US 12,204,267 B2Granted

Sheet processing apparatus and image forming system

AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsJun Agata, Hiroharu Tsuji, Masayoshi Fukatsu

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Abstract

A sheet processing includes a first conveyance path, a buffering portion, a second conveyance path, a conveyance roller pair, a supporting portion, a moving member, a regulating portion, and a processing unit. The buffering portion is configured to superimpose a first sheet and a second sheet on each other in a state of being offset from each other in a sheet conveyance direction. An offset amount, by which a leading end of the first sheet in the sheet conveyance direction projects downstream in the sheet conveyance direction with respect to a leading end of the second sheet in the sheet conveyance direction in a state before the first sheet and the second sheet are discharged onto the supporting portion, is larger than a distance from a sheet contact position of the moving member to the regulating portion in the sheet conveyance direction.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A sheet processing apparatus comprising:

a first conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed;
a reverse roller pair configured to convey the sheet conveyed from the first conveyance path in a first direction and reverse the sheet toward a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a second conveyance path through which the sheet reversed by the reverse roller pair is conveyed in the second direction;
a conveyance roller pair disposed in the second conveyance path and configured to nip and convey the sheet in the second direction;
a supporting portion which is positioned downstream of the conveyance roller pair in the second direction and on which the sheet discharged in the second direction from the second conveyance path by the conveyance roller pair is supported;
a regulator configured to come into contact with a leading edge of the sheet in the second direction to regulate a position of the sheet on the supporting portion;
a sheet processor configured to process the sheet supported on the supporting portion and move in a direction along the second direction;
a discharge portion through which the sheet processed by the sheet processor is discharged out of the sheet processing apparatus;
a third conveyance path extending from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion;
and
a guide configured to move in a third direction to push the leading edge of the sheet from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion through the third conveyance path, the third direction being opposite to a direction in which the leading edge of the sheet approaches the regulator when the sheet is discharged in the second direction by the conveyance roller pair,
wherein the discharge portion is positioned downstream of a movement region of the sheet processor in the third direction, and
wherein the sheet processor is a stapler configured to staple a plurality of sheets stacked on the supporting portion to form a sheet bundle.

10 more elements

A sheet processing apparatus comprising:

a first conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed;
a reverse roller pair configured to convey the sheet conveyed from the first conveyance path in a first direction and reverse the sheet toward a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a second conveyance path through which the sheet reversed by the reverse roller pair is conveyed in the second direction;
a conveyance roller pair disposed in the second conveyance path and configured to nip and convey the sheet in the second direction;
a supporting portion which is positioned downstream of the conveyance roller pair in the second direction and on which the sheet discharged in the second direction from the second conveyance path by the conveyance roller pair is supported;
a regulator configured to come into contact with a leading edge of the sheet in the second direction to regulate a position of the sheet on the supporting portion;
a sheet processor configured to process the sheet supported on the supporting portion and move in a direction along the second direction;
a discharge portion through which the sheet processed by the sheet processor is discharged out of the sheet processing apparatus;
a third conveyance path extending from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion;
and
a guide configured to move in a third direction to push the leading edge of the sheet from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion through the third conveyance path, the third direction being opposite to a direction in which the leading edge of the sheet approaches the regulator when the sheet is discharged in the second direction by the conveyance roller pair,
wherein the discharge portion is positioned downstream of a movement region of the sheet processor in the third direction;
and
a discharge roller pair configured to nip and discharge the sheet from an inside to an outside of the sheet processing apparatus through the discharge portion,
wherein the movement region of the sheet processor is located on an inner side of the sheet processing apparatus with respect to the discharge roller pair.

12 more elements

A sheet processing apparatus comprising:

a first conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed;
a reverse roller pair configured to convey the sheet conveyed from the first conveyance path in a first direction and reverse the sheet toward a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a second conveyance path through which the sheet reversed by the reverse roller pair is conveyed in the second direction;
a conveyance roller pair disposed in the second conveyance path and configured to nip and convey the sheet in the second direction;
a supporting portion which is positioned downstream of the conveyance roller pair in the second direction and on which the sheet discharged in the second direction from the second conveyance path by the conveyance roller pair is supported;
a regulator configured to come into contact with a leading edge of the sheet in the second direction to regulate a position of the sheet on the supporting portion;
a sheet processor configured to process the sheet supported on the supporting portion and move in a direction along the second direction;
a discharge portion through which the sheet processed by the sheet processor is discharged out of the sheet processing apparatus;
a third conveyance path extending from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion;
and
a guide configured to move in a third direction to push the leading edge of the sheet from the supporting portion toward the discharge portion through the third conveyance path, the third direction being opposite to a direction in which the leading edge of the sheet approaches the regulator when the sheet is discharged in the second direction by the conveyance roller pair,
wherein the discharge portion is positioned downstream of a movement region of the sheet processor in the third direction;
and
a roller provided downstream of the conveyance roller pair in the second direction, movable upward and downward with respect to the supporting portion and configured to come into contact with an upper surface of the sheet discharged onto the supporting portion in the second direction to move the sheet further in the second direction and abut the leading edge of the sheet against the regulator.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/739,335Filed 9 May 2022 · continuation
Priority: JP 2019-10279631 May 2019
Published: US 2022/0269212 A125 Aug 2022
Granted: 21 Jan 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

G03G 15/6573
Handling of sheet copy material taking place in a specific part of the copy material feeding path: feeding path after the fixing point and up to…
G03G 15/6582
Apparatus which relate to the handling of copy material: special processing for irreversibly adding or changing the sheet copy material…
B65H 29/145
And introducing into a pile: the pile being formed between the two, or between the two sets of, tapes or bands or rollers
B65H 29/58
Delivering or advancing articles from machines; Advancing articles to or into piles: article switches or diverters

Family

Application16/879,841Parent of this continuation · filed 21 May 2020
US 2022/0269212 A1Pre-grant publication · published 25 Aug 2022
US 11,353,817 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2020/0379397 A1Published application
US 12,204,267 B2This patent

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