Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Shinobu Seki

Yuusuke Morigami

Kazuhito Ozawa

Shinji Wakamatsu

Akiyoshi Johdai

Masahiro Nonoyama

Shigeki Nozawa

Ryo Morita

Tadashi Kobayashi

Hidehito Kishi

Ryo Hirano

Riichi Hama

Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

Naoya Nakayama

Masaki Matsui

Kunihiko Kanou

Misao Nishikawa

Naotaka Sekita

A sheet post-processing device is mounted in an image forming apparatus that includes an image reading unit and an image forming unit. The image forming unit is located under the image reading unit with a space therebetween. The sheet post-processing device includes: a first tray that is located in the space and houses a sheet ejected from the image forming unit; a post-processing unit that is located in the space and performs post-processing on a sheet in the first tray; a transfer member that, after the post-processing is performed on a sheet in the first tray, transfers the sheet to a front side of the image forming apparatus; and a second tray that is located closer to the front side of the image forming apparatus than the first tray and houses a sheet transferred by the transfer member.

Sheet post-processing device and image formation system

A sheet ejecting device for ejecting printed sheets to a stacker one by one, the sheet ejecting device including a pair of ejection rollers; a strengthener, located in a sheet ejection route, for providing a force for a sheet; a bender, arranged to be capable of advancing into and retreating from the sheet ejection route, for canceling out the force provided for the sheet by the strengthener; a driver for moving the bender to advance into and retreat from the sheet ejection route, a sensor for detecting a currently ejected sheet, and a controller for controlling the driver based on a signal sent from the sensor so that the bender can cancel out the force provided for the sheet by the strengthener.

Sheet ejecting device with strengthener and bender

A sheet ejecting device having a pair of ejection rollers, a strengthener provided in a sheet ejection route, a tray for receiving ejected sheets and a driver for lifting up and down the tray. A sheet is ejected via the ejection rollers while being strengthened by the strengthener. A specified time after the sheet comes into contact with a stack of sheets on the tray, the tray is lifted up so that the contact point between the currently ejected sheet and the stack of sheets on the tray becomes nearer to the pair of ejection rollers.

Sheet ejecting device

A sheet ejecting device has a pair of ejection rollers, a strengthener arranged in the sheet ejection device, for strengthening a sheet, a driver for moving the strengthener to advance into and retreat from a sheet ejection route, a sheet sensor, and a tray for receiving sheets ejected via the pair of ejection rollers and holding the sheets in a stack. Based on a detection signal from the sheet sensor, the strengthener is moved to advance into and retreat from the sheet ejection route so that only a necessary part of a sheet can be strengthened.

Sheet ejecting device with sheet strengthener

A finisher is provide with a folding device which includes paired folding rollers which nip a loop of a sheet formed by a first folding stopper and give a first folding to the sheet, and paired folding rollers, which are disposed in a conveying path between a conveying path, which is located on an upstream side in a conveying direction of the sheet toward the paired folding rollers at the first folding, and a conveying path, in which a second folding stopper is disposed, and nip a loop of the sheet formed by the second folding stopper and give a second folding to the sheet, and sets a distance between the paired folding rollers and the first folding stopper at approximately three quarters of a length of the sheet in the conveying direction when the sheet is folded in three or in a cross section like a letter Z. The finisher temporarily stores the sheet in a state that one side for folding as an image formed surface faces downward and the other side for stapling approximates closely to the stapler. In addition, the finisher stores sheets including the Z-folding sheets in the order of page numbers and staples a sheaf of the sheets easily and accurately, and also utilizes a space efficiently and prevent the size from enlarging.

Sheet folding and finishing apparatus and method

A finisher with a folding section for creasing or folding incoming sheets decides folding positions of the sheets based on contact between the leading ends of the sheets and first folding stoppers as leading-end regulating devices. The finisher adjusts the folding positions with a view to conforming to the sheet sizes and folding modes corresponding to the sheet sizes by means of stepping motor which rotates cam shafts, which is located below the first folding stopper and to which cams are fixed at different angles, and causes the first folding stoppers to alternately move into relevant conveying paths in turn. Accordingly, the finisher obtains the regulating position with high accuracy by the use of a lone drive unit even when the number of regulating positions is set to be large, and includes a compact and inexpensive mechanism which adjusts the regulating positions.

Finisher with multiple sheet folders

A finisher comprising a non-sort tray disposed at an uppermost location, a stacking tray for stapling disposed at an intermediate location, and a large-capacity storing tray disposed at a lower location. In a non-sort mode, sheets discharged from a copying machine are first stored in the non-sort tray and, when the non-sort tray is occupied full, subsequent incoming sheets are stored in the storing tray. In a stapling mode, sheets are collected on the stacking tray and, after a stapling operation, they are stored in the storing tray.

Finisher with a stapling function

A finishing apparatus comprising a transport section for transporting sheets discharged from a copying machine, a tray for stacking sheets thereon, and a finishing section for transporting a set of collected sheets from the tray and for stapling the sheet set. Folding rollers for folding a sheet in two or centrally folding the sheet are provided in a sheet transport section. Sheets, in a two-folded condition or with a center fold line formed thereon, are discharged onto the tray. Sheets which have been centrally formed with the fold line are subjected to stapling on or along the fold line.

Finishing apparatus and image forming system including the apparatus

A copying system which has a copying machine for forming an image on a sheet, a circular transporting device for receiving a sheet which has obtained an image on one side from the copying machine and refeeding the sheet to the copying machine for image formation on the other side of the sheet, and an automatic document feeder with a document reversing mechanism. The automatic document feeder sets a document at a specified position on a document table and discharges the document from the document table. Further, in handling a double-side document which has images on both sides, the automatic document feeder turns over the document after scanning of an image of one side. When a number of copies over the capacity of the circular transporting device are to be made in a double-side document/duplex copy mode, the document is turned over every time a number of copies corresponding to the capacity of the circular transporting device has been made.

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Toyohashi, Japan

Shinobu Seki