Abstract: A sheet container includes a housing, a stacking part provided in the housing so that recording sheets are stacked on the stacking part, a contact part to be brought into contact with edges of the recording sheets in a length direction on the stacking part in an attached state in which the contact part is attached into the housing, a connection member connected to the stacking part or the housing and having an extension part longer than the stacking part in the length direction, and a retreater that retreats the contact part in the attached state from the extension part with the connection member connected to the stacking part or the housing.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes an attraction separation unit including an attraction belt facing the upper surface of a stacked sheet bundle to attract an uppermost sheet thereof, and rotatably supported by a support member at a position upstream of the attraction belt in a sheet feeding direction; and a swing device for swinging the attraction separation unit around the support member as a fulcrum to move the attraction belt between an attraction position and a feed position more distant from the sheet bundle than the attraction position is. The swing device includes a first drive transmitting portion attached to a downstream end portion of the attraction separation unit and a second drive transmitting portion attached to the body of the sheet feeder and connected with the first drive transmitting portion. The first drive transmitting portion and the rack connect to swing the attraction separation unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to form an image on a sheet and a sheet feeding unit to feed the sheet to the image forming device. The sheet feeding unit includes an endless, dielectric belt disposed facing an upper surface of a sheet stack to contact and attract an uppermost sheet to the surface thereof and feed the sheet in the sheet feeding direction, and an electric potential pattern forming unit to form an electric potential pattern on the surface of the dielectric belt. The electric potential pattern has multiple potential holding sections of identical absolute values and opposite polarities disposed adjacent to each other at a uniform pitch. The electric potential pattern forming unit forms the electric potential pattern to have equal numbers of positive potential holding sections and negative potential holding sections.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device that can be incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet feeder including a belt unit including an attraction belt facing a sheet stack and first and second tension rollers to keep the attraction belt taut, and a side holder to rotatably support the belt unit about the first tension roller that serves as a pivot of the sheet feeder being disposed upstream from the second tension roller in the sheet conveyance direction, a contact and separation drive unit to swing the sheet feeder to make the attraction belt contact with and separate from the sheet stack, and a swing range adjuster to adjust a range of swing of the belt unit with respect to the side holder between contact and separation of the attraction belt with respect to the sheet stack, according to a predetermined condition.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a loading member, an attraction separation unit, and a control device. The loading member carries sheet materials. The attraction separation unit includes an endless dielectric belt, holding rollers, and an adjustment device. The endless belt attracts and holds the uppermost one of the sheet materials. The holding rollers holding the endless belt include upstream and downstream holding rollers. The upstream holding roller is rotated around a shaft of the downstream holding roller as the rotation axis in accordance with rotation of the downstream holding roller. The adjustment device provided to the upstream holding roller adjusts the movement range of the upstream holding roller in the height direction. The control device controls, in accordance with the type of sheet materials, an operation of lifting and lowering the loading member, to thereby allow the adjustment device to adjust the movement range of the upstream holding roller.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes: an attraction separation unit including an attraction belt stretched between rollers and facing the upper surface of a sheet bundle to attract an uppermost sheet thereof, rotatably supported by a support member at a position upstream of the attraction belt in a sheet feeding direction, and supporting the rollers to be released from the support upon contact of the rollers with the uppermost sheet via the attraction belt; and a swing device for swinging the attraction separation unit around the support member as a pivot to move the attraction belt between an attraction position and a feed position more distant from the sheet bundle than the attraction position, and swinging, after the uppermost sheet has been attracted to the attraction belt at the attraction position, the attraction belt to the feed position to be rotated to feed the uppermost sheet.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes: an attracting and separating device disposed above a leading end portion in a sheet-feeding direction of a sheet stack, attracting and holding an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack with electrostatic force and separating the uppermost sheet from the sheet stack, a sheet loading device carrying the sheet stack, and including a first bottom plate carrying a rear-side portion of the sheet stack and a second bottom plate separated from the first bottom plate and carrying the leading end portion of the sheet stack below the attracting and separating device; and a lifting device lifting and lowering the sheet loading device, and including a first lifting device lifting and lowering the first bottom plate and a second lifting device lifting and lowering the second bottom plate to move the leading end portion of the sheet stack toward and away from the attracting and separating device.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device that is incorporatable in an image forming apparatus includes an endless belt disposed facing an upper surface of a sheet stack to convey sheets of the sheet stack forward in a first moving direction of a surface thereof, an attraction unit to attract an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack to the endless belt, a contact and separation unit to contact and separate the endless belt relative to the sheet stack, and a controller to cause the endless belt to contact or substantially contact the upper surface of the sheet stack to attract the uppermost sheet to the endless belt, perform a pre-separation operation in which the endless belt moves in a reverse direction that is opposite the sheet conveyance direction, and then perform a separating operation in which the endless belt separates from the sheet stack.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device, a sheet feeding unit, a belt pressing member, and a moving unit. The sheet feeding unit includes an endless, dielectric belt to contact and attract the uppermost sheet to a surface thereof and feed in a sheet feeding direction, and an electric potential pattern forming unit to form an electric potential pattern on a surface of the dielectric belt. The moving unit moves the belt pressing member between a sheet attracting position and a sheet feeding position. The dielectric belt attracts the uppermost sheet at the sheet attracting position, the moving unit moves the belt pressing member to the sheet feeding position, and an entire flat portion of the dielectric belt feeds the uppermost sheet in the sheet feeding direction while carrying the uppermost sheet thereon as the dielectric belt rotates.

Abstract: A sheet separating and feeding unit incorporable in an image forming apparatus includes an image forming device, a sheet container, a sheet feeding unit including an endless, dielectric belt and an electric potential pattern forming unit, a belt supporting mechanism including a first supporting roller and a second supporting roller, and a moving unit. The first supporting roller rotates to rotatably move the second supporting roller between a sheet attracting position and a sheet feeding position so that the flat portion of the dielectric belt moves between the sheet contact position and the sheet pick-up position.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device that can be incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet feeder including a belt unit including an attraction belt facing a sheet stack and first and second tension rollers to keep the attraction belt taut, and a side holder to rotatably support the belt unit about the first tension roller that serves as a pivot of the sheet feeder being disposed upstream from the second tension roller in the sheet conveyance direction, a contact and separation drive unit to swing the sheet feeder to make the attraction belt contact with and separate from the sheet stack, and a swing range adjuster to adjust a range of swing of the belt unit with respect to the side holder between contact and separation of the attraction belt with respect to the sheet stack, according to a predetermined condition.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes a leading end gripper and a trailing end gripper provided on a drum. The leading end gripper is moved by a leading end gripper driving mechanism. The trailing end gripper switches between a standby position where this gripper is stopped relatively to the rotating drum and a grip position where this gripper rotates with the drum. The leading end gripper and a recording medium pass through an inside of the trailing end gripper stopped in the standby position. If a trailing end of the recording medium reaches the trailing end gripper, the trailing end gripper is released and switches to the grip position. Thus, the trailing end of the medium is held on the drum by the trailing end gripper. The trailing end gripper moves in a rotating direction of the drum while continuing nipping the trailing end of the medium.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device incorporable in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet holder to hold a stack of sheets including an uppermost sheet, an endless belt, a charging member, a belt supporting unit including a drive roller and a driven roller, a moving mechanism to move the sheet holder, and a controller. The controller alternately controls the moving mechanism to move the sheet holder to a proximal position, the endless belt to contact the uppermost sheet held on the sheet holder, and the driven roller to rotate about the drive roller, to attract the uppermost sheet, and controls the moving mechanism to move the sheet holder to a distal position, the driven roller to rotate about the drive roller, and the endless belt to incline at a predetermined angle of separation, to separate the uppermost sheet from the multiple sheets.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, the image forming apparatus has an endless device with a circumferential surface, a laminated cover which is disposed at the circumferential surface of the endless device, a rotation mechanism which rotate the endless device, a supply mechanism which supplies a recording medium to the endless device, a charging roller, a recording head unit, and a discharge mechanism. The laminated cover includes a metal layer and a dielectric layer. The metal layer has both end portions in the circumferential direction, and both side portions. The dielectric layer also has both end portions in the circumferential direction and both the side portions. At least a part of both the end portions and both the side portions of the dielectric layer has extended regions which protrude from a circumferential edge of the metal layer.