A printer extension kit that modifies a printer to receive and output longer pieces of paper. The printer extension kit includes an input extension part and an output extension part. The input extension part allows a printer to receive longer pieces of paper. In more detail, the paper tray of a printer is extended by the input extension part allowing the printer to hold longer pieces of paper. The input extension part is attached to the paper tray of a printer. The output extension part allows a printer to output longer pieces of paper. In more detail, the output extension part prevents longer pieces of paper from falling of the catch tray of a printer. The output extension part is attached into the catch tray of a printer.

An inserter hopper device for handling a pile of inserts includes a framework, a belly plate that is connected to the framework, a carry-down cam assembly including a plurality of carry-down cams on a rotatable carry-down cam shaft having a fixed location relative to the framework and a carry-down roller assembly including a plurality of carry-down rollers on a rotatable carry-down roller shaft having a movable location relative to the framework. The carry-down rollers are opposed to and spaced from the carry-down cams, providing a nip having a nip distance therebetween. At least one biasing element biases the carry-down roller shaft toward the nip. The inserts are moved through the nip individually. A thickness tuning adjustment assembly moves the carry-down roller assembly to adjust the nip distance. A vacuum assembly is in communication with a movable sucker assembly that has sucker ports being movable toward and away from the nip.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion including a supporting surface, an abutment portion against which a leading edge of the sheet abuts, a feeding rotator configured to feed the sheet, and a first friction member provided on the supporting surface so as to face the feeding rotator. The first friction member includes a first friction surface having a static friction coefficient greater than that of the supporting surface, a trailing end supporting portion configured to support a trailing end portion of the sheet curved upward, and a second friction member disposed upstream of the first friction member in the sheet feeding direction on the supporting surface. The second friction member includes a second friction surface which has a static friction coefficient greater than that of the supporting surface and is configured to be in contact with the sheet supported by the supporting surface.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet loader, a sheet feeder, and an end fence. The sheet loader is configured to load a sheet bundle including sheets. The sheet feeder is configured to feed an uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle loaded on the sheet loader. The end fence is disposed movable in a sheet feeding direction of the uppermost sheet and is configured to contact a trailing end of the sheet bundle in the sheet feeding direction to regulate a position of the trailing end of the sheet bundle. The end fence includes an elastic body configured to contact the trailing end of the sheet bundle at a portion other than at least an upper portion of the end fence.

A stacking apparatus includes a limiting member which moves along a feeding direction and limits a trailing edge of a stacked sheet in the feeding direction, and a partition member which partitions a space at a height which is lower than a predetermined height, into a first space corresponding to a first stacking unit and a second space corresponding to a second stacking unit in a feeding direction. The partition member includes a first opening portion for communicating the first space and the second space with each other, and a second opening portion that allows the limiting member to move.

An image forming apparatus is provided that is capable of facilitating visual recognition, from a front surface side and a lateral side of an apparatus body, of a sheet discharged on a discharge portion. In an image forming apparatus described herein, on a discharge portion is provided that protrudes upward beyond an upper surface of the discharge portion and lifts a corner portion of a sheet. The lifting piece has a loading surface that is inclined upward toward a downstream side in a discharge direction and the front surface side and on which the sheet is loaded, and a rear surface that is disposed on an opposite side to the loading surface, and the rear surface is formed in a dark color.

A medium feeding device includes: a load unit that is loaded with multiple media; a delivering unit that delivers an uppermost medium of the media loaded on the load unit in a predetermined feeding direction; an ascent-descent unit that causes at least a part of the load unit to ascend and descend about a pivot point defined by a position of the load unit located away from a leading edge of the media in the feeding direction; a regulating unit that is provided toward the feeding direction of the media on the load unit and that comes into contact with the leading edge, in the feeding direction, of the media loaded on the load unit to regulate a loading position of the media; and a blocking unit that allows the load unit to ascend and descend and that blocks at least a part of a gap between the load unit and the regulating unit at an arbitrary ascent or descent position of the load unit.

A sheet feeding device comprises a bottom plate, an auxiliary tray and a tilt table. The bottom plate is configured to move along a vertical axis. The auxiliary tray is disposed on the bottom plate. The tilt table includes a lower table disposed on the bottom plate, an upper table rotatably connected to the lower table at one end of the upper table by a pivot, and a resilient member disposed between the upper table and the lower table, the resilient member configured to press the upper table upward. The auxiliary tray and the upper table are configured to receive and hold sheets in a stack.

A sheet processing apparatus includes a first and second alignment members that moves relatively in a width direction to align a position of a sheet in the width direction. Each alignment member includes a contact surface configured to come in contact with an end of the sheet in the width direction, a lower portion configured to support a lower surface of the sheet, and an upper portion facing an upper surface of the sheet. For each of the first and second alignment members, the lower portion is more distant from the contact surface than the upper portion in the width direction, the lower portion is positioned above a lower end of the contact surface in a gravity direction, and a distance between the upper portion and the lower portion in the gravity direction is smaller than a length of the contact surface in the gravity direction.

A paper feed apparatus includes: a sheet tray on which sheets are stacked; a sheet attractor which is located above the sheet tray and attracts sheets one by one from the above; a leading edge fan which is located in a leading edge side of the sheets and blows separation air against leading edges of the sheets to separate an uppermost sheet of the sheets closest to the sheet attractor from lower sheets located below the uppermost sheet; a sheet conveyor which is located in a downstream side of the sheet attractor along a conveying direction of the sheets to convey the uppermost sheet which is attracted by the sheet attractor and separated from the lower sheets by the leading edge fan; and a lifting member which is detachably provided on the sheet tray to support a tail side of a back of the sheets.