Abstract: A moving unit includes first and second transportation paths that can selectively link to main transportation path of a recording sheet, a first roller arranged between the first and the second transportation paths, second and third rollers capable of making contact with the first roller across the first and the second transportation paths, respectively. When the moving unit moves to a position at which the first transportation path or the second transportation path is linked to the main transportation path, a mechanism varies a pressing force of the second roller or the third roller with respect to the first roller.

Abstract: A cam unit includes three cams fixed on a common cam shaft for moving a pair of feeding rollers, a pair of lateral registration rollers, and a stopper unit, respectively. A control unit corrects a lateral registration of a sheet whose skew is corrected by the stopper unit, based on a detection result of a detecting unit that detects a position of a side edge of the sheet, while conveying the sheet, controls the rollers not nip the sheet at least during the lateral registration, and controls rotations of the cams according to a length of the sheet.

Abstract: In a sheet aligning device, a pair of first rollers provided upstream of a stopper unit moves a sheet in an axial direction thereof after a pair of second rollers provided upstream of the first rollers is separated, and is returned to its home position just after the sheet passes therethrough.

Abstract: A conveying device that conveys a recording medium includes an aligning member into which the leading edge of a recording medium bumps and a control unit that changes conveyance speed of the recording medium moving on a conveying path to bump into the aligning member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a belt-shaped image carrier that carries an image, an image transfer unit that transfers the image onto a recording medium, and a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium to the image transfer unit. The image carrier has a sloping surface that slopes down from upstream of the image transfer unit in a conveying direction. The conveying unit includes a linear conveying path that is arranged upstream of the image transfer unit in the conveying direction, below the sloping surface and above a horizontal line passing through the image transfer unit.

Abstract: A first longitudinal registration correcting unit corrects a misalignment of a recording medium in its conveying direction. A lateral registration correcting unit corrects a misalignment of the recording medium in its width direction after the misalignment in the conveying direction is corrected by the first longitudinal registration correcting unit. A second longitudinal registration correcting unit corrects the misalignment of the recording medium in the conveying direction again after the misalignment in the width direction is corrected by the lateral registration correcting unit.

Abstract: A disclosed sheet aligning device includes a sheet conveyance path; a detecting unit configured to detect a side edge of a sheet being conveyed in the sheet conveyance path; a stopper provided on an upstream side of the detecting unit and configured to open/close in such a manner as to allow/prevent passage of the sheet through the sheet conveyance path and to position a leading edge of the sheet being conveyed in the sheet conveyance path; a first conveying unit provided on an upstream side of the stopper, the first conveying unit including a pair of first rollers configured to come in contact with/separate from each other; a second conveying unit provided on an upstream side of the first conveying unit, the second conveying unit including a pair of second rollers configured to come in contact with/separate from each other; and a horizontal movement unit configured to move the pair of first rollers in an axial direction of the first rollers based on a detection result output by the detecting unit.

Abstract: A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a gate member configured to selectively block a sheet conveyance path thereby providing a structure against which to locate a leading edge of a sheet of an image-bearing medium; resist rollers provided upstream in a sheet conveyance direction vis-à-vis the gate member and configured to convey the sheet downstream to the gate member in the sheet conveyance direction; a detector provided downstream in the sheet conveyance direction vis-à-vis the gate member and configured to detect misalignment at an edge portion of the sheet in a sheet width direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction; a moving mechanism, including a motor, configured to move the resist rollers in the sheet width direction; and a controller configured to change control the moving mechanism by changing a drive mode and a rotation speed of the motor in accordance with a sheet misalignment amount detected by the detector.

Abstract: A sheet accommodating device comprises a first pinion (39a) rotatably disposed at a center of a table; second, third, fourth, and fifth pinions (39) which are rotatably disposed on the both sides of the table; a first regulating member (34) which has rack portions (36, 38) that can be engaged with the first pinion, second pinion and fourth pinion; a second regulating member (35) which has rack portions (37, 38) that can be engaged with the first pinion, third pinion and fifth pinion; and lock means (33) for positioning any one of the first and second regulating members.

Abstract: There are disposed optical sensors (S1, S2, S3,S4, S5, and S6) outside sheet trays (1, 2, 3). The optical axes of the optical sensors are respectively set in such a manner that they are parallel to their associated up-down tables (1a, 2a, and 3a) and pass upwardly of contact positions (A, B and C) between sheets (P) and sheet supply rollers (20, 21, and 22).