A media-sheet stacking system (10) for stacking media sheets on a device output tray (OT) comprises a kicker (25) to advance a media sheet along the output tray by pushing a trailing edge of the media sheet as it exits the device, and a movable element (32a) arranged to face the output tray across a space that receives media sheets exiting the device. A drive mechanism (33) is provided to drive the movable element in the direction of advance of the media sheet along the output tray.

A sheet discharge apparatus includes first and second discharge trays, a support unit, first and second discharge rollers, and first and second controlling units. The second discharge tray is disposed above the first discharge tray and is detachable from the support unit. The first and second discharge rollers discharge a sheet toward the first and second discharge trays respectively. The first controlling unit executes control such that, in a case that the second discharge tray is detached from the support unit while the first discharge roller and the second discharge roller are halted, the first discharge roller remains halted, and in a case that the second discharge tray is detached from the support unit while the first discharge roller and the second discharge roller are rotating, the first discharge roller is halted after the first discharge roller continues rotating until a sheet has been discharged toward the first discharge tray.

In a post-processing device (sheet discharge device), a pile thickness calculating section calculates, from a type and the number of paper sheets discharged through a sheet output port, a thickness of a pile, at its leading end, of sets of paper sheets on a sheet output tray (piling section), calculates a thickness of the pile, at its trailing end, of sets of paper sheets on the sheet output tray from an amount of movement of a lifting section, and calculates an angle of inclination of the uppermost set of paper sheets in the pile from the thicknesses of the pile at its leading and trailing ends, a height of inclination of the sheet output tray, and a length of the paper sheets. The control section controls the sheet discharge section to change a manner of discharging a subsequent set of paper sheets according to the calculated angle of inclination.

A sheet stacking apparatus includes a stacking tray, a lowering unit, a conveyance unit, a first action unit and a second action unit, and a permitting portion. The stacking tray stacks sheets. The lowering unit lowers the stacking tray as the sheets are stacked. The conveyance unit conveys a sheet toward the stacking tray. The first action unit and the second action unit act on both edge ends in a width direction of a sheet bundle stacked on the stacking tray to align the sheet bundle. The permitting portion permits a next sheet to be temporarily received above the stacking tray when the first action unit and the second action unit are aligning the sheet bundle.

A post-processing apparatus that rotates a rotation paddle in which a fin having flexibility is cantilevered by a holder to apply a conveying force along a rotation direction to a sheet to align the sheet, wherein the holder includes a recess in which a peripheral surface part from a support position of the fin to an upstream side in the rotation direction is recessed from a circumscribed circle of the holder, and when the fin elastically turns while being pressed against the sheet with rotation of the rotation paddle, turning of the fin is allowed until the fin comes into contact with a surface of the recess.

Personnel saving of a process from a printer to a sheet processing machine is achieved. A general printing management device is connected to be communicable with a conveyance management device that manages a plurality of automatic guided vehicles each conveying a stacker in which paper ejected from a printer is stackable. The general printing management device generates conveyance instruction information for conveying a stacker in which paper ejected from the printer is stacked from a sheet receiving position of the printer to a sheet supply position of a next processing machine, based on job information in which a manufacturing process procedure for manufacturing a printed product is registered, and transmits the conveyance instruction information to the conveyance management device.

An electrode stacking apparatus provided with a planar motor device (B) comprised of a flat plate-shaped stator (50) and a plurality of movers (40) able to move on a flat surface (51) of the stator in any direction along the flat surface (51) and able to rotate about a perpendicular axis of the flat surface (51) in a state magnetically floating from the flat surface (51). When stacking a new sheet-shaped electrode (1) held by an electrode conveyor device (A) arranged above the planar motor device (B) on a stacked electrode holder (60) of a mover (40), the mover (40) is made to move in synchronization with movement of the new sheet-shaped electrode (1) so that the new sheet-shaped electrode (1) continues to face the sheet-shaped electrode stacking position on the stacked electrode holder (60).

In a method and apparatus for storing media items at a storage zone, the apparatus has a storage zone for storing media items, a port region proximate to the storage zone for receiving at least one media item, and a guide member for urging the media items towards a desired location in the storage zone. The guide member is movable to urge the media items towards the desired location of the storage zone.

Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including: a non-sheet stacker which is adjacent to a downstream side in a sheet conveyance direction of an image forming apparatus main body and applies post-processing to a sheet output from the image forming apparatus main body; and a sheet stacker which is one or a plurality of sheet stackers located on a downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction of the non-sheet stacker. A discharger is disposed adjacent to an upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction of at least one of the sheet stacker.

The shingling device comprises: a shingling conveyor, adapted to receive a stream of sheets aligned with one another and not overlapping; a braking device, positioned above the shingling conveyor and configured to slow down the sheets arriving to the shingling conveyor, and to partially overlap the incoming sheets in shingling fashion. The braking device comprises: a first set of braking wheels aligned with one another along a first rotation axis orthogonal to a feed direction of the sheets to the shingling conveyor; and a second set of braking wheels aligned with one another along a second rotation axis orthogonal to the feed direction of the sheets to the shingling conveyor.