An operation assisting tool includes a gripper, and an engagement portion to engage with a handle of a drawer drawable from a housing of an image forming apparatus.

A sheet conveying device includes a sheet stacker, an air blower, and a guide. The sheet stacker stacks sheets. The air blower blows air to the sheets. The guide faces an uppermost sheet on the sheet stacker. A set height of a contact portion of the guide to contact the uppermost sheet is changeable

A sheet storage apparatus attached to an apparatus body in an attaching direction includes a sheet storage portion configured to store a sheet, a moving unit movably supported by the sheet storage portion in a moving direction parallel to the attaching direction, wherein the moving unit includes a regulation member and an extending member extending in the moving direction, the regulation member including a regulation surface regulating a position, in the moving direction, of the sheet stored in the sheet storage portion, and a first bonding surface extending along the moving direction, the extending member including a second bonding surface extending parallel to the first bonding surface, and wherein the first bonding surface and the second bonding surface are configured to be bonded to each other by adhesive.

A cassette drawing-in device includes a guide portion to guide a pin protruding from a paper feed cassette, a first member in which the guide portion is formed, a second member facing the first member, a first rotation shaft, a first link rotationally supported by the first rotation shaft, a second rotation shaft provided on the first link, a second link rotationally supported by the second rotation shaft and including an engagement groove which engages the pin and slides on the pin in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the pin, and a rib on one or both of the first member and the second member. The rib slides on a side surface of the second link within a range of movement of the second link that accompanies the rotation of the first link about the first rotation shaft.

A sheet storage apparatus includes a sheet housing portion, a handle for drawing the sheet housing portion, and a cover member. The sheet housing portion is drawably disposed in the apparatus main body and configured to house a sheet. The cover member is mounted to an end portion of the sheet housing portion in a drawing direction and having, in a portion facing the handle, a recess toward a sheet housing portion. A contact portion configured to come into contact with the sheet housing portion is disposed at a position corresponding to a portion in which the recess is formed, on a facing surface of the cover member, the facing surface facing the sheet housing portion.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording material, a controller configured to control the image forming unit, a sheet feeding tray configured to store a recording material to be supplied to the image forming unit, and a sheet feeding tray cover configured to cover an access point of the sheet feeding tray. The sheet feeding tray cover includes a user interface for inputting information into a controller unit or outputting information from the controller.

A sheet feeder includes a sheet tray, a feed roller, a sheet feed frame, a contact element, a guide frame, a photosensor, a shield, and a linkage. The feed roller feeds a sheet on the sheet tray. The sheet feed frame holds the feed roller. The contact element is pivotable relative to the sheet feed frame. The guide frame is disposed below the sheet feed frame. The photosensor includes a light emitter and a light receiver. The shield is movable between a light transmission position and a light shield position. The linkage connects the contact element and the shield such that the shield is movable as the contact element pivots. The light receiver receives the light emitted from the light emitter when the shield is at the light transmission position. The shield at the light shield position shields the light receiver from the light emitted from the light emitter.

A conductive sheet capable of preventing erroneous reading and writing is provided. The conductive sheet according to one embodiment is configured to be positioned between a sheet tray of an image forming device and a sheet. The conductive sheet includes a base layer and a double conveyance prevention structure. The base layer comprises a conductive material positioned to overlap with a wireless tag of the sheet. The double conveyance prevention structure is coupled to or defined by the base layer. The double conveyance prevention structure is configured to prevent conveyance of the conductive sheet by the image forming apparatus when the conductive sheet overlaps the sheet in the sheet tray.

Provided is an apparatus that can reduce a braking force of a medium separating mechanism to thereby reduce occurrence of paper jams only by attaching a medium supply device to an image forming apparatus body. The medium supply device is configured to be attached to an image forming apparatus body including a medium separating mechanism, and includes a medium conveying mechanism that supplies a recording medium from stacked recording media to a predetermined position, and first mechanism that reduces a braking force generated in the medium separating mechanism.

An image forming apparatus includes a cassette that has a placement plate on which a sheet is set, a paper feed roller, a raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the placement plate, a print unit, a sheet sensor, an upper limit sensor and a control unit. The control unit recognizes, based on an output of the sheet sensor, that the sheet supplied from a paper feed device reaches an installation position of the sheet sensor. The control unit detects, based on an output of the upper limit sensor, that the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined upper limit position or that the raising/lowering mechanism raises the placement plate such that the sheet reaches a feed position and uses the sheet sensor and the upper limit sensor so as to detect that the paper feed device encounters overload.