In a case where a skew of a document being conveyed is detected by a detection unit, an image reading apparatus notifies that documents having different sheet widths may be included in documents stacked on a stacking unit.

A post-processing apparatus includes a post-processing unit configured to receive sheets from an image forming apparatus, perform processing on the received sheets, and then discharge the processed sheets through a discharge port. A sensor is configured to detect a presence of an object at the discharge port. The sensor includes a first light emitter on a first side of the discharge port that is positioned to emit a light across a width of the discharge port, a reflector on a second side of the discharge port opposite the first side in a first direction, and a first light receiver positioned to receive light of the first light emitter from the reflector. A controller is configured to terminate the processing on the received sheets by the post-processing unit when the sensor detects the presence of the object at the discharge port.

A post-processing apparatus includes a post-processing unit configured to receive sheets from an image forming apparatus, perform processing on the received sheets, and then discharge the processed sheets through a discharge port. A sensor is configured to detect a presence of an object at the discharge port. The sensor includes a first light emitter on a first side of the discharge port that is positioned to emit a light across a width of the discharge port, a reflector on a second side of the discharge port opposite the first side in a first direction, and a first light receiver positioned to receive light of the first light emitter from the reflector. A controller is configured to terminate the processing on the received sheets by the post-processing unit when the sensor detects the presence of the object at the discharge port.

A conveyor device includes a conveyance section, a detector, and a controller. The conveyance section includes a registration roller. The conveyance section conveys a sheet. The detector detects a physical quantity associated with a skew in the sheet. The controller controls the conveyance section. The controller determines, based on a result of detection by the detector, whether or not rotation of the registration roller is to be stopped to perform an operation to correct the skew in the sheet.

A conveyor device includes a conveyance section, a detector, and a controller. The conveyance section includes a registration roller. The conveyance section conveys a sheet. The detector detects a physical quantity associated with a skew in the sheet. The controller controls the conveyance section. The controller determines, based on a result of detection by the detector, whether or not rotation of the registration roller is to be stopped to perform an operation to correct the skew in the sheet.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a control unit for executing a stop process of stopping a second sheet in a state in which the second sheet is nipped by a second conveyance portion, and a conveyance restart process of restarting conveyance of the second sheet stopped by the second conveyance portion. The control unit has a first mode in which the conveyance restart process is performed at a first timing at which a first time has elapsed since a first sheet has passed a reference position, and a second mode in which the conveyance restart process is performed at a second timing at which a second time longer than the first time has elapsed since the first sheet has passed the reference position.

A sheet stacking apparatus includes: a sheet stacker capable of stacking a sheet; a sheet conveyer that conveys the sheet to the sheet stacker; an openable member that can be opened/closed at time of taking out the sheet stacked on the sheet stacker; and a hardware processor that controls the sheet conveyer so as to convey the sheet to the sheet stacker in a case where an opened/closed state of the openable member is an intermediate state between a fully-opened state and a fully-closed state.

A sheet stacking apparatus includes: a sheet stacker capable of stacking a sheet; a sheet conveyer that conveys the sheet to the sheet stacker; an openable member that can be opened/closed at time of taking out the sheet stacked on the sheet stacker; and a hardware processor that controls the sheet conveyer so as to convey the sheet to the sheet stacker in a case where an opened/closed state of the openable member is an intermediate state between a fully-opened state and a fully-closed state.