Post-processing apparatus

A post-processing apparatus comprising:

• a first sheet conveyance path along which a sheet is conveyed in a first direction from a sheet carry-in port to a first sheet discharge port;
• a first processing part which performs a folding processing in which the sheet conveyed along the first conveyance path is fold along a fold line parallel with a width direction perpendicular to the first direction;
• a second sheet conveyance path along which the sheet is conveyed from the first processing part along a second direction crossing the first direction;
• a merging conveyance path along which the sheet is conveyed from the first processing part in a third direction crossing the second direction and which merges with the first sheet conveyance path;
• a second processing part which is provided on a downstream side of the first processing part in the first direction and performs post-processing on the sheet conveyed along the first sheet conveyance path;
• and
• a third processing part which is provided on a downstream side of the first processing part in the second direction and performs post-processing on the sheet which is passed through the first processing part and is conveyed along the second sheet conveyance path, wherein
• the first processing part includes:
• a conveying rollers pair including a first roller and a second roller which form a conveying nip and conveying the sheet in the first direction;
• a first folding rollers pair including the first roller and a third roller which form a first nip, conveying the sheet along the second direction and performing a folding processing in which the sheet is fold along a first fold line;
• a second folding rollers pair including the third roller and a fourth roller which form a second nip, conveying the sheet along the third direction and performing a folding processing in which the sheet is fold along a second fold line different from the first fold line;
• a first folding guide configured to be movable between a projecting position close to the first nip and a retracting position away from the first nip;
• and
• a second folding guide configured to be movable between a projecting position close to the second nip and a retracting position away from the second nip, wherein
• when the sheet is conveyed along the first direction, the first folding guide is disposed at the retracting position,
• when the sheet is conveyed from the first conveyance path to the second conveyance path, the first folding guide is moved from the retracting position to the projecting position to guide a leading end of the sheet to the first nip, and
• when the folding processing in which the sheet is fold along the first fold line by the first folding rollers pair is performed, after the leading end of the sheet is passed through the first folding guide, the first folding guide is moved from the retracting position to the projecting position so as to come into contact with the first fold line of the sheet and to guide the sheet to the first nip with the first fold line forward, wherein
• the post-processing apparatus further comprises an escape path configured to escape a first sheet of a next sheet bundle and overlap the first sheet with a second sheet of the next sheet bundle during the processing of the preceding sheet bundle in the second processing part, and
• the escape path communicates with the second sheet conveyance path.