Sheet processing apparatus and image forming system including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10303104-B2
Application number	US-201615348036-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2016
Priority date	Dec 25, 2015
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A sheet processing apparatus, including: a rotary member pair configured to nip a sheet conveyed in a conveyance path and rotate to fold the sheet; and a guide portion provided between one rotary member of the rotary member pair and the conveyance path, the one rotary member including: a first part; and a second part, wherein a first distance between the first part and a rotary shaft center of the one rotary member is greater than a second distance between the second part and the rotary shaft center, and wherein the guide portion is positioned at a first position in case that the second part is positioned at a first rotational position, and the guide portion is positioned at a second position different from the first position in a distance from the rotary shaft center in case that the second part is positioned at a second rotational position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising:
a conveyance path in which a sheet is conveyed in a conveyance direction;
a rotary member pair configured to nip a sheet conveyed in the conveyance path and rotate to perform folding processing on the sheet, the rotary member pair having a first rotary member and a second rotary member, the first rotary member rotating around a rotary shaft center of the first rotary member, the rotary shaft center of the first rotary member being a first rotary shaft center, the second rotary member rotating around a rotary shaft center of the second rotary member, the rotary shaft center of the second rotary member being a second rotary shaft center, the first rotary member being provided downstream of the second rotary member in the conveyance direction; and
a guide portion provided between the first rotary member and the conveyance path and configured to guide a sheet,
wherein the first rotary member comprises:
a first circumferential surface part, and
a second circumferential surface part,

wherein a first distance between the first circumferential surface part and the first rotary shaft center is longer than a second distance between the second circumferential surface part and the first rotary shaft center,
wherein the guide portion is positioned at a first position when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at a first rotational position, and the guide portion is positioned at a second position different from the first position when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at a second rotational position different from the first rotational position, a distance between the first rotary shaft center and the guide portion which is being positioned at the first position is shorter than a distance between the first rotary shaft center and the guide portion which is being positioned at the second position, and the guide portion is configured to be swung to be positioned at the first position and the second position,
wherein when the guide portion is being positioned at the first position, the distance between the guide portion and the first rotary shaft center is shorter than a distance between the guide portion and the second rotary shaft center, and when the guide portion is being positioned at the second position, the distance between the guide portion and the first rotary shaft center is shorter than a distance between the guide portion and the second rotary shaft center, and
wherein when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at the first rotational position so as to be oriented toward the conveyance path and the guide portion is being positioned at the first position, a downstream edge of a sheet, an entirety of which is being conveyed in the conveyance direction, is guided by the guide portion.

2. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the guide portion is provided so as to cover a part, which is closest to the conveyance path, of a circumferential surface of the first rotary member.

3. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the guide portion is urged toward a circumferential surface of the first rotary member.

4. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the guide portion is displaceable in a state in which a gap is provided between a circumferential surface of the first rotary member and the guide portion.

5. A sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an alignment unit configured to align a sheet in the conveyance path in a direction crossing the conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed in the conveyance path.

6. An image forming system, comprising:
an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet; and
a sheet processing apparatus configured to perform folding processing on a sheet conveyed from the image forming unit,
wherein the sheet processing apparatus comprises:
a conveyance path in which a sheet is conveyed in a conveyance direction,
a rotary member pair configured to nip a sheet conveyed in the conveyance path and rotate to perform folding processing on the sheet, the rotary member pair having a first rotary member and a second rotary member, the first rotary member rotating around a rotary shaft center of the first rotary member, the rotary shaft center of the first rotary member being a first rotary shaft center, the second rotary member rotating around a rotary shaft center of the second rotary member, the rotary shaft center of the second rotary member being a second rotary shaft center, the first rotary member being provided downstream of the second rotary member in the conveyance direction, and
a guide portion provided between the first rotary member and the conveyance path and configured to guide a sheet,

wherein the first rotary member comprises:
a first circumferential surface part, and
a second circumferential surface part,

wherein a first distance between the first circumferential surface part and the first rotary shaft center is longer than a second distance between the second circumferential surface part and the first rotary shaft center,
wherein the guide portion is positioned at a first position when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at a first rotational position, and the guide portion is positioned at a second position different from the first position when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at a second rotational position different from the first rotational position, a distance between the first rotary shaft center and the guide portion which is being positioned at the first position is shorter than a distance between the first rotary shaft center and the guide portion which is being positioned at the second position, and the guide portion is configured to be swung to be positioned at the first position and the second position,
wherein when the guide portion is being positioned at the first position, the distance between the guide portion and the first rotary shaft center is shorter than a distance between the guide portion and the second rotary shaft center, and when the guide portion is being positioned at the second position, the distance between the guide portion and the first rotary shaft center is shorter than a distance between the guide portion and the second rotary shaft center, and
wherein when the second circumferential surface part is being positioned at the first rotational position so as to be oriented toward the conveyance path and the guide portion is being positioned at the first position, a downstream edge of a sheet, an entirety of which is being conveyed in the conveyance direction, is guided by the guide portion.

7. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising:
a first conveyance path in which a sheet is conveyed in a first conveyance direction;
a second conveyance path in which the sheet having been conveyed in the first conveyance path is conveyed in a second conveyance direction crossing the first conveyance direction;
a rotary member pair configured to nip a sheet conveyed in the second conveyance path and rotate to perform folding processing on the sheet, the rotary member pair having a first rotary member and a second rotary member, the first rotary member being provided opposite to the second rotary member across the second conveyance path, the first rotary member being provided downstream of the second rotary member in the first conveyance direction; and
a guide portion provided on a side of the first rotary member with respect to the second conveyance path and between the first rotary member and the first conveyance path and configured to guide a sheet,
wherein the first rotary member comprises:
a first circumferential surface part, an

Assignees

• Canon Finetech Nisca Inc

Inventors

• Endo Kazunori
• Matsuno Kenichi
• Obata Ikuhiro
• Kunugi Yuji

Classifications

• B65H2301/43828

  involving simultaneous deformation of at least a part of the articles to be bound · CPC title

• B65H2701/18292

  Stapled sets of sheets · CPC title

• G03G2215/00827

  Stapler · CPC title

• G03G15/6541 Primary

  Binding sets of sheets, e.g. by stapling, glueing · CPC title

• B31F1/0045

  Bending or folding combined with joining (folding edges combined with joining B31F1/0016, B31F1/0029) · CPC title