Sheet-material associating – Associating and folding – Stapling or stitching
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-27
2004-05-04
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Sheet-material associating
Associating and folding
Stapling or stitching
C270S058080, C399S410000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06729612
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming and binding system for producing a booklet of a document file, and in particular to an image forming and binding system for producing a booklet of a document file in which images of two pages of the document file are formed on each side of a sheet conveyed in its longitudinal direction, the sheet is folded in two at its center portion in the direction the sheet is conveyed, the folded sheet is stacked one upon another, and the stacked folded sheets are then bound at the folded side edge portions thereof.
2. Discussion of the Background
A binding technology used in producing weekly magazines is well known. After both-sided printed sheets are stacked and jogged, the stacked printed sheets are stapled at their center portions in the longitudinal directions thereof by a stapling device, the stapled sheets are folded at their stapled center portions, and then the side edges of the folded sheets opposite the stapled and folded side of the folded sheets are cut off by a cutting apparatus so as to be uniform.
When the above-described binding technology is used in producing a booklet of a document file, images of four pages of the document file are formed on each printing sheet, images of two pages being formed on each side of the sheet. Further, the images of the first page (the front cover) and the last page (the rear cover) of the document file are formed on the same side of a sheet and the images of the second page and the page before the last page of the document file are formed on the backside of that sheet. Because images of four pages of the document file are formed on one sheet, when the number of total pages of the document file is a multiple number of 4, for example 8, no blank page is produced in the booklet. However, when the number of total pages of the document file is not a multiple number of 4, for example 9 in which a multiple number of 4 (i.e., 8) is added by 1, three blank pages are produced in the booklet. When the number of total pages of the document file is, for example 10 in which a multiple number of 4 (i.e., 8) is added by 2, two blank pages are produced in the booklet.
Also, a binding apparatus connected with a copying machine is known. The binding apparatus is connected with the copying machine downstream of a sheet discharging part of the copying machine in the sheet discharging direction. Sheets each carrying an image on one or both sides thereof, discharged from the copying machine, are stacked and jogged, generally without being folded, and are then stapled at edge portions at one side thereof, at the binding apparatus.
When such a system in which a binding apparatus is connected with a copying machine is used in producing a booklet of a document file, because a folding function to fold each sheet is not generally provided in the binding apparatus, an image for one page of the document file is formed on one side or both sides of a sheet by the copying machine.
In such a system in which a binding apparatus is connected with a copying machine, generally, when a previous sheet conveyed from the copying machine to the binding apparatus is jammed at the binding apparatus, the image formation for a next sheet has been already completed at the copying machine, and thereby the next sheet is also jammed at the same position where the previous sheet has been jammed at the binding apparatus, resulting in jamming of a plurality of sheets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-discussed and other problems and addresses the above-discussed and other problems.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a novel image forming and binding system and method for producing a booklet of a document file, in which images of two pages of the document file are formed on each side of a full-size sheet (such as an A3 or B4 size sheet) conveyed in its longitudinal direction and an image of one page of the document file is formed on each side of a half-size sheet half a size of the full-size sheet (such as an A4 or B5 size sheet) conveyed in its lateral direction, and in which the full-size sheet conveyed in its longitudinal direction is folded in two at its center portion in the longitudinal direction thereof and the folded full-size sheet is stacked one upon another to be bound at its folded side edge portion and the half-size sheet conveyed in its lateral direction is conveyed without being folded to be stacked and bound while being mixed with the folded full-size sheet, so that blank pages in the booklet, which are caused when the number of total pages of the document file is not a multiple number of 4, are reduced.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention further provide a novel image forming and binding system and method that avoids jamming of a plurality of sheets from occurring at a binding apparatus of the system, thereby reducing useless image formation at an image forming apparatus of the system.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image forming and binding system for producing a booklet of a document file includes an image forming apparatus, an image formation controller and a sheet folding and binding apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a sheet feeding device configured to feed a full-size sheet set to be conveyed in its longitudinal direction and a half-size sheet half the size of the full-size sheet and set to be conveyed in its lateral direction, and is configured to form images on both sides of the full-size sheet or the half-size sheet fed by the sheet feeding device and to discharge the sheet. The image formation controller is connected with the image forming apparatus and is configured to control the image forming apparatus to form images of the document file on both sides of the full-size sheet and the half-size sheet fed by the sheet feeding device one by one. The image formation controller controls the image forming apparatus to form images of four pages of the document file on each full-size sheet fed by the sheet feeding device such that the images of two pages of the four pages are on each side of the full-size sheet and images of two pages of the document file on each half-size sheet fed by the sheet feeding device such that the image of one page of the two pages is on each side of the half-size sheet. A sheet receiving device of the sheet folding and binding apparatus is configured to receive the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus and to further convey the received sheet. The sheet receiving device includes a sheet size detect device configured to detect if the received sheet is the full-size sheet conveyed in its longitudinal direction or the half-size sheet conveyed in its lateral direction. A folding device of the sheet folding and binding apparatus is configured to fold the received sheet conveyed by the sheet receiving device in two at its center portion in the direction the received sheet is conveyed by the sheet receiving device, when the received sheet has been detected by the sheet size detect device to be the full-size sheet conveyed in its longitudinal direction, and to further convey the folded received sheet with the folded center portion thereof being served as the leading edge of the folded received sheet. The folding device is further configured to convey the received sheet conveyed by the sheet receiving device without folding the received sheet, when the received sheet has been detected by the sheet size detect device to be the half-size sheet conveyed in its lateral direction. A jogging device of the sheet folding and binding apparatus is configured to receive and jog the received sheet conveyed by the folding device, one after another, so as to be stacked one upon another. A binding device of the sheet folding and binding apparatus is configured to bind the stacked received sheets at their leading edge portions in the direction the received sheets have been conveyed by the folding device and to discharge the boun
Kaneko Tamaki
Miyazawa Ikoh
Nagao Tatsuaki
Nakaya Yoshihisa
Cooper & Dunham LLP
Deuble Mark A.
Ellis Christopher P.
Kaneko Co., Ltd.
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