Sheet post-process apparatus

• US 7,222,843 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Issued: 05/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Taki, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Hajime, Murakami, Reiji, Sugizaki, Yoshiaki, Terao, Yasunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): NICHOLSON III, LESLIE AUGUST
• Application Number:
  US11/085,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 270/58.08, 270/58.11, 270/58.12, 270/58.14, 270/58.18, 399/410, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192
• US Class Current: 270/58.14
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/09 indicating that several of an entity are present
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2405/11151 with surface inclined upwardly in transport direction
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/34 from supports slid from under the articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 31/34 Apparatus for squaring-up piled articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 33/14 by diverting batches to separate receivers B65H33/16 takes precedence; article switches or diverters B65H29/58

Abstract

A sheet post-process apparatus has a standby tray for putting a sheet delivered from an image forming apparatus on standby, a process tray arranged under the standby tray for stacking the sheet dropped from the standby tray or the sheet delivered from the image forming apparatus not through the standby tray, a matching mechanism for matching a lateral direction of the sheet stacked on the process tray by a lateral matching plate to form a sheet bundle, a post-process mechanism for post-processing the sheet bundle matched by the matching mechanism, and a delivery tray for delivering the sheet bundle post-processed by the post-process mechanism, in which the process tray and the standby tray are arranged so as to make a height of an upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray higher than a height of a lower end of the standby tray.

Claims

1. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a standby tray for putting sheets delivered from an image forming apparatus on standby;

a process tray arranged under the standby tray for stacking the sheets dropped from the standby tray and sheets delivered from the image forming apparatus not through the standby tray;

a matching mechanism for matching a lateral direction of the sheets stacked on the process tray by a lateral matching plate to form a sheet bundle;

a post-process mechanism for post-processing the sheet bundle matched by the matching mechanism; and

a delivery tray for receiving the sheet bundle post-processed by the post-process mechanism;

wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that an upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray abuts bottom surface of the standby tray.

2. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that portions of the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray are formed integral with the bottom surface of the standby tray.

3. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray extends through the bottom surface of the standby tray.

4. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the standby tray includes tray components.

5. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the tray components open in a horizontal direction.

6. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying mechanism to convey the sheet bundle to the delivery tray.

7. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a longitudinal alignment mechanism.

8. A sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a standby tray for putting sheets delivered from an image forming apparatus on standby;

a process tray arranged under the standby tray for stacking the sheets dropped from the standby tray and sheets delivered from the image forming apparatus not through the standby tray;

a matching mechanism for matching a lateral direction of the sheets stacked on the process tray by a lateral matching plate to form a sheet bundle;

post-process means for post-processing the sheet bundle matched by the matching mechanism; and

sheet bundle receiving means for receiving the sheet bundle post-processed by the post-process means,

wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that an upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray abuts a bottom surface of the standby tray.

9. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that portions of the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray are formed integral with the bottom surface of the standby tray.

10. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray extends through the bottom surface of the standby tray.

11. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the standby tray includes tray components.

12. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the tray components open in a horizontal direction.

13. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a conveying mechanism to convey the sheet bundle to the sheet bundle receiving means.

14. The sheet post-process apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a longitudinal alignment mechanism.

15. A method for post-processing sheets, comprising:

placing sheets delivered from an image forming apparatus on a standby tray;

stacking the sheets dropped from the standby tray and sheets delivered from the image forming apparatus not through the standby tray on a process tray which is arranged under the standby tray;

matching a lateral direction of the sheets stacked on the process tray by a lateral matching plate to form a sheet bundle;

post-processing the sheet bundle matched by the lateral matching plate; and

receiving the sheet bundle that has been post-processed,

wherein the process tray and the standby tray have been arranged such that an upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray abuts a bottom surface of the standby tray.

16. The method for post-processing sheets according to claim 15, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that portions of the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray are formed integral with the bottom surface of the standby tray.

17. The method for post-processing sheets according to claim 15, wherein the process tray and the standby tray are arranged such that the upper end of the lateral matching plate of the process tray extends through the bottom surface of the standby tray.

18. The method for post-processing sheets according to claim 15, further comprising opening the standby tray in a horizontal direction.

19. The method for post-processing sheets according to claim 15, further comprising conveying the sheet bundle to a delivery tray.

20. The method for post-processing sheets according to claim 15, further comprising aligning the sheets on the process tray in a longitudinal direction.