Patent ID: 9289914
Filing Date: 2016-03-22
CPC Classification: B26D,B41J,B65H

Claim Text:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit arranged to continuously form images on a continuous sheet; a first conveying unit provided downstream of the image forming unit in a conveyance direction and arranged to continuously convey the continuous sheet with the images formed thereon; a second conveying unit provided downstream of the first conveying unit in the conveyance direction and arranged to convey the continuous sheet; a first cutting unit provided downstream of the second conveying unit in the conveyance direction and arranged to cut the continuous sheet; a second cutting unit provided downstream of the first cutting unit in the conveyance direction and arranged to cut the continuous sheet; and a control unit having at least one sensor and a processor programmed to perform control, in response to input from the at least one sensor, such that the first cutting unit performs a first cutting operation to cut a downstream end in the conveyance direction of a first image on the continuous sheet, after the first cutting operation and at a timing determined based on a distance between the first image and a second image on the continuous sheet which is formed downstream of the first image in the conveyance direction, the second cutting unit performs a second cutting operation to cut an upstream end in the conveyance direction of the second image, the first conveying unit conveys the continuous sheet at a first conveyance speed and the second conveying unit is stopped during the first cutting operation to form a loop of the continuous sheet at a position between the first and second conveying units, and then after the first cutting operation, the second conveying unit conveys the continuous sheet at a second conveyance speed which is faster than the first conveyance speed to reduce the loop.