A sheet conveyor, including: a shaft defining an axis that extends in a first direction; an arm pivotable about the axis; a supply roller provided on the arm and configured to supply a sheet; a first frame formed of metal and supporting the shaft; a first conveyance roller configured to covey the sheet supplied from the supply roller; and a second frame formed of metal and supporting the first conveyance roller, wherein the second frame includes (a) a contact plate portion shaped like a plate and having a contact surface that is held in contact with the first frame and (b) a wall portion extending from the contact plate portion in a direction intersecting the contact surface, and wherein the second frame is coupled at the contact plate portion thereof to the first frame.

A sheet feeding apparatus is provided with a pick-up roller that contacts sheets loaded on a load tray to pick up, a paper feed roller that feeds a picked-up sheet, and a separation roller brought into press-contact with the paper feed roller to separate the sheet, where the sheets are separated from the pick-up roller, the separation roller is rotated in a sheet return direction different from a sheet feed direction, and subsequently, the paper feed roller is separated from the separation roller. It is possible to prevent damage to a sheet and sheet jam from occurring in pulling out the load tray loaded with sheets to the front side.

A bi-directional paper pickup mechanism includes a pickup roller, a fastening structure, an input shaft, a first ratchet element, a second ratchet element, an actuating unit, a first transmission rotor and a second transmission rotor. The pickup roller has an inner space. The fastening structure is disposed in the inner space. The input shaft is accommodated in the inner space, and one end of the input shaft is pivotally connected to the fastening structure. The first ratchet element is mounted around the input shaft. The second ratchet element is mounted around the one end of the input shaft. The actuating unit is fastened around a middle of the input shaft to synchronously rotate with the input shaft. The first transmission rotor is mounted around the one end of the input shaft. The second transmission rotor is mounted around the other end of the input shaft.

A sheet supply apparatus detachably attached to an image forming apparatus is configured to receive a drive force from the image apparatus to supply sheet to the image forming apparatus. The sheet supply apparatus includes a sheet supply tray, a sheet supply roller, a first transmission mechanism configured to transmit a drive force from the image forming apparatus to the sheet supply roller, a second transmission mechanism including an output member and configured to transmit a drive force supplied from the image forming apparatus to the output member, a clutch mechanism configured to intermittently transmit a drive force from the image forming apparatus to the second transmission mechanism, a latch member pivotable between a restriction position and an allowance position, a change cam, a sector gear, a rotational force applying member, an engaging member, a first engagement portion, a second engagement portion, and an electromagnetic solenoid.

A sheet conveyance device (1) includes a feed tray (20), a feeding unit (50), a stopper (30), a first abutted portion (41), and an impact reducing mechanism (10). Sheets are loaded on the feed tray (20). The feeding unit (50) feeds the sheets. The stopper (30) is rotatably supported on the feeding unit (50) and rotates when pressed by the sheets inserted into the feed tray (20). The stopper (30) comes into contact with the first abutted portion (41) in association with the rotation of the stopper (30). The impact reducing mechanism (10) reduces impact applied to the first abutted portion (41) by the stopper (30).

An automatic document feeding device includes a conveyance unit, an image reading unit, a color reference member, a moving assembly, and a drive source. The drive source includes a rotation output shaft to drive the conveyance unit and the moving assembly. The drive source changes the rotation output shaft from a forward rotation direction to a reverse rotation direction to reversely rotate the rotation output shaft to a set reverse rotation angle set in advance, according to a condition of conveyance of the document. In a rotation transmission route from the rotation output shaft to the moving assembly, the movement regulator is disposed in a first reverse rotation drive region from when a rotation direction of the rotation output shaft is changed to the reverse rotation direction to when a rotation angle of the rotation output shaft after the change in the reverse rotation direction reaches the set reverse rotation angle.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes: a feeding unit configured to feed a sheet member; a conveying roller that is provided downstream of the feeding unit in a conveying direction, and that is configured to convey the sheet member fed by the feeding unit downstream in the conveying direction; a motor configured to drive the conveying roller. In a state where the conveying roller is conveying a first sheet member that was fed by the feeding unit, if a value of a torque current component of a drive current flowing in a winding of the motor changes from a value greater than or equal to a predetermined value to a value less than the predetermined value, the feeding unit starts feeding of a second sheet member that is to be fed after the first sheet member.

An image forming apparatus includes feeding, conveying, and separating members, and detecting, image forming, and control units. The feeding member feeds a recording material placed on a tray. The separating member and the conveying member separate recording materials at a nip. The detecting unit detects that the recording materials have been fed to the nip. The image forming unit forms an image on fed recording material. The control unit switches between a first and second control. Under the first control, the feeding member starts feeding a recording material placed on the tray, and ends feeding before a recording material trailing end passes through the feeding member. Under the second control, the feeding member starts feeding a recording material placed on the tray, and ends feeding after a recording material trailing end passes through the feeding member when the detection unit detects that the recording materials are fed to the nip.

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 member supply device (40) of an image forming apparatus (1) includes a sheet member stacking plate (43) in which sheet members (S) are stacked on the upper surface, a pickup roller (51) which makes contact with, from above, the uppermost layer of the sheet members (S) stacked on the sheet member stacking plate (43), a stacking plate displacement mechanism (44) which displaces the sheet member stacking plate (43) upward, a motive power transmission mechanism (60) which transmits motive power obtained from a drive source (45) to the stacking plate displacement mechanism (44) and a paradox planetary gear mechanism (65) which is provided in the motive power transmission mechanism (60). In this way, with a simple configuration, it is possible to reduce the unintentional downward displacement of the stacking plate.