POST-PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM

• US 20200133186A1
• Filed: 10/25/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: TSUNODA, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 11,782,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/234 by inverting and refeeding the image receiving material with an image on one face to the recording member to transfer a second image on its second face, e.g. by using a duplex tray; Details of duplex trays or inverters
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6523 Cutting
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6573 Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6582 Special processing for irreversibly adding or changing the sheet copy material characteristics or its appearance, e.g. stamping, annotation printing, punching
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00421 Discharging tray, e.g. devices stabilising the quality of the copy medium, postfixing-treatment, inverting, sorting
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00438 Inverter of refeeding path

Abstract

Disclosed is a post-processing apparatus configured to be coupled to an image forming apparatus or another post-processing apparatus. The post-processing apparatus includes: a post-processing unit that performs post-processing to a sheet that is conveyed; and a standby path arranged on an upstream side or a downstream side of the post-processing unit and capable of holding the sheet. The post-processing unit performs the post-processing in a state in which the sheet is partly in the standby path.

Claims

1. A post-processing apparatus configured to be coupled to an image forming apparatus or another post-processing apparatus, the post-processing apparatus comprising:

a post-processing unit that performs post-processing to a sheet that is conveyed; and

a standby path arranged on an upstream side or a downstream side of the post-processing unit and capable of holding the sheet,

wherein the post-processing unit performs the post-processing in a state in which the sheet is partly in the standby path.

2. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the post processing is any one of slitting processing, gutter slitting processing, cross-direction cutting processing, crease processing, feed-direction perforating processing, and cross-direction perforating processing.

3. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby path is provided by an inversion path for inverting the sheet.

4. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the inversion path also serves as a purge path for purging the sheet.

5. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the inversion path includes:

a regular-sheet inversion path for inverting the sheet with, at most, a regular size; and

a long-sheet inversion path for inverting the sheet with a long size that exceeds the regular size.

6. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the inversion path includes a curved path, and a straight path disposed between the post-processing unit and the curved path.

7. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a pressing member that is disposed in the straight path to regulate vertical movement of the sheet.

8. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a hardware processor that collates page of the sheet when the inversion path is used.

9. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby path is provided by a purge path for purging the sheet.

10. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby path is provided by a detour path for the sheet.

11. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the post-processing unit is disposed at an upstream part of the post-processing apparatus, and the standby path is arranged on an upstream side of the post-processing unit.

12. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the post-processing unit is disposed at a downstream part of the post-processing apparatus body, and the standby path is arranged on a downstream side of the post-processing unit.

13. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the post-processing unit includes a cross-direction cutting unit, and

wherein the post-processing apparatus further comprises:

a selector that selects a dedicated tray as a sheet destination when the cross-direction cutting unit cuts the sheet into a size having a feed-direction length that is shorter than an interval between conveyance rollers arranged on a downstream side of the cross-direction cutting unit.

14. An image forming system comprising:

an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet; and

the post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 that performs the post-processing to the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus.