Sheet discharge apparatus and image forming system

A sheet discharge apparatus comprising:

• a first stacking member provided outside an apparatus main body;
• a first conveying device disposed in a first conveying path extending toward the first stacking member in the apparatus main body, wherein the first conveying device conveys a sheet to the first stacking member;
• a discharge device configured to receive the sheet conveyed by the first conveying device and discharge the sheet to the first stacking member, wherein the discharge device discharges a plurality of the sheets each conveyed from the first conveying device in the form of a bundle of sheets,
• wherein the discharge device is a second conveying device disposed downstream of the first conveying device in the first conveying path, and
• wherein the discharge device is capable of reversing the conveying direction of the sheet received from the first conveying device and conveying the sheet to a second conveying path that branches from the first conveying path between the first conveying device and the second conveying device;
• a sheet processing device configured to receive a sheet that is not discharged by the discharge device and processes the received sheet;
• a second stacking member provided outside the apparatus main body, wherein the sheet processed by the sheet processing device is stacked on the second stacking member;
• a detection member configured to detect a sheet passing through the first conveying path;
• a third conveying device disposed in the second conveying path, wherein the third conveying device receives and conveys the sheet reversed by the second conveying device;
• and
• a controller configured to control the first conveying device and the discharge device to perform a bundle discharge operation for discharging the bundle of sheets from the discharge device onto the first stacking member,
• wherein the controller sets a discharge speed at which a sheet is discharged by the discharge device to a first discharge speed when the bundle of sheets includes a first number of sheets and sets the discharge speed to a second discharge speed that is lower than the first discharge speed when the bundle of sheets includes a second number of sheets that is greater than the first number of sheets,
• wherein the controller controls the first conveying device, the second conveying device, and the third conveying device to perform the bundle discharge operation,
• wherein in the bundle discharge operation, after a first sheet conveyed in the first conveying path is delivered to the third conveying device via the second conveying device, conveyance of the first sheet by the third conveying device is stopped and, when a predetermined time elapses since the detection member detects a second sheet that is subsequently conveyed in the first conveying path, the first sheet is conveyed to the second conveying device by the third conveying device, so that a bundle of the first and second sheets superposed with edges of the first sheet and the second sheet in the sheet conveying direction aligned is formed and discharged onto the first stacking member by the second conveying device.