Finisher for an image forming apparatus

A finisher for an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of bins for stacking paper sheets each carrying an image formed by the image forming apparatus;
• sorting and discharging means for sorting the paper sheets and discharging said paper sheets to said bins;
• packaging means for transporting the paper sheets stacked on any one of said bins into an envelope held by envelope holding means, said envelope holding means comprising a pair of rollers rotatable in pressing contact with each other in an up-and-down direction;
• a vertical transport path for guiding the envelope to said rollers;
• envelope guide means for guiding the envelop to a nip portion of said rollers;
• envelope sensor means located on said vertical transport path upstream of the nip portion of said rollers;
• and
• control means for controlling said rollers such that said rollers stop transporting the envelop when said envelope sensor means senses the trailing end of said envelope being guided by said envelope guide means toward the nip portion of said rollers with a flap thereof located at the rear, thereafter said rollers being reversed by a predetermined amount to nip and hold said envelope.

A finisher for an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of bins for stacking paper sheets each carrying an image formed by the image forming apparatus;
• binding means for binding the paper sheets stacked on each of said bins to form a bound stack;
• transporting means for transporting the bound stack from each of said bins into an envelope;
• determining means for determining an envelope size capable of accommodating the bound stack;
• envelope size sensing means for sensing sizes of envelopes stored in the image forming apparatus;
• and
• comparing means for comparing the sizes of the envelopes sensed by said envelope size sensing means and the envelope size determined by said determining means.

A finisher for an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of bins for stacking paper sheets fed from a paper feed section an each carrying an image formed by the image forming apparatus;
• sorting and discharging means for sorting the paper sheets and discharging said paper sheets to said bins;
• transporting means for transporting the paper sheets stacked on any one of said bins into an envelope;
• paper size sensing means for sensing a size of the paper sheets fed from the paper feed section;
• envelope size sensing means for sensing sizes of envelopes stored in the image forming apparatus;
• determining means for determining an envelope size capable of accommodating the paper sheets of the size sensed by said paper size sensing means, and the number of paper sheets which can be accommodated in said envelope;
• comparing means for comparing the envelope size determined by said determining means and the envelope sizes sensed by said envelope size sensing means;
• inputting means for inputting a desired number of paper sheets to be packed in an envelope;
• envelope selecting means for selecting, among the envelope sizes determined by said determining means, the envelope size capable of accommodating paper sheets of the size sensed by said paper size sensing means and in the number entered on said inputting means when a pack mode for packaging paper sheets in an envelope is selected;
• and
• displaying means for displaying that the pack mode is inhibited when the inputted number of paper sheets is too great to be packed in the envelopes.

A finisher for an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of bins for stacking paper sheets fed from a paper feed section of the image forming apparatus and each carrying an image thereon;
• sorting and discharging means for sorting the paper sheets and discharging said paper sheets to said bins;
• transporting means for transporting the paper sheets stack on any one of said bins into an envelope;
• paper size sensing means for sensing a size of the paper sheets fed from the paper feed section;
• envelope size sensing means for sensing sizes of envelopes stored in the image forming apparatus;
• envelope size displaying means for displaying the sizes of the envelopes sensed by said envelope size sensing means;
• determining means for determining an envelope size capable of accommodating the paper sheets of the size sensed by said paper size sensing means;
• and
• comparing means for comparing the envelope size determined by said determining means and the envelope sizes sensed by said envelope size sensing means;
• said finisher being selectively operable in a first mode for automatically selecting, when a plurality of sizes of envelopes capable of accommodating the paper sheets are present as determined by said comparing means, minimum one of said sizes or a second mode for causing said envelope size displaying means to display all of said plurality of sizes.

A finisher for an image forming apparatus which can generate paper sheets each carrying a reproduced image copied from an original document, comprising:

• a plurality of bins for stacking the paper sheets each carrying the reproduced image formed by the image forming apparatus;
• sorting and discharging means for sorting the paper sheets and discharging said paper sheets to said bins;
• and
• packaging means for transporting the paper sheets stacked on any one of said bins into an envelope.