Patent ID: 7364149

Claim:
A sheet finishing apparatus, comprising: a conveying path in which a sheet of paper ejected from an image forming device is carried from a receiving port, and a pair of pinch rollers pressed against each other so as to make contact closely with each other and convey the sheet of paper for post process; a sheet guidance member that supports one of the pair of pinch rollers, and is turnable between a first position where one of the pinch rollers and the other pinch roller contact with each other and a second position where the one of the pinch rollers is released from the other pinch roller; a tray used for loading the sheet of paper conveyed by the pair of pinch rollers; and an assist arm mounted in the sheet guidance member in a rotatable manner that makes contact with the sheet of paper being conveyed, wherein the assist arm rotates in correspondence with movement of the pinch rollers, in a manner that, in a state where the tray is closed, the assist arm rotates in a direction in which one end thereof presses the sheet of paper, and in a state where the tray is open, the assist arm rotates in an opposite direction; and wherein the assist arm has an arm extending from one end side, a holder that holds a rotation center axis of the pinch rollers in a rotatable manner on the other end, and a fulcrum provided at a position distant from the holder, wherein the fulcrum can be attached to the sheet guidance member and the assist arm can be rotated centering on the fulcrum.