A sheet feed apparatus includes a sheet feed cassette, an air blowing device, and an air blowing control portion. The air blowing device blows warm air to a sheet stack in the sheet feed cassette. The air blowing control portion controls the air blowing device to adjust an air volume and a temperature of the warm air. The air blowing control portion adjusts the air volume and the temperature of the warm air in accordance with the amount of sheets in the sheet feed cassette.

To reduce, at the time of sheet replenishment, breakage of a floating regulation member that regulates floating of a sheet floated by air blowing in a sheet storage apparatus that loosen stored sheets by means of air blowing. Air is blown to sheets stored in a storage part to loosen the sheets. One of a pair of side regulation members for regulating both ends of the sheets stored in the storage part has a floating regulation member for regulating floating of a sheet floated by means of air blowing. The floating regulation member is configured to be turnable in a sheet stacking direction about a rotation axis provided to one of the side regulation members on the side at which the floating regulation member is provided. A load applied to the floating regulation member differs between when the floating regulation member is turned upward and when it is turned downward.

A recording-material-transporting device includes a suction unit that suctions a recording material included in a recording-material stack from above, the suction unit including a movable member that moves upward when pushed from below by the recording material moving upward with the suction, the suction unit being movable in an intersecting direction intersecting a vertical direction and moving the suctioned recording material in the intersecting direction, at least a part of the movable member serving as an outside advancing part that advances to an outside of a perimeter of the recording-material stack with the movement of the suction unit in the intersecting direction; and a restricting part that restricts a downward movement of the outside advancing part when the outside advancing part is free of support by the recording material from below.

A supply device includes: a loading portion where recording media are loaded; a transport unit to transport the media; a contact portion provided on the loading portion, the contact portion being in contact with a side end portion of the media having a first size in a direction intersecting with a transport direction, the contact portion having a blowing portion to blow air to the side end portion; a guide portion detachably attached to the contact portion when media having a second size smaller than the media having the first size are loaded, the guide portion being configured to guide a side end portion of the media having the second size; and a duct provided in the guide portion, the duct including a discharge port to blow the air from the blowing portion to an upper end portion of the media having the second size loaded on the loading portion.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion, a sheet feed portion, an air separation unit, and a control unit. The sheet supporting portion supports a sheet bundle. The sheet feed portion performs a sheet feeding operation by abutting against an uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle supported on the sheet supporting portion and feeding the uppermost sheet. The air separation unit performs an air blowing operation of blowing air to a side face of the sheet bundle supported on the sheet supporting portion and separating sheets. The control unit executes a mode of performing the air blowing operation by the air separation unit, stopping the air blowing operation, and then performing the sheet feeding operation by the sheet feed portion in a state where the air blowing operation is stopped.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion, a sheet feed portion, an air separation unit, and a control unit. The sheet supporting portion supports a sheet bundle. The sheet feed portion performs a sheet feeding operation by abutting against an uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle supported on the sheet supporting portion and feeding the uppermost sheet. The air separation unit performs an air blowing operation of blowing air to a side face of the sheet bundle supported on the sheet supporting portion and separating sheets. The control unit executes a mode of performing the air blowing operation by the air separation unit, stopping the air blowing operation, and then performing the sheet feeding operation by the sheet feed portion in a state where the air blowing operation is stopped.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet loading table on which a bundle of sheets is stacked, an identification mark on an end face of the sheet loading table, and an imaging unit to identify the identification mark.

A controller drives a floating unit and a conveyor to perform a sheet feed operation, during the sheet feed operation, acquires an amount of received light at a detector during floating of sheets floated by the floating unit each time each sheet is conveyed by the conveyor, and perform a following control of lifting a stacking tray upon the acquired amount of received light being less than a threshold value. The controller, after start of the sheet feed operation, samples amounts of received light at the detector during floating of the sheets floated by the floating unit, performs a threshold value determination process of determining the threshold value by using the sampled amounts of received light, and starts the following control upon determining the threshold value.

A controller drives a floating unit and a conveyor to perform a sheet feed operation, during the sheet feed operation, acquires an amount of received light at a detector during floating of sheets floated by the floating unit each time each sheet is conveyed by the conveyor, and perform a following control of lifting a stacking tray upon the acquired amount of received light being less than a threshold value. The controller, after start of the sheet feed operation, samples amounts of received light at the detector during floating of the sheets floated by the floating unit, performs a threshold value determination process of determining the threshold value by using the sampled amounts of received light, and starts the following control upon determining the threshold value.

Provided are systems and methods for identifying, isolating, and/or aligning sheets. An identification system can facilitate accurate identification of a sheet by (i) vacating one or more components of the system that are not the sheet from a zone of detection, and/or (ii) determining a reference axis of the sheet. An isolation system can facilitate accurate isolation of a sheet by (i) providing targeted air flow, and/or (ii) introducing a wave into the sheet. Identification systems and/or isolation systems described herein may facilitate isolation of sheets that were previously fastened together by one or more fasteners. An alignment system can facilitate accurate alignment of a first sheet at an upstream location relative to a second sheet at a downstream location via machine learning.