A sheet feeding device includes a feeding roller pair, a first guide, a door including a second guide and rotatable between a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction through first to third positions, a damping mechanism, and an engaging portion including an elastic member. A first resisting force is set so that moment acting around a shaft by a self-weight of the door is larger than the first resisting force of the damping mechanism when the door is positioned between the second position and the third position. A resultant force of the first resisting force of the damping mechanism and a second resisting force of the elastic portion is set so that the moment acting around the shaft by the self-weight of the door is larger than the resultant force when the door is positioned between the second position and the third position.

Systems, devices and methods for receiving an item in a receptacle are disclosed. Features are disclosed for receiving and guiding an item in a receiving space of a receptacle so as to attenuate or remove the impact force of the item on the receptacle. Some embodiments of the disclosure include a bumper having an impact surface which absorbs most or all of the impact force of the item and thereby mitigates or removes the imposition of cyclic impact loads on the receptacle from repeated receipt of items. The bumper may be structurally and/or functionally de-coupled or otherwise physically separated from the receptacle such that an advantageous division of labor is created between absorbing the impact and receiving the item. This disclosure may be useful, for example, in modern industrial operations where a high volume of items are received daily, such as in mail sorting and handling operations.

Embodiments provide methods, apparatuses, and systems for compressing media in a media stack. In various embodiments, a paddle moves between various positions. During the move, the paddle is configured to compress the media stack.

The sheet feeding apparatus includes a first cursor. The first cursor comes in contact with a side face of a stack of sheets, and can move between a restriction position and a retracted position. The lift plate includes a fixed plate and a movable plate. The stack of sheets is movable together with the movable plate in the push-in/pull-out direction. When the sheet storage unit is pushed into the apparatus body, the first cursor moves by inertia of the stack of sheets, against an urging force of an urging member, toward the retracted position. After the sheet storage unit has reached the accommodated position, the first cursor pushes the stack of sheets by resilience of the urging member to move to the restriction position.

Systems, devices and methods for receiving an item in a receptacle are disclosed. Features are disclosed for receiving and guiding an item in a receiving space of a receptacle so as to attenuate or remove the impact force of the item on the receptacle. Some embodiments of the disclosure include a bumper having an impact surface which absorbs most or all of the impact force of the item and thereby mitigates or removes the imposition of cyclic impact loads on the receptacle from repeated receipt of items. The bumper may be structurally and/or functionally de-coupled or otherwise physically separated from the receptacle such that an advantageous division of labor is created between absorbing the impact and receiving the item. This disclosure may be useful, for example, in modern industrial operations where a high volume of items are received daily, such as in mail sorting and handling operations.

A contact interface includes a first contact member including a first contact surface with a first material subsurface and a second material subsurface. The second material subsurface protrudes transversely above the first material subsurface. A second contact member includes a second contact surface to slide in contact with the first contact surface. The first material subsurface comprises a first material. The second material subsurface comprises a second material. The second material has a lower hardness than the first material.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet storage portion, a sheet supporting member that is liftable, and a damper mechanism including a resistance member and a movable portion movable by abutting against a body of the apparatus. The damper mechanism resists, at least temporarily, relative movement of the movable portion and the sheet storage portion by applying resistive force produced by the resistance member to the movable portion in a case where the sheet storage portion is inserted to the body, and resists, at least temporarily, lowering movement of the sheet supporting member by applying resistive force produced by the resistance member to the sheet supporting portion in a case where the sheet storage portion with the sheet supporting member having been lifted by the lift portion is drawn out of the body.

An image forming apparatus includes a first side plate, a second side plate and a sheet feeding unit. The first and second side plates are opposite to each other. The sheet feeding unit is attached between the first and second side plates. The sheet feeding unit has a feed frame, a pickup roller, a feed roller, a separation member and a weight member. The feed frame has a first side wall supported by the first side plate in a facing manner and a second side wall supported by the second side plate in a facing manner. The pickup roller and the feed roller are supported in the feed frame. The separation member forms a nip and separates the sheet at the nip. The weight member is disposed above the feed roller in the feed frame and configured to damp vibration of the feed frame.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a feed roller, a roller holder supporting the feed roller rotatably about a rotation axis, a frame supporting the roller holder pivotably about a first axis parallel to the rotation axis of the feed roller, a force-transmitting device configured to transmit, to the roller holder, a force with which to cause the roller holder to pivot in a direction where the feed roller is pressed against a tray, a force-applying member movable between a force applying position where the force-applying member contacts the force-transmitting device to apply the force thereto and a force-free position where the force-applying member is spaced apart from the force-transmitting device, and a cushioning member configured to, when the force-applying member is at an initial contact positon located between the force applying position and the force-free position, be sandwiched in contact between the force-transmitting device and the force-applying member.

A drying device (120) includes a liftable and lowerable conveying unit (40) which conveys a sheet on which ink is ejected, along a conveyance path (34); a liftable and lowerable drying unit (50) which faces the conveyance path (34) and dries the ink by heat; a lifting and lowering mechanism (60) capable of lowering a lower unit, which is a unit provided below among the conveying unit (40) and the drying unit (50), by gravity acting on the lower unit and lifting an upper unit, which is a unit provided above among the conveying unit (40) and the drying unit (50), to open the conveyance path (34); and a restriction mechanism (70) which restricts a lowering of the lower unit.