Abstract: A sheet conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a detector to detect a lateral end face of a sheet, a first pair of rollers to hold and convey the sheet and swing in a direction parallel to a plane of the sheet, a second pair of rollers to convey the sheet together with the first pair of rollers, and a controller to rotate the first pair of rollers to multiple angles, detect time changes at each angle at the lateral end face while conveying the sheet, and determine a home position corresponding to a position where respective rates of the time changes of the sheet at the first and second nip regions are substantially identical to each other or a home position having a least difference of rates of the time changes of the sheet at the first and second nip regions.

Abstract: A sheet conveying apparatus includes a rotation member unit, a supporting shaft and a moving shaft to support the rotation member unit, a locking unit to lock the moving shaft, and an engaged portion. The rotation member unit includes an engaging portion and a sheet conveyance rotation member held by the engaging portion. When the moving shaft is at a first position, the moving shaft and the supporting shaft support the rotation member unit. When the moving shaft is moved away from the supporting shaft to a second position at which the rotation member unit is not supported by the supporting shaft, the moving shaft is locked at the second position by the locking unit after moving from the first position to the second position, and the rotation member unit is held by the engaged portion in a state in which the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes: a sheet discharge tray having an upstream portion tilted to extend downward in a direction of gravity; an upper member limiting a height of a space above the sheet discharge tray; a full sensor configured to detect an upstream end of a top sheet of sheets stacked on the sheet discharge tray; a counter configured to count a number of the sheets discharged onto the sheet discharge tray; and a controller. The controller determines whether to stop discharging of the sheets to the sheet discharge tray, based on a detection result of the full sensor upon the sheets to be stacked on the sheet discharge tray including only sheets each with uniform thickness and based on a count value of the counter upon the sheets to be stacked on the sheet discharge tray including a sheet with thickness varying partly.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sheet conveying apparatus, including: a conveying member configured to convey a sheet; a plurality of changing portions successively provided downstream of the conveying member in a conveying direction of the sheet, the plurality of changing portions being configured to change the conveying direction of the sheet conveyed by the conveying member by curving the sheet; and a control portion configured to control a conveying speed of the sheet. The control portion controls a conveying speed of the sheet such that V1<V2 where V1 indicates a conveying speed of a sheet conveyed by the conveying member, a leading end of which sheet passes through a specific changing portion among the plurality of changing portions, and V2 indicates a conveying speed of a sheet conveyed without passing through the specific changing portion.

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion, a rotary feeding member configured to feed the sheet, a regulating portion configured to regulate a position of the edge portion, and a force applying portion that is provided separately from the rotary feeding member. The force applying portion contacts the sheet supported on the sheet supporting portion upstream in a conveyance direction of the rotary feeding member and applies a force to turn the sheet fed by the rotary feeding member.

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes a feed roller configured to feed a sheet in a feeding direction, a drive unit to drive the feed roller, a separation roller driven by the drive unit through a torque limiter in a direction against the feeding direction, and a pair of conveyance rollers. In addition, a control portion executes a first control mode in which a first sheet is conveyed and a second control mode in which a second sheet having a lower basis weight than that of the first sheet is conveyed. The control portion stops the drive unit with the sheet nipped at a separation nip portion and at a conveyance nip portion in each of the first and second control modes, and a timing when the drive unit is stopped by the control portion in the second control mode is earlier than a timing when the drive unit is stopped by the control portion in the first control mode.

Abstract: In a cross section perpendicular to an axial direction of a discharge roller, a rotation center of the discharge roller is provided at a position out of a straight line that connects a rotation center of a discharge driven roller and a rotation center of a duplex driven roller. The discharge roller that receives forces from the discharge driven roller and the duplex driven roller is held by a discharge roller presser.

Abstract: A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a body portion, and an openable unit including an openable portion supported by the body portion, a first movable guide to guide a sheet, a supporting portion to movably support the first movable guide between a first position, at which a first conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed is formed between the first movable guide and the openable portion, and a second position, at which the first conveyance path is opened, the supporting portion being moved away from the body portion along with an opening operation of the openable portion, and a second movable guide movably supported by the first movable guide. An abutment portion abuts with the second movable guide in a state where the openable portion is closed, such that the second movable guide is held on a position to form a second conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed.

Abstract: A post processing apparatus includes a post processing unit that performs a post process on a sheet of paper, a duct, and a blower that blows an airflow to the duct. The post processing apparatus has a transport path through which the sheet is transported toward the post processing unit. The duct is provided in a width direction of the transport path. The duct has a slit formed in a sheet width direction, and the airflow having been blown by the blower is blown through the slit toward the sheet transported to the post processing apparatus.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a pair of rollers configured to convey a sheet in a sheet conveyance passage, a detector configured to optically detect an attitude of the sheet, one of a rotation device to rotate the pair of rollers in a direction parallel to a plane of the sheet and a moving device to move the pair of rollers in a width direction, and a controller configured to correct the attitude of the pair of rollers at a time interval, based on a detection result obtained by the detector. The controller performs the correcting operation by setting, according to reflectance of the sheet, at least one of a light emission time of the detector, the time interval of the correcting operation, light emission intensity of the detector and a conveying speed of the sheet.

Abstract: A paper feeder for transporting paper sheets, includes: a head fan that blows air on the paper sheets; a suction fan that applies negative pressure to the paper sheets blown by the head fan; a switching member that changes the direction of the air from the head fan; a head shutter that blocks the flow of the air directed by the switching member; and a hardware processor that determines the blocking time of the airflow, wherein the switching member changes the air direction between a first direction for floating the paper sheets and a second direction toward the suction fan, and the hardware processor determines stop timing of the air blow in the second direction directed by the switching member as the start timing of clocking the blocking time of the airflow, based on the weight and the resistance to an external force of the paper sheets.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a tray having first and second receiving portions is configured to move between a first position, at which at least part of the tray is positioned inside an apparatus body, and a second position, at which the tray is outside the apparatus body. The tray in the first position allows a first recording medium to be conveyed from the first receiving portion. When the tray is in the first position, the second receiving portion is configured to move between a third position, which is at an upstream side relative to a first opening of the apparatus body in a second direction, and a fourth position, which is at a downstream side relative to the third position in the second direction. The second receiving portion at the third position allows a second recording medium to be conveyed from the second receiving portion in the second direction.

Abstract: A medium conveying apparatus for conveying media in a conveying direction includes: a medium container on which the media are stacked; and a medium separator that abuts an uppermost medium of the media stacked on the medium container and separates the uppermost medium from the media stacked on the medium container. The medium container includes: a medium support that abuts a lowermost medium of the media stacked on the medium container and supports the stacked media; and a tilting mechanism that tilts the medium support relative to a horizontal plane at a tilt angle according to a weight of the media stacked on the medium container.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a controller and capable of forming images in double-face printing is provided. The controller conducts a measuring process to measure a time period corresponding to a sheet length; a comparison process to compare a measured value with a switch threshold value being a value in a range of a measurement error allowed to the measured value; and one of a first conveying process, in which a conveying unit is driven to convey a predetermined number of sheets circulating in a conveying path, and a second conveying process, in which the conveying unit is driven to convey a greater number of sheets than the predetermined number circulating in the conveying path. The controller conducts the first conveying process when the measured value is greater than the switch threshold value and conducts the second conveying process when the measured value is smaller than the switch threshold value.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a reference face, a sheet loader, an air blowing device, an air drawing device, and a conveying body. The reference face stands upwardly at a downstream side of a sheet conveying direction. The sheet loader includes a body and a leading end disposed downstream from the body in the sheet conveying direction. The sheet loader moves upwardly to a position where the leading end rotates downwardly to the body. The air blowing device blows air toward a sheet bundle loaded on the sheet loader and lift an uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle. The air drawing device is configured to draw the uppermost sheet. The conveying body conveys the uppermost sheet in the sheet conveying direction while the uppermost sheet is in contact with the air drawing device due to attraction by air.

Abstract: An image-forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet includes an image-forming unit that forms the image on the sheet, and a conveying unit that conveys the sheet on which the image is formed by the image-forming unit. The conveying unit includes a pair of first rollers that discharges the sheet to the outside of the image-forming apparatus and a pair of second rollers that conveys the sheet in a direction in which the sheet is discharged to the outside of the image-forming apparatus and that subsequently switches a conveyance direction of the sheet to an opposite direction to convey the sheet again to the image-forming unit. The pair of the first rollers and the pair of the second rollers partially overlap when viewed in a width direction of the sheet that is perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet.

Abstract: A positional adjustment apparatus for an attractor includes a positioning plate disposable at least adjacent to a surface of a mold, at least one drive operatively connected to the positioning plate to move the positioning plate and alter at least one of a first height, a first angle of tilt, a first lateral position, and a rotational position of the positioning plate with respect to the surface of the mold, at least one positioner disposed in an opening through the positing plate, the positioner hanging from and being moveable independently of the positioning plate, at least one attractor connected to the at least one positioner, and a joint disposed between the positioner and the positioning plate, the joint permitting the at least one positioner to change at least one of a second height, a second angle of tilt, and a second lateral position with respect to the positioning plate.

Abstract: In a paper feeding apparatus, paper feed rolls in paper feed roll rows for feeding the lowermost one of cardboard sheets placed in a stacked manner on a paper feeding table intermittently one by one toward the printing device are coupled via shafts to separate servomotors. The servomotors are controlled so to be accelerated synchronously and rapidly from a stopped state to a high rotational speed during one cycle of feeding through contact with the lowermost cardboard sheet, while controlled so to be decelerated from the high rotational speed to be stopped rapidly and respectively when determined not to be in contact with the lowermost cardboard sheet.

Abstract: A cut-out is provided in a lower guide so as to permit a return claw to move between a retracted position and a protruded position. Furthermore, an upper surface of the return claw positioned in the protruded position functions as a guide portion that guides an underside of a sheet that has been manually fed.

Abstract: A paper sheet conveyance device for conveying a paper sheet by an airstream generated in a tubular conveyance path. The paper sheet conveyance device includes a frame member that supports the conveyance path and are provided along an installation route of the conveyance path, pedestal units attached to the frame member and that slide along a longitudinal direction of the frame member, and a plurality of paper sheet capturing devices that send out the paper sheet to be conveyed into the conveyance path and are provided in the conveyance path. Each of the paper sheet capturing devices includes a path part that forms a part of the conveyance path, which is formed by joining a plurality of conveyance ducts and the path parts of the paper sheet capturing devices. The pedestal unit is provided for and holds each of the paper sheet capturing devices.