US 10,562,733 B2Granted

Sheet processing device including a staple binding unit and a stapleless binding unit and image forming system

AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.

InventorsWataru Takahashi, Katsuhiro Kosuge, Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Hidehiko Fujiwara, Yuusuke Shibasaki, Koki Sakano, Takuya Morinaga

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Abstract

A sheet processing device is for binding sheets together. The sheet processing device includes binding units differing from each other in maximum sheet count, the maximum sheet count being a maximum number of sheets that can be bound at a time; a sheet tray configured to hold sheets until all to-be-bound sheets are placed therein, the number of the to-be-bound sheets being a largest one of the maximum sheet counts of the binding units or smaller; and a stacked-sheet-count limiting unit situated in a thickness direction of the sheets held in the sheet tray. The stacked-sheet-count limiting unit is configured to limit the number of sheets held in the sheet tray by varying a distance from a sheet support surface of the sheet tray on which the sheets are placed, depending on one of the binding units by which the sheets held in the sheet tray are to be bound.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A sheet processing device, comprising:

a sheet tray configured to hold a plurality of sheets;
a staple binding unit configured to bind the plurality of sheets with a staple;
a stapleless binding unit configured to bind the plurality of sheets with a pair of compressing members but without a staple;
a stopper configured to abut a downstream end portion of the plurality of sheets in a sheet conveying direction;
and
a guide member configured to pivot about a fixed shaft in a thickness direction of the plurality of sheets on an upstream side in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the stopper, the fixed shaft not being movable in the sheet conveying direction, the guide member being a plate member, wherein
a portion of the stopper has a C-shape as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction,
a length of the guide member in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction is longer than a length of the stopper in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, and
a downstream end portion of the guide member in the sheet conveying direction is located on an upstream side with respect to an upstream end portion of the stopper in the sheet conveying direction.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/648,579Filed 13 Jul 2017 · continuation
Priority: JP 2014-12368716 Jun 2014
Published: US 2017/0305706 A126 Oct 2017
Granted: 18 Feb 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

B65H 37/04
Article or web delivery apparatus incorporating devices for performing specified auxiliary operations: for securing together articles or webs,…
B65H 31/26
Pile receivers: auxiliary devices for retaining articles in the pile
G03G 15/6544
Binding sets of sheets, e.g. by stapling, glueing: details about the binding means or procedure
H04N 1/00639
Handling of original or reproduction media, e.g. cutting, separating, stacking: binding, stapling, folding or perforating, e.g. punching

Family

Application14/726,709Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Jun 2015
US 2017/0305706 A1Pre-grant publication · published 26 Oct 2017
US 9,725,276 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2015/0360899 A1Published application
US 10,562,733 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.