A sheet conveying apparatus includes a conveying unit, a drive source, a drive transmission unit, a tensioner, and a moving member. The drive source drives the conveying unit to convey a sheet. The drive transmission unit includes a drive transmission belt and a rotatable member to engage with the drive transmission belt. The drive transmission unit transmits a driving force of the drive source to the conveying unit via the drive transmission belt and the rotatable member. The tensioner moves between a pressing position at which the drive transmission belt is pressed and a retracted position retracted from the pressing position. The moving member moves the tensioner from the pressing position toward the retracted position. The magnitude of tension exerted on the drive transmission belt is lower when the tensioner is at the retracted position than when the tensioner is at the pressing position.

A sheet guiding device includes a cover unit, a swing guide, a link member, and a contact member. The cover unit is configured to be openably disposed on a housing of an image forming apparatus. The swing guide is configured to move between a guide position at which the swing guide is open to guide a sheet and a retracted position at which the swing guide is closed. The swing guide is configured to move from the retracted position to the guide position along with closing movement of the cover unit. The link member has one end configured to be held by the housing and an opposite end engaged with the swing guide. The contact member is disposed on the cover unit. The contact member is configured to contact the link member to rotate the link member in the closing movement of the cover unit.

In an image forming apparatus, a sheet is guided into a first conveyor path or a second conveyor path selectively when a first cover is in a closed position, and is ejected onto the first cover when the first cover is in an open position. Upon power-up, a controller causes a first conveyor roller to rotate but if the first cover is in the open position, when a sheet sensor detects a sheet, the controller does not cause a second conveyor roller to rotate, and causes a flapper to swing from a first position to a second position, and when a front end of the sheet reaches a position downstream of an upstream end of the flapper in a conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed by the first conveyor roller, the controller causes the flapper to swing from the second position to the first position.

An image forming apparatus, including a main chassis having a discharge tray and a switchback tray in an upper position with respect to the discharge tray; an image forming unit; a discharge roller to discharge a recording sheet conveyed through the image forming unit onto the discharge tray; a duplex conveyer to invert the sheet and convey the inverted sheet to return to the image forming unit; and a switchback roller being rotatable in a normal direction to convey the sheet toward the switchback tray and a reverse direction to convey the sheet to the duplex conveyer; is provided. The main chassis includes a pair of walls, each of which extends in a vertical direction and in a conveying direction of the sheet and is arranged in adjacent to the switchback tray such that the switchback tray is interposed between the pair of walls.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a reversing portion configured to reverse the sheet received through a first feeding passage by feeding the sheet in a first direction and then in a second direction opposite to the first direction, a sheet feeding portion provided in a second feeding passage branching from the first feeding passage on a side upstream of the reversing portion with respect to the first direction, a first guiding surface forming the second feeding passage for guiding a first surface of the sheet fed by the feeding portion, and a second guiding surface for guiding a second surface, opposite from the first surface, of the sheet fed from the reversing portion in the second direction. The second guiding surface is movable with movement of the first guiding surface for opening the second feeding passage.

A mechanism for an ADF having upper and lower trays, a base connecting the trays, and a cover pivotally connected to the upper tray includes a housing provided within the base and movable relative thereto. A transmission has a gripping position for transporting paper along a path from the upper tray to the lower tray and a release position allowing a paper jam along the path to be remedied. The cover is pivotable between a first condition maintaining the transmission in the gripping position and a second condition allowing the housing to move relative to the trays to place the transmission in the release position.

In a printing apparatus, the ends of print media fed continuously can be prevented from colliding with each other. The printing apparatus includes a printing unit configured to perform a print operation, a detecting unit configured to detect a conveyance abnormality, a conveying unit configured to convey a preceding print medium and a succeeding print medium, a conveying path having a first area including a curved portion at which a conveying direction of the print medium is curved and a second area upstream of the first area, and an opening unit capable of opening the first area of the conveying path. In a case in which a leading edge of the succeeding print medium is located in the second area at the time of the detecting unit detecting conveyance abnormality of the preceding print medium, the conveying unit conveys the succeeding print medium so that the leading edge of the succeeding print medium reaches the first area.

Provided is a double-channel paper feeding mechanism and a sheet medium processing device. The double-channel paper feeding mechanism includes a fixed frame, a movable frame and a connection mechanism. The fixed frame is provided with a first channel plate and a second channel plate. A first portion of the first channel plate and a first portion of the second channel plate form a conveying channel. An opening for inserting the movable frame is formed between second portions of the two channel plates. The movable frame is provided with a third channel plate and a fourth channel plate. When the movable frame is mounted on the fixed frame, the second portion of the first channel plate and the third channel plate are arranged oppositely and form a first input channel in connection with the conveying channel, the second portion of the second channel plate and the fourth channel plate form a second input channel in connection with the conveying channel.

An image forming apparatus includes: a housing; an image forming unit; a conveyor; a curved guide disposed downstream of the conveyor and configured to move between a near position where the curved guide in the housing guides the sheet and a far position farther from the conveyor than the near position; and a guide member extending from the conveyor toward the curved guide and configured to guide the sheet to the curved guide when the curved guide is located at the near position. The guide member has one end portion coupled to the conveyor and the other end portion movable with respect to the curved guide. When the curved guide is moved from the near position to the far position, the other end portion is moved in a direction from a downstream end toward an upstream end of the curved guide.

An apparatus for processing documents of value comprises a stationary part and a movable part. The stationary part comprises a singler for singling a stack of documents. The movable part comprises at least two output pockets for receiving processed documents. The movable part is mounted to the stationary part so as to be pivotable between a closed position and an open position. The stationary part and the movable part are arranged to form a transport path when in the closed position. The stationary part and the movable part are arranged to allow access to at least a section of the transport path when in the open position. The apparatus is arranged to transport singled documents of value from the singler along the transport path to the output pockets.