An image forming apparatus includes an accommodation unit, feeding, conveying, and separating members, and detecting, control, image forming, and regulating units. The conveying member conveys a fed recording material. The separating member forms a nip and separates recording materials. The detecting unit detects that the recording material has been fed to the nip. The feeding member starts feeding an accommodated recording material and, where a recording material is fed to the nip, causes the feeding to be finished. An image is formed on a fed recording material. The regulating unit regulates an end on an upstream side. The control unit measures a period from a recording material feeding to detection that a recording material is fed to the nip. Based on the measured period, information is output indicating that a position of the regulating unit is deviated from a position according to a size of the accommodated recording materials.

A sheet feeding apparatus has a conveying roller, a separation member which presses against the conveying roller to form a separation nip portion that separates received sheets one by one, a feeding member configured to feed a sheet towards the separation nip portion, a nip guide member having a first guide portion configured to contact with a leading edge of the sheet fed by the feeding member and a second guide portion disposed at facing position to the conveying roller and configured to guide the sheet abutted with the first guide portion for the separation nip portion and a biasing member configured to bias the nip guide member. The nip guide member rotates around a rotation shaft and the second guide portion is disposed at predetermined distance from the conveying roller and moves in a direction of separating from the conveying roller against biasing force by the biasing member.

An items processing apparatus for placement and singulation of flat items has a placement device and a feed deck and a separation device. A portion of the placement device is arranged below the placement deck of the apparatus. The feed deck has an opening for an separation roller, and a portion of the separation device arranged above the feed deck. This portion and the separation roller form a gate of the separation device for the singulation of a stack of flat items. A control computer controls the placement device and separation device. The placement device is equipped for edge alignment of a stack of flat items with different formats and has at least two transport elements, which enable an automatic displacement of the stack transverse to the transport direction and placement of the stack at an alignment wall, as well as a transport of the stack in the transport direction toward the feed deck of the separation device, as well as a displacement of the stack counter to the transport direction. A movement assembly is provided to move the portion of the separation device in a direction counter to the transport direction. The control computer controls the alignment state of the transport elements of the placement device of the items processing apparatus, and controls the movement of the portion of the separation device. The aforementioned portion enables a displacement of the stack counter to the transport direction.

A sheet conveyance apparatus is equipped with a stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, a rotator conveying a sheet by rotating in a contact state with the sheet stacked on the stacking portion, a separating member pressing the rotator and separating the sheets one by one at a contact portion where the rotator and the separating member contact each other, and a holder holding the separating member. A guide portion is rotatably provided with the holder and capable of guiding a front end of the sheet to the contact portion, and a regulating portion regulates the guide portion from rotating in a direction approximating the rotator in a state where the guide portion contacts against the regulating portion. The guide portion can be rotated in a direction separating from the rotator in a state where the separating member presses the rotator.

A sheet takeout and separation device of an embodiment has a takeout section, a sending section, a separation portion. The takeout section takes out a sheet. The sending section sends out the sheet taken out by the takeout section. The separation portion is provided so as to come in contact with the sheets taken out in an overlapping state by the takeout section, and separates the sheets one by one. In addition, the separation portion has a separation portion main body and a cover. The separation portion main body elastically deforms in accordance with a thickness of the sheet. The cover is provided on the separation portion main body so as to come in contact with the sheet. And, on a surface of the cover, a surface roughening treatment for enhancing a friction coefficient of the relevant surface is performed.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a stacking member having a separation unit and an opening portion disposed upstream from the separation unit, a feeding member, and a moving device that includes a slope portion having a slope along which sheets are guided toward the separation unit. The moving device moves the stacking member between a first position where the feeding member and sheets stacked on the stacking member are in contact with each other, and a second position where the feeding member and the sheets are not in contact with each other. When the stacking member is at the first position, the slope portion is disposed at a position lower than the separation unit in a vertical direction. When the stacking member is at the second position, the slope portion is disposed to protrude via the opening portion to be higher than a stacking surface of the stacking member.

A sheet conveyance device includes a first conveyance member, and a drive transmission mechanism. The first conveyance member is configured to convey a sheet toward a second conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism is configured to transmit a driving force of a driving source to the first conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism includes a first drive transmitter and a second drive transmitter disposed coaxially with the first drive transmitter. The driving force is transmitted from the first drive transmitter to the second drive transmitter. The second drive transmitter is rotatable relative to the first drive transmitter within at least a predetermined angular range.

In a copier, printer, or similar device, paper is loaded in large quantities. To separate a top sheet of a stack of sheets from the next adjacent sheet, a dam is used, which is an element having an inclined surface in the path of the top sheet. This invention addresses devices with variably compliant separation strips, preferably a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer such as Pellethane®, that are part of the dam, so that the leading edge of a media sheet will strike the inclined surface of the separation strip. By adjusting the compliance of the separation strip, different weights of media may be accommodated while minimizing the multi-feeds that may cause jamming of the device.

A feeding unit includes: a retard roller; a holder section; a protruding section; an accommodating section; a pressing section; a first restricting section; and a second restricting section. The holder section rotatably holds the retard roller. The protruding section serves as a rocking fulcrum of the holder section. The accommodating section accommodates the holder section. The pressing section presses the holder section. The first restricting section restricts movement of the holder section in a retreating direction. The second restricting section restricts movement of the holder section in a direction opposite to the retreating direction. The pressing section is arranged so as to deviate in a Y direction with respect to a virtual line passing through a middle point of the protruding section and a middle point of the first restricting section. The holder section comes into contact with the first restricting section and the second restricting section.

In a first mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a first time since the detection portion detected a leading edge of the sheet, and positions the rotary feeding member at the first position when a trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip. In a second mode, the control unit controls the driving source such that the rotary feeding member starts to move toward the first position based on an elapse of a second time longer than the first time since the detection portion detected the leading edge of the sheet, and positions the rotary feeding member at a position separated more from the stacking portion than the first position when the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the separation nip.