An image forming apparatus includes a cover portion and an auxiliary tray. The cover portion is displaced between a closing position for closing the supply port and an opening position for opening the supply port. The auxiliary tray is attached to a sheet stack surface of the cover portion, and supports the sheet, together with the cover portion at the opening position. The auxiliary tray is, either in a first attachment state or in a second attachment state, attached to the cover portion. In the first attachment state, a longitudinal direction of the auxiliary tray extends along a width direction that crosses a sheet insertion direction and the auxiliary tray is stored in the sheet stack surface. In the second attachment state, the longitudinal direction extends along the sheet insertion direction, and the auxiliary tray extends out from the cover portion toward an upstream in the sheet insertion direction.

Sheet collating device for accumulating sheets from at least one hopper, comprising: a lower transport path and an upper transport path; a switchable guide for directing the sheets from the at least one hopper to the lower or the upper transport path; left and right upper drive shafts connected to a right and a left upper drive pulleys supporting a pair of upper belts, a drive direction of the pair of upper belts being changed dependent on what transport path of the upper and lower transport paths is selected; first and second lower drive shafts connected to a right and a left lower drive pulleys supporting first and second pairs of lower belts; and a first series of right paddles mounted on the first pair of lower belts and a first series of left paddles mounted on the second pair of lower belts for registering a collated set of sheets.

In some examples, a substrate handling system includes a sheet processing machine and at least one alignment device that includes at least four stops. At least one stop is configured as a front stop, at least one stop is configured as a rear stop, and at least two stops are configured as lateral stops. The at least two lateral stops are arranged opposite one another, and the at least one front stop and the at least one rear stop are arranged opposite one another. The alignment device includes at least one support element that is configured as a propping element for propping at least one partial stack of sheets in the alignment device. Further, at least one respective support element is arranged at the at least two lateral stops and at the at least one rear stop.

A sheet storage device includes a sheet storage unit to store sheets, a regulating unit in the sheet storage unit, and a lifting unit. The regulating unit regulates a position of a rear edge portion of the sheets in a sheet conveyance direction and includes a supporting portion, an urging member, and a pressing portion having a pressing surface in which a position to be in contact with lower sheets is a pressing surface lower portion, and a position to be in contact with upper sheets located higher than the lower sheets is a pressing surface upper portion. The pressing surface can be in a first state, where the pressing surface upper portion is located downstream from the pressing surface lower portion in a pressing direction, or in a second state, where the pressing surface lower portion is located downstream from the pressing surface upper portion in the pressing direction.

An example paper cassette includes a cassette portion; a sliding portion to slide relative to the cassette portion to adjust a length of the paper cassette, the sliding portion initially being in a shipping position defining a shipping length of the paper cassette and deployable to different deployment positions at which the paper cassette is longer than the shipping length; and a length selection mechanism to: mechanically select one deployment position of the different deployment positions, while the sliding portion is in the shipping position; lock the sliding portion at the one deployment position, relative to the cassette portion when the sliding portion first slides from the shipping position.

A cassette portion includes a side guide, an end guide, and a paper detection portion. The side guide is movable in X direction and controls a motion of a first end portion of paper. The end guide is provided to the side guide to be movable in Y direction, and restricts a motion of a second end portion of the paper. The paper detection portion detects the first restricting position in the X direction of the side guide and a second restricting position in the Y direction of the end guide in a restricted state of the paper. The end guide includes a detection target portion formed such that detection information to be detected by the paper detection portion varies in the Y direction. The paper detection portion detects the first restricting position and the second restricting position by obtaining detection information from the detection target portion.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet stacking unit, a long sheet stacking unit, a first guide, a first detector, and a closing unit. The sheet stacking unit is movable up and down. Sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The long sheet stacking unit is detachably mounted on the sheet stacking unit. Long sheets are stacked on the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide is movable along a feeding direction through a groove. The first guide is deformable into a shape that does not interfere with the long sheet stacking unit. The first guide guides a rear end portion of the sheets in the feeding direction. The first detector is provided in the first guide. The first detector detects the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit is detachably attached to the groove in the sheet stacking unit. The closing unit closes the groove.

A sheet alignment apparatus includes a supporting portion configured to support a sheet, a first alignment member configured to abut an end portion in a first direction of the sheet supported by the supporting portion and align a position of the sheet in the first direction, a first moving unit configured to move the first alignment member in the first direction, a second alignment member configured to abut an end portion in a second direction of the sheet supported by the supporting portion and align a position of the sheet in the second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, and a second moving unit configured to move the second alignment member in the second direction, wherein the first moving unit is disposed below the supporting portion, and wherein the second moving unit is disposed above the supporting 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.

The image forming apparatus includes a side panel and a manual feed tray that is rotatable and installed on the side panel. The side panel includes an opening portion through which a sheet placed on the manual feed tray passes when the sheet is fed into the image forming apparatus. The manual feed tray includes an end cursor that is movable, and a guide portion that guides movement of the end cursor in a direction perpendicular to a rotational center of the manual feed tray. The opening portion is sized to accommodate the end cursor. When the opening/closing angle of the manual feed tray with respect to a horizontal direction exceeds a predetermined angle, the end cursor moves along the guide portion by gravity to a position where the end cursor can be accommodated in the opening portion.