Patent · US Expired

Hole-punching processor and image forming apparatus

US7003257B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
4References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 26, 2001
Grant dateFeb 21, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 18, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG03G2215/00818
  • WIPO fieldMachine tools
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

The invention concerns a hole-punching processor that forms punched-holes, for binding sheets into a file, on the sheets, which are ejected after images are formed on them from an image forming apparatus such as, for example, a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine or a compound machine thereof. The hole-punching processor forms a punched-hole on a sheet residing in a conveying path for conveying the sheet through the hole-punching processor. The hole-punching processor includes a hole-punching device being movable in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the sheet and a sheet-edge detector to detect a side-edge of the sheet in a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of the sheet. The hole-punching device moves with the sheet-edge detector to a center of the sheet, based on positional information of the side-edge detected by the sheet-edge detector, to punch a hole in the sheet.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.