Patent ID: 8496239
Filing Date: 2013-07-30
Classification: B42B,B42C,B65H,G03G

Abstract:
1. A sheet processing apparatus comprising: a pair of first aligning members movable in both a sheet conveyance direction in which a bundle of sheets is transported and a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, the first aligning members each including a stack portion to contact and support a trailing edge of the bundle to align the trailing edge of the bundle; a pair of second aligning members each extending in the sheet conveyance direction to move in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction to align lateral sides of the bundle; a stapler movable in the sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction to staple a trailing end portion of the bundle with staples at different positions in the sheet width direction after the bundle is aligned by the pair of first aligning members as well as the pair of second aligning members; a driving unit to move the pair of first aligning members; and a controller communicably connected to the stapler and the driving unit to move the first aligning members, wherein, when the stapler staples the bundle at two positions symmetrical relative to a center position in the sheet width direction of the bundle, the controller selects either first positions inside the two positions stapled symmetrically or second positions outside the two positions stapled symmetrically in accordance with multiple stapling-related variables, and the first aligning members are set at the selected positions to align the trailing edge of the bundle, the controller changes the second positions selected in accordance with the multiple stapling-related variables to positions either closer to the center position in the sheet width direction or farther from the center position in the sheet width direction in accordance with at least one of multiple sheet-related variables including a sheet size, a sheet thickness, a sheet type, and a rigidity of the sheet determined based on either the sheet type or the sheet type as well as the sheet thickness, the controller includes a storage unit to store a threshold for each of the multiple sheet-related variables, when one of the multiple sheet-related variables is greater than the threshold, the controller sets the first aligning members at third positions outside the second positions in the sheet width direction, and when one of the multiple stapling-related variables is smaller than the threshold, the controller sets the first aligning members at fourth positions inside the second positions in the sheet width direction.