Sheet finisher

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stacking means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• discharging means for discharging from said stacking means the sheets stapled by said stapling means;
• and
• control means for actuating said stapling means when a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means, for selectively actuating and not actuating said discharging means when a stapling operation is completed.

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• lateral shifting means movable to urge the sheets on said stacking means to align them with a reference position;
• stapling means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• an inlet for allowing manual insertion of sheets to said stacking means;
• manually operable means for said stapling means;
• detecting means for detecting edges of the sheets on said stacking means;
• control means for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it in accordance with information of a size of the sheets, and for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it until said detecting means detects the edge.

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stapling means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• an inlet for allowing manual insertion of sheets to said stacking means;
• manually operable means for said stapling means;
• detecting means for detecting a thickness of the stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means;
• and
• control means for controlling said stapling means to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of a number of sheets stacked on said stacking means, and to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of thickness of the stack of the sheets on said stacking means.

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stapling means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• detecting means for detecting presence or absence of the sheets on said stacking means;
• and
• control means for controlling said stapling means to actuate it when said control means receives both information that a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means and that the sheets are present on said stacking means, and for controlling said stapling means to prevent operation thereof after said stapling means is once operated, until said detecting means detects absence of the sheet.

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stapling means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• discharging means for discharging from said stacking means the sheets stapled by said stapling means;
• an inlet for allowing manual insertion of sheets to said stacking means;
• manually operable means for said stapling means;
• and
• automatic control means for actuating said stapling means when a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means, for actuating said discharging means when a stapling operation is completed, for actuating said stapling means in response to said manually operable means, and for not actuating said discharging means even when the stapling operation responsive to said manual means is completed;
• stack thickness detecting means for detecting a thickness of the stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means;
• first control means for controlling said stapling means to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of a number of sheets stacked on said stacking means, and to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of thickness of the stack of sheets on said stacking means;
• lateral shifting means movable to urge the sheets on said stacking means to align them with a reference position;
• sheet edge detecting means for detecting edges of the sheets on said stacking means;
• second control means for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it in accordance with information of a size of the sheets, and for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it until said detecting means detects the edge.

A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising:

• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stapling means for acting on a stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position of the stack to staple it;
• discharging means for discharging from said stacking means the sheets stapled by said stapling means;
• an inlet for allowing manual insertion of sheets to said stacking means;
• manually operable means for said stapling means;
• and
• automatic control means for actuating said stapling means when a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means, for actuating said discharging means when a stapling operation is completed, for actuating said stapling means in response to said manually operable means, and for not actuating said discharging means even when the stapling operation responsive to said manual means is completed;
• stack thickness detecting means for detecting a thickness of the stack of the sheets stacked on said stacking means;
• first control means for controlling said stapling means to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of a number of sheets stacked on said stacking means, and to prevent operation thereof in accordance with information of thickness of the stack of sheets on said stacking means;
• lateral shifting means movable to urge the sheets on said stacking means to align them with a reference position;
• sheet edge detecting means for detecting edges of the sheets on said stacking means;
• second control means for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it in accordance with information of a size of the sheets, and for controlling said lateral shifting means to move it until said detecting means detects the edge;
• sheet detecting means for detecting presence or absence of the sheets on said stacking means;
• and
• third control means for controlling said stapling means to actuate it when said control means receives both information that a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means and that the sheets are present on said stacking means;
• and for controlling said stapling means to prevent operation thereof after said stapling means is once operated, until said detecting means detects absence of the sheet.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• sheet feeding means for feeding sheets;
• image forming means for forming images on the sheets fed by said sheet feeding means;
• a sheet guiding passage for guiding the sheets through said image forming means from an upstream side of said image forming means to a downstream side thereof;
• means for applying an image formation signal to said image forming means;
• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged;
• stapling means for stapling a stack of sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined positions;
• discharging means for discharging from said stacking means the sheets stapled by said stapling means;
• an inlet for allowing manual insertion of sheets to said stacking means;
• manually operable means for said stapling means;
• and
• automatic control means for actuating said stapling means when a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means, for actuating said discharging means when a stapling operation is completed, for actuating said stapling means in response to said manually operable means, and for not actuating said discharging means even when the stapling operation responsive to said manual means is completed.

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

• sheet feeding means for feeding sheets;
• image forming means for forming images on the sheets fed by said sheet feeding means;
• a sheet guiding passage for guiding the sheets through said image forming means from an upstream side of said image forming means to a downstream side thereof;
• means for applying an image formation signal to said image forming means;
• stacking means for receiving and stacking plural sheets sequentially discharged from said image forming means;
• stapling means for stapling a stack of sheets stacked on said stacking means at a predetermined position;
• discharging means for discharging from said stacking means the sheets stapled by said stapling means;
• and
• control means for actuating said stapling means when a preset number of the sheets are stacked on said stacking means and for selectively actuating and not actuating said discharging means when the stapling operation is completed.