An automated product dispenser for dispensing a product from a supply of product is provided. The automated product dispenser includes a chassis assembly, a drive assembly, and an isolation member. The chassis assembly includes a chassis frame, and the drive assembly includes a motor, a drivetrain, and a drivetrain housing. The isolation member mounts the drive assembly to the chassis assembly such that the drive assembly is substantially spaced apart from the chassis frame. A related method of inhibiting vibration transmission in an automated product dispenser also is provided.

In a sheet feeding apparatus without increase in size and without fluctuation in sheet feeding interval, a clutch is brought into a disconnected state after a separation roller separates from a feed roller.

A sheet conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus and an optional device attachable to the image forming apparatus, includes a sheet container, a sheet feeder, a separator, a guide, and a projection. The sheet container loads multiple sheets. The sheet feeder feeds a sheet out of the multiple sheets in the sheet container. The separator separates the sheet from another sheet fed together with the sheet. The guide having a guide surface to guide the sheet passing the separator such that the sheet is fed in a predetermined sheet conveying direction. An upstream end in the sheet conveying direction of the guide surface of the guide is located lower than a downstream end in the sheet conveying direction of the separator. The projection is disposed facing the separator at the upstream end in the sheet conveying direction of the guide surface.

A medium conveyance device includes a first roller pair and a second roller pair for conveying a medium, a curved path from the first roller pair to the second roller pair, an outer path forming member that forms an outer side of the curved path, an inner path forming member that forms an inner side of the curved path, and at least one flexible guide member that guides the medium in the curved path, one end of the guide member is a fixed end provided at the outer path forming member, the other end of the guide member is a free end located downstream of the fixed end in a conveyance direction, and the inner path forming member has a convex portion that protrudes toward the guide member at a position facing the guide member.

The spiral advance/retreat actuation device includes a first strip material, a second strip material, an inner guide member as a strip material guide unit, an outer cylindrical wall, and a strip material storage container. The strip material storage container includes a first storage chamber that spirally stores a first strip material that has transitioned from a cylindrical configuration state to a separated state, and a second storage chamber that spirally stores a second strip material that has transitioned from a cylindrical configuration state to a separated state. The inner bottom surface of the first storage chamber and the inner bottom surface of the second storage chamber are sloped so as to descend as they move away from the axis.

An image forming device includes: a conveyance unit; an image forming section; a plurality of storage units; and a sheet feeding roller, wherein provided are: one drive source; a first drive transmission system including a first one-way clutch; a second drive transmission system including: a second one-way clutch; and a first transmission interrupting unit; a third drive transmission system including: a third one-way clutch; and a second transmission interrupting unit; and a control unit, and the control unit is configured to: rotationally drive the drive source in the first direction at the time of the sending operation by the first sheet feeding roller; rotationally drive the drive source in the second direction at the time of the sending operation by the second sheet feeding roller; and rotationally drive the drive source in the second direction at the time of the sending operation by the third sheet feeding roller.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a controller for shifting a sheet attractor from a stand-by state in which the attractor is away from a sheet accommodated in a sheet stacking device to an attraction state in which the attractor is elastically deformed to surface-contact with the sheet stacked on the stacker to electrostatically attract the sheet, to a separating state for separating the sheet from a lower sheet by lifting a downstream end of the sheet with respect to the feeding direction, and to a spaced state in which the attractor spaces the attracted sheet from the lower sheet, the controller changing a slackness of the attractor in the separating state on the basis of a stiffness information of the sheet.

A medium handover device is provided including: a fixed peripheral side section that covers portions of side faces enclosing a periphery of a collection space in which a paper sheet shaped medium is collected, other than at least a portion of an opposing side face opposing a medium support section supporting the medium inside the collection space, which portion is open, and other than at least a portion of an adjacent side face adjacent to the opposing side face, which portion is open; a lid section that has a shape covering portions of the side faces enclosing the periphery of the collection space that are not covered by the fixed peripheral side section; a transition section that transitions the lid section to enable the lid section to adopt a closed state with respect to the fixed peripheral side section in which the lid section is close to or abutting the fixed peripheral side section and the collection space is closed, and to adopt an open state with respect to the fixed peripheral side section in which at least a portion of the lid section is separated from the fixed peripheral side section and the collection space is opened; and a transfer section that transfers the medium between an interior and an exterior of the collection space.

Provided is a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus capable of performing sheet feeding by electrostatic adsorption at a low noise with a simple configuration. A first outer nip conveying roller 201b and a second outer nip conveying roller 202b that nip an adsorbing member 200 supported in a state an inside is loose by a first inner nip conveying roller 201a and a second inner nip conveying roller 202b are provided.

A sheet supply device detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus includes: a main body; a sheet supply roller; an external output gear; a clutch mechanism; and first and second transmission mechanisms. The main body is provided with a sheet supply tray on which a sheet is mountable. The sheet supply roller is in contact with a sheet mounted on the sheet supply tray and configured to rotate to supply the sheet toward the image forming apparatus. The external output gear is configured to output a driving force to an outside. The clutch mechanism is configured to transmit and interrupt a driving force from the image forming apparatus. The first transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the driving force received through the clutch mechanism to the sheet supply roller. The second transmission mechanism is configured to transmit the driving force received through the clutch mechanism to the external output gear.