A medium feeding apparatus includes a media tray, a feed roller to sequentially feed a plurality of media placed on the media tray, a separation roller located facing the feed roller, and circuitry. The circuitry detects a leading end position of each of a plurality of media in a nip between the feed roller and the separation roller, determines a distance between a leading end position of a preceding medium, which is of the plurality of media in the nip, and a leading end position of a medium following the preceding medium, and sets a characteristic value of the separation roller based on the distance.

A conveyor includes: a conveyor roller unit including a conveyor roller; a transmission mechanism; a driven roller unit including a driven roller; a supporting member which supports the conveyor roller unit and the driven roller unit to allow the conveyor roller unit and the driven roller unit to take a conveyance position or a retracted position; and a movable member which is movable between a first position where the conveyor roller and the driven roller take the conveyance position and a second position where the conveyor roller and the driven roller take the refracted position. The movable member moves from the second position to the first position when the conveyor roller in the second position rotates in one direction.

A media accumulator-ejector for use with an imaging apparatus. Rotatable upper and lower roll assemblies are located above and below a media accumulation zone comprised of an accumulation plate and positioned to receive media exiting an imaging device. The roll assemblies are moveable like jaws between an open position where media can accumulate on the accumulation plate without interference with the roll assemblies and a clamping position where the accumulated media is grasped by the upper and lower roll assemblies. The upper and lower roll assemblies are then rotated to eject the accumulated media from the accumulation plate. The upper and lower roll assemblies can also grasp and continuously eject individual sheets of media at a predetermined process speed.

A sheet conveyance apparatus is equipped with a first rotator, a second rotator conveying a sheet together with the first rotator, a cam member changing a position of the second rotator with respect to the first rotator, a drive unit rotating the cam member, and a load portion applying load on a rotation of the cam member. The load portion includes a contact member having a cam surface formed on a side surface in an axial direction of the cam member, an abutment member capable of abutting against the cam surface, and a biasing member biasing one of the contact member and the abutment member toward the other, a biasing force of the biasing member converted into a force, applying load to the rotating cam member, by the cam surface opposing to a rotating direction in which the cam member is driven by the drive unit.

A sheet conveyance device includes a pair of separable contact rollers configured to convey a sheet, a contact/separation mechanism configured to support the pair of separable contact rollers in such a manner that the pair of separable contact rollers are able to come into separable contact with each other, and a solenoid configured to operate the contact/separation mechanism. The solenoid is driven so that the contact/separation mechanism causes the pair of separable contact rollers to come into pressure contact with each other, and driving of the solenoid is cancelled so that the contact/separation mechanism causes the pair of separable contact rollers to be separated from each other. Pulse width modulation duty control is performed on the solenoid while the pair of separable contact rollers are in pressure contact with each other when a plurality of the sheets are conveyed one by one at an interval.

Methods and systems are provided for rewinding and cutting a film-like material. In one example, a method may include adjusting a position of a retractable driven shaft located between a first roller from which the film-like material is unwound and a second roller onto which the film-like material is rewound during the rewinding and cutting operations. The method may further include adjusting a tension applied on the film-like material based on speeds of a first shaft holding the first roller and a second shaft holding the second roller, and a brake force applied onto the first shaft.

An image forming apparatus includes: a pair of rollers for conveying paper; a rocking mechanism for rocking the pair of rollers in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction., the first direction being a paper conveying direction; an upstream pair of rollers provided upstream of the pair of rollers in the paper conveying direction for conveying the paper; an upstream rocking mechanism corresponding to the upstream pair of rollers for rocking the upstream pair of rollers in the second direction; a first paper detector for detecting an end position of the paper in the second direction; and a controller controlling the rocking mechanism based on the paper end position to effect first rocking correction in which the pair of rollers is rocked, wherein the controller controls the upstream rocking mechanism to effect second rocking correction in which only the upstream pair of rollers is rocked.

A sheet conveying apparatus has a first pair of conveying rollers which nip and convey a sheet, a reference surface provided along the sheet conveying direction, a second and third pair of rotary members, which, obliquely with respect to the sheet conveying direction, conveys the sheet so as to contact the side edge of the sheet to the reference surface, a switching unit which switches the first pair of rotary members between a state of nipping the sheet and a state of nip releasing the sheet, a controller which, after controlling the second pair of rotary member and the third pair of rotary members to nip the sheet nipped by the first pair of rotary members, controls the switching unit to release nip of the sheet by the first pair of rotary members. There is no pair of rotary members that conveys the sheet in the sheet conveying direction between the second pair of rotary members and the third pair of rotary members in the sheet conveying direction.

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.

There is provided a conveyance apparatus including: a conveyance roller; a plurality of driven rollers; a plurality of roller holders; an biasing member biasing each of the roller holders toward a first position; and a movable member having a plurality of cam portions. Each of the cam portions has: a first inclined surface abutting against one of the roller holders from a side of one of the driven rollers, during a movement process of the movable member from a third position to a fourth position, to thereby move one of the roller holders from the first position toward a second position; and a second inclined surface arranged upstream of the first inclined surface in a moving direction, and abutting against one of the roller holders from the side of one of the driven rollers, during the movement process of the movable member from the third position to the fourth position.