Sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus having the same

A sheet binding processing apparatus, comprising:

• a conveying portion which conveys sheets in a conveying direction;
• a conveying path which guides the sheets conveyed by the conveying portion in the conveying direction;
• a discharging port through which the sheets conveyed in the conveying direction by the conveying portion are discharged from the conveying path;
• a stacking portion which is arranged in a downstream side from the discharge port and on which the sheets discharged from the discharging port are stacked to form a sheet bundle;
• a manual setting portion to which a sheet bundle is manually set from an outside of the apparatus by an operator,
• a first regulating portion which regulates a position of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion at a rear side of the apparatus in a width direction which is along a face of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion and crosses the conveying direction, and which is one of a pair of regulating portions which regulate positions of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion in the width direction by contacting an end of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion;
• a second regulating portion which regulates a position of a sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion in the conveying direction by contacting other end of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion;
• and
• a binding device which binds the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion and the sheet bundle set in the manual setting portion, by a staple,
• wherein the binding device is arranged to be movable back and forth to a front side of the apparatus and the rear side of the apparatus in the width direction so that the binding device is movable to a first position where the binding device binds a corner portion of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion, the corner portion including an end of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion where the first regulating portion has contacted and an end of the sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion where the second regulating portion has contacted, a second position which is located on the front side of the apparatus more than the first position and where the binding device binds the sheet bundle set at the manual setting portion, and a third position which is located on the front side of the apparatus more than the first position where the staple is replenished for the binding device;
• wherein when the staple is replenished to the binding device, the binding device is positioned at the third position so that a cartridge of the staple can be loaded into the binding device from the front side of the apparatus,
• wherein the cartridge is removed from the binding device by moving the cartridge in a predetermined direction from the binding device which is in a state where the cartridge is mounted on,
• wherein an angular posture of the binding device which is located at the third position is different from an angular posture of the binding device which is located at the first position and an angular posture of the binding device which is located at the second position, and
• wherein a downstream end in the predetermined direction of the cartridge in a state where the cartridge is mounted on the binding device when the binding device is located at the third position is directed to the front side of the apparatus more than the downstream end in the predetermined direction of the cartridge in the state where the cartridge is mounted on the binding device when the binding device is located at the first position and the binding device is located at the second position.