Sheet collating device for accumulating sheets from at least one hopper, comprising: a lower transport path and an upper transport path; a switchable guide for directing the sheets from the at least one hopper to the lower or the upper transport path; left and right upper drive shafts connected to a right and a left upper drive pulleys supporting a pair of upper belts, a drive direction of the pair of upper belts being changed dependent on what transport path of the upper and lower transport paths is selected; first and second lower drive shafts connected to a right and a left lower drive pulleys supporting first and second pairs of lower belts; and a first series of right paddles mounted on the first pair of lower belts and a first series of left paddles mounted on the second pair of lower belts for registering a collated set of sheets.

This system is provided with: a conveying device 1 that conveys paper P along a conveying path F; a sheet paper supply device 2, paper-folding device, or cutter connected to an upstream end of the conveying path; a gathering device 3 disposed midway through the conveying path; a saddle stitch device 7 connected to a downstream end of the conveying path; and a management unit 13 that collectively controls the conveying device, the sheet paper supply device, the paper-folding device, the cutter, the gathering device, and the saddle stitch device. The gathering device can switch operation between a non-operating mode, a first operating mode for operating as a primary gathering device, and a second operating mode for operating as a paper insertion device.

A sheet sorting device includes three or more trays including a predetermined tray detachable from an apparatus main body and a tray different from the predetermined tray, a discharge unit to discharge a sheet to any one of the three or more trays, a control unit, and a tray detection unit to detect that the predetermined tray is detached from the apparatus main body. The control unit sets a sheet discharge destination such that a sheet conforming to a preset condition is discharged to the predetermined tray through the discharge unit. Where the tray detection unit detects that the predetermined tray is detached from the apparatus main body, the control unit sets a sheet discharge destination that has been set to the predetermined tray to the tray different from the predetermined tray based on a state of each of the trays other than the detached predetermined tray.

An image forming apparatus including a controller configured to start feeding a sheet from a feeding unit without confirming a presence or absence of an insert sheet to be inserted before the sheet when an amount of insert sheets stacked on a stacking tray as a feed source is higher than a predetermined amount, wherein in a case in which the amount of the insert sheets on the stacking tray is lower than the predetermined amount, the controller starts feeding a sheet from the feeding unit without confirming a presence or absence of the insert sheet when an other stacking tray on which an amount of insert sheets is higher than the predetermined amount is present, and the controller starts feeding the sheet from the feeding unit after confirming the presence or absence of the insert sheet when the other stacking tray is absent.

An accumulator for an automatic sheet media punching and collating system includes a proximal end, having a shoulder, a distal end, and a moveable collating belt, disposed below the shoulder, extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The collating belt has an upwardly extending lower stop with an accumulating position opposite the shoulder, defining a drop region. The lower stop is configured to contact a lower edge of sheets of media sequentially received at the proximal end, whereby the sheets stop and accumulate in the drop region in a lift in a book order. The collating belt is selectively moveable to discharge the lift as a unit toward the distal end.

An accumulator for an automatic sheet media punching and collating system includes a proximal end, having a shoulder, a distal end, and a moveable collating belt, disposed below the shoulder, extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The collating belt has an upwardly extending lower stop with an accumulating position opposite the shoulder, defining a drop region. The lower stop is configured to contact a lower edge of sheets of media sequentially received at the proximal end, whereby the sheets stop and accumulate in the drop region in a lift in a book order. The collating belt is selectively moveable to discharge the lift as a unit toward the distal end.

An accumulator for an automatic sheet media punching and collating system includes a proximal end, having a shoulder, a distal end, and a moveable collating belt, disposed below the shoulder, extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The collating belt has an upwardly extending lower stop with an accumulating position opposite the shoulder, defining a drop region. The lower stop is configured to contact a lower edge of sheets of media sequentially received at the proximal end, whereby the sheets stop and accumulate in the drop region in a lift in a book order. The collating belt is selectively moveable to discharge the lift as a unit toward the distal end.

An accumulator for an automatic sheet media punching and collating system includes a proximal end, having a shoulder, a distal end, and a moveable collating belt, disposed below the shoulder, extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The collating belt has an upwardly extending lower stop with an accumulating position opposite the shoulder, defining a drop region. The lower stop is configured to contact a lower edge of sheets of media sequentially received at the proximal end, whereby the sheets stop and accumulate in the drop region in a lift in a book order. The collating belt is selectively moveable to discharge the lift as a unit toward the distal end.

An image forming apparatus includes a main body of the image forming apparatus with an opening portion, an image forming unit, an accommodation portion, a stack portion, a sheet moving unit, and a control unit that controls switching between a first mode that moves, with the sheet moving unit, a sheet accommodated in the accommodation portion and stops the sheet when a part of the sheet is exposed external to the main body of the image forming apparatus from the opening portion, and a second mode that moves the sheet, with the sheet moving unit, accommodated in the accommodation portion and that discharges the sheet to the stack portion.

A multifunctional printer comprising a printer section, an auto-document feeder, a scanner section, and a finisher, wherein a finisher path leads from the auto-document feeder into the printer section and converges with a print path into a shared finisher path leading to the finisher, such that documents scanned with the auto-document feeder can be conveyed to the finisher such that it can perform a finishing operation on the documents.