# US 2013/0154178 A1 · Sheet processing apparatus, image forming system, and sheet processing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0154178 A1 - Document ID: US20130154178A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/719,337 - Filed: 2012-12-19 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-20 - Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd. - Inventors: Nobuyoshi SUZUKI; Shingo MATSUSHITA; Takashi SAITO; Satoshi SAITO; Makoto HIDAKA; Katsuhiro KOSUGE; Akihiro MUSHA; Shohichi SATOH; Ikuhisa OKAMOTO - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130154178A1 ## CPC - B65H 39/00: Associating, collating, or gathering articles or webs (combinations of piling and depiling operations, of interest apart from the single operation of piling or depiling B65H83/00; machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together sheets or signatures B42C1/00) - B42C 1/12: Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures - B65H 31/34: Apparatus for squaring-up piled articles - B65H 39/10: Associating articles from a single source, to form, e.g. a writing-pad {(laminating B32B37/00, B32B38/00)} - B65H 2301/341: without change of plane of displacement - B65H 2301/4213: of a limited number of articles, e.g. buffering, forming bundles - B65H 2404/632: Wedge member - B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES - B42C: BOOKBINDING (cutting or perforating machines, devices or tools B26; folding sheets or webs B31F; ornamenting books B44) ## Abstract A sheet processing apparatus performs predetermined processing on a sheet or a sheet bundle. The sheet processing apparatus includes: a conveying unit that conveys a sheet along a conveying path; an aligning unit that, each time a sheet is conveyed by the conveying unit, aligns the sheet; a stacking unit that reverses a conveying direction of a sheet to convey the sheet backward to a branch path branched from the conveying path, and stacks the sheet in the branch path; and a binding unit that binds a sheet bundle aligned by the aligning unit, in the conveying path. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A sheet processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on a sheet or a sheet bundle, the sheet processing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a sheet along a conveying path; an aligning unit that, each time a sheet is conveyed by the conveying unit, aligns the sheet; a stacking unit that reverses a conveying direction of a sheet to convey the sheet backward to a branch path branched from the conveying path, and stacks the sheet in the branch path; and a binding unit that binds a sheet bundle aligned by the aligning unit, in the conveying path. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aligning unit includes: a branching claw that guides the sheet conveyed backward to the branch path; and an abutting surface with which a rear end of the sheet is brought into abutment to be aligned with the abutting surface in the conveying direction of the sheet. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the aligning unit includes: a shift mechanism that shifts a sheet in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet while conveying the sheet in the conveying direction; and a sheet-end detecting unit that detects a side end of a sheet, and the aligning unit causes the sheet-end detecting unit to detect a side end of a sheet moved by the shift mechanism and causes the shift mechanism to stop moving the sheet so as to align the sheet in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet with reference to a position where the sheet-end detecting unit detects the side end of the sheet. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the branching claw opens the branch path when a sheet is conveyed backward, and when, after a rear end of a sheet has been aligned with the abutting surface, a next sheet is conveyed, the branching claw closes the branch path and holds the previous sheet on the branch path. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the aligning unit performs alignment in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction earlier than alignment in the sheet conveying direction, and each time a sheet is conveyed, the aligning unit performs alignment of the sheet in a state where a sheet having already been conveyed and aligned are held in the branch path. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the binding unit binds a sheet bundle by pressing the sheet bundle to utilize inter-sheet adhesion provided by compression binding or deformation of sheets. ### Claim 7 An image forming system comprising a sheet processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on a sheet or a sheet bundle, the sheet processing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a sheet along a conveying path; an aligning unit that, each time a sheet is conveyed by the conveying unit, aligns the sheet; a stacking unit that reverses a conveying direction of a sheet to convey the sheet backward to a branch path branched from the conveying path, and stacks the sheet in the branch path; and a binding unit that binds a sheet bundle aligned by the aligning unit, in the conveying path. ### Claim 8 A sheet processing method of performing predetermined processing on a sheet or a sheet bundle, the sheet processing method comprising: conveying, by a conveying unit, a sheet along a conveying path; aligning, each time a sheet is conveyed by the conveying unit, the sheet; stacking, during the aligning, a sheet in a branch path branched from the conveying path by reversing a conveying direction of the sheet to convey the sheet backward to the branch path; and binding an aligned sheet bundle stacked at the stacking, in the conveying path.