JP2006015683A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device which enables a bookbinder to be put into a bookbinding operation immediately after the bookbinder has finished the warming-up while enabling an user's waiting time to be shortened by giving a priority to the job for which the bookbinder is not used when the bookbinder is being warmed up. <P>SOLUTION: The image formation device is connected with the bookbinder which is equipped with a heating means by which an adhesive is melted, a temperature sensing means by which the temperature of the heating means is detected and a binding means by which a sheet bulk is bound with the adhesive. The image formation device is equipped with an output-time computing means by which the output time of the sheet bulk is computed, a warm-up time computing means by which the time needed for the sensed temperature's reaching the temperature enabling the heating means to perform the bookbinding is computed and a feed-start timing determination means by which the timing of the feed start of sheets delivered to the image formation device is determined according to the output time computed by the output time computing means and the time computed by the warm-up time computing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus including a heating unit that melts an adhesive for binding a sheet bundle is connected.

  Create a book by connecting the image forming device and bookbinding device, stacking multiple sheets of images formed by the image forming device on the sheet stacking means of the bookbinding device, creating a sheet bundle, and arranging and binding it The bookbinding system is a system widely used in the market.

  As a means for adjusting the end of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking means, the side surface of the sheet is guided by a guide member during sheet conveyance, the side surface is adjusted, and the leading end is abutted against the abutting member to adjust the leading end position. It is common to configure so that

  Stacked and aligned sheet bundles are held at their leading ends so that the sheets are not easily displaced, and are bound and bound by binding means.

  As the binding means, there are many ones that bind the end portion of the sheet bundle with a stapler, and one that binds by applying a molten hot melt adhesive to the leading end surface of the sheet bundle. In addition, there has also been proposed means for applying glue to the edge of the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus, stacking the sheets while aligning them, and finally applying the glue and pressing the edge of the sheet for binding. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Each binding means described above has its own characteristics, and an appropriate means is selected depending on the purpose of bookbinding.

  When binding a book with a large number of pages, the stapler is not suitable because of the limitation of the length of the binding needle and the ease of opening the page, and the means for applying glue also ensures strength. However, there is a difficulty in terms of easy page spread. Therefore, many means for binding the end portion of the sheet bundle with a hot melt adhesive that does not have such a problem have been adopted in bookbinding apparatuses.

  The procedure for binding a bundle of sheets with a hot melt adhesive is as follows. First, a binding tape to which an adhesive as a bookbinding material is applied is pressed to a predetermined position on the end of the aligned sheet, and then the binding tape is used. A member heated to a predetermined temperature is pressed from the back surface of the sheet to melt the adhesive and transfer the adhesive to the edge of the sheet. The sheet bundle whose end is fixed by the binding tape is discharged to the stacking tray of the bookbinding apparatus after the adhesive is solidified.

  Since the heating means for melting the adhesive of the binding tape by pressing the heated member needs to heat the binding tape uniformly in a short time, as the member, aluminum having good thermal conductivity, heat storage property, etc. Good stainless steel is used. A heater is provided on the surface opposite to the surface where the member and the binding tape contact, and the member is heated.

Since the member is required to have strength to cope with pressing and a uniform temperature distribution, the heat capacity is increased. As a result, the time from the start of energizing the heater to the time when the member reaches a predetermined temperature that can be used for bookbinding, the so-called warm-up time, becomes longer, and the image forming operation starts even when the image forming apparatus is ready. Waiting time to do may become long.

  In order to eliminate such inconvenience, it is conceivable to shorten the warm-up time by increasing the capacity of the heater and supplying a large amount of electric power, but usually the switchboard or outlet to which the device is connected There is a limit to the power supply, and there is a limit to the power that can be supplied by itself. In particular, when a bookbinding apparatus is connected to an image forming apparatus having a fixing unit using a heat roller, it is necessary to simultaneously supply power for warm-up to a plurality of heaters. There is a problem that the warm-up time is further limited.

  As a measure to shorten the warm-up time of the bookbinding device as much as possible under the limited conditions, the heating member of the bookbinding device is provided with a plurality of heaters, and the power supply to these heaters is controlled to control the entire heating member. There is also a proposal to raise the temperature uniformly (see, for example, Patent Document 2), but the problem has not been solved.

As a result of the warm-up time of the bookbinding apparatus becoming longer, the start of the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus is delayed. This is especially true when bookbinding with a large number of pages is performed, even when the bookbinding apparatus completes the warm-up and the bookbinding operation can be started. This creates a situation where the bookbinding operation cannot be started for a long time.
JP 2003-291558 A (page 1-2) JP-A-9-323488 (first page)

  The present invention has been made in view of the situation as described above, and its purpose is to output a sheet bundle to be used for bookbinding consisting of sheets formed with images immediately before the completion of warm-up of the bookbinding apparatus. It is to provide an image forming apparatus that allows a bookbinding apparatus to immediately enter a bookbinding operation upon completion of warm-up. Furthermore, if a plurality of jobs are reserved and the bookbinding apparatus is warming up, a reservation is made. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that shortens the waiting time of a user by giving priority to a job that does not use a bookbinding apparatus from among a plurality of jobs that are being processed.

The above-mentioned subject is achieved by realizing the following items.
(1) a sheet stacking unit that sequentially stacks sheets output by the image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle for one book;
Heating means for heating and melting the adhesive;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means;
Binding means for binding the sheet bundle with the melted adhesive;
An image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus is connected,
Output time calculating means for calculating the time required to output the sheet bundle for one book;
Warm-up time calculating means for calculating the time from the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means until the heating means reaches a temperature at which bookbinding can be performed;
A feed start timing determining means for determining a feed start timing of a sheet for image formation from the output time calculated by the output time calculating means and the time calculated by the warm-up time calculating means;
An image forming apparatus comprising:
(2) The feeding start timing determining unit is configured to start sheet feeding when the length of time calculated by the warm-up time calculating unit is equal to or less than the length of time calculated by the output time calculating unit. The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein instruction information is output.
(3) a sheet stacking unit that sequentially stacks sheets output by the image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle for one book;
Heating means for heating and melting the adhesive;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means;
Binding means for binding the sheet bundle with the melted adhesive;
An image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus is connected,
Output time calculating means for calculating the time required to output the sheet bundle for one book;
Warm-up time calculating means for calculating the time from the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means until the heating means reaches a temperature at which bookbinding can be performed;
Job reservation means for accepting reservations for multiple jobs;
Accepted when the time calculated by the warm-up time calculating means is longer than the time calculated by the output time calculating means and the difference between the two calculated time lengths is equal to or greater than a preset value. An execution job selection means for changing the job execution order,
An image forming apparatus comprising:
(4) The execution job selection unit calculates a processing time of a job that is not subjected to a bookbinding process that is reserved, and the calculated processing time is shorter than a difference between the two calculated time lengths. The image forming apparatus according to (3), wherein a job not subjected to the bookbinding process is selected and executed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a sheet bundle to be used for bookbinding is prepared in the sheet stacking means before the warm-up of the bookbinding apparatus is completed. The bookbinding operation can be started without waiting for the output of the sheet.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, since the output of the sheet bundle by the image forming apparatus is completed almost simultaneously with the completion of the warming up of the bookbinding apparatus, the operation of the image forming apparatus and the operation of the bookbinding apparatus are performed. This is performed continuously, and the standby state of the image forming apparatus can be minimized.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to execute a job that is not subjected to the bookbinding process while the bookbinding apparatus is warming up.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, according to the invention described in claim 3, the end time of the job which is not subjected to the bookbinding process which is executed during the warm-up of the bookbinding apparatus starts the process which performs the original bookbinding process. If it is calculated to be after the scheduled time, the job is executed according to the original job execution order, so that the delay in starting the execution of the job that performs the bookbinding process due to the change in the job execution order is prevented. The

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus is connected.

  The image forming apparatus A is a digital copying machine that forms an image by a known electrophotographic technique. The image forming apparatus A is provided with an automatic document feeder 1 at the top, and a bookbinding apparatus B is connected thereto.

  The image forming apparatus A includes an automatic document feeder 1, a reading unit 2, a writing unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a fixing unit 5, a reverse sheet discharging unit 6, a refeed unit 7, a sheet conveying unit 8, and a sheet feeding unit 9. , Control means C1, operation display means E, and the like.

  The automatic document feeder 1 sends the documents D placed on the document table 10 to the document transport path 11 one by one and discharges them to the document discharge table 12. The image surface of the document D being conveyed is read by the reading unit 2 at the document reading position 13. When scanning images on both sides of the document D, the document D that has been scanned on the first surface is reversed by the reversing means 14 and sent again to the document transport path 11 to read the second surface, and the document is discharged. The paper is discharged onto the paper board 12.

  The reading unit 2 includes a light source 21, a first mirror unit 22, a second mirror unit 23, an imaging lens 24, a CCD 25, and the like. The original image information, which is optical information, is converted into electrical information. The converted document image information is subjected to processing such as A / D conversion, shading correction, and compression, and is stored in the memory M1 of the control means C1.

  The writing unit 3 is a scanning optical system composed of a laser light source, a cylindrical lens, an Fθ lens, a mirror, a polygon, and the like, and forms an image with a laser beam that changes in accordance with image information read from the memory M. The surface of the photoconductor 41 of the means 4 is scanned to form a latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 41.

  The image forming unit 4 develops the latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 41 with the developing unit 42 and visualizes it as a toner image. The toner image is transferred to the sheet P sent out by the registration roller 81 by the transfer means 43. After the toner image has been transferred, the surface of the photosensitive member is subjected to the removal of residual toner by the cleaning unit 44 and is charged by the charging unit 45 to be used for the next latent image formation.

  The fixing unit 5 fixes the toner image on the sheet P by heating and pressing the sheet P carrying the toner image by the heat roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 that are arranged to face each other.

  The sheet P after image fixing is sent to the bookbinding apparatus B by the paper discharge roller 55.

  When the sheet P is reversed and discharged, the sheet P is guided downward by the discharge guide 57, the rear end of the sheet P is held by the reversing roller 61 of the reversing unit, and reversed to the discharge roller 55. Send it out.

  When image formation is performed on both sides of the sheet P, the sheet P is sent to the refeed unit 7 by the paper discharge guide 57 and a plurality of rollers, and the sheet P is reversed by the reverse roller 71 of the refeed unit 7. The sheet is again sent to the sheet conveying means 8.

  The sheet conveying unit 8 conveys the sheet P sent from the sheet feeding unit 9 through a sheet conveying path including a plurality of rollers and a guide member, and abuts the leading end of the sheet P against the registration roller 81. Then, the toner image is sent out toward the photosensitive member 41 to receive the toner image.

  The sheet feeding unit 9 includes a first sheet feeding unit 91 having a small capacity tray, a second sheet feeding unit 92 having a large capacity tray, and a third sheet feeding unit 93. Each of the sheet feeding units includes delivery rollers 916, 926, and 936 that feed the sheets P placed on each tray to the sheet conveying unit 8 one by one. Further, the second paper feeding means 92 and the third paper feeding means 93 are provided with upper surface detection means for detecting the upper surface position of the stacked sheets, and the control means based on the upper surface detection signal from the detection means. C1 raises and lowers the bottom surface of the tray on which the sheets P are stacked.

  The operation display means E is a touch panel provided on the upper surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus A, has both display and input functions, and is a control means for setting whether or not to perform bookbinding, including setting the number of copies. Used to perform an instruction operation to C1.

  The sheet P that has been image-formed by the image forming apparatus A and sent to the bookbinding apparatus B is guided by the sorting guide 101 so as to advance upward when the operation display means E selects a mode in which no bookbinding operation is performed. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 102.

  When the bookbinding operation mode is selected, the sheets P are sequentially sent to the sheet stacking unit 200, and the sheets P having the number of pages constituting one book are stacked. Further, a cover sheet or a sheet to be inserted between pages is placed on the sheet placing means 910, 920, and sent to the sheet stacking means 200 by the conveying means 100 so that the placed sheet enters a predetermined page position. You can also

  The sheet stacking unit 200 includes a sheet placing table 201, a leading end regulating plate 202, sheet crimping members 203 and 204, a roller 205, a sheet width regulating plate (not shown), and the like. The sheet P stacked on the sheet mounting table 201 is regulated by a leading edge restricting plate 202 at the leading end and a sheet width restricting plate at both sides to form an aligned sheet bundle. The sheet bundle is subjected to a binding process by a binding unit 300 described later, and one book is completed.

  When the placement of the last page is completed, the front end portion of the sheet bundle, which is the sheet P on which the pressure-bonding members 203 and 204 are stacked, is pressed from the upper surface and the lower surface so that the alignment of the stacked sheets P is not lost. To do. When the clamping by the crimping members 203 and 204 is completed, the leading end regulating plate 202 moves in the direction of the arrow b, and the leading end surface of the sheet bundle sandwiches the binding tape TP (not shown in FIG. 1 and shown in FIG. 2). Facing the binding means 300.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the vicinity of the binding means 300.

  The binding means 300 is a binding tape TP to which a hot melt type adhesive is applied, and the binding tape TP cut into a predetermined length and sent to the main heating means 310 from a tape former winding portion (not shown). Tape feeding means (not shown in FIG. 2, not shown in FIG. 3), main heating means 310 that presses the binding tape TP while heating it from the back to the leading end surface of the aligned sheet bundle, and both side surfaces of the binding tape TP It comprises side surface heating means 320, 330, etc. that press while heating the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface of the sheet bundle. The heating means of the present invention is a generic name including not only the main heating means 310 but also the side surface heating means 320 and 330.

  The main heating means 310 includes a heating member 311, a heater 312, a temperature detection means TD (not shown in FIG. 2, not shown in FIG. 3), etc. The heating member 311 includes a temperature detection means TD, a control means C 2, and the like. Is controlled so as to maintain a predetermined temperature. The side surface heating means 320 and 330 are different in shape from the main heating means 310, but are composed of similar heating members, heaters, and temperature detection means.

  The main heating means 310 of the binding means 300 is moved in the direction of arrow a by a heating means moving means (not shown), and presses the binding tape TP against the front end surface of the sheet bundle. By this operation, the adhesive of the binding tape TP is melted and transferred to the front end surface of the sheet bundle.

  Next, the binding tape side guides 321 and 332 move as indicated by arrows d1 and d2, and the side surfaces of the binding tape TP are bent toward the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface of the sheet bundle. When the movement of the binding tape side guides 321 and 331 is completed, the side surface heating means 320 and 330 are moved in the directions of the arrows f1 and f2, and the amount side surface of the folded binding tape TP is changed to the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface of the sheet bundle. Press while heating.

  When a preset pressing time elapses, the main heating unit 310 and the side surface heating units 320 and 330 return to their original positions and leave the sheet bundle. As a result, the melted adhesive of the binding tape TP is cured by a rapid drop in temperature, and the sheet bundle is bound by the adhesive cured at the front end surface.

  The sheet stacking means 200 moves to the dotted line position in FIG. 1 while holding the leading end portion of the bound sheet bundle with the crimping members 203 and 204. Thereafter, the pressure bonding members 203 and 204 are released from pressure bonding, and the roller 205 provided on the mounting table 201 is lifted on the mounting surface and rotated to be sent to the sheet bundle mounting table 400.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control relationship of the image forming system including the image forming apparatus A and the bookbinding apparatus B in the present embodiment.

  The control unit C1 of the image forming apparatus is a computer system including a CPU, an arithmetic unit, a memory M1, an input / output I / F, a communication unit, a drive circuit, and the like, and a program stored in the memory M1. Note that the control unit C2 of the bookbinding apparatus B is similar in size to the control unit C1, although the scale is small. The control means C1 and the control means C2 exchange information via the communication means T1. In the drawing, the description of blocks unnecessary for the description of the present embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of control for detecting the warm-up state of the bookbinding apparatus B and determining the timing for starting sheet feeding of the image forming apparatus.

  First, when an instruction for image forming work is input from the operation display unit E of the image forming apparatus A (step S1), it is detected by the control unit C1 whether or not the bookbinding mode is set to the operation display unit E (step S1). Step S2).

  When the bookbinding mode is not selected (step S2: N), the control unit C1 sends non-selection information for turning off the bookbinding apparatus B to the control unit C2. Upon receiving the non-selection information, the control unit C2 moves the sorting guide 101 to a predetermined position so that the sheet P on which the image is formed is discharged to the discharge table 102 of the bookbinding apparatus B, and the main heating unit of the binding unit 300 310, the heaters of the side surface heating means 320 and 330 are turned off or in a standby state. The image forming apparatus A forms an image on a predetermined sheet P in accordance with the job content set by the operation display means E, and discharges the sheet onto the discharge table 101 of the bookbinding apparatus B (step S3).

  If the bookbinding mode has been selected (step S2: Y), the control means C1 sends information to the control means C2 that the bookbinding apparatus B has been selected, and the control means C2 that has received the information sends the binding means 300. The heaters provided in the plurality of heating means are turned on (step S4).

  Next, the control means C2 sends the temperature information obtained via the temperature detection means TD to the control means C1 (step 5). From the temperature information, the warm-up time calculating means, which is a program stored in advance in the memory M1 of the control means C1, is executed, so that the heating means provided in the bookbinding apparatus B reaches a temperature at which the bookbinding operation can be performed. The time until completion, that is, the warm-up time (TW1) is calculated (step S6). In addition, the calculation method is performed by referring to a temperature rise graph provided in advance, and is a known method.

  Similarly, an output time calculation means, which is a program stored in advance in the memory M1 of the control means C1, is executed to output a sheet (referred to as a sheet bundle) used for bookbinding for one book of the job. The time required for this, that is, the sheet bundle output time (TS1) is calculated (step S7). The calculation method is a known method that is calculated from information such as the number of output sheets and output size set for the job and information related to the processing capability of the image forming apparatus A.

  The warm-up time TW1 and the sheet bundle output time TS1 are referred to when the feeding start timing determining means, which is a program stored in advance in the memory M1 of the control means C1, is executed. This is used to determine the timing of starting sheet feeding. The feeding start timing determining means first obtains the difference between the two times (D1 = TW1-TS1) (step S8). Next, the time difference D1 is compared with a preset set value TT1 (step S9), and if D1 ≦ TT1 (step S9: N), it is immediately instructed to start feeding. The flag is set at a predetermined position (step S10). If D1> TT1 (step S9: Y), the feeding start flag is set at a predetermined position after the time D1 has elapsed (step S11). ).

  As an example, when the set value TT1 is set to 0 (zero), when the warm-up time TW is the same as or shorter than the sheet bundle output time TS1, the feeding of the sheet P is started immediately, The timing for starting feeding is taken so that the warm-up completion and the output of the sheet bundle are completed at the same time.

  The feeding start flag is a timing at which feeding of the sheet P to the photosensitive member 41 is started by the sheet conveyance control unit that controls the sheet conveyance unit 8 which is a program stored in advance in the memory M1 of the control unit C1. It is a flag that is referenced to take

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of job selection processing to be executed. In the description of this figure, the description of the same part as in FIG. 4 described above is simplified.

  First, when an instruction for image forming work is input from the operation display unit E of the image forming apparatus A (step S20), it is detected by the control unit C1 whether or not the bookbinding mode is set to the operation display unit E (step S20). Step S21).

  When the bookbinding mode is not selected (step S21: N), the control unit C1 sends non-selection information for turning off the bookbinding apparatus B to the control unit C2. Upon receiving the non-selection information, the control unit C2 moves the sorting guide 101 to a predetermined position so as to discharge the sheet P on which the image has been formed onto the sheet discharge table 102 of the bookbinding apparatus B, and also controls the heating unit of the binding unit 300. Turn off the heater or put it in standby. The image forming apparatus A forms an image on a predetermined sheet P in accordance with the job J1 set by the operation display unit E, and discharges the sheet onto the discharge table 101 of the bookbinding apparatus B (step S22).

  If the bookbinding mode has been selected (step S21: Y), the control means C1 sends information indicating that the bookbinding apparatus B has been selected to the control means C2, and the control means C2 that has received the information sends the binding means 300. The heater provided in the heating means is turned on (step S22).

  Next, the control means C2 sends the temperature information obtained via the temperature detection means TD to the control means C1 (step 23). From the temperature information, the warm-up time (TW2) of the bookbinding apparatus B is calculated by the warm-up time calculating means (step S24).

  Similarly, the time necessary for outputting the sheet bundle of the job, that is, the sheet bundle output time (TS2) is calculated by the output time calculating means (step S25).

  First, the feeding start timing determining means obtains the difference between the above two times (D2 = TW2−TS2) (step S26). Next, the time difference D2 is compared with a preset set value TT2 (step S27), and if D2 ≦ TT2 (step S27: N), the flag for starting feeding is immediately set to a predetermined position. To execute the job J1 (step S22).

  If D2> TT2 (step S27: Y), the execution job selection means, which is a program stored in the memory M1, is activated, and the jobs set by the user on the operation display means E are displayed in the table format in the order of reservation. The job reservation means registered in step (b) extracts the earliest reserved job (J2) from among the jobs not subjected to the bookbinding process (step S28).

  Next, the execution job selection unit calculates a processing time (TS3) when the job J2 is executed (step S29).

  The processing time (TS3) is D2 which is the difference in time length between the warm-up time TW2 and the sheet bundle output time TS2, that is, how much the sheet bundle is output until the sheet feeding is started. It is compared with the time D2 indicating whether it is longer than the time, and the difference D3 = D2-TS3 is calculated (step S30). The calculated time length difference D3 is compared with a preset set value TT3 (step S31). If D3 ≦ TT3 (step S31: N), an instruction to execute is initially issued. The job J1 is executed (step S22). If D3> TT3 (step S31: Y), the job J2 is executed prior to the job J1 for which the execution instruction was initially issued (step S32).

  When 0 (zero) is set in the above-described TT3, the processing time of the job J2 is larger than D2 which is the difference in time between the waiting time until the sheet feeding is started and the sheet bundle output time. If it is determined that the job is short, the job J2 is executed prior to the job J1, that is, a process that does not perform the bookbinding process is executed while the bookbinding apparatus B is warming up. On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing time of the job J2 is long, the job J1 is executed after waiting for warm-up. That is, by changing the job order, it is possible to prevent the disadvantage that a job having a longer processing time than the warm-up time is processed in advance.

  By controlling the image forming apparatus as described above, a delay in the start of the bookbinding operation and a delay in the start of execution of the reserved job due to the warm-up time of the bookbinding apparatus B can be prevented.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an image forming system. It is a schematic diagram which shows the vicinity of the binding means. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship of the image forming system. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of feeding start timing determination. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the selection process of the job to perform.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic document feeder 2 Reading means 3 Writing means 4 Image forming means 5 Fixing means 8 Sheet conveying means 100 Conveying means 200 Sheet stacking means 203, 204 Crimping member 300 Binding means 310 Main heating means 320, 330 Side heating means 311 Heating member 322 heater C1 control means (image forming apparatus)
C2 control means (bookbinding device)
E Operation display means TD Temperature detection means TP Binding tape

Claims (4)

A sheet stacking means for sequentially stacking sheets output by the image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle for one book;
Heating means for heating and melting the adhesive;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means;
Binding means for binding the sheet bundle with the melted adhesive;
An image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus is connected,
Output time calculating means for calculating the time required to output the sheet bundle for one book;
Warm-up time calculating means for calculating the time from the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means until the heating means reaches a temperature at which bookbinding can be performed;
A feed start timing determining means for determining a feed start timing of a sheet for image formation from the output time calculated by the output time calculating means and the time calculated by the warm-up time calculating means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The feeding start timing determining means receives sheet feeding start instruction information when the time length calculated by the warm-up time calculating means is equal to or less than the time length calculated by the output time calculating means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus outputs the image. A sheet stacking means for sequentially stacking sheets output by the image forming apparatus to form a sheet bundle for one book;
Heating means for heating and melting the adhesive;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heating means;
Binding means for binding the sheet bundle with the melted adhesive;
An image forming apparatus to which a bookbinding apparatus is connected,
Output time calculating means for calculating the time required to output the sheet bundle for one book;
Warm-up time calculating means for calculating the time from the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means until the heating means reaches a temperature at which bookbinding can be performed;
Job reservation means for accepting reservations for multiple jobs;
Accepted when the time calculated by the warm-up time calculating means is longer than the time calculated by the output time calculating means and the difference between the two calculated time lengths is equal to or greater than a preset value. An execution job selection means for changing the job execution order,
An image forming apparatus comprising: The execution job selection means calculates a processing time of a job that is not subjected to a bookbinding process reserved, and if the calculated processing time is shorter than the difference between the two calculated time lengths, The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a job not subjected to bookbinding is selected and executed.

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