Sheet finisher and image forming system using the same

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• control means for causing said reinforce roller to move at a lower speed when coming down from the stack onto said guide plate after pressing said stack than when pressing said stack, whereby an impact ascribable to contact of said reinforce roller with said guide plate is reduced.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a support member supporting said reinforce roller;
• and
• a stationary guide member configured to guide said support member in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive means causes said reinforce roller to move along said guide member.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• shock absorbing means located at a contact position where said reinforce roller and said guide plate contact each other.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• control means for causing said reinforce roller to move at a lower speed when coming down from the stack onto said guide plate after pressing said stack than when pressing said stack, whereby an impact ascribable to contact of said reinforce roller with said guide plate is reduced.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a support member supporting said reinforce roller;
• and
• a stationary guide member configured to guide said support member in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive means causes said reinforce roller to move along said guide member.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• monitoring means for monitoring a movement of said reinforce roller;
• and
• control means for causing, when an error is detected during movement of said reinforce roller, said reinforce roller to move to a home position and causing display means to display a jam message.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• monitoring means for monitoring a movement of said reinforce roller;
• and
• control means for causing, when an error is detected during movement of said reinforce roller, said reinforce roller to move to a home position and causing display means to display a jam message.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• and
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive means causes a moving speed of said reinforce roller to vary from a time when said reinforce roller contacts the stack to a time when said reinforce roller does not contact said stack.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• and
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive means causes a moving speed of said reinforce roller to vary from a time when said reinforce roller contacts the stack to a time when said reinforce roller does not contact said stack.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• control means for controlling said drive means;
• wherein said control means causes said reinforce roller to perform pressing in accordance with a number of sheets constituting the stack.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• control means for controlling said drive means;
• wherein said control means causes said reinforce roller to move to a position close to an edge of the stack to be pressed beforehand and wait at said position.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• drive means for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• control means for controlling said drive means;
• wherein said control means causes said reinforce roller to move to a position close to an edge of the stack to be pressed beforehand and wait at said position.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• first drive means for causing said reinforce roller to move in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance with an electric driving force;
• and
• second drive means for allowing an operator to move said reinforce roller by hand.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming means for forming an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding means for feeding sheets to said image forming means one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• first drive means for causing said reinforce roller to move in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance with an electric driving force;
• and
• second drive means for allowing an operator to move said reinforce roller by hand.

A sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a shock absorber located at a contact position where said reinforce roller and said guide plate contact each other.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a controller configured to cause said reinforce roller to move at a lower speed when coming down from the stack onto said guide plate after pressing said stack than when pressing said stack, whereby an impact ascribable to contact of said reinforce roller with said guide plate is reduced.

A sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each of which includes an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a support member configured to support said reinforce roller;
• and
• a stationary guide member configured to guide said support member in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive device causes said reinforce roller to move along said guide member.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeder configured to feed sheets to said image forming device one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming device;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a shock absorber located at a contact position where said reinforce roller and said guide plate contact each other.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeder configured to feed sheets to said image forming apparatus one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to a fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred′from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a controller configured to cause said reinforce roller to move at a lower speed when coming down from the stack onto said guide plate after pressing said stack than when pressing said stack, whereby an impact ascribable to contact of said reinforce roller with said guide plate is reduced.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeder configured to feed sheets to said image forming apparatus one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinfoce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a support member configured to support said reinforce roller;
• and
• a stationary guide member configured to guide said support member in a direction perpendicular to the direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive causes said reinforce roller to move along said guide member.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a monitoring apparatus configured to monitor a movement of said reinforce roller;
• and,
• a controller configured to cause said reinforce roller to move to a home position and to cause a display means to display a jam message when an error is detected during movement of said reinforce roller.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data sheet feeder configured to feed sheets to said image forming device one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• a monitoring device configured to monitor a movement of said reinforce roller;
• and
• a controller configured to cause said reinforce roller to move to a home position and to cause a display device to display a jam message when an error is detected during movement of said reinforce roller.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip therof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinfoce roller and a guide plate;
• and
• a drive configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive device causes a moving speed of said reinforce roller to vary from a time when said reinforce roller contacts the stack to a time when said reinforce roller does not contact said stack.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeder configured to feed sheets to said image forming device one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets sequentially transferred from said image forming apparatus;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• and
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• wherein said drive device causes a moving speed of said reinforce roller to vary from a time when said reinforce roller contacts the stack to a time when said reinforce roller does not contact said stack.

A sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a control device for controlling said drive means;
• wherein said control device causes said reinforce roller to perform pressing in accordance with a number of sheets constituting the stack.

A sheet finisher for folding a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed theron, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device configured to move said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a control device configured to control said drive device;
• wherein said control means causes said reinforce roller to move to a position close to an edge of the stack to be pressed beforehand and wait at said position.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising an image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding device configured to feed sheets to said image forming device one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a drive device for moving said reinforce roller in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance;
• and
• a control device configured to control the drive device;
• wherein said control device causes said reinforce roller to move to a position close to an edge of the stack to be pressed beforehand and wait at said position.

A sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon, said sheet finisher comprising:

• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip therof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a first drive device configured to cause said reinforce roller to move in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance with an electric driving force;
• and
• a second drive device configured to allow an operator to move said reinforce roller by hand.

An image forming system comprising:

• an image forming apparatus comprising image forming device configured to form an image on a sheet in accordance with input image data and sheet feeding device configured to feed sheets to said image forming device one by one;
• and
• a sheet finisher configured to fold a stack of sheets each carrying an image formed thereon;
• said sheet finisher comprising:
• a fold roller pair configured to fold the stack of sheets being conveyed via a nip thereof;
• a reinforce roller configured to reinforce a fold of the stack of sheets folded by said fold roller pair between said reinforce roller and a guide plate;
• a first drive device configured to cause said reinforce roller to move in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance with an electric driving force;
• and
• a second drive device configured to allow an operator to move said reinforce roller by hand.