A sheet conveyor is provided for transporting a sheet. The sheet conveyor includes a supplying conveyor, a receiving conveyor and a sheet guidance unit. The receiving conveyor includes a support surface arranged for supporting the sheet on a contact side of the sheet and an attraction unit arranged for attracting the sheet to the support surface. The supplying conveyor includes a transport belt being arranged for advancing the sheet in a transport direction along a transport path towards the support surface of the receiving conveyor; the sheet having two side edge portions relative to the transport path. The sheet guidance unit is arranged at a downstream end of the transport path for guiding the sheet towards the receiving conveyor, wherein said sheet guidance unit includes a lifting element arranged for lifting both side edge portions of the sheet away from the support surface while a middle portion of the sheet in between both side edge portions is guided towards the support surface.

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body, an output tray, and a holding member. The output tray is rotatable about a first rotation shaft between a closed position and an open position. The holding member is rotatable about a second rotation shaft. The output tray comes into contact with the holding member halfway through rotation of the output tray from the closed to the open position. When the output tray is rotated to the open position, the holding member rotates to a retracted position while being in contact with the output tray. When viewed in a direction crossing a recording-material discharge direction, the first rotation shaft is located downstream from the second rotation shaft in the discharge direction, and a center of gravity of the holding member is located downstream from the second rotation shaft in the discharge direction when the holding member is at the retracted position.

A device for separating printing paper sheets comprises a base part and an obstruction element. The base part defines a printing paper accommodating cavity. A deforming mechanism is provided to make sure a middle part of the printing paper sheets can be arched and two edges can get close to the bottom of the printing paper accommodating cavity. The obstruction element is arranged with a middle access portion in cooperation with the deforming mechanism, and on two sides of the middle access portion is arranged with blocking portions through which only one printing paper sheet can pass at a time. The device for separating printing paper sheets makes more than one printing paper sheet that may be transmitted at a time during the transmission of the printing paper sheets. A printer achieves smooth transmission of printing paper sheets and alleviates problems such as downtime and failure of the printer.

A conveying device includes a plurality of rotating bodies and a plurality of projecting rotators. The rotating bodies are spaced apart in a sheet conveyance direction in which a sheet is conveyed. The projecting rotators are spaced apart in the sheet conveyance direction on a side of an opposite face opposite a liquid applied face of the sheet. Each of the projecting rotator has a plurality of projections projecting radially outward. The rotating bodies are arranged to contact the projecting rotators. A contact pressure of the rotating bodies with the projecting rotators is smaller on an upstream side than on a downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. One of an interval between the rotating bodies in the sheet conveyance direction and an interval between the projecting rotators in the sheet conveyance direction is smaller on the upstream side than on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.

A recording apparatus includes a recording unit, a discharge unit that discharges a medium on which recording is performed by the recording unit, and a medium receiving unit that receives a medium discharged by the discharge unit, and a medium can be fed to an optional device attached to an apparatus main body from the discharge unit. The discharge unit includes a discharge roller that discharges a medium, a forming unit that forms a medium to be discharged, and a detection unit that detects a stacking height of a medium stacked on the medium receiving unit and is located at a position where the detection unit interferes with the optional device when the optional device is attached, the detection unit and the forming unit are integrally configured, and the detection unit and the forming unit are configured to be integrally attached to and removed from the apparatus main body.

A sheet discharge apparatus includes a discharge and sheet support unit, a detection unit, a rotation member having a first abutting portion positioned above the sheet support unit, and a pressing member provided rotatably independent of the rotation member. The discharge unit nips and discharges a sheet in a sheet discharge direction. The sheet support unit supports the discharged sheet. The rotation member rotates when the first abutting portion is pressed by the sheet. The detection unit detects a position of the rotation member. A second abutting portion of the pressing member abuts against the sheet at a position downstream from a position at which the discharge unit nips the sheet and upstream from the first abutting portion in the sheet discharge direction. The pressing member presses the sheet discharged from the discharge unit downward using the second abutting portion, regardless of a position of the rotation member.

A medium feeding device includes: a medium mounting section onto which a medium to be fed is mounted; a feeding unit that feeds the medium mounted on the medium mounting section; and a supporting member that supports an end in a width direction of the medium mounted on the medium mounting section and that supports the medium at a higher position than the medium mounting section in a direction of loading of the medium, the width direction being a direction crossing a feed direction.

An image forming apparatus, comprising a conveyance path configured to convey an image receiving medium; a fixing device configured to fix an image formed on the image receiving medium; a first roller arranged at the downstream side of a conveyance direction of the image receiving medium with respect to the fixing device, the first roller comprising an axis; a second roller configured to face the first roller and an end thereof of which protrudes towards a central part of the conveyance path with respect to an end of the first roller at the central part of the conveyance path in a first direction substantially parallel to the axis; and a protrusion arranged at the second roller side to protrude towards the first roller side from the second roller side and a protruding amount of which is greater than that of the second roller.

A printer includes a printing unit, a casing, a scanner unit disposed in an upper portion of the casing, and a discharge unit that, below the scanner unit, is connected to the casing pivotably between a closed position and an open position and that a sheet of paper is discharged to. The discharge unit includes a placement surface for the sheet and a medium support unit capable of supporting the sheet from below while in a state of being protruded from the placement surface. The medium support unit is displaceable between a maximum protruded position and a minimum protruded position. When the amount of protrusion of the medium support unit from the placement surface when the discharge unit is in the open position is less than the amount of protrusion of the medium support unit in the maximum protruded position from the placement surface.

A sheet stacking tray includes a first stacking portion, a second stacking portion, and a base portion. In a sheet widthwise direction perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction, the first stacking portion includes a first sheet stacking surface having a first stacking width within a range from one half of a sheet width of a maximum-size sheet to be discharged up to the sheet width of the maximum-size sheet. The second stacking portion includes a second sheet stacking surface having a second stacking width smaller than the first stacking width. A border between the first stacking portion and the second stacking portion lies on a discharge-direction upstream side of a contact point where a leading end portion of the maximum-size sheet comes into contact with the sheet stacking part while the sheet is discharged.