According to one embodiment, a sheet conveying device includes a tray, a pickup roller, a movement mechanism, a holder, a biasing unit, and a detecting mechanism. The movement mechanism moves the tray between a raised position and a lowered position. The raised position is a position where sheets come into contact with the pickup roller. The holder holds the pickup roller so that the pickup roller is displaceable when pushed up by the sheets. The biasing unit applies a biasing force to the holder pushing down the pickup roller. The detecting mechanism detects when the sheets push up the pickup roller. The detecting mechanism includes a detection unit and a sensor. The detection unit is switchable between a reference position and a detection position according to displacement of the holder accompanying the movement of the tray. The sensor detects when the detection unit reaches the detection position.

An image forming apparatus includes a paper feeding cassette, a first conveying unit, a lift mechanism, a motor, a second conveying unit, and a control unit. The controller drives the motor and, if a value indicating a movement amount of the tray moving from when the lift mechanism starts the lifting of the tray until when a position of the top part reaches a first position is a first value, matches a position of the first conveying unit, which comes into contact with the top part to thereby rise together with the tray, with a second position and, if the value indicating the movement amount is a second value larger than the first value, matches the position of the first conveying unit, which comes into contact with the top part to thereby rise together with the tray, with a third position lower than the second position.

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a stacking unit, a feeding member, a conveyance guide, and a movement unit. The stacking unit is drawably mounted on an apparatus body and includes a stacking member on which a sheet is stacked. The feeding member feeds the sheet stacked on the stacking member. The conveyance guide is provided with an opening and disposed above the stacking unit. The conveyance guide configures a conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed. The movement unit moves the feeding member between a first position on which the feeding member comes into contact with the sheet stacked on the stacking member and a second position disposed above the first position. The movement unit includes an entry portion configured to be located within the opening in a state where the feeding member is positioned at the second position.

An object of the invention is to provide a banknote storing/feeding unit which is capable of effectively utilizing winding spaces of a drum and a reel, to increase the number of banknotes to be stored. The banknote storing/feeding unit includes the drum which winds and rewinds a banknote together with a tape, and the reel which winds and rewinds the tape on and from the drum. A guide body swinging according to winding and rewinding of the tape and the banknote on and from the drum is provided between the drum and the reel. The guide body has a guide passage that guides the tape and the banknote to be wound and rewound on the drum. The guide body swings centering on a supporting point located within a region parallel to a virtual line connecting a rotational center of the drum and a rotational center of the reel.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes: a support member having a support surface configured to support sheets, a feed unit configured to feed the sheets stacked on the support surface in a feed direction, a guide member provided on the downstream side of the support member in the feed direction, and a separating member projecting from an inclined surface of the guide member toward the support surface. The inclined surface is curved such that a separating area where the separating member is provided comes closest to the side of the support surface. The support surface has a first support surface located on the immediate upstream side in the feed direction to correspond to the separating area, and second support surfaces arranged respectively on both sides of the first support surface in a direction orthogonal to the feed direction to be lowered than the first support surface.

A groove has a first side surface and a second side surface. The second side surface faces the first side surface and is located downstream of the first side surface in a first direction. The first side surface has a first contact surface configured to contact one side surface of a protrusion. The second side surface having a second contact surface and a guide surface. The second contact surface is smaller than the first contact surface. The second contact surface is configured to contact an other side surface of the protrusion. The guide surface is inclined away from the first contact surface in a direction from a tip-side end of the second contact surface toward a tip end of a drive shaft. The tip-side end is an end facing toward the tip end of the drive shaft. The guide surface is configured to guide the protrusion to the groove.

An image forming apparatus includes a feeder unit, a separating unit, a conveying unit disposed downstream of the separating unit in a sheet feeding direction, an image forming unit disposed downstream of the conveying unit in the sheet feeding direction, a drive unit, and a control unit. The feeder unit feeds a sheet. The separating unit separates sheets fed by the feeder unit one by one. The conveying unit conveys the sheet. The image forming unit forms, while the sheet is being conveyed, an image on the sheet. The drive unit drives the conveying unit. The control unit controls the drive unit. After the conveyed sheet reaches the image forming unit, the control unit reduces a conveyance speed of the sheet conveyed by the conveying unit.

A sheet feeder including a tray, a feeder roller, a guide, a separator, a motor, a controller, and a sensor, is provided. The sheet feeder separates an object sheet from other sheets in the tray and feed the object sheet through the guide and the separator by rotation of the feeder roller. The controller determines a remaining volume of the sheets in the tray based on a signal from the sensor; generate a velocity profile so that the object sheet is fed at a lower velocity in an earlier first period than a velocity in a later second period; based on the determined remaining volume of the plurality of sheets, modify at least one of a length of the first period and the target velocity in the first period of the velocity profile; and after modification of the velocity profile, control the motor in compliance with the modified velocity profile.

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.

A driven gear is relatively movable to a first support position and to a second support position on a support member. When a first gear rotates in a first direction, the driven gear rotates at the first support position in conjunction with rotation of the first gear to permit the rotation of the driven gear. When the first rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the driven gear moves to the second support position under a force received from the gear in an area where the driven gear meshes with the first gear. Then, at the second support position, the driven gear is locked on a locking member and thus stopped, preventing the first gear from rotating in the second direction.