A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet stacking portion, a lift plate, an actuating segment, driving unit, a sheet feeding portion, a first detecting portion, a remaining amount detection portion. The remaining amount detection portion includes a detection piece, a link mechanism, a second detecting portion, a controller. The link mechanism couples together the driving shaft and the detection piece at a coupling position attained by pivoting the lift plate through a predetermined angle from a lower limit position in rotation direction, so as to let the driving shaft and the detection piece rotate together. The second detecting portion senses whether or not the detection piece is present. The controller determines the remaining quantity level of the stacked sheets according to whether or not the second detecting portion is detecting the detection piece being present.

An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus, a first conveyance path, a sheet feeding unit, a sheet post-processing unit, and a controller. The image forming apparatus has a first feed portion, and an image forming portion. The sheet feeding apparatus has a sheet stacking portion, a second feed portion, a relay conveyance portion, and a remaining amount detecting portion. When, during continuous printing, the existing number of recording sheets present in a conveyance passage from a confluence portion to the first feed portion is more than the constituting number of recording sheets contained in one bundle of sheets and in addition the sensing result of the remaining amount sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the controller controls first feed portion such that the existing number of the recording sheets is less than the constituting number of recording sheets.

An image forming system includes a first feeding portion configured to feed a recording sheet, an image forming portion, a sheet conveyance path, a second feeding portion configured to feed an inserting sheet from any of a plurality of supporting portions including a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion, a detection portion, and a controller. The controller is configured to execute, during execution of a process of feeding a first inserting sheet from the first supporting portion to the sheet conveyance path, a movement processing of moving a second inserting sheet supported on the second supporting portion to a position where a trailing edge of the second inserting sheet is placed downstream in a sheet conveyance direction of a detection position of the detection portion and thereafter stopping the second inserting sheet.

A control unit of an image forming device determines a remaining amount threshold value and selects a first mode or a second mode. In the first mode, a sheet feeding unit of the image forming device starts feeding a sheet based on presence/absence of an insertion sheet that is to be inserted by an inserter device immediately prior to a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit. In the second mode, the sheet feeding unit starts feeding a sheet regardless of presence/absence of an insertion sheet that is to be inserted by the inserter device immediately prior to a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit.

The invention relates to an insert-sheet pick-up device (13) for an insert-sheet loading device (10) of a station for receiving copy (500). The pick-up device (13) includes a suction element (20) configured to pick up an insert sheet. The pick-up device (13) includes a pivoting axis (30) and at least one telescopic arm (33) including a proximal arm (33a), one end of which is fixed to the pivoting axis (30), and a distal arm (33b), able to move with respect to the proximal arm (33a), and one end of which is pivot-articulated to the suction element (20) to move the suction element (20) between a raised position and a lowered position according to a vertical movement of the suction element (20). Also, the invention also relates to an insert-sheet loading device, a copy-receiving station and a machine for processing elements in sheet form including the insert-sheet pick-up device.

The invention relates to an insert-sheet pick-up device (13) for an insert-sheet loading device (10) of a station for receiving copy (500). The pick-up device (13) includes a suction element (20) configured to pick up an insert sheet. The pick-up device (13) includes a pivoting axis (30) and at least one telescopic arm (33) including a proximal arm (33a), one end of which is fixed to the pivoting axis (30), and a distal arm (33b), able to move with respect to the proximal arm (33a), and one end of which is pivot-articulated to the suction element (20) to move the suction element (20) between a raised position and a lowered position according to a vertical movement of the suction element (20). Also, the invention also relates to an insert-sheet loading device, a copy-receiving station and a machine for processing elements in sheet form including the insert-sheet pick-up device.

An image forming system includes a conveyance processing portion, a setting processing portion, an insertion processing portion, and an operation control portion. The conveyance processing portion executes a conveyance process to convey a plurality of sheets placed on a sheet placing portion, sequentially to a sheet stack portion. When the insertion timing to insert the insertion sheet comes during an execution of the conveyance process, the insertion processing portion executes an insertion process to convey a sheet from the sheet supply source of the insertion sheet to the sheet stack portion. The operation control portion is configured to control operations of an image forming apparatus during execution of a sheet bundle output process based on the sheet type of the insertion sheet conveyed in the insertion process that is included in the sheet bundle output process, the sheet bundle output process including the conveyance process and the insertion process.

An image forming system includes a first feeding portion configured to feed a recording sheet, an image forming portion, a sheet conveyance path, a second feeding portion configured to feed an inserting sheet from any of a plurality of supporting portions including a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion, a detection portion, and a controller. The controller is configured to execute, during execution of a process of feeding a first inserting sheet from the first supporting portion to the sheet conveyance path, a movement processing of moving a second inserting sheet supported on the second supporting portion to a position where a trailing edge of the second inserting sheet is placed downstream in a sheet conveyance direction of a detection position of the detection portion and thereafter stopping the second inserting sheet.

A paper sheet processing device includes: a charging inlet that takes in paper sheets in a conveyance direction, the paper sheets including at least one target sheet and a partition card overlapped on the target sheet, the partition card having a main surface portion having at least one identification hole group, the identification hole group having at least two through holes arranged along the conveyance direction; a detection unit that detects take-in of the paper sheets by the charging unit, and detects the identification hole group; and a control unit that determines a paper sheet is the partition card in a case where the identification hole group has been detected by the detection unit, and determines that a paper sheet is the target sheet in a case where the identification hole group has not been detected by the detection unit.

A paper sheet processing device includes: a charging inlet that takes in paper sheets in a conveyance direction, the paper sheets including at least one target sheet and a partition card overlapped on the target sheet, the partition card having a main surface portion having at least one identification hole group, the identification hole group having at least two through holes arranged along the conveyance direction; a detection unit that detects take-in of the paper sheets by the charging unit, and detects the identification hole group; and a control unit that determines a paper sheet is the partition card in a case where the identification hole group has been detected by the detection unit, and determines that a paper sheet is the target sheet in a case where the identification hole group has not been detected by the detection unit.