A load former includes a frame, a loading zone bounded on a first end by a stop wall having a stop surface lying in a plane and a rear wall at a rear side of the frame, and a cookie sheet slidably supported by the frame for travel along a path perpendicular to the plane. The path includes portions on first and second sides of the plane, and a portion of the cookie sheet in the second portion of the path defines a bottom of the loading zone. A platform extends over the first portion of the path, and a top wall is vertically spaced from the platform to define a storage space between the top wall and the platform. The storage space has a front opening so that it is accessible from the front of the load former.

A paper sorting device includes: a stacking conveyor that receives continuously fed cut sheets to stack the cut sheets by sorting unit and that continuously conveys stacked cut sheets downstream on a unit-by-unit basis; and a stacker section arranged downstream of the stacking conveyor, capable of continuously stacking the stacked cut sheets conveyed from the stacking conveyor, at different positions on a placement surface.

A load former includes a frame including a stop wall, a cookie sheet having a top surface parallel to a plane and being movable between an extended position a retracted position relative to the stop wall, and a first platform shiftable between raised and lowered positions relative to the plane. The first platform is positioned relative to the frame such that when the cookie sheet is in the extended position a first portion of the cookie sheet directly overlies the upper surface of the platform and when the cookie sheet in the retracted position no portion of the cookie sheet directly overlies the platform. Also a lift having a lift support and a second platform, the lift being movable relative to the plane and the lift platform begin extendable and retractable relative to the first platform.

A load former includes a loading zone, a stacking zone adjacent to the loading zone, a platform in the stacking zone, a first drive configured to raise and to lower the platform, and a cookie sheet having a first portion and a second portion adjacent to the first portion. The cookie sheet is shiftable from a first position in which the first portion of the cookie sheet forms a floor of the loading zone and the second portion of the cookie sheet is not located in the loading zone or in the stacking zone and a second position in which the first portion of the cookie sheet extends directly above the platform in the stacking zone and the second portion of the cookie sheet forms the floor of the loading zone. A second drive shifts the cookie sheet between the first position and the second position.

A load former includes a frame, a loading zone bounded on a first end by a stop wall having a stop surface lying in a plane and a rear wall at a rear side of the frame, and a cookie sheet slidably supported by the frame for travel along a path perpendicular to the plane. The path includes portions on first and second sides of the plane, and a portion of the cookie sheet in the second portion of the path defines a bottom of the loading zone. A platform extends over the first portion of the path, and a top wall is vertically spaced from the platform to define a storage space between the top wall and the platform. The storage space has a front opening so that it is accessible from the front of the load former.

An image forming apparatus includes a housing, a sheet feeding cassette, and a pickup roller positioned above and on a sheet feeding side of the sheet feeding cassette and rotatable to pick up a sheet that is in contact therewith from the sheet feeding cassette. The sheet feeding cassette includes a sheet tray on which a sheet bundle and a packaging member for the sheet bundle are to be accommodated, first and second guides for supporting lateral sides of the sheet bundle and the packaging member, and a first wall on the sheet feeding side of the sheet feeding cassette and a third guide spaced apart from the first wall to support the sheet bundle and the packaging member from a trailing edge side thereof. The height of the first wall is lower than a height of each of the first, second, and third guides.

A sheet containing device, which is included in a sheet feeder and an image forming apparatus, includes a first sheet container, a second sheet container disposed adjacent to the first sheet container, a transfer unit to transfer a bundle of sheets contained in the second sheet container to the first sheet container, a pair of side fences including a first side fence and a second side fence to regulate a position of the bundle of sheets in a width direction of the bundle of sheets loaded on the first sheet container, and a pressing unit mounted on the first side fence and pressing the bundle of sheets loaded on the first sheet container against the second side fence.

A system for forming and wrapping a plurality of stacks of sheet like product is provided. The system includes a separator apparatus for converting a stream of spaced apart sets of stacks into a repeating stepped configuration. The system includes a mechanism for merging the stepped configuration of stacks into a single file stream of stacks. The system includes a cutoff apparatus for cutting a plastic sleeve in which the stacks are wrapped. The system includes a turner apparatus for changing the direction of travel of individual units comprising of a stack of product within a length of the sleeve 90 degrees while maintaining the orientation of the units.

A square back processing unit performs a square back process on the sheet bundle and includes a pair of clamp portions. The sheet bundle subjected to the square back process by the square back processing unit is discharged to a sheet bundle discharge unit. A cover unit is provided downstream of the square back processing unit in the conveyance direction such that a child access probe according to a safety standard IEC 62368-1 does not reach the pair of clamp portions in a case where the child access probe is inserted from an outside of the sheet processing apparatus.

A conveyance unit conveys the sheet to an accumulation portion. A half-folding processing unit includes a folding roller pair and performs a half-folding process on the sheet bundle. A conveyance roller pair conveys the sheet bundle. A square back processing unit performs a square back process on the sheet bundle and includes a pair of clamp portions. A length of a conveyance path from the folding roller pair to the pair of clamp portions is larger than a half of a length of a long side of a sheet of a maximum size. In a state in which conveyance by the conveyance roller pair of a first sheet bundle to be subjected to the square back process is stopped, the conveyance unit conveys at least one sheet included in a second sheet bundle subsequent to the first sheet bundle toward the accumulation portion.