A conveyance device includes a tray on an upper surface of the conveyance device and an upper guide below the tray. The tray receives a sheet, and the upper guide defines a conveyance path in which the sheet is conveyed. The upper guide is movable together with the tray to open the conveyance path.

An open banknote system comprises a first banknote path plate and a second banknote path plate coupled to a frame, wherein the first banknote path plate and the second banknote path plate are disposed a distance apart, a banknote path disposed in a space between the first banknote path plate and the second banknote path plate, wherein each of a first side and a second side of the banknote path open to an area wider than a central portion of the banknote path, and a plurality of rollers each coupled to one of the first banknote path plate and the second banknote path plate, wherein each one of the plurality of rollers forms a banknote pinch point with another one of the plurality of rollers.

An intermediate unit includes a transportation path provided with a drying unit that accelerates the drying of the medium. The transportation path includes an inlet path, an outlet path, a first branch path, a second branch path, a first junction path, a second junction path, a switch-back type inversion path with a first inversion path and a second inversion path. The first branch path and the second branch path which branch off at a branch point from the inlet path. The first junction path and the second junction path and the outlet path join each other at a junction point. The first branch path and the first junction path and the first inversion path join each other at a first connection point. The second branch path and the second junction path and the second inversion path join each other at a second connection point.

The conveyance guide unit is provided with a guide member, a supporting frame, and an external cover. The guide member guides a sheet, which is discharged from a sheet discharge port of the image forming apparatus or from a sheet discharge port of a relay conveyance device installed in the image forming apparatus, to the sheet carrying-in port of a post-processing device. The supporting frame supports the guide member. The external cover is fixed to the supporting frame; the external cover covers an upper part of the guide member and side parts of the guide member in a traverse direction of a sheet conveyance path, which is perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction. The external cover has an upper surface serving as an extension part of a discharge tray part of the post-processing device, the extension part being extended downstream, in a sheet discharge direction.

A transport device includes a rotating member that rotates; a circulating member that is loop-shaped and wrapped around the rotating member, the circulating member being circulated by rotation of the rotating member; a pair of pinching members attached to the circulating member and circulated together with the circulating member, the pair of pinching members changing from a separated state, in which the pair of pinching members are separated from each other, to a closely positioned state to pinch a transport object that has entered a space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state; and a guide unit positioned to overlap the pair of pinching members in the separated state when viewed in one direction along a rotational axis direction of the rotating member, the guide unit guiding the transport object into the space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state.

A transport device includes: a rotating member that rotates; a circulating member that is loop-shaped and wrapped around the rotating member, the circulating member being circulated by rotation of the rotating member; and a pair of pinching members attached to an attachment portion of the circulating member and circulated together with the circulating member, the pair of pinching members changing from a separated state, in which the pair of pinching members are separated from each other, to a closely positioned state to pinch a transport object that has entered a space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state. The attachment portion of the circulating member is in contact with the rotating member when the transport object starts to enter the space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a controller controlling a driver to cause a guide to start rotation in a state in which a trailing end in a sheet conveyance direction of a preceding sheet conveyed by a roller pair having a first roller and a second roller such that the trailing end of the preceding sheet is moved from the position above a first guide to a position between a second guide and a sheet support by the rotation of the guide and that a succeeding sheet conveyed by the roller pair subsequently to the preceding sheet passes the position above the first guide after the rotation of the guide. The first roller is rotated by a driving force supplied from a driving source, and the guide rotates about a rotation axis of the first roller while rotating relatively to the first roller.

A sheet conveyance device includes a conveyance roller pair. A skew correction roller pair conveys the sheet after contacting two nip portions, and a sheet skew is corrected in a state in which the skew correction roller pair is being stopped. The sheet having a toner image is bent by a first conveyance guide such that a sheet first surface becomes an inside surface. The sheet is bent by the first and second conveyance guides to cause the sheet first surface to be the inside surface and a sheet second surface to be an outside surface. The skew correction roller pair includes two first rotary members of a first roller. A second roller and the two first rotary members form the two nip portions. The second roller and the first conveyance guide contact the sheet first surface. The first roller and the second conveyance guide contact the sheet second surface.

An image forming apparatus includes: a sheet conveyance section configured to convey a long sheet along a sheet feeding path; and an image forming section configured to form an image on the long sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance section, the sheet conveyance section including a conveyance unit that includes a first conveyance roller and a second conveyance roller for conveying the long sheet in a sandwiching manner, and is movable along a sheet conveyance direction in a state where the long sheet is conveyed through the sheet feeding path.

A sheet feeder includes a controller configured to control an emitter to emit an ultrasonic wave toward a target sheet being fed along a sheet guide, control a measurer to measure a first reception intensity of a first component of the ultrasonic wave received by a receiver during a first period of time, control the measurer to measure a second reception intensity of a second component of the ultrasonic wave received by the receiver during a second period of time, and determine a feeding state of the target sheet in a detectable area between the emitter and the receiver within the sheet guide, based on the first reception intensity and the second reception intensity.