Abstract: The printer can improve the workability of storing and ejecting printing sheets in or from a storage tray. The printer includes a storage tray comprising a sheet storage case for storing a stack of a plurality of printing sheets with at least one of the sides of the storage case being opened and a cover for covering the sheet storage case, wherein the cover comprises a cover body and an moveable member supported by the cover body for freely opening and closing the opening of the sheet storage case. When the entire storage tray is disposed in the slot of the chassis, a pick-up block ejects one printing sheet at a time, and when a part of the storage tray is pulled out of the slot of the chassis, the moveable member can be opened or closed and the printing sheet can be stored in or discharged from the sheet storage case.

Abstract: A recording medium feed apparatus has a manual feed tray provided in open or closed state, a feed roller feeding a recording portion a recording medium on the manual feed tray, an arm body having a first end portion rotatably attached to a housing and a second end portion, a feed roller unit having a front end portion provided with the feed roller and a base end portion rotatably attached to the second end portion, and a driving source transferring driving force to the feed roller, wherein the arm body and the feed roller unit are vertically housed inside the housing when the manual feed tray is closed, and as the manual feed tray changes from closed to opened state, the arm body tilts toward outside, while a folding angle of the feed roller increases so that the feed roller abuts against a recording medium on the manual feed tray.

Abstract: The scanner apparatus has a feed device for picking up checks from an input receptacle and transferring them to a conveyor mechanism which conveys the checks through the interior of the apparatus. A feed plate resiliently urges a bundle of checks in the receptacle towards an opposed surface. A feed roller acting on the side remote from the plate picks up from the receptacle a check disposed adjacent the surface and transfers it towards the interior of the apparatus. The movement of the feed plate towards the opposed surface is stopped in a position close to that surface so as to define between the plate and the surface a gap of sufficient width for the insertion of at least one check in the input receptacle.

Abstract: An entrance guide for externally fed sheet (4) to printer (1) is configured to bow the sheets. In one embodiment guides (5a, 5aa) within slot 7 have upper and lower configurations which force sheet into a bow. In one embodiment slot (7a) is bowed and is sufficiently narrow in height to only accept a bowed sheet. The bowed sheets do not sag against the printer (1), which aids in sheet registration.

Abstract: An original document tray for a scanning and printing apparatus includes original document guides for guiding an original document in the original document tray into a scanning unit by determining or regulating a widthwise position of the original document, and manual-feed sheet guides provided with the original document tray for guiding a manual-feed sheet to be supplied to a printing unit by determining a widthwise position of the manual-feed sheet. The manual-feed sheet guides can be adjusted manually in the widthwise direction. The original document guides are disposed on an original document supporting surface of the original document tray on which the original document is placed, and the manual-feed sheet guides are disposed on a side opposite the original document supporting surface. The original document guides can also be moved manually in the widthwise direction and move in conjunction with the manual-feed sheet guides.

Abstract: The paper feeding apparatus is constituted to be able to switch over to automatic and manual paper feeds, to have a stable loading of paper on the paper loading board and a favorable manual paper feed. The manual feed tray is opanable/closable by turning around the spindle. The rotation lever and the cam are fixed on the operation shaft. When the manual feed tray is opened, the projection portion pushes the rotation lever. When the manual feed tray is closed, the cam touches the backside of the operation arm and the stopper rises. When the manual feed tray is opened, the rotation lever is pushed by the projection portion and the cam rotates in the clockwise direction separating from the backside of the operation arm. The stopper, consequently, lowers.

Abstract: In a sheet feed apparatus, a guide member formed by a flexible member is disposed at an aperture for manual sheet feeding provided on an upper surface of a sheet storing means, and sheets are guided to the position below a sheet feed means by the guide member, while underpropping the sheets, whereby the manual sheet feeding can be performed with the simple structure at low costs. Further, a space for the manual sheet feeding and the number of parts can be saved to the minimum.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a recording apparatus which has a positioning means for manual sheet feeding for aligning a sheet feeding position, and a positioning means for auto sheet feeding provided on an auto sheet feeder for aligning the sheet feeding position, and a sheet fed from the auto sheet feeder does not abut against the positioning means for manual sheet feeding, when the auto sheet feeder is attached to the recording apparatus main body.

Abstract: A sheet feeder has a sheet-feed opening for feeding sheets into a sheet transporting path inside the sheet feeder; a sheet-discharge opening for discharging the sheets; a sheet-holding tray which is rotatably provided and which is movable to a position where the sheet-holding tray holds the sheets and to a location where the sheet-holding tray covers the sheet-feed opening; and a discharged-sheet holding tray which is rotatably provided and which is movable to a position where the discharged-sheet holding tray holds the sheets that have been discharged from the sheet-discharge opening and to a location where the discharged-sheet holding tray covers the sheet-discharge opening.

Abstract: A document conveying apparatus comprising a document conveying passage and a pair of document introduction rollers disposed at a document insertion portion, and a copier equipped with the document conveying apparatus. A cover frame is pivotably supported by the support frame body of the document conveying apparatus. A shutter member is supported by the support frame body so as to move up and down between a shut-off position and an open position. The cover frame and the shutter member are interlocked to each other so that the shutter member is moved up to the open position when the cover frame is turned to the closed position and the shutter member is moved down to the shut-off position when the cover frame is turned to the open position.

Abstract: A printing apparatus has high reliability both in manual feeding and in automatic feeding of a printing medium, and a feeding control method controls the printing apparatus. In the case of manual feeding of a sheet as the printing medium, the sheet is transported by an LF roller for an amount sufficient for feeding the tip end of the sheet to a discharge paper sensor located on the downstream side of a paper path with respect to a printing head. Judgment whether paper feeding is successful or not is made depending on whether the sheet is detected by the discharged paper sensor. On the other hand, in the case of automatic feeding using an automatic feeding apparatus, the operation of transporting the sheet to the discharged paper sensor is not performed. By this, in the case of automatic feeding, it becomes unnecessary to backwardly feed the sheet before initiation of printing so that the rotation amount of the LF roller is minimized.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a scanner, which includes a guide member provided at an inlet of a clearance formed below a cover of the scanner. The guide member has a substantially pentagonal shape as viewed from the top, and may also include a notch formed in the top portion of the pentagon. The guide member also includes an edge portion curled in a semicircle in an upward direction that is arranged at both sides of the notch. Further, the curled edge portion is inclined from a center of the clearance toward an edge in a length direction. When an original document having a curled leading edge is fed to the scanner, a central portion of the curled leading edge of the original document is placed beneath the edge portion of the guide member.

Abstract: There is here disclosed a manual paper feeder attached to an image forming apparatus including at least an image data receiving portion and an image forming device, and the manual paper feeder comprises a manual feed unit for supplying a paper sheet by mounting the paper sheet by a user; and a paper sheet release unit including at least a paper feed roller for carrying the paper sheets mounted in the manual feed unit; a frictional separation member for carrying the paper sheets by the frictional force while holding the manually supplied paper sheets between the frictional separation member itself and the paper feed roller; and a frictional force variable mechanism for changing the frictional force for holding the paper sheet between the paper feed roller and the frictional separation member.

Abstract: A printer for printing identification cards, in particular, is provided with a hopper for holding a stack of cards to be printed. A card feeder will feed one card at a time from the hopper. The hopper is mounted so that it can be moved away from the card feeder and provide a space into which a single card can be manually fed to the card feeder for processing and printing. The hopper then can be returned to its normal feeding position after the single card has been printed.

Abstract: In a sheet feed apparatus, a guide member formed by a flexible member is disposed at an aperture for manual sheet feeding provided on an upper surface of a sheet storing means, and sheets are guided to the position below a sheet feed means by the guide member, while underpropping the sheets, whereby the manual sheet feeding can be performed with the simple structure at low costs. Further, a space for the manual sheet feeding and the number of parts can be saved to the minimum.

Abstract: Featured is a sheet feed unit including a first transport path in which is transported a first sheet, a second transport path and a protrusion. A second sheet is transported in the second transport path and guided at a prescribed angle relative to the first transport path. The protrusion is located or fixed at a confluence of the first transport path and the second transport path. The protrusion also has a guide surface that is placed to allow the second sheet to be guided along the first transport path.

Abstract: A paper return device detachably fitted to an image forming apparatus having a paper feeding port for feeding paper from outside the image forming apparatus, a paper transport mechanism for transporting the paper from the paper feeding port to an image forming unit and a paper output port from which the paper carrying an image formed by the image forming unit is ejected to the outside of the image forming apparatus. The paper return device includes a paper return guideway which connects the paper output port of the image forming apparatus to its paper feeding port when the paper return device is fitted to the image forming apparatus, whereby the paper ejected from the paper output port is fed back to the paper feeding port through the paper return guideway.

Abstract: A feeding rotatable member, a conveying rotatable member and a separating rotatable member are driven by a sheet feeding motor, a feeding motor and a separating motor, respectively, which are independent driving means to thereby feed an original. The separation and conveyance of the original are effected while the opening amount between the conveying rotatable member and the separating rotatable member is changed by a sheet thickness adjusting motor.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device that may be constructed using a first tray mounted in a frame and biased by an elastic member to bring the paper stacked on the first tray into engagement with a pickup roller. A finger is pivotally attached to the frame to force the paper loaded from the first tray to be loaded sequentially. A second tray is attached to the frame and has an end that forms a document guide that is interposed between the finger and the pickup roller. Alternatively, the second tray can end before the pickup roller and a film can be attached to the second tray to form a document guide that extends between the pickup roller and the finger. Regardless of the method used to form a document guide, the document guide allows a user to intersperse a manually fed document between documents that are being loaded from a separate tray using an automatic document loading process.