US-12619186-B2 - Image forming system having sheet processor with thermal binding, control method and storage medium

US12619186B2US 12619186 B2US12619186 B2US 12619186B2US-12619186-B2

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a sheet processing system allowing a user to easily remove a sheet from a sheet pressure bonding unit when a jam occurs. A control method for the sheet processing system includes conveying a sheet, pressurizing, for a predetermined time, a plurality of conveyed sheets by a pressurizing unit, detecting an occurrence of a jam of the conveyed sheet or sheets, and controlling the pressurizing unit to release a pressurized state by the pressurizing unit even if the predetermined time has not elapsed in a case where the occurrence of the jam is detected while the plurality of sheets is being pressurized.

Inventors

Jun Miyajima

Assignees

CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240412
Priority Date: 20230417

Claims (10)

1 . An image forming system comprising: an image forming apparatus that prints an image on a sheet using a recording material and conveys the sheet, the image forming apparatus applying the recording material at a binding position of the sheet; a sheet processing apparatus that applies thermal pressure to the binding position of a plurality of sheets on which images are printed by the image forming apparatus which are conveyed by the image forming apparatus to perform a binding process of the plurality of sheets; wherein the sheet processing apparatus is configured to continue applying the thermal pressure until the binding process has been completed after an occurrence of jam of the sheet is detected while the binding process is being performed, and wherein the sheet processing apparatus starts to release a state that the thermal pressure is applied after the binding process has been completed.
2 . The image forming system according to claim 1 , further comprising a display that displays a guidance for clearing the jam after the detection of the occurrence of the jam.
3 . The image forming system according to claim 2 , wherein the display-unit displays the guidance after the state is released.
4 . The image forming system according to claim 3 , further comprising a controller that determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed, wherein the display displays the guidance based on a determination by the controller that the predetermined time has elapsed since the state is released.
5 . The image forming system according to claim 3 , wherein, in a case where the plurality of sheets is not present in a sheet processor in the sheet processing apparatus, the display displays the guidance without waiting for the state to be released.
6 . The image forming system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a controller that specifies a sheet present in a sheet conveyance path downstream of an occurrence position of the jam; and a conveyance controller that controls the sheet specified by the controller to be conveyed to the sheet processing apparatus.
7 . The image forming system according to claim 1 , wherein the recording material is a toner.
8 . The image forming system according to claim 1 , wherein the recording material is an ink.
9 . A control method for an image forming system having an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus, comprising: printing, by the image forming apparatus, an image on a sheet using a recording material; conveying, by the image forming apparatus, the sheet, the image forming apparatus applying the recording material at a binding position of the sheet; applying, by the sheet processing apparatus, thermal pressure to the binding position of a plurality of sheets on which images are printed by the image forming apparatus and which are conveyed by the image forming apparatus to perform a binding process of the plurality of sheets; continuing, by the sheet processing apparatus, the applying the thermal pressure until the binding process has been completed after an occurrence of a jam of the sheet is detected while the binding process is being performed; and starting, by the sheet processing apparatus, to release a state that the thermal pressure is applied after the binding process has been completed.
10 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing computer to execute a control method for an image forming system having an image forming apparatus and a sheet processing apparatus, the control method comprising: printing, by the image forming apparatus, an image on a sheet using a recording material; conveying, by the image forming apparatus, the sheet, the image forming apparatus applying the recording material at a binding position of the sheet; applying, by the sheet processing apparatus, thermal pressure to the binding position of a plurality of sheets on which images are printed by the image forming apparatus and which are conveyed by the image forming apparatus to perform a binding process of the plurality of sheets; continuing, by the sheet processing apparatus, the applying the thermal pressure until the binding process has been completed after an occurrence of a jam of the sheet is detected while the binding process is being performed; and starting, by the sheet processing apparatus, to release a state that the thermal pressure is applied after the binding process has been completed.

Description

BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure relates to a sheet processing system, a control method for the sheet processing system, and a storage medium. Description of the Related Art As a sheet processing apparatus that bonds sheets, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-209859 discusses an apparatus that performs thermal pressure bonding of sheets with toner applied thereon as an adhesive material by heating and pressurizing the sheets. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-136769 discusses a method of preventing a breakage of an apparatus while allowing a user to perform an appropriate paper jam clearance operation by notifying the user that a cover is locked, before presenting a procedure to clear a paper jam. In the sheet processing apparatus of the thermal pressure bonding method, a plurality of sheets is sandwiched between a pressuring member and a reception member to be heated and pressurized. When a paper jam occurs in a sheet conveyance path, a user has difficulty in removing the plurality of sheets present in a pressurizing unit and is sandwiched between the pressuring member and the reception member. If the user tries to forcibly remove the sheet bundle, the sheets may be wrinkled or ripped. SUMMARY According to some embodiments, a sheet processing system can include a conveyance unit configured to convey a sheet, a pressurizing unit configured to pressurize, for a predetermined time, a plurality of sheets conveyed by the conveyance unit, a detection unit configured to detect an occurrence of a jam of the sheet or sheets conveyed by the conveyance unit, and a control unit configured to control the pressurizing unit to release a pressurized state by the pressurizing unit even if the predetermined time has not elapsed after the detection unit detects the occurrence of the jam while the pressurizing unit is pressurizing the plurality of sheets. Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration including a personal computer (PC) and an image forming apparatus. FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams respectively illustrating the PC and the image forming apparatus. FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-section diagrams illustrating the image forming apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a buffer unit of a sheet processing apparatus. FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, and 5F are diagrams illustrating a series of operations of a thermal pressure bonding unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a toner image to be formed on a sheet by the image forming apparatus. FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating screens of a printer driver. FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are diagrams illustrating an operation unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a paper jam information screen according to a first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a paper jam information screen according to a second exemplary embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by an image forming apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Hereinbelow, various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In the present disclosure, the term “image forming apparatus” is defined to include various apparatuses that form (records) images on recording materials (recording media), such as a single function printer, a copying machine, a multifunction apparatus, and a commercial printing machine. Further, the image forming apparatus may be a system (image forming system) including an image forming apparatus main body configured to form an image on a recording material and an apparatus, such as a sheet processing apparatus and a sheet feeding apparatus, that are connected together. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing system according to a first exemplary embodiment. The printing system includes a personal computer (PC) 100 and an image forming apparatus 1100 connected with each other via a communication line 150, such as a local area network (LAN) and a universal serial bus (USB). The PC 100 may be a mobile terminal (e.g., electronic device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) and, a mobile phone). FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the PC 100. The PC 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 21, a random access memory (RAM) 22, a read only memory (ROM) 23, a network interface (IF) 24, a display 25, a keyboard 26, a mouse 27, and a hard disk drive (HDD) 28, connected with each other via the CPU 21. The CPU 21 controls the entire PC 100 using programs and data stored in the RAM 22 or the ROM 23, and perfo