
     Also, in the above embodiment, the deflection part of the paper S is folded in the nip of the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by rotating the pushing member  14  downward and by pushing the deflection part of the paper S toward the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  by the leading end part of the pushing member  14 . However, although not illustrated, in a case where the paper S is not to be folded, the paper S carried through the gap between the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  can be guided, while the pushing member  14  is rotated downward, to the gap between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  along the curved surface of the pushing member  14  which surface corresponds to an outer peripheral surface of the folding roller  13   a  on the upstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S. 
     Also, in the above embodiment, the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S in the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b  and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are used as a downstream-side carrying unit. However, instead of the folding roller  13   b , a different feeding roller (not illustrated) can be provided. 
     Note that in the above embodiment, as a method to make deflection on paper, rotations of the upstream-side feeding rollers  11   a  and  11   b  are stopped shortly after rotations of the folding roller  13   b  on the downstream side in the carrying direction of the paper S and the downstream-side feeding roller  16  are stopped, whereby adequate deflection is formed on the paper S between the pair of folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b . However, the above is not the limitation. For example, deflection may be formed on paper by changing shapes of the upstream-side guiding members  12   a  and  12   b  arranged on a downstream-side of the rollers  11   a  and  11   b  in such a manner that a leading end of the paper moves toward the gap between the folding rollers  13   a  and  13   b . Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrated and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scope of the present invention being interpreted by terms of the appended claims. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, in an paper folding apparatus as described above, a pushing member retracted from a carrying path of paper is moved toward a nip part of folding rollers by a drive unit via an elastic member and a deflection part of the paper is pushed by a pushing member toward the nip part of the folding rollers due to elastic force of an elastic member deformed by the drive unit. Thus, with a simple configuration, it becomes possible to fold various kinds of paper adequately at a predetermined position. 
     Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrated and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scope of the present invention being interpreted by terms of the appended claims.