JP2014058383A - Sheet processing device, image forming system and sheet binding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve alignment of sheets before being bound, and to improve productivity by shortening a matching time.SOLUTION: A sheet processing device includes first matching means (a shift mechanism 205M, a sheet end detection sensor 220, a paper discharge roller 205, a branch claw 204, a branch passage 241 and a butting surface 242), a binding tool 210 for temporarily binding a sheet bundle without using a needle, second matching means (a matching fence 10 and a rear end fence 11) for matching sheets or a sheet bundle in the previous stage of main binding, and a stapler 12 for binding the sheet bundle by using a needle. The sheet bundle matched by the first matching means is temporarily bound by using a binding part 210, and then matched by the second matching means, and a temporarily bound part of the matched sheet bundle is bound by the stapler 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus, an image forming system, and a sheet binding method, and more particularly to sheet-like recording media such as paper, transfer paper, and sheets (hereinafter referred to as “sheets” including claims). )), A sheet processing apparatus that executes a binding process, and an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or a digital multifunction peripheral that combines at least two of these functions. The present invention relates to an image forming system and a sheet binding method executed in a sheet processing apparatus.

  After an image is formed by an image forming device such as a copier, printer, or digital multifunction peripheral (MFP), the sheets discharged outside the device are once stacked on the stacking tray and aligned, and then the metal needle is inserted. 2. Description of the Related Art A sheet post-processing apparatus that performs a binding process with a stapler to be used, a so-called finisher is widely known. Since this apparatus is unattended on a sheet after image formation and automatically executes a large number of binding processes, it is widely used because it is convenient and efficient.

  In recent years, binding is not performed with metal needles, the stacked sheets are pressed with a tooth mold, and a squeezing is applied to bind the fibers of the sheets together to join the sheets together, or half-punching, cutting A hand stapler that uses a binding tool such as bending, cutting and passing through a hole is also known. This type of binding tool suppresses supply consumption, facilitates recycling, and further has an advantage that it can be shredded as it is because it does not use a metal needle. In the following description, a binding method is described in which the stacked sheets are pressed by a pair of tooth molds (crimping molds), and the fibers of the sheets are entangled by applying a squeezing to bond (crimp) the sheets together. Called. Such a binding process by drawing and crimping is expected to become popular in finishers that perform post-processing because of the advantages described above.

  As described above, the binding device includes a so-called stapled staple device that binds using the staple needle as in the former and a so-called stapleless staple device that binds without using the staple needle as in the latter.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-167700 (Patent Document 1) includes a stapler with a needle and a stapleless stapler that binds the sheet by partially processing the sheet itself. An invention including selecting means for selecting and using any one is described. In the present invention, when a post-processed sheet is cut with a shredder or reused, a stapleless stapler is selected, and the post-processed sheet is stored for a long period of time or the number of sheets to be post-processed increases. Select the stapler with needle. That is, Patent Document 1 includes both a needleless binding device and a staple (stitching) device, and those that are to be shredded later are processed by the needleless binding device, and the number of sheets to be stored and the number of sheets are limited. It is disclosed that one of the processes is selectively performed, such as when a large number of processes are performed by the stapling apparatus.

  On the other hand, there is also known an apparatus that transports a plurality of sheets stored in a prestack tray to a staple tray as a bundle, and then binds them together with the transported sheets. An example of such an apparatus is the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-324933 (Patent Document 2). According to the present invention, it is possible to perform the same function as the case where a sheet conveying means is not provided in the prestack path. A pre-stack path that branches and temporarily retracts the paper; and a transport roller that transports the paper in a direction opposite to the staple tray side and the staple tray side, and temporarily retracts to the pre-stack path. In a paper processing apparatus having a function of superimposing and transporting a preceding preceding paper on a succeeding paper, a branching claw for guiding the paper to a pre-stack path when the paper is backflowed is provided in the transport path. The paper is made to flow backward by the transport roller that is transported, and the paper is retracted by the branching claw and the transport roller to the pre-stack path where the transport function is not set. That. In this apparatus, the pre-stacked sheet bundle is conveyed to a downstream staple tray, overlapped with a post-feed sheet, and then bound by a stapler.

  By the way, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, during post-processing of sheets, a plurality of sheets are made to wait in a pre-stack tray (pre-stack path) while post-processing to a preceding sheet bundle, and are collectively put into a staple tray. Transport. At this time, since the pre-stack tray does not perform alignment, the pre-stacked sheets are collectively conveyed to the staple tray as a single bundle regardless of the state of disjoint sheets. For this reason, the sheet is likely to be misaligned, resulting in poor consistency. The deterioration of the alignment results in a long time for aligning the sheets in the staple tray, resulting in a decrease in productivity.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the alignment of sheets before binding and to improve productivity by shortening the alignment time.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a first aligning unit that aligns sheets in a pre-stage of temporary binding, a temporary binding unit that temporarily binds a bundle of sheets without using a needle, and a sheet and And / or a second aligning unit that aligns the sheet bundle, and a main binding unit that binds the sheet bundle using a needle, and uses the temporary binding unit for the sheet bundle aligned by the first aligning unit. The sheet processing apparatus is characterized in that after the temporary binding is performed, the sheet is aligned by the second alignment unit and the sheet bundle is bound to the aligned sheet bundle by the main binding unit.

According to the present invention, the alignment of sheets before binding can be improved, and the productivity can be improved by shortening the alignment time.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of embodiments.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the needleless binding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the staple-less binding part in FIG. It is a front view of the staple-less binding part in FIG. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the staple-less binding part centering on a branch claw when the branch claw in FIG. 3 is a sheet conveyance state. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the needleless binding part centering on a branch nail when the branch nail in FIG. 3 switches a sheet back. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of the non-binding of a binding tool. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of binding of the binding tool of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the completion | finish of initial operation in the case of performing online binding in a needleless binding part. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state immediately after the first sheet is discharged from the image forming apparatus and loaded into the stapleless binding unit from the state of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when the trailing edge of the sheet is separated from the nip of the entrance roller and exceeds the branch path from the state of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when the sheet is switched back from the state of FIG. 10 to align the sheet conveyance direction. FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory diagram showing a state when the first sheet is made to wait on the branch path from the state of FIG. 11 and the next second sheet is carried in. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when the 2nd sheet | seat is carried in from the state of FIG. FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when the final sheet is aligned to form a sheet bundle from the state of FIG. 13. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows a state when performing the binding operation | movement time from the state of FIG. FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state when a sheet bundle is discharged from the state of FIG. 15. It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the sheet | seat post-processing apparatus which has the pre-stack function implemented conventionally. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a prestack operation when the first sheet is conveyed. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when the first sheet is retracted to the prestack path before the second sheet is conveyed. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a second sheet is conveyed and overlapped with the leading edge of the first sheet. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation when a second sheet is stacked and conveyed on the first sheet. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system in which a needleless binding device is connected between an image forming apparatus and a sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a needleless binding device and a sheet post-processing device are integrally configured in a body of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a binding tool of a stapleless binding device is provided in the sheet post-processing apparatus, and the sheet post-processing apparatus is connected to the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example which provided the binding tool in FIG. 24 in the prestack path | route. It is a figure which shows the example from which the structure of a prestack path | route differs from FIG. It is a figure which shows the state of the sheet | seat bundle of 1 place binding which performed the main binding using the staple needle from the top of the temporary binding using deep drawing. It is a figure which shows the state of the sheet | seat bundle of the 2 places binding which performed the main binding using the staple needle | hook from the top of the temporary binding using deep drawing. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet bundle when temporary binding is performed on two sheet bundles, and two temporarily bound sheet bundles are collectively bound. FIG. 30 is a plan view of a sheet bundle bound as shown in FIG. 29. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the binding part of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a comparison between a case where deep drawing (temporary binding) is performed and stapled with a staple, and a case where binding is performed using staples without deep drawing (temporary binding). 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a stapleless binding apparatus, and a sheet post-processing apparatus. FIG.

  According to the present invention, after a sheet is temporarily bound by a stapleless binding device at a preceding stage, the sheet is conveyed as a single aligned sheet bundle, and staples are stapled by a binding device with a needle at the same location as the temporary binding processing portion to form a main binding. It is characterized by.

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

1. In this embodiment, a binding device that binds a sheet bundle without a needle is used. First, this apparatus will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing two aspects of an image forming system including a needleless binding device used in an embodiment of the present invention. An image forming system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an image forming apparatus 101 and a needleless binding apparatus 201. The stapleless binding device 201 is a so-called transport path binding device provided in a sheet transport path in which the binding device discharges a sheet from the image forming apparatus 101. FIG. 1A shows an aspect installed in the conveyance path of the image forming apparatus 101, and FIG. 1B shows an aspect installed outside the conveyance path.

  The stapleless binding device 201 includes an alignment function for superimposing and aligning sheets in the conveyance path, and a binding function for binding the aligned sheet bundle in the conveyance path. The mode of FIG. 1A is also called an in-cylinder processing apparatus because it is post-processed in the cylinder of the image forming apparatus 101. As described above, the needleless binding device 201 according to the present embodiment is small in size, and can be easily attached or arranged in the body or on the side surface according to the form of the image forming apparatus 101.

  The image forming apparatus 101 includes an image forming engine unit 102 including an image processing unit and a paper feeding unit, a reading engine unit 103 that reads an image and converts it into image data, and an automatic document that automatically feeds a document to be read into the reading engine unit 103. And a feeding device (ADF) 104. In the mode of FIG. 1A, the sheet after image formation is discharged by a paper discharge unit provided in the cylinder of the image forming apparatus 101. In the mode of FIG. 1B, the sheet after image formation is This is performed by a paper discharge unit provided outside the image forming apparatus 101.

  2 is a plan view of the needleless binding device 201 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view. 1 to 3, the stapleless binding device 201 includes an entrance sensor 202, an entrance roller 203, a branching claw 204, a binding tool 210, and a paper discharge roller 205 from the entrance side along the sheet conveyance path 240. The entrance sensor 202 detects the leading and trailing edges of the sheet discharged from the discharge roller 102 of the image forming apparatus 101 and carried into the stapleless binding apparatus 201 and the presence or absence of the sheet. As the entrance sensor 202, for example, a reflection type optical sensor is used. Note that a transmissive optical sensor may be used instead of the reflective optical sensor.

  The entrance roller 203 is located at the entrance of the stapleless binding device 201 and has a function of receiving a sheet discharged by the discharge roller 105 of the image forming apparatus 101 and carrying it into a binding tool (stapling device) 210. Moreover, although mentioned later, the drive source (drive motor) which can control a stop, rotation, and conveyance amount and CPU (not shown) which controls this drive source are also provided. The entrance roller 203 abuts the leading end portion of the sheet conveyed from the image forming apparatus 101 side to the nip with the pair of rollers, and also performs skew correction.

  A branching claw 204 is disposed at the subsequent stage of the entrance roller 203. The branch claw 204 is provided to guide the rear end of the sheet to the branch path 241. In this case, after the trailing edge of the sheet exceeds the branching claw 204, the branching claw 204 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3, and the sheet is conveyed by the paper discharge roller 205 in the direction opposite to the carry-in direction. Thereby, the sheet rear end side is guided to the branch path 241 side. As will be described later, the branch claw 204 is driven by a solenoid to perform a swinging operation. A motor can be used instead of the solenoid. The branching claw 204 is driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 and can press the sheet or the sheet bundle against the conveying surface of the branching path 241 when rotated. Thereby, the branching claw 204 can fix the sheet or the sheet bundle by the branching path 241.

  The paper discharge roller 205 is located immediately before the exit of the last stage of the conveyance path 240 of the stapleless binding apparatus 201 and has a function of conveying, shifting, and discharging the sheet. Further, similarly to the entrance roller 203, a drive source (drive motor) capable of controlling the stop, rotation, and conveyance amount of the paper discharge roller 205 is provided, and this drive source is controlled by the CPU. The paper discharge roller 205 is shifted by a shift mechanism 205M. The shift mechanism 205M includes a shift link 206, a shift cam 207, a shift cam stud 208, and a shift home position sensor 209.

  The shift link 206 is provided at the shaft end 205a of the paper discharge roller 205 and receives a shift moving force. The shift cam 207 has a shift cam stud 208 and is a rotating disk-shaped component. A sheet discharge roller 205 that is movably inserted into the shift link long hole portion 207a through the shift cam stud 208 by the rotation of this component is used as a sheet. Move in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. This movement is a so-called shift. The shift cam stud 208 functions in conjunction with the shift link elongated hole portion 207 a to convert the rotational motion of the shift cam 207 into the linear motion of the paper discharge roller 205 in the axial direction. The shift home position sensor 209 detects the position of the shift link 206, sets the position detected by the shift home position sensor 209 as the home position, and executes rotation control of the shift cam 207 with reference to the home position. This control is executed by the CPU.

  The binding tool 210 includes a sheet edge detection sensor 220, a binding tool home position sensor 221 and a guide rail 230 for moving the binding tool. The binding tool 210 is a mechanism that binds the sheet bundle PB, and is referred to as a drawing and crimping binding stapler. In this embodiment, the sheet is deformed by being sandwiched between a pair of tooth molds 261 and pressurized, and a function of binding and binding the fibers of the sheet is provided. In addition to this binding method, a hand stapler that uses a binding tool such as half-punching, cutting, bending, and passing through a hole is also known. In any case, it contributes greatly to resource conservation by reducing supply consumption, making it easier to recycle, and being shredded. Therefore, when such a binding tool 210 is used, even in a sheet post-processing apparatus, that is, a so-called finisher, it is possible to perform a binding process with a single sheet, such as a draw-and-press binding, without using a metal needle.

  For example, a binding tool disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 36-13206 is known as a hand stapler for drawing and crimping, and as a hand stapler for cutting and bending and binding through a hole, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication 37- A binding tool disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 7208 is known.

  The sheet edge detection sensor 220 is a sensor for detecting the side edge of the sheet. When the sheets are aligned, the sensor detection position is aligned with the reference. The binding tool home position sensor 221 detects the position of the binding tool 210 that can move in the sheet width direction. The home position is a position where the binding tool 210 is located at a position that does not interfere with the conveyance of the maximum size sheet. , Detect its position. The guide rail 230 is a rail that guides the movement of the binding tool 210 so that the binding tool 210 can move stably in the sheet width direction. The guide rail 230 is installed so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction of the conveyance path 240 of the stapleless binding device 201 from the home position to a position where the binding tool 210 can bind a sheet of the minimum sheet size. Yes. The binding tool 210 moves along the guide rail 230 by a moving mechanism including a drive motor (not shown).

  The conveyance path 240 is a conveyance path for conveying and discharging the received sheet, and penetrates from the entrance side to the exit side of the stapleless binding apparatus. The branch path 241 is a transport path that reversely transports the sheet (switches back) and carries it in from the rear end side, and branches from the transport 240. The branch path 241 is provided for stacking and aligning sheets, and functions as a stacking unit or a prestack path (prestack tray). The abutting surface 242 is a reference surface that is provided at the end of the branch path 241 and abuts and aligns the rear end of the sheet. In this embodiment, the tooth mold 261 is a pressure-clamping material having a shape in which a pair of concavities and convexities mesh with each other. As will be described later, the tooth mold 261 includes an upper first tooth mold portion 216a and a lower second tooth mold portion 261b. Therefore, the sheet bundle PB is sandwiched between the tooth mold surfaces facing each other and pressurized, and has a function of performing draw-down crimp binding.

  4 and 5 are views showing the main part of the needleless binding device 201 with the branch claw 204 as the center. FIG. 4 shows details of the related mechanism when the branching claw 204 is in sheet conveyance, and FIG. 5 shows details of the related mechanism when the sheet is switched back. The branching claw 204 is provided so as to be able to swing within a preset angle range with respect to the support shaft 204b in order to switch the sheet transporting path to either the transporting path 240 or the branching path 241. The branching claw 204 is a position where the sheet received from the right side in the drawing can be conveyed downstream without resistance, that is, the position shown in FIG. 4 is the home position, and is always elastically pressed counterclockwise by the spring 251 in the drawing. Has been.

  The spring 251 is hung on the branch claw movable lever portion 204a, and the plunger of the branch solenoid 250 is connected to the branch claw movable lever portion 204a. In addition, the branch path conveyance surface 241 and the branch claw 204 hold the sheet in the branch conveyance path 241 in a sandwiched state when the sheet is conveyed to the branch conveyance path 241 in the state of FIG. be able to. The transfer path is switched by turning on / off the branch solenoid 250. That is, when the branch solenoid 250 is turned on, the branch claw 204 rotates in the direction of the arrow R1 in FIG. 5, and the sheet can be guided to the branch path 241 by closing the conveyance path 240 and opening the branch path 241.

  6 and 7 are diagrams showing details of the binding tool 210 according to the present embodiment. The binding tool 210 includes a tooth mold 261, a pressure lever 262, a link group 263, a drive motor 265, an eccentric cam 266, and a cam home position sensor 267 as components. The tooth mold 261 is a pressurizing member having a shape that engages in a pair of upper and lower sides. This tooth mold 261 is located at the operating end of a plurality of link groups 263 combined, and is contacted and separated by the pressurizing and releasing operation of the pressurizing lever 262 as the operating end.

  The pressure lever 262 is rotated by a rotating eccentric cam 266. The eccentric cam 266 is rotated by receiving a driving force from the driving motor 265, and the rotational position of the cam is controlled based on the detection information of the cam home position sensor 267. The rotational position defines the distance between the rotating shaft 266a of the eccentric cam 266 and the cam surface, and the pressing amount of the pressure lever 262 is determined based on this distance. The position where the cam home position sensor 267 detects the filler 266b that is the detection target of the eccentric cam 266 is the home position. As shown in FIG. 6, when the rotational position of the eccentric cam 266 is at the home position, the tooth mold 261 is in an open state. In this state, the binding process is impossible and the sheet bundle can be received.

  When binding the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle is inserted between the tooth molds 261 with the tooth mold 261 shown in FIG. 6 open, and the drive motor 265 is rotated. When the drive motor 265 starts rotating, the eccentric cam 266 rotates in the direction of arrow R2 in FIG. In response to this rotation, the cam surface of the eccentric cam 266 is displaced, and the pressure lever 262 rotates in the direction of arrow R3 in the figure. The rotational force increases through the link group using the lever and is transmitted to the tooth mold 261 at the working end.

  When the eccentric cam 266 rotates by a certain amount, the upper and lower tooth molds 261 mesh with each other, pinch the sheet bundle, and pressurize it. The sheet bundle is deformed by this pressurization, and the fibers of adjacent sheets are entangled and bound. Hereinafter, such a binding method is referred to as a deep drawing method. Thereafter, the drive motor 265 rotates in the reverse direction and stops at the detection information of the cam home position sensor 267. As a result, the upper and lower tooth molds 261 return to the state shown in FIG. 6, and the sheet bundle can be moved. Further, the lever 262 has a spring property, and bends when an overload is applied, thereby releasing the overload.

  FIG. 8 to FIG. 16 are operation explanatory views showing the online binding operation by the binding tool 210 of the needleless binding device 201. In each figure, (a) is a plan view and (b) is a front view. Further, in the present embodiment, the online binding means that a needleless binding device 201 is installed at a paper discharge port of the image forming apparatus 101 as shown in FIG. 201 is continuously received and matched, and binding processing is performed. On the other hand, there is a binding method called manual binding. In this method, a sheet printed out from the image forming apparatus 201 or a sheet printed out separately is bound by the binding tool 210 of the needleless binding apparatus 201. Since manual binding is not performed by a series of operations from the paper discharge of the image forming apparatus 201, it is included in offline binding.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state when the initial operation of the online binding operation is completed. When output of an image-formed sheet is started from the image forming apparatus 101, each unit moves to the home position, and the initial process (operation) is completed. FIG. 8 shows the state at this time.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state immediately after the first sheet P1 is discharged from the image forming apparatus 101 and loaded into the stapleless binding apparatus. Before the first sheet P1 from the image forming apparatus 101 is carried into the stapleless binding apparatus 201, the CPU of the stapleless binding apparatus 201 performs a mode related to the sheet processing control mode from the CPU (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 101. The information and sheet information are received, and based on the information, an acceptance standby state is entered.

  In the control mode, three modes, a straight mode, a shift mode, and a binding mode, are set. In the straight mode, after the entrance roller 203 and the discharge roller 205 start rotating in the sheet conveyance direction, the sheets P1,... Pn are sequentially conveyed, discharged, and the final sheet Pn is discharged. The entrance roller 208 and the paper discharge roller 205 are stopped. Note that n is a positive integer of 2 or more.

  In the shift mode, the entrance roller 203 and the paper discharge roller 205 start to rotate in the transport direction in an acceptance standby state. In the shift sheet discharge operation, the first sheet P1 is received and conveyed, and when the rear end of the first sheet P1 passes through the entrance roller 203, the shift cam 207 rotates by a certain amount and the sheet discharge roller 205 moves in the axial direction. Move to. At this time, the first sheet P1 also moves with the movement of the paper discharge roller 205. When the first sheet P1 is discharged, the shift cam 207 rotates to return to the home position, and prepares for the next loading of the second sheet P2. This shift operation of the paper discharge roller 205 is repeated until the discharge of the nth (final) sheet Pn of the same portion is completed. As a result, the sheet bundle PB for one copy (one book) is discharged and stacked while being shifted to one side. When the first sheet P1 of the next part is carried in, the shift cam 207 rotates in the opposite direction to the previous part, and the sheet P1 moves to the opposite side to the previous part and is discharged.

  In the binding mode, the entrance roller 203 is stopped in the acceptance standby state, and the paper discharge roller 205 starts to rotate in the transport direction. Further, the binding tool 210 moves to a standby position that is retracted by a certain amount from the sheet width and stands by. In this case, the entrance roller 203 also functions as a registration roller. That is, the first sheet P <b> 1 is carried into the stapleless binding device 201, the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the entrance sensor 202, and further strikes the nip of the entrance roller 203. Then, the first sheet P1 is conveyed by the discharge roller 102 of the image forming apparatus 101 by a distance that causes a certain amount of bending from the abutted position. After being transported by the distance, the entrance roller 203 starts to rotate. Thereby, the skew correction of the first sheet P1 is performed. FIGS. 9A and 9B show the state at this time.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state when the trailing edge of the sheet leaves the nip of the entrance roller 203 and exceeds the branch path 241. The conveyance amount of the first sheet P1 is counted based on information detected by the inlet sensor 202 at the trailing edge of the sheet, and the position information of the sheet conveyance position is grasped by the CPU of the stapleless binding device. When the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the nip of the entrance roller 203, the entrance roller 203 stops rotating for receiving the next second sheet P2. At the same timing, the shift cam 207 rotates in the direction of arrow R4 (clockwise in the figure) in FIG. 10, and the discharge roller 205 starts moving in the axial direction with the first sheet P1 nipped. As a result, the first sheet P1 is conveyed while being skewed in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. Thereafter, when the sheet end detection sensor 220 provided or incorporated in the binding tool 210 detects the side end portion of the sheet P, the shift cam 207 stops and then reverses, and the sheet end detection sensor 220 is in the non-detection state of the sheet P. The shift cam 207 stops. Then, the operation is completed, and the discharge roller 205 stops at a predetermined position where the trailing edge of the sheet has passed the leading edge of the branching claw 204.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state when the sheet P1 is switched back to align the conveyance direction of the sheet P1. The branching claw 204 is rotated in the direction of the arrow R5 in the state shown in FIG. As a result, the first sheet P1 is switched back in the direction of the arrow D2, and the rear end of the sheet is carried into the branch path 241 and further abutted against the abutting surface 242. The abutting of the trailing edge of the sheet aligns the trailing edge of the sheet with the abutting surface 242 as a reference. When the first sheet P1 is aligned, the paper discharge roller 205 stops.

  At this time, the paper discharge roller 205 slips when the first sheet P1 hits the abutting surface 242, so that no conveying force is applied. That is, when the first sheet P1 switches back and hits the abutting surface 242 and the rear end of the sheet is aligned with the abutting surface 242 as a reference, the sheet P1 is set so as to be further conveyed and not buckled. ing.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state where the first sheet P1 is made to wait on the branch path 241 and the next second sheet P2 is carried in. After the preceding first sheet P1 is aligned with the abutting surface 242 as a reference, the branch claw 204 is rotated in the direction of the arrow R6 in the figure. As a result, the sheet rear end located in the branch path 241 is strongly pressed against the surface of the branch path 241 by the contact surface 204c, which is the lower surface of the branch claw 204, so that the sheet does not move. When the succeeding second sheet P2 is carried in from the image forming apparatus 101, skew correction is performed by the entrance roller 203 in the same manner as the preceding first sheet P1. Next, at the same time as the rotation of the entrance roller 203 starts, the paper discharge roller 205 also starts to rotate in the transport direction.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state when the second sheet P2 is carried in. When the second sheet P2 and the third and subsequent sheets P3,..., Pn are conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 12, the operations shown in FIGS. The sheets conveyed from the forming apparatus 101 are moved to a preset position and overlapped, and the aligned sheet bundle PB is stacked (stacked) in the conveyance path 240.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state when the sheet bundle PB is formed by aligning the final sheet Pn. When the operation of the final sheet Pn as the aligned sheet bundle PB is completed, the discharge roller 204 is rotated by a certain amount in the transport direction and stopped. With this operation, the bending that occurs when the rear end of the sheet is abutted against the abutting surface 242 is eliminated. Thereafter, the branching claw 204 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow R5, and the contact surface 204c is separated from the branching path 241 to release the pressure applied to the sheet bundle PB. As a result, the sheet bundle PB is released from the restraining force by the branching claw 204 and can be conveyed by the paper discharge roller 205.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state during the binding operation. The sheet discharge roller 205 is rotated in the conveyance direction from the state shown in FIG. 14, and the sheet bundle PB is conveyed by a distance where the position of the tooth mold 261 of the binding tool 210 matches the binding position of the sheet bundle PB, and stopped at that position. Thereby, the processing position of the sheet bundle PB in the conveyance direction matches the position of the tooth mold 261 in the conveyance direction. Then, the binding tool 210 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow D3 by a distance corresponding to the position where the position of the tooth mold 261 of the binding tool 210 matches the processing position of the sheet, and stopped. As a result, the processing position in the width direction of the sheet bundle PB matches the position of the tooth mold 261 in the transport direction and the width direction. At this time, the branching claw 204 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow R6 and returns to the sheet receiving state. Thereafter, the binding tool driving motor 265 is turned on, the sheet bundle PB is pressurized by the tooth mold 261, and crimped and bound by performing squeezing. In this embodiment, an example in which the binding tool 210 that performs the drawing and crimping binding is used is illustrated. However, a binding tool that has a binding method such as half punching, cutting, bending and passing through a hole is used. Needless to say.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a state when the sheet bundle PB is discharged. The sheet bundle PB bound as shown in FIG. 15 is discharged by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 205. After the sheet bundle PB is discharged, the shift cam 207 is rotated in the direction of arrow R7 to return to the home position (position in FIG. 8). In parallel with this, the binding tool 201 is moved in the direction of the arrow D4 in the figure to return to the home position (position in FIG. 8). As a result, the binding operation is completed for the alignment operation of one (one) sheet bundle PB. If there is a next part, the operations shown in FIGS. 8 to 16 are repeated, and a sheet bundle PB of one part that has been drawn and crimped in the same manner is created.

2. Sheet post-processing apparatus used in this embodiment In this embodiment, two or more sheets are stacked in a conveyance path to generate a sheet bundle, and the sheet bundle is conveyed to the subsequent stage. Therefore, a sheet post-processing apparatus having this function will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the operation of a sheet post-processing apparatus having a pre-stack function that has been conventionally performed. Since the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 shown in FIG. 17 has the same configuration as that of the sheet post-processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 described above and its function is also known, only the main part will be described.

  The sheet output from the image forming apparatus 101 enters the conveyance path 19 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 301, is conveyed by the conveyance roller 4 and the conveyance roller 5, and is secured by rotating the switching claw 9 by the moving force of the sheet. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the staple processing tray 18 by the conveyance roller 7 and the conveyance roller 8 (in the direction of arrow A). The sheet conveyed to the staple processing tray 18 falls by its own weight in the direction of arrow B, and the conveyance direction is aligned by the rear end fence 11. The trailing edge of the sheet is detected by the sensor S2 in advance, and the width direction is aligned by the alignment fence 10 after a time during which the sheet conveyance direction can be aligned. By repeating this operation, a large number of sheets are aligned one by one. Note that S1 is an entrance sensor that detects the entry of a sheet into the sheet post-processing apparatus 301. In some cases, the rear end fence 11 may be forcedly abutted by providing a hitting roller.

  When the final sheets are aligned, the aligned sheet bundle is bound by the stapler 12, and the discharge belt 14 in the staple processing tray 18 rotates in the direction of arrow C. As a result, the discharge claw 13 attached to the discharge belt 14 lifts the bound sheet bundle and moves it from the staple processing tray 18 in the direction of arrow D. In this process, the sheet bundle is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller 15 and the driven roller 16, applied with a driving force, discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3, and stacked.

  The paper discharge tray 3 has a mechanism that moves up and down according to the number of stacks. The stapler 12 is an end surface binding device that binds the sheet end surface with a metal staple.

  The driven roller 16 is attached to a conveyance guide plate 17 and is configured to be swingable around a fulcrum 17a so that the same conveyance force can be obtained even if the thickness of a sheet bundle to be conveyed changes. With this configuration, the weight of the conveyance guide plate 17 is applied to the sheet discharge roller 15 side, and the rotational force of the sheet discharge roller 15 serves as the sheet bundle conveyance force to convey the sheet bundle. At this time, the discharge claw 13 pushes up the sheet bundle and plays an auxiliary role for the paper discharge operation of the paper discharge roller 15.

  The above is the operation in the case of one copy. In the case of two or more copies, the image forming apparatus 101 executes the copy interval between the final sheet of the copy and the first copy of the next copy in the same manner as the other cases, and continuously forms sheets formed with images at that interval. The sheet is sent to the sheet post-processing apparatus 301.

  FIG. 18 to FIG. 21 are explanatory views of the pre-stacking operation in which the sheet is temporarily stored in the pre-stack tray (pre-stack path) that once stores the sheet and then transported again. In the processing operation for the second and subsequent copies, the conveyance rollers 4, 5, 7, and 8 rotate in the direction of arrow R11 in FIG. 18 to convey the first sheet P1 of the second copy. When the sensor S2 detects the trailing edge of the sheet and the alignment unit 18 is not in a state of receiving the sheet P1, the transport rollers 6, 7, and 8 are reversed in the direction of the arrow R12 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 19, the sheet P <b> 1 is conveyed in the reverse direction by the switching claw 9 and enters the prestack path 20. And if the sensor S2 detects the edge part of the sheet | seat P1, the conveyance rollers 6, 7, and 8 will be stopped.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the second sheet P2 is conveyed by the conveying rollers 4 and 5, and when the sensor S2 detects the leading edge of the second sheet P2, the conveying rollers 6, 7, and 8 rotate in the direction of arrow R11 in FIG. The sheets P1 and P2 are conveyed in a stacked state. If the processing tray 18 is in a state of receiving a sheet when the trailing edge of the sheet P1 is detected by the sensor S2, the sheet is discharged to the staple processing tray 18 as it is. If the staple processing tray 18 is not in a state of receiving a sheet, the first sheet is discharged. The same operation as that for the sheet P1 is repeated. Then, the process is repeated until the staple processing tray 18 is in a state of receiving a sheet, and then the sheet is discharged to the staple processing tray 18 in a state where two or more sheets are stacked.

  As described above, the pre-stack path 20 is used, and post-processing can be performed efficiently without reducing productivity when processing two or more copies.

3. Image Forming System According to the Present Embodiment The image forming system according to the present embodiment is a combination of the first needleless binding device 201 and the second sheet post-processing device 301 with respect to the image forming apparatus 101.

  FIG. 22 shows a configuration example of a system in which a needleless binding device 201 is connected between the image forming apparatus 101 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 301. The stapleless binding apparatus 201 includes the above-described binding tool 210 that binds a sheet bundle without a needle, and the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 stores a plurality of staplers 12 and sheets that bind the sheet bundle using a metal needle. A pre-stack path (pre-stack tray) 20 is provided.

  FIG. 22 shows a configuration example of a system in which a stapleless binding device 201 is connected between the image forming apparatus 101 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 301. In addition to this, the configuration is as shown in FIGS. You can also.

  FIG. 23 shows an example in which a stapleless binding device 201 and a sheet post-processing device 301 are integrally formed inside the image forming apparatus 101 (so-called cylinder).

  FIG. 24 shows an example in which the binding tool 210 of the stapleless binding apparatus 201 is provided in the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 and the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 is connected to the image forming apparatus 101.

  FIG. 25 is an example in which the binding tool 210 in FIG. 24 is provided in the prestack path 20.

  FIG. 26 is an example in which the configuration of the prestack path 20 is different, and such a prestack path is also known.

  In the system shown in FIGS. 22 to 26, a plurality of sheets P prestacked (retained) in the prestack path 20 are stapled without a staple in the needleless binding device 201 or the sheet post-processing device 301. Are temporarily bound and conveyed to the staple processing tray 18 as a bound sheet bundle PB. As a result, no deviation occurs between the sheets of the sheet bundle PB during conveyance, and the alignment is improved. As a result, it is sufficient to align the sheet bundle PB prestacked in the staple processing tray 18 only once, and it is not necessary to align a plurality of times, so that the alignment time can be shortened. This shortening of the alignment time leads to an improvement in productivity.

  Further, stapling processing (main binding) using the staple pins 12 is performed by the stapler 12 at the same location as the temporary binding location where the binding is performed without the needle by the stapleless binding device. Thereby, the trace of temporary binding becomes inconspicuous. Further, when the staple processing is performed by the staple needle 22 from above the stapleless binding by the crimping drawing, the staple needle 22 is not protruded from the surface of the sheet bundle PB but is formed into the surface of the sheet bundle PB, and the surface of the sheet bundle PB. Becomes flat. In any case, there is an effect that the binding trace of the sheet bundle PB becomes inconspicuous.

  In FIGS. 27 and 28, the drawing and crimping binding (temporary binding) 23 is performed using a deep drawing for binding the sheet bundle PB by applying a strong pressure to the above-described sheets, and a metal staple 22 is used from above. It is a figure which shows the state of the sheet bundle PB which performed the binding process (main binding). FIG. 27 shows an example when one-point binding is performed on the corner of the sheet bundle PB, and FIG. 28 shows an example of two-point binding.

  When the main binding is performed by the staple needle 22, the binding process is performed on the sheet bundle PB that has already been aligned and temporarily bound 23 and conveyed, so that the alignment can be improved and the alignment time can be shortened. . Further, since the main binding is performed by the staple needle 22 from above the temporary binding 23, the staple needle 22 is sunk into the upper surface of the temporarily bound sheet 22 and the trace of the temporary binding becomes inconspicuous.

  In FIG. 29, the sheet bundles PB11 and PB2 are subjected to temporary binding 23 by squeezing and crimping binding, and the two temporarily bundled sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 are combined, and staple binding (main binding) 22 from above the temporary binding portion is performed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 when the operation is performed.

  30 is a plan view of the sheet bundle bound as shown in FIG. 29, and FIG. 31 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the binding portion. In FIGS. 30 and 31, there is a space between the two sheet bundles PB1 and PB2, but this is deformed in order to clarify that it is two bundles and is actually bound. The sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 are in close contact with each other, and no space is generated.

  When the two sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 are temporarily bound and then stapled by the staple needle 22, the two sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 are aligned and independently temporarily bound. There is no need to align.

  FIG. 32 shows a comparison between the case (a) in which the deep drawing (temporary binding) 23 is performed and the staple needle 22 is bound (a) and the case in which the deep drawing (temporary binding) 23 is not performed and the staple needle 22 is bound (b). FIG.

When the sheet bundles PB1 and PB2 are bound by the staple needle 22, the sheet bundle when the sheet bundle is bound after deep drawing than the sheet bundle thickness d1 (thickness including metal needles) (FIG. 23B) when not deeply drawing. The thickness d2 (thickness including the metal needle) (FIG. 23A) is larger. That is,
d1> d2
Thus, when the staples 22 are stapled after deep drawing, the staple needles 22 have a shape of being sunk into the sheet bundle without protruding from the surface of the sheet bundle PB1, PB2. For this reason, the latter includes metal needles and becomes thinner, and the sheet bundle surface becomes flat. That is, the staples 22 are bound in a form that does not protrude from the surface of the sheet bundle.

  However, if the number of temporarily bound sheet bundles is too large, unevenness of the temporary binding portions may overlap and misalignment may occur. Therefore, only the first one bundle, only the first two bundles, or the first one bundle and the last bundle. If the sheet bundle to be temporarily bound is specified and the main binding is performed, for example, temporary binding is performed for one bundle of the sheet and provisional binding is not performed for the other sheets, the thickness of the previous sheet bundle is further reduced. Can do.

  Since the number of sheets that can be temporarily bound differs depending on the sheet, the number of sheets to be temporarily bound is determined according to the sheet information. Contrary to the above, the main binding may be performed after sandwiching sheets that are not temporarily bound above and below the temporarily bound sheet bundle.

  In any case, a binding position and a binding shape as a binding pattern are not limited to the embodiment shown in the above-described drawings.

  FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the image forming system 100 including the image forming apparatus 101, the stapleless binding apparatus 201, and the sheet post-processing apparatus 301. The sheet post-processing apparatus 301 includes a control circuit on which a microcomputer having a CPU, an I / O interface, and the like is mounted. Signals from the CPU of the image forming apparatus 101 or each switch of the operation panel 101a, and each sensor (not shown) are input to the CPU via the communication interface 30, and the CPU performs predetermined control based on the input signals. Run. Further, the CPU drives and controls the solenoid and the motor via the driver and motor driver, and acquires sensor information in the apparatus from the interface. In addition, motor drive control is performed by the motor driver via the I / O interface in accordance with the control target and sensor, and sensor information is acquired from the sensor. The control is based on a program defined by the program code while the CPU reads a program code stored in a ROM (not shown) and develops it in a RAM (not shown) and uses the RAM as a work area and a data buffer. Executed. A non-volatile memory for storing data used for control is also provided.

  The sheet post-processing apparatus 301 in FIG. 33 is controlled by receiving sheet information, post-processing mode, abnormality information, and the like from the CPU of the image forming apparatus 101 via the communication interface 30, and receiving information and / or the image forming apparatus 101. It is executed based on an instruction from the CPU. User operation instructions are issued from the operation panel 101 a of the image forming apparatus 101. As a result, the operation signal from the operation panel 101a is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 101 to the sheet post-processing apparatus 301, and the processing status and functions of the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 are notified to the user via the operation panel 101a. .

  Further, the sheet post-processing device 301 and the stapleless binding device 201 are connected by the communication interface 31, and the needleless binding device 201 executes temporary binding processing based on an instruction from the CPU of the sheet post-processing device 301. As described above, the temporary binding process is performed on the number of sheets designated at the location designated by the CPU before stapling the sheet bundle PB. Thereafter, the stapler 12 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 performs the main binding with the staple needle. The temporary binding position and number of sheets, the actual binding position, and the like are set by the CPU on the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 side based on the sheet information from the image forming apparatus PR side, the number of sheets to be bound, and the binding mode. The sheet information includes, for example, a sheet size, a sheet thickness, and a sheet type. Examples of the sheet type include coated paper, plain paper, and tracing paper.

  For this reason, the number of sheets to be temporarily bound may vary depending on the type of sheet, for example, the thickness of the sheet or the sheet type. This is because the number of sheets to be bound by deep drawing, in other words, the number of sheets that can be temporarily bound varies depending on the type of sheet. Similarly, when the total number of sheet bundles PB to be stapled exceeds a preset maximum number, or when a plurality of sheet bundles to which temporary binding has been performed exceeds a preset maximum number of bundles, temporary binding is performed. The sheet bundle PB to be executed is specified, or the bundle number is set to a predetermined bundle number. This is because if the place where temporary binding is performed protrudes or swells, inconsistency may occur due to the place.

Furthermore, depending on the control mode,
It is also possible to set to perform either the temporary binding or the main binding, the temporary binding only, or the main binding only. Even in this case, the sheet type and the number of sheets can be set in consideration.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) First alignment means (shift mechanism 205M, sheet end detection sensor 220, sheet discharge roller 205, branch claw 204, branch path 241 and abutting surface 242) for aligning sheets in the first stage of temporary binding, and a needle The binding tool 210 for temporarily binding the sheet bundle, the second alignment means (alignment fence 10, rear end fence 11) for aligning the sheet and / or the sheet bundle in the front stage of the main binding, and the sheet bundle using the needle A stapler 12 that binds the sheet bundle aligned by the first aligning unit using the binding unit 210, aligns the sheet bundle aligned by the second aligning unit, and aligns the stapler to the aligned sheet bundle. Since the sheet bundle is bound by the number 12, the number of times of alignment of the second aligning means can be minimized, and the alignment of the sheet before the binding process can be improved. Furthermore, since the number of times of alignment can be minimized, the alignment time can be shortened and productivity can be improved.

2) Since the sheet bundle bound by the stapler 12 is one or more sheet bundles temporarily bound by the binding tool 210, a plurality of temporarily bound bundles can be bundled and finally bound, thereby improving productivity. Can do.

3) Since the sheet bundle bound by the stapler 12 includes a sheet that is not temporarily bound by the binding unit 210, it is possible to attach a cover sheet and a back cover to the temporarily bound sheet bundle, or to bind the folded sheet between the sheets. Therefore, it is possible to deal with a wide range of forms of a sheet bundle (booklet) to be created.

4) Since the binding tool 210 is a deep-drawing type binding tool that presses in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle and entangles the fibers of adjacent sheets, the sheet bundle has no protrusions, and the temporarily bound sheets are stacked. However, the thickness does not increase. In addition, since the main binding is performed with the needle from the top of the temporary binding, the stapleless binding cannot be performed by the cutting process.

5) Since the stapler 12 binds the position temporarily bound by the deep-drawing method with the binding tool 210, the needle bound by the main binding is likely to be embedded in the sheet bundle, and the needle is difficult to protrude from the surface of the sheet. For this reason, the flatness of the cover of the sheet bundle is increased, and even if a large number of booklets are stacked, it is difficult to collapse.

6) Since the number of sheets temporarily bound by the binding tool 210 is set according to the sheet type, it is possible to correspond to the sheet thickness or the sheet type such as coated paper or plain paper. It will not be impossible.

  In the present embodiment, the first alignment means in the claims is the shift mechanism 205M, the sheet end detection sensor 220, the paper discharge roller 205, the branch claw 204, the branch path 241 and the abutting surface 242, and the temporary binding means is In the binding tool 210, the second alignment means is the alignment fence 10 and the rear end fence 11, the main binding means is the stapler 12, the sheet processing apparatus is the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 and the needleless binding apparatus 201, and the sheet bundle is the code In the PB, the temporary binding is the deep-drawn binding 23, the main binding is the binding using the staple needle 22, and the upstream conveyance path of the sheet conveyance direction is the prestack path 20 of the sheet post-processing apparatus 301 or the stapleless binding apparatus 201. The image forming system includes an image forming apparatus 101, a stapleless binding apparatus 201, and a sheet post-processing apparatus 301. To the system, each corresponding.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and all the technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are all included. The subject of the present invention. The above embodiment shows a preferable example, but those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification, These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

10 Alignment fence 11 Rear end fence 12 Stapler 20 Pre-stack path 22 Staple needle
23 Deep-drawing binding (temporary binding)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Image forming apparatus 201 Needleless binding apparatus 204 Branch claw 205 Paper discharge roller 205M Shift mechanism 210 Binding tool 220 Sheet end detection sensor 240 Sheet conveyance path 241 Branch path 242 Abutting surface 301 Sheet post-processing apparatus PB Sheet bundle

JP 2004-167700 A JP 2005-324933 A

Claims (10)

First alignment means for aligning the sheets in the first stage of temporary binding;
Temporary binding means for temporarily binding a sheet bundle without using a needle;
A second aligning means for aligning sheets and / or sheet bundles at the front stage of the main binding;
Book binding means for binding the sheet bundle using a needle;
With
After temporary binding using the temporary binding means to the sheet bundle aligned by the first alignment means, alignment is performed by the second alignment means, and the aligned sheet bundle is aligned by the main binding means. Sheet processing device that binds The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The sheet processing apparatus, wherein the sheet bundle bound by the main binding unit is one or more sheet bundles temporarily bound by the temporary binding unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The sheet processing apparatus includes a sheet bundle that is bound by the main binding unit and includes a sheet that is not temporarily bound by the temporary binding unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The sheet processing apparatus in which the temporary binding means pressurizes from the thickness direction of the sheet bundle and binds the fibers of adjacent sheets by intertwining them. The sheet processing apparatus according to claim 4,
A sheet processing apparatus in which the main binding unit binds a position temporarily bound by the temporary binding unit. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A sheet processing apparatus in which the number of sheets temporarily bound by the temporary binding means is set according to the type of sheet. The sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A sheet processing apparatus in which the temporary binding unit is provided in a transport path upstream of the main binding unit in the sheet transport direction.   An image forming system comprising the sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet;
A temporary binding device provided with temporary binding means for temporarily binding a bundle of sheets without using a needle;
A sheet processing apparatus provided with a book binding means for binding a bundle of sheets using a needle;
When,
With
An image forming system that binds a sheet bundle with the main binding device after the temporary binding device performs temporary binding on the aligned and bundled sheet bundle with the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus. A first alignment step of aligning sheets by first alignment means to form an aligned sheet bundle;
A temporary binding step of performing temporary binding by temporary binding means for binding the sheet bundle without using a needle with respect to the sheet bundle aligned in the first alignment step;
A second alignment step that is subsequent to the temporary binding step and aligns the sheet and / or the sheet bundle by the second alignment means;
A main binding step of binding by the main binding means for binding the sheet bundle using a needle to the sheet bundle aligned in the second alignment step;
A sheet binding method comprising:

Images