A sheet feeder, which is included in an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, includes a sheet loader on which a sheet bundle is loaded, an air blower to blow air to the sheet bundle loaded on the sheet loader and float upper sheets of the sheet bundle, a loader elevation device to lift and lower the sheet loader, a reflective optical detector including a first reflective optical detector to detect the upper sheets floated by the air blower and a second reflective optical detector to detect multiple floating sheets located below the floating sheets detected by the first reflective optical detector, and a controller configured to control the loader elevation device to perform a lifting operation of the sheet loader based on a combination of an output value of the first reflective optical detector and an output value of the second reflective optical detector.

A sheet stacking apparatus includes a discharging portion including a nip portion nipping and conveying a sheet, a stacking portion on which the sheet discharged by the discharging portion is stacked, an air blowing unit configured to blow air toward a lower face of the sheet being discharged by the discharging portion, and an air volume control portion configured to control the air blowing unit such that a volume of the air blown by the air blowing unit is switched from a first air volume to a second air volume which is smaller than the first air volume while the nip portion of the discharging portion is nipping and conveying the sheet to set the volume of the air to the second air volume in a case where a trailing end of the sheet discharged by the discharging portion passes through the nip portion.

One object is to provide a paper sheet handling apparatus in which a paper sheet stacked in a stacking unit is surely pushed toward an opening in the stacking unit. The paper sheet handling apparatus includes a feed unit that feeds a paper sheet, a transport unit that transports the paper sheet fed by the feed unit, a stacking unit that stacks therein the paper sheet transported by the transport unit and has an opening for removing the paper sheet stacked therein, a pushing member that pushes the paper sheet present in the stacking unit toward the opening, a pressing member that presses the paper sheet pushed by the pushing member, and a control unit that controls driving the pressing member based on an operation of the pushing member.

There is provided a post processing device including a mounting portion on which a medium is temporarily mounted, a post processing unit that performs post processing on the medium mounted on the mounting portion, a discharging tray on which the medium is stacked after being discharged, and a suppressing unit that suppresses deformation of the medium mounted on the mounting portion.

A sheet handling apparatus comprising a rotary drum having an outer peripheral wall with perforations, and a number of separate chambers, a suction system for controlling a flow of air through the perforations, thereby to attract sheets to the peripheral wall of the drum, and a stationary shutter member for blocking the flow of air through the perforations when they pass through a predetermined angular range. The number of separate chambers extend in axial direction and are distributed over the periphery of the drum. A disk-shaped manifold at the first axial end of the drum is co-rotatably with the drum. The manifold forms a number of radial channels each connected to one of said chambers and having an opening at a radially inward end of each channel. The stationary shutter member is arranged for blocking an opening of a channel to block air flow from a radially inward end of a channel.

A sheet feeder, which is included in an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, includes a sheet loader on which a sheet bundle is loaded, an air blower to blow air to the sheet bundle loaded on the sheet loader and float upper sheets of the sheet bundle, a loader elevation device to lift and lower the sheet loader, a reflective optical detector including a first reflective optical detector to detect the upper sheets floated by the air blower and a second reflective optical detector to detect multiple floating sheets located below the floating sheets detected by the first reflective optical detector, and a controller configured to control the loader elevation device to perform a lifting operation of the sheet loader based on a combination of an output value of the first reflective optical detector and an output value of the second reflective optical detector.

A recording-medium-container device includes a container configured to contain a stack of recording media; a blower configured to blow gas to the recording media contained in the container; and an image capturer movable in a stacking direction in which the recording media are stacked in the container, the image capturer being configured to capture an image of the recording media while the recording media are being blown with the gas by the blower.

An apparatus for diverting and/or folding articles includes an infeed conveyor, an outfeed conveyor, and a diverter. The diverter is a non-contact, fluid emitting diverter, configured to emit a fluid jet to exhibit the diverting force on the impact zone of the article at a side of the article facing away from the outfeed entry. An angle of the average direction of the diverting force of the fluid jet with the outfeed path at the outfeed entry is in the range of 5 to 85.

A medium feeding device includes a container member that accommodates sheet media, a discharging member disposed further than the media accommodated in the container member in a discharging direction in which the media are discharged, a hand-over member disposed above the container member at a position closer to the discharging member, a floating device disposed on a side of the media accommodated in the container member, and an auxiliary suction member disposed above the container member on a side of the hand-over member opposite to a side closer to the discharging member in the discharging direction in which the media are discharged. The auxiliary suction member is disposed closer to the hand-over member than to an end portion of the media accommodated in the container member opposite to an end portion of the media located closer to the discharging member.

A sheet flipping device includes a receiving member for receiving a sheet, a flipping volume being the volume which in operation is defined by the flipping movement of the sheet, and a flipping element for flipping the sheet around an axis of rotation within the flipping volume onto the receiving member. The sheet flipping device further includes an air vortex ring generator having an air vortex ring exit nozzle defining a translational direction of a generated air vortex ring when the generated vortex ring is in operation generated from the air vortex ring exit nozzle. The air vortex ring generator is mounted such that in operation the sheet is urged onto the receiving member by the air vortex ring during the flipping motion of the sheet through the flipping volume. A sheet stacking device and a printing apparatus include the sheet flipping device.