Sheet post-process apparatus

• US 7,354,035 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ise, Tokihiko, Terao, Yasunobu, Taki, Hiroyuki, Yamamoto, Hajime, Murakami, Reiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NICHOLSON III, LESLIE AUGUST
• Application Number:
  US11/085,242
• Publication Number:
  US 20060078363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 270/58.08, 270/58.09, 270/58.11, 271/189, 271/190, 271/191, 271/192
• US Class Current: 270/58.11
• CPC Class Codes: B42C 1/12 Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/34 from supports slid from under the articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 31/26 Auxiliary devices for retaining articles in the pile

Abstract

In a sheet post-process apparatus of the present invention, a processing tray for loading sheets of paper fed via a standby tray for making ejected sheets of paper stand by or not via the standby tray and a standby tray roller for performing a first operation of making contact with sheets of paper loaded on the standby tray and matching and a second operation of making contact with sheets of paper loaded on the standby tray and conveying them toward a paper ejection tray are installed in the neighborhood of the standby tray.

Claims

1. A Sheet post-process apparatus, comprising:

a standby tray configured to make sheets stand by,

a processing tray arranged under said standby tray configured to load said sheets dropped and fed from said standby tray and supplied sheets not via said standby tray,

a processing mechanism configured to post-process said sheets loaded on said processing tray, and

a paper ejection tray configured to load said sheets ejected from said processing tray after ending of said post process, and

a standby tray rotating body configured to perform a first operation matching said sheets loaded on said standby tray by rotating in a first direction, in contact with said sheets from an upper side of said standby tray and a second operation conveying said sheets loaded on said standby tray toward said paper ejection tray by rotating in a second direction different from the first direction, in contact with said sheets from the upper side of said standby tray,

wherein the standby tray rotating body is lifted upward and placed at a distance from the standby tray when the sheets are supplied to the processing tray.

2. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said standby tray rotating body, when dropping said sheets loaded on said standby tray onto said processing tray, performs a third operation shifting upward.

3. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said standby tray rotating body can move vertically.

4. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said standby tray rotating body is driven to rotate by a standby tray roller motor.

5. The sheet post-process apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said standby tray has said standby tray rotating body.

6. A sheet post-processing method of a sheet post-process apparatus for post-processing sheets ejected from an image forming apparatus, comprising the steps of:

making said sheets stand by on a standby tray,

loading said sheets fed from said standby tray and ejected from said image forming apparatus not via said standby tray on a processing tray,

post-processing said sheets loaded on said processing tray,

loading said sheets after ending of said post process on a paper ejection tray, and

selecting a first operation matching said sheets loaded on said standby tray with a standby tray rotating body by rotating in a first direction, in contact with said sheets from an upper side of said standby tray and a second operation conveying said sheets loaded on said standby tray toward said paper ejection tray by rotating in a second direction different from the first direction, in contact with said sheets from the upper side of said standby tray,

wherein the standby tray rotating body is lifted upward and placed at a distance from the standby tray when the sheets are supplied to the processing tray.

7. A sheet post-processing method according to claim 6, wherein:

when dropping said sheets loaded on said standby tray onto said processing tray, selecting a third operation shifting upward as one selection.