Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9908736-B2
Application number	US-201514727039-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 1, 2015
Priority date	Sep 20, 2012
Publication date	Mar 6, 2018
Grant date	Mar 6, 2018

Abstract

A sheet processing apparatus in which a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets discharged onto an intermediate processing tray is received in a receiving portion of a stapler and bound with use of a staple, and a sheet bundle including a plurality of sheets discharged onto the intermediate processing tray is received in a receiving portion of a staple-less binding unit having a gap in the thickness direction of the sheets smaller than that of the receiving portion of the stapler and bound without using a staple, wherein when the stapler performs the binding process, the staple-less binding unit is arranged in a position shifted in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet discharge direction from a region on the intermediate processing tray, through which the sheets discharged by a sheet discharging portion pass.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising:
a conveyance path through which a sheet conveyed in a conveyance direction passes;
a support portion configured to support the sheet passing through the conveyance path;
a moving portion configured to move the sheet supported by the support portion in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction;
a first aligning member configured to contact a first edge on one side, in a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, of the sheet supported on the support portion;
a second aligning member configured to contact a second edge on the other side, in the width direction, of the sheet supported on the support portion;
an abutment portion against which a third edge of the sheet is supported on the support portion, the third edge being parallel to the width direction;
a first binding unit including a first receiving portion and configured to bind sheets, which have been supported by the support portion and been received by the first receiving portion, by using a staple;
a second binding unit disposed on one side in the width direction of the sheet and including a second receiving portion, a first surface having concave and convex portions, and a second surface having concave and convex portions, wherein a first gap of the first receiving portion of the first binding unit in a sheet thickness direction is wider than a second gap of the second receiving portion of the second binding unit in the sheet thickness direction, and wherein the second binding unit binds, using the first surface and the second surface, an inside of a predetermined area of sheets which have been supported by the support portion and have been received by the second receiving portion, the predetermined area being located, in the width direction, on the one side with respect to a part of the sheets against which the abutment portion abuts, and located, in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction, on a side of the abutment portion with respect to a part of the sheets with which the first aligning member contacts; and
a moving unit configured to move the first binding unit from a home position on the other side in the width direction, wherein the moving unit is configured to move the first binding unit to a first position closer to the one side than the home position in the width direction and to a second position closer to the one side than the first position, at which second position a part in the predetermined area of the sheets supported by the support portion is bound by the first binding unit, and wherein in a case where the first binding unit binds sheets at the first position, the moving unit moves the first binding unit from the home position to the first position so that the end of the sheet moved by the moving portion in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction is received by the first receiving portion, and in a case where the first binding unit binds sheets at the second position, the moving unit moves the first binding unit from the home position to the second position so that the sheets moved by the moving portion in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction are received by the first receiving portion,
wherein the second aligning member shifts, in the width direction, sheets, supported on the support portion, to be bound by the second binding unit so that the sheets are received by the second receiving portion, and
wherein sheets moved by the moving portion when the sheets are bound by the first binding unit do not enter the second receiving portion of the second binding unit.

2. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first binding unit is configured to bind a sheet bundle thicker than a gap of the second receiving portion of the second binding unit in a sheet thickness direction.

3. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second binding unit is fixed.

4. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second binding unit is configured to bind corner portions of the sheets supported by the support portion.

5. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the home position of the first binding unit is on a front side of the sheet processing apparatus, and
wherein the second binding unit is disposed on a rear side of the sheet processing apparatus.

6. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second binding unit is configured not to perform binding outside of the predetermined area of the sheets.

7. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising:
a conveyance path through which a sheet conveyed in a conveyance direction passes;
a support portion configured to support the sheet passing through the conveyance path;
a moving portion configured to move the sheet supported by the support portion in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction;
a stopper against which an end of the sheet moved by the moving portion abuts;
a first binding unit including a first receiving portion and configured to bind sheets, of which ends have abutted against the stopper and been received by the first receiving portion, by using a staple;
a second binding unit disposed on one side in a width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the conveyance direction and including a second receiving portion, a first surface having concave and convex portions, and a second surface having concave and convex portions, wherein the second binding unit binds sheets, of which ends have abutted against the stopper and have been received by the second receiving portion, by biting the sheets with the first surface and the second surface;
a moving unit configured to move the first binding unit from a home position on the other side in the width direction, wherein in a case where the first binding unit binds sheets supported by the support portion at a first position closer to the one side than the home position is in the width direction and at a second position different from the first position in the width direction, the moving unit moves the first binding unit from the home position to the first position so that the end of the sheet moved by the moving portion in the direction parallel to the conveyance direction is received by the first receiving portion, and moves the first binding unit to the second position so that the sheets are bound by the first binding unit at the second position after the sheets are bound by the first binding unit at the first position; and
a shift portion configured to shift sheets to be bound by the second binding unit to the one side in the width direction,
wherein sheets moved by the moving portion when the sheets are bound by the first binding unit do not enter the second receiving portion of the second binding unit, and
wherein a first gap of the first receiving portion of the first binding unit in a sheet thickness direction is wider than a second gap of the second receiving portion of the second binding unit in the sheet thickness direction.

8. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the shift portion includes a shift member configured to shift a sheet in the width direction by pushing an edge of the sheet supported by the support portion in the width direction so that the sheet is received by the second receiving portion.

9. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the home position of the first binding unit is on a front side of the sheet processing apparatus, and
wherein the second binding unit is disposed on a rear side of the sheet processing apparatus.

10. A sheet processing apparatus, comprising:
a support portion configured to support a sheet;
a sheet discharging portion configure

Assignees

• Canon Kk
• Canon Kaushiki Kaisha

Inventors

• Abe Hideto
• Obuchi Yusuke

Classifications

• B65H37/04 Primary

  for securing together articles or webs, e.g. by adhesive, stitching or stapling (adhering replacement to expiring web during change of web roll B65H19/18) · CPC title

• G03G15/6541

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

• G03G2215/00827

  Stapler · CPC title

• B65H39/00

  Associating, collating, or gathering articles or webs (combinations of piling and depiling operations, of interest apart from the single operation of piling or depiling B65H83/00; machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together sheets or signatures B42C1/00) · CPC title

• B42B5/00 Primary

  Permanently attaching together sheets, quires or signatures otherwise than by stitching (by deformation thereof B31F; by adhesive peculiar to bookbinding B42C9/00) · CPC title