Patent ID: 6729612
Filing Date: 2004-05-04
Classification: B42C,B65H,G03G

Abstract:
An image forming and binding system for producing a booklet of a document file, comprising:an image forming apparatus including 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 a size of the full-size sheet and set to be conveyed in its lateral direction, and 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; an image formation controller connected with the image forming apparatus and 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 controlling 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 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 an image of one page of the two pages is on each side of the half-size sheet; and a sheet folding and binding apparatus including, a sheet receiving device configured to receive the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus and to further convey the received sheet, the sheet receiving device including 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 configured to fold the received sheet conveyed by the sheet receiving device in two at its center portion in a 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 a leading edge of the folded received sheet, the folding device conveying 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 configured to receive and jog the received sheet conveyed by the folding device, one after another, so as to be stacked one upon another; and a binding device configured to bind the stacked received sheets at their leading edge portions in a direction the received sheets have been conveyed by the folding device and to discharge the bound stacked sheets as the booklet.