A sheet stacking apparatus includes a stacking unit, a regulating member, and a detection device. The stacking unit has a stacking surface on which sheets to be fed in a sheet-feeding direction are stacked. The regulating member is movable in the sheet-feeding direction and configured to regulate the sheet by coming into contact with an upstream edge of the sheet in the sheet-feeding direction on the stacking surface. The detection device is configured to detect a size of the sheet on the stacking surface. The detection device includes a rotatable member configured to rotate about an axis in response to movement of the regulating member, the axis extending parallel to the sheet-feeding direction as viewed from above and being positioned below the stacking surface. The detection device also includes a sensor configured to detect a position of the rotatable member.

An image forming apparatus includes a stacking portion including a lifting portion, a feeding member feeding a sheet stacked on the lifting portion to a conveyance passage, a position detector detecting movement of the sheet stacked on to a feedable position to the conveyance passage, a driver including a motor and performing the lifting operation of the lifting portion, a rotation detector detecting rotation of the motor, and a controller. The controller determines a factor that the position detector does not detect the movement of the sheet stacked on the lifting portion to the feedable position within a predetermined time based on a detection result of the rotation detector while controlling the driver to lift up the lifting portion.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a stacking portion, a feed member provided above the stacking portion and configured to feed an uppermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the stacking portion, and a trailing-end regulating member movable in the sheet feeding direction and configured to regulate a position of a trailing end of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion in the sheet feeding direction. The trailing-end regulating member includes a support portion configured to support a lower surface of the sheets stacked on the stacking portion. The support portion has a projecting shape in which a center portion of the support portion in a sheet width direction projects upward as compared with end portions of the support portion in the sheet width direction.

A removable media tray for an imaging device having a rear media restraint coupled to a media length sensing system. A rear media restraint, slideably latchable to a track in the tray, has a rack that engages with a gear train that drives an encoder gear. As the rear media restraint is adjusted for different media lengths, the rack and gear train rotate the encoder gear. The encoder gear has a plurality of encoder tracks each track having a unique binary pattern. A sensor array of a plurality of sensors corresponding to the plurality of encoder tracks has a plurality of outputs that combine to form a digital signal fed to a controller in the imaging device allowing the controller to determine a media length based in the position of the rear media restraint.

A media restraint for a removable media tray and slidably operable without the use of a pinching force. The media restraint slidably positionable on a track in a removable media tray and is operable without pinching. A pair of pivoting latching cams are used to engage the media restraint to the track and have serrated portions pivotally mounted to a bottom of the media restraint. The media restraint is operable by a finger of the user applying a downward force to an actuator that spreads two cam plates apart which in turn pivot the pair of latching cams to release the media restraint from the track and allowing it to be moved along the track. Upon removal of the downward force, a biasing member lifts the actuator to bring the two cam plates back to their first positions thereby pivoting the pair of latching cams back to reengage with the track.

A recording-medium supplying device includes a device body, a guide member that guides a side edge of a recording medium contained in the device body, an extension mechanism that extends the device body in accordance with a size of the recording medium, an extension cancellation member that disengages the extension mechanism and the device body from each other, and a partition wall that partitions the guide member and the extension cancellation member from each other.

A sheet feeding device includes a lifting plate, a pickup roller, a lifting and lowering mechanism of the lifting plate and an end cursor. The end cursor has a cursor main body and a turning cursor plate. The turning cursor plate is coupled to the cursor main body turnably around a turning shaft extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and slidably along a lifting and lowering direction of the lifting plate. The turning cursor plate is configured to be turned toward the downstream side in the conveying direction around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate while the turning shaft is moved upward so that the sheet is shifted toward the downstream side along an upper surface of the lifting plate with respect to the lifting plate.

A sheet feed cassette includes a bottom portion, a first cursor, a second cursor, and a fixing rack. The second cursor includes a regulating member, a lock member, and a biasing member. The regulating member abuts on the rear end edge of the sheet to regulate a position of the sheet in the mounting direction. The lock member includes a shaft portion extending in a direction intersecting with the mounting direction and an engaging protrusion located below the shaft portion. The biasing member is located and compressed between the regulating member and the lock member above the shaft portion. The gear teeth of the fixing rack and the engaging protrusion of the lock member engage so as to lock a position of the second cursor in the mounting direction. The regulating member and the lock member are separated above the shaft portion in the locked state.

A paper feeding apparatus includes: a sheet loading unit for loading a bundle of sheets; a separation unit that separates a topmost sheet of the bundle of sheets loaded on the sheet loading unit, from the bundle of sheets; a conveyance unit that conveys the separated topmost sheet; an end fence that is movable in a sheet conveyance direction, abuts trailing ends in the sheet conveyance direction, and positions the bundle of sheets in the sheet conveyance direction; and a pressing unit that is provided in such a manner as to protrude from the end fence, and is able to press the trailing ends in the sheet conveyance direction of at least an upper part of the bundle of sheets, wherein the pressing unit has different pressing forces at an upper and a lower portion thereof, and has the lower pressing force stronger than the upper pressing force.

A sheet supporting device comprises a first supporting unit, a second supporting unit provided to the first supporting unit and drawable in a draw direction from an insert position, a supporting portion on which sheets are supported and provided ascendably/descendably in the first supporting unit, first and second turning portions configured to turn in linkage with an ascendance and descendance move of the supporting portion, an elevation portion, and an indicator. The elevation portion, whose one end is connected with the first turning portion and another end is connected with the second turning portion, is configured to form a link mechanism together with the first and second turning portions and the first supporting unit. The indicator is provided in the second supporting unit and indicates an amount of the sheets supported on the supporting portion by moving in response to an ascendance and descendance move of the elevation portion.