JP6335552B2 - Sheet binding apparatus, sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, a sheet bundle composed of a plurality of sheets, a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including a sheet stapling device and this bind without using staples.

  Conventionally, paper binding has been performed using a metal binding needle. However, when disposing of paper that is no longer necessary, the operation of removing the binding needle has been troublesome. Therefore, there has been proposed a binding device that binds paper by pressing a plurality of papers with a pressurizing member after allowing water to penetrate into the binding position without using a binding needle when binding the paper. (See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3481300

  The thing of the said patent document 1 loosens a paper fiber by making water penetrate | infiltrate into several paper, and the paper fiber is mechanically entangled by pressing several paper collectively on it, and several paper The paper is crimped. However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 cannot adjust the amount of water to be permeated when conditions such as the number of sheets to be bound and the type of paper change.

  And, when water penetrates into a plurality of papers in this way, if the amount of water is too large, the fibers will loosen when pressed and stick to the pressure member as waste paper, and when binding the next paper bundle In addition, the waste paper is in the way and a good binding force cannot be obtained. Further, even if the amount of water is small, there is a problem that the paper fibers are not sufficiently loosened and a good binding force cannot be obtained.

The present invention has an object to provide a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus having good staples that this sheet stapling device and capable the sheet bundle.

A sheet binding device according to the present invention includes a sheet bundle forming unit that stacks a plurality of sheets to form a sheet bundle, and a binding unit that binds the sheet bundle formed by the sheet bundle forming unit without using a binding needle. means, in the formation of by that sheet bundle to the sheet bundle forming device, in the course of forming the sheet bundle without applying water to the position to be stapled by the stapling means of said sheet bundle, the end of the sheet stack In a state where the formation of the sheet bundle has been completed, the water application means for applying water to the position of the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means, and the sheets constituting the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means And control means for controlling the amount of water applied by the moisture applying means based on the number of sheets .
The sheet binding device of the present invention includes a sheet bundle forming unit that stacks a plurality of sheets to form a sheet bundle, and a sheet bundle formed by the sheet bundle forming unit without using a binding needle. In the formation of the sheet bundle by the binding means and the sheet bundle forming means, water is not applied to the position to be bound by the binding means of the sheet bundle during the formation of the sheet bundle, and the last sheet is stacked In a state where the formation of the sheet bundle has been completed, the water application means for applying water to the position of the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means, and the sheets constituting the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means Control means for controlling the amount of water applied by the moisture applying means based on the type of the above.

According to the present invention , an appropriate amount of water can be applied to the sheet bundle and the sheet bundle can be bound satisfactorily.

1 is an overall cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front view which shows the press means which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure seen from the X arrow direction of FIG. 2 which shows the sheet | seat binding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the press means of the state from which the cover frame which concerns on embodiment of this invention was removed. The perspective view which shows the lower support stand and upper support stand which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the state which the lower tooth type | mold member 41a and upper tooth type | mold member 50a which concern on embodiment of this invention meshed | engaged. The control block diagram which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the home position of the press means which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the sheet | seat binding apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the state which the sheet | seat bundle approached into the press means which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The left view which shows the state which the sheet | seat bundle approached into the sheet binding apparatus of the press position which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The left view which shows the state which the sheet | seat bundle approached into the sheet binding apparatus of the press position which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the state which the press means which concerns on embodiment of this invention is pressing the sheet | seat bundle. The front view which shows the state which the press means which concerns on embodiment of this invention released the sheet | seat bundle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a laser beam printer 1 as an image forming apparatus includes, in order from the lower side of the laser beam printer 1, a sheet conveying unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a sheet post-processing unit 4, and an image reading unit. A unit 5 and an automatic document feeder 6 are provided.

  The sheet conveying unit 2 includes a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes 10 that store sheets P of different sizes, a pickup roller 11 that feeds the sheets P in the sheet feeding cassette 10 one by one, and the sheets P to the image forming unit 3. A conveying roller 12 that conveys toward the surface, and the like.

  The image forming unit 3 includes a photosensitive drum 13, a charging roller 14, an exposure unit 15, a developing device 16, a transfer roller 17, a fixing device 18, and the like. The photosensitive drum 13 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the surface is uniformly charged by the charging roller 14. The charged photosensitive drum 13 is exposed by the laser beam of the exposure unit 15 that is controlled to be turned on / off based on the image information, and the charge in the exposed portion is removed to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image becomes a toner image when toner is attached by the developing device 16, and the toner image is transferred by the transfer roller 17 to the sheet P conveyed from the sheet conveying unit 2. The sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 18 to fix the toner image on the surface, and is conveyed to the sheet post-processing unit 4.

  The sheet post-processing unit 4 includes a sheet binding device 30 described later. The sheets P conveyed from the image forming unit 3 to the sheet post-processing unit 4 are stacked in the sheet binding device 30 and then bound or discharged to the discharge tray 19 without being processed by the sheet binding device 30. Is done.

  The image reading unit 5 includes a platen glass 20, a lamp 21, a plurality of mirrors 22, a lens 23, an image sensor 24, and the like. When the document D sent from the automatic document feeder 6 passes through the image reading position R on the platen glass 20, the image information is read. That is, the light emitted from the lamp 21 passes through the platen glass 20 and is reflected by the document surface, and is guided to the image sensor 24 through the plurality of mirrors 22 and the lens 23, and the image of the document D is imaged by the image sensor 24. Read as information. This image information is subjected to predetermined image processing and transmitted to the exposure unit 15 of the image forming unit 3.

  The automatic document feeder 6 includes a document tray 25, a paper discharge tray 26, and a binding number detection unit 72 (see FIG. 7). The documents D placed on the document tray 25 are conveyed one by one by a conveyance roller (not shown), pass through the image reading position R of the image reading unit 5, and are discharged to the paper discharge tray 26. The binding number detection unit 72 counts the number of documents D on the document tray 25 conveyed by one document reading operation. The number of documents D is the same as the number of sheets P of the sheet bundle PB to be bound in a binding process described later. That is, the binding number detection unit 72 detects the number of sheets P of the sheet bundle PB to be bound.

  Next, the sheet binding device 30 will be described in detail. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the up, down, left, and right directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2 correspond to up, down, left, and right of the sheet binding device 30 and each member constituting the sheet binding device 30. Furthermore, the direction (ZY direction shown in FIG. 3) orthogonal to these up / down / left / right directions is defined as the front / rear direction. However, these front and rear, left and right and up and down directions defined for convenience do not limit the configuration and operation of the sheet binding device 30 and the like.

2 and 3, the sheet binding device 30 includes a pressing unit 40 as a binding unit that sandwiches and presses a sheet bundle PB in which a plurality of sheets P are stacked in the stacking direction, and the sheet bundle PB. And a moisture applying means 60 for applying moisture at the binding position. The pressing means 40 and the moisture applying means 60 are fixed to a unit support 31 and a unit stacking plate 32 (see FIG. 11), and a unit moving motor 34 that drives a pinion gear 33 is fixed to the unit support 31. (See FIG. 11). A rack gear 36 that meshes with the pinion gear 33 is fixed to the guide plate 35 fixed to the laser beam printer 1. Then, by driving the unit moving motor 34, the pressing means 40 and the moisture applying means 60 fixed to the unit stacking plate 32 can be moved in the YZ direction with respect to the guide plate 35. The sheet binding device 30 fixed to the unit stacking plate 32 is guided by the guide shaft 37 and has a predetermined water application position for applying water to the sheet bundle PB, and a pressing position for the pressing means 40 to press the sheet bundle PB. , Can be moved and held.

  The water application means 60 includes a tank cartridge 61 for storing water, a water application device 62 having injection units 62a and 62b for injecting water, and a pump 63 for sending water from the tank cartridge 61 to the injection units 62a and 62b. Have. The water application device 62 can supply water from the tank cartridge 61 by a pump 63 and can inject a predetermined amount of water in a mist form from the injection parts 62a and 62b in the vertical direction of the water application space 62c.

  The pressing means 40 has a lower support base 41 fixed to the raised portion 31a of the unit support base 31, and a cover frame 42 fixed to the lower support base 41 (see FIG. 11). The cover frame 42 has a front wall part 42a, a rear wall part 42b, and a top part 42c that connects the upper ends of the front wall part 42a and the rear wall part 42b, and is open in the direction of the arrow X. It is formed in a U shape with the part facing downward. Each of the front wall portion 42a and the rear wall portion 42b is provided with a pin 42d projecting outward at a lower portion on the left end side, and an elongated hole 42e is formed obliquely above the pin 42d. A front end and a rear end of a cam drive shaft 43 which will be described later are passed through these long holes 42e and 42e. The long holes 42e and 42e support the cam drive shaft 43 so as to be movable and rotatable along the longitudinal direction of the long holes 42e and 42e.

  Between the pin 42d and the tip of the cam drive shaft 43 protruding from the long hole 42e, tension springs 44, 44 are stretched on the front and rear sides of the cover frame 42, respectively. On the right end side of the front wall portion 42a, a long hole 42f is formed at a position corresponding to a cam drive motor 55 described later. The cover frame 42 receives a reaction force of a cam 46 described later by the long holes 42e and 42e described above.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pressing means 40 has a fixed frame 47 whose right end is fixed to the upper surface of the lower support base 41 and whose lower end 47a on the left end side faces the lower support base 41 with a gap G therebetween. doing. The shape of the fixed frame 47 in the direction of arrow X is a U-shape similar to that of the cover frame 42 described above, and is arranged so that the right end side is covered with the cover frame 42. Three shafts S1, S2, and S3 are passed through the fixed frame 47 sequentially from the left.

  A swing frame 48 is disposed above the fixed frame 47. The swing frame 48 has a U-shape in the direction indicated by the arrow X, and has a left side end that is the same as the cover frame 42 described above. A lower part 48 a on the side is formed so as to cover the fixed frame 47. The shafts S1 and S2 pass through the lower portion 48a. The swing frame 48 can swing substantially vertically with respect to the fixed frame 47 with the left end side shaft S1 as a fulcrum. A portion on the right end side of the upper surface of the swing frame 48 is a contact surface 48b with which the cam surface 46a of the cam 46 contacts.

  A pressing frame 49 is disposed inward of the fixed frame 47, and the pressing frame 49 has a U-shaped opening in the direction of the arrow X. The pressing frame 49 has a shaft S2 penetrating on the left end side and a shaft S3 penetrating on the right end side, and the left end side can swing substantially vertically with respect to the lower support base 41 with the shaft S3 as a fulcrum.

  An upper support base 50 is fixed to the lower surface on the left end side of the pressing frame 49. On the lower surface of the upper support base 50 is fixed an upper tooth member 50a having corrugated irregularities as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. When the pressing frame 49 is lowered, it engages with the lower tooth type member 41 a fixed to the lower support base 41.

  The shaft S2 is fixed to the left end side of the pressing frame 49 so as to penetrate the pressing frame 49, and its front end and rear end penetrate the fixed frame 47 in the front-rear direction, and is formed in the swing frame 48. The through holes 48c and 48c are engaged. The portion of the fixed frame 47 through which the shaft S2 penetrates has an appropriate margin considering that the shaft S2 swings about the shaft S3 and the through holes 48c and 48c swing about the shaft S1. It is formed with.

  A compression spring 52 is contracted between the fixed frame 47 and the swing frame 48. The swing frame 48 is biased substantially upward by the compression spring 52, and the contact surface 48b is in contact with the minimum radius portion of the cam surface 46a of the cam 46. This state is the home position of the cam 46, and the gap H (see FIG. 8) between the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a is maximized.

  The cam drive shaft 43 is urged substantially downward by the tension springs 44, 44, but the urging force of the tension springs 44, 44 is set to be weaker than the urging force of the compression spring 52. Therefore, the swing frame 48 is urged almost upward by the compression spring 52 so that the contact surface 48b contacts the cam 46, and the contact surface 48b is attached substantially downward by the tension springs 44 and 44. The urged cam 46 comes into contact.

  The drive means 53 for swinging the swing frame 48 is integrated with the cam drive shaft 43 by engaging with the cam drive motor 55 for driving the motor gear 54, the drive transmission gear 56 meshing with the motor gear 54, and the drive transmission gear 56. Fixed gear (not shown), and a cam 46. As the cam drive motor 55, a stepping motor capable of accurately controlling the rotation angle by the CPU 70 (see FIG. 7) is used. The cam surface 46a of the cam 46 is formed so that the radius gradually increases clockwise and counterclockwise with reference to the minimum radius portion. The rotation of the cam drive motor 55 is transmitted to the cam 46 through the motor gear 54, the drive transmission gear 56, the fixed gear and the cam drive shaft 43.

  FIG. 7 shows a control block diagram of the laser beam printer 1 according to the present embodiment. The laser beam printer 1 has a CPU 70 as control means and ROM, RAM (not shown). On the input side of the CPU 70, for example, a sheet information input unit 71 including a liquid crystal monitor having a touch sensor and the binding number detection means 72 are connected. The sheet information input unit 71 can set the sheet type of the sheet P stored in the plurality of sheet feeding cassettes 10 for each sheet feeding cassette. The paper type refers to the paper type of the sheet P such as plain paper, recycled paper, and cardboard. The pump 63 is connected to the output side of the CPU 70 via a pump controller 73. The unit moving motor 34 and the cam drive motor 55 are connected to the output side of the CPU 70 via a motor controller 74.

  Next, the operation of the sheet binding device 30 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. The sheet binding device 30 stands by at the water application position shown in FIG. 11, and the pressing means 40 is at the home position shown in FIG. At this time, the gap H between the lower tooth mold member 41a and the upper tooth mold member 50a is the maximum width. The gap H is disposed so as to be within the height of the water application space 62 c of the water application device 62.

  Then, the sheet binding device 30 operates as in the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 70 determines whether the sheet bundle PB to be bound is a condition that allows water to permeate at a time (step S1). This condition is information relating to the sheet bundle such as the number of sheet bundles PB and the paper type. If it is determined in step S1 that the conditions that allow water to permeate at a time are satisfied, the plurality of sheets P formed by the image forming unit 3 are stacked and reassembled as shown in FIGS. The sheet bundle PB is aligned and enters the gap G from the left. The sheet bundle PB that has entered the gap G is placed at a predetermined position shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 by a stopper (not shown) (step S2). In the predetermined position, a part of the sheet bundle PB is disposed in the water application space 62c and between the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a.

  Next, the CPU 70 calculates the amount of water applied to the sheet bundle PB based on the number of sheet bundles PB detected by the binding number detection means 72 and the paper type information input by the sheet information input unit 71. A command is transmitted to the pump 63 (step S3). The amount of water to be applied to the sheet bundle PB is determined by finding an optimum application amount from the information on the number of sheets and the paper type of the sheet bundle to be bound in advance and making it a table. The pump 63 supplies a predetermined amount of water from the tank cartridge 61 to the jetting units 62a and 62b of the water application device 62, and the jetting units 62a and 62b are calculated in step S3 at the binding position of the sheet bundle PB. The water is applied (step S4). The binding position is usually any location near the peripheral edge of the sheet bundle PB. The amount of water applied by the jetting units 62a and 62b is adjusted by changing the jetting time or the jetting amount of water per unit time.

  If the CPU 70 determines in step S1 that the conditions for allowing water to permeate at a time are not satisfied, the sheet bundle PB is divided into a predetermined number of sheets (multiple sheets) and water is applied step by step. To do. For example, when the sheet bundle PB is composed of ten sheets P and water cannot permeate at a time, water is applied to every five sheets that can permeate water at a time. That is, a sheet bundle in which five sheets P are stacked (firstly, a sheet bundle PB1 for convenience) is conveyed to a predetermined position in the gap G. And water is apply | coated to this sheet | seat bundle like step S3, S4 mentioned above.

  Next, the CPU 70 determines whether or not all the sheets P of the sheet bundle PB to be bound have been conveyed (step S6). If all the sheet bundles PB to be bound have not been conveyed, the process returns to step S5, and the step S5, S3, S4 and S6 are repeated. In the above example, after water is applied to the sheet bundle PB1, five new sheet bundles (for convenience, this sheet bundle is referred to as a sheet bundle PB2) on the sheet bundle PB1 to which water has already been applied. Is carried). Then, water is applied to the sheet bundle PB2, but since there is a sheet bundle PB1 to which water has already been applied below, water is applied only from the upper injection section 62a. The sheet bundle PB2 absorbs water from the sheet bundle PB1 to which water has already been applied from below, and is sufficiently applied with water at the binding position. In addition, when water is applied to the sheet bundle PB in a plurality of times, the way of dividing the sheet bundle PB may be freely set as long as it is less than the number that can be applied with water at one time. For example, even in the case of the above-described ten sheet bundles PB, the sheet bundle PB1 may be composed of six sheets P and the sheet bundle PB2 may be composed of four sheets P.

  In step S6, when all the sheets P constituting the sheet bundle PB to be bound are conveyed to the water application position and water is applied, the unit moving motor 34 is rotated forward by a predetermined amount (step S7). As a result, the sheet binding device 30 moves in the Y direction from the water application position shown in FIG. 11 by the meshing of the pinion gear 33 and the rack gear 36, and stops at the pressing position shown in FIG. 12 (step S8). At the pressing position, the binding position of the sheet bundle PB coated with water is disposed between the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a.

  Next, the cam drive motor 55 is rotated forward by a predetermined amount, and the cam 46 is rotated in the R1 direction as shown in FIG. 13 (step S9). Then, when the cam 46 comes into contact with the contact surface 48b of the predetermined swing frame 48, the rotation of the cam 46 is stopped (step S10). Accordingly, the swing frame 48 rotates about the axis S1 in the K1 direction, and the pressing frame 49 to which the upper support base 50 is fixed rotates about the axis S3 in the M1 direction. The sheet bundle PB disposed between the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a is stacked in the stacking direction by the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a at the binding position where water is applied. It is clamped and a pressing force is applied (step S11). In this way, irregularities are formed at the binding position of the sheet bundle PB, and the fibers of the plurality of sheets P are entangled and bound. The pressing force necessary for binding the sheet bundle PB can be obtained by sufficiently decelerating the rotation of the cam drive motor 55 until it is transmitted to the cam 46.

  When the binding process of the sheet bundle PB is completed, as shown in FIG. 14, the cam drive motor 55 is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the cam 46 in the R2 direction (step S12). As a result, the swing frame 48 rotates about the axis S1 in the K2 direction, and the pressing frame 49 to which the upper support base 50 is fixed rotates about the axis S3 in the M2 direction. Then, the upper tooth member 50a is separated from the sheet bundle PB, the sheet bundle PB is released from the nipping state (step S13), and is discharged to the discharge tray 19 by a sheet conveying means (not shown) (step S14).

  As described above, the sheet binding device 30 according to the present embodiment can apply an appropriate amount of water according to the number of sheets P to be bound and the paper type, and therefore supports sheet bundles of different numbers and paper types. Thus, the sheet bundle can be bound satisfactorily. In addition, when water cannot be penetrated into a sheet bundle to be bound by a single application of water, the surface condition of the sheet bundle when applying pressure is applied because water is applied in stages in multiple steps. The paper scraps are less likely to stick to the lower tooth member 41a and the upper tooth member 50a.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lower tooth member 41a is fixed and the upper tooth member 50a is moved among the pair of tooth members, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lower tooth mold member 41a may be moved and the upper tooth mold member 50a may be fixed, or both the lower tooth mold member 41a and the upper tooth mold member 50a may be moved. .

  Further, although an electrophotographic laser printer has been described as the image forming apparatus, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, or another image forming apparatus such as a multi-function machine combining these functions. Further, in an image forming apparatus in which the automatic document feeder 6 is not provided, the number of sheets to be bound can be manually set by the sheet information input unit 71.

  In the above-described embodiment, the conditions for allowing water to permeate the sheet bundle at a time and the amount of water to be applied are determined according to the number of sheets to be bound or the paper type. These may be determined based on information on the sheet bundle. Further, the sheet information input unit 71 may be configured such that each of these sheet information can be manually input.

30: Sheet binding device, 40: Press means, 60: Water application means, 70: CPU (control means), P: Sheet, PB: Sheet bundle

Claims (9)

A sheet bundle forming means for stacking a plurality of sheets to form a sheet bundle;
Binding means for binding the sheet bundle formed by the sheet bundle forming means without using a binding needle ;
Wherein in the formation of by that sheet bundle in the sheet bundle forming device, in the course of forming the sheet bundle without applying water to the position to be stapled by the stapling means of said sheet bundle, the last sheet is stacked sheets Moisture application means for applying water to a position to be bound by the binding means of the sheet bundle in a state where the formation of the bundle is completed ;
Control means for controlling the amount of water applied by the moisture applying means based on the number of sheets constituting the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means,
A sheet binding apparatus characterized by that. A sheet number detecting means for detecting the number of sheets of the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means;
The control means is configured to determine the amount of water applied by the moisture application means in accordance with the detection result of the number detection means .
Sheet binding device according to claim 1, characterized in that. Sheet information input means capable of inputting information on the sheet bundle,
The control means is configured such that the amount of water applied by the moisture application means corresponds to the number of sheets input to the sheet information input means .
Sheet binding device according to claim 1, characterized in that.   A sheet bundle forming means for stacking a plurality of sheets to form a sheet bundle;
  Binding means for binding the sheet bundle formed by the sheet bundle forming means without using a binding needle;
  In the formation of the sheet bundle by the sheet bundle forming means, water is not applied to the position of the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means during the formation of the sheet bundle, and the last sheet is stacked to form the sheet bundle. Moisture application means for applying water to a position to be bound by the binding means of the sheet bundle in a state where the formation is completed;
  Control means for controlling the amount of water applied by the moisture applying means based on the type of sheets constituting the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means,
  A sheet binding apparatus characterized by that. Sheet information input means capable of inputting information on the sheet bundle,
The control means is configured such that the amount of water applied by the moisture applying means depends on the type of sheet input to the sheet information input means.
The sheet binding apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein In the formation of the sheet bundle by the sheet bundle forming means , the control means ,
When the sheet bundle is equal to or less than the predetermined number, water is not applied to the position of the sheet bundle to be bound by the binding means during the formation of the sheet bundle, and the last sheet is stacked to form the sheet bundle. In a completed state, water is applied to a position to be bound by the binding means of the sheet bundle,
When the sheet bundle exceeds the predetermined number, the sheet bundle formed by the sheet bundle forming unit is divided into the predetermined number or less of sheet bundles, and water is applied by the moisture applying unit once for each divided sheet bundle. Controlling the moisture application means to apply
Sheet binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that. The binding means is for pressing and binding the sheet bundle with a pressing member, and the unevenness is provided on the contact surface of the pressing member with the sheet bundle,
The sheet binding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sheet binding apparatus is characterized in that: The sheet binding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A sheet conveying device for conveying the sheet to the sheet binding device,
A sheet processing apparatus. An image forming means for forming an image on a sheet;
The sheet binding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a binding process is performed on a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit.
An image forming apparatus.

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