A sheet binding processing apparatus includes a conveying portion, a conveying path for sheets, a stacking portion on which sheets from the conveying path are stacked, a first regulating portion for regulating a sheet bundle on the stacking portion in a crossing direction, a second regulating portion for regulating a sheet bundle in the conveying direction, a manual setting portion for setting sheets from an outside of the apparatus, and a binding device which binds a sheet bundle by a staple and moves in the crossing direction. An angular posture of the binding device located at a third position is different from an angular posture located at a first position. An angular posture of the binding device located at the third position is different from an angular posture located at a second position. The second position is located at a second side of the first position.

A sheet processing apparatus includes a conveying portion, a conveying path, a discharge port, a stacking portion, a manual setting portion, a binding device which binds a sheet bundle formed by the stacking portion and a sheet bundle set at the manual setting portion by a staple, a first regulating portion which regulates a position of the sheet bundle at a rear side of the apparatus in a width direction, and a second regulating portion which regulates a position of the sheet bundle in the conveying direction. The binding device is formed to be movable back and forth to a front side and the rear side of the apparatus. When a staple is replenished to the binding device, the binding device is positioned at the third position so that a cartridge of the staple is loaded into the binding device from the front side of the apparatus.

A transfer device includes: a transfer drum that has a groove-like recess extending in an axial direction in an outer circumferential portion thereof, rotates about an axis thereof, and comes into contact with a medium being transported at a portion thereof on an upstream side of the recess in a rotation direction; a nip member, the nip member and the transfer drum forming therebetween a nip part where the medium is nipped; an application member that applies a voltage to the nip part where the medium is nipped, so that an image is transferred to the medium; and a contact mechanism that causes the nip member to come into contact only with a portion on the upstream side of the recess in the transfer drum in the rotation direction at a transfer-start time when the transfer of the image to the medium starts.

A fixing device is configured to fix a toner image to a sheet by heat and includes: a heating rotator; a pressurizing roller contacting with the heating rotator; a heater configured to heat the heating rotator such that the heat is transferred to the sheet passing through a contact portion between the heating rotator and the pressurizing roller; a plurality of separation claws configured to separate the sheet from the heating rotator such that the sheet passing through the contact portion is not caught in the heating rotator, the separation claws being provided opposite to the heating rotator; and an adjustor configured to adjust positions of the separation claws relative to the heating rotator such that distances between the separation claws and the heating rotator are equal to each other.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a paper loading base on which manual-feed paper is loaded, a manual-feed paper conveying unit, and a dustproof cover which covers the paper loading base being in the overhang state. The paper loading base has a lower end rotatably supported on one outer surface portion of the device main body, and is opened from an upper end thereof and disposed at a predetermined oblique angle or in a horizontal overhang state such that an overhang side becomes an upper side in an oblique direction. The manual-feed paper conveying unit is conveys the manual-feed paper on the paper loading base onto a paper conveyance path one by one. The dustproof cover includes a base which engages with the paper loading base, and an opening-and-closing cover which is rotatably connected to the base and is opened upwardly on the overhang side.

A sheet binding processing apparatus includes a conveying portion, a conveying path for sheets, a stacking portion on which sheets from the conveying path are stacked, a first regulating portion for regulating a sheet bundle on the stacking portion in a crossing direction, a second regulating portion for regulating a sheet bundle in the conveying direction, a manual setting portion for setting sheets from an outside of the apparatus, and a binding device which binds a sheet bundle by a staple and moves in the crossing direction. An angular posture of the binding device located at a third position is different from an angular posture located at a first position. An angular posture of the binding device located at the third position is different from an angular posture located at a second position. The second position is located at a second side of the first position.

A transfer device includes: a transfer drum that has a groove-like recess extending in an axial direction in an outer circumferential portion thereof, rotates about an axis thereof, and comes into contact with a medium being transported at a portion thereof on an upstream side of the recess in a rotation direction; a nip member, the nip member and the transfer drum forming therebetween a nip part where the medium is nipped; an application member that applies a voltage to the nip part where the medium is nipped, so that an image is transferred to the medium; and a contact mechanism that causes the nip member to come into contact only with a portion on the upstream side of the recess in the transfer drum in the rotation direction at a transfer-start time when the transfer of the image to the medium starts.

A sheet processing apparatus includes a conveying portion for conveying sheets, a conveying path for sheets, a stack portion for stacking sheets, a first binding portion having a first binding member and moving in a crossing direction crossing to the conveying direction, a first regulating portion which regulates a position of a sheet bundle stacked on the stack portion, a second regulating portion which regulates a position of a sheet bundle stacked on the stack portion, a third regulating portion which regulates a position of a sheet bundle, and a second binding portion which has a second binding member and binds a corner portion of a sheet bundle without a staple. The first binding portion binds a corner portion of a sheet bundle by a staple. The second binding member is located at a downstream of the first binding member in the conveying direction.

A sheet conveyance device includes a sheet passage, a first sheet stacker, a second sheet stacker, and a sheet feeder. The first sheet stacker has a bottom and a lift. The sheet feeder includes an opening and a feed roller. The sheet conveyance device includes an assist plate supported to be movable between a first and a second position and an urging member. With the first sheet stacker mounted in an apparatus body, the assist plate moves from the first to the second position against the urging force of the urging member to allow passage of a sheet from the first sheet stacker to the sheet feeder. With the first sheet stacker removed from the apparatus body, the assist plate is urged by the urging member to move from the second to the first position to support the sheet conveyed from the second sheet stacker to the sheet feeder.

When it is judged that a predetermined operation for eliminating a cause for stopping a job is being executed, a following job is restricted from being executed prior to a stopped job. A control method for controlling a job processing apparatus for storing received jobs in a storage unit and sequentially executing the stored jobs includes determining, when a cause for stopping the job to be executed is generated, whether a state in which the cause for stopping the job is not eliminated has continued for a predetermined time, executing, when it is determined that the state in which the cause for stopping the job is not eliminated has continued for the predetermined time, a following job that follows the job is executed prior to the job, judging whether a predetermined operation for eliminating the cause for stopping the job is being executed, and restricting, when it is judged that a predetermined operation for eliminating the cause for stopping the job is being executed, the following job is restricted from being executed prior to the job.