Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masataka Shimoohsako

So Ohta

Noriaki Fukube

Tetsuya Ohfuchi

A sheet feed device includes a sheet storage portion, a pick-up unit, a sheet-feed separation unit, and an air blower. The sheet storage portion stores a stack of sheets. The pick-up unit picks up the sheets stored in the sheet storage portion. The sheet-feed separation unit separates and feeds one by one the sheets picked up by the pick-up unit. The air blower blows air against a lateral side face of the stack of sheets stored in the sheet storage portion. The pick-up unit picks up the sheets while the air blower blows air and before the sheet-feed separation unit starts to operate.

Sheet feed device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming mechanism, a sheet conveyance mechanism, and a sheet detector. The image forming mechanism forms an image and transfers it onto the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance mechanism. The sheet detector is arranged upstream from an image transfer region and configured to detect the sheet. The sheet detector includes a light source, a plurality of photoreceptors, and a controller. The plurality of photoreceptors is arranged in line in a main-scanning direction and includes a first photoreceptor group and a second photoreceptor group. The first photoreceptor group changes output voltages when overridden by the side edge of the sheet. The second photoreceptor group includes an opposite end of the plurality of photoreceptors being out of the side edge of the sheet. The controller is configured to adjust a light emission amount in accordance with characteristics of the sheet.

Sheet detector mechanism including sheet detector further including photoreceptors, and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes a recording sheet type detection device to automatically detect a type of a recording sheet. A setting device sets an image forming condition by an operator. The image forming condition includes the type of the recording sheet. An image forming device forms a visible image on the recording sheet. A sheet feeding device feeds the recording sheet to the image forming device. A controller controls the image forming apparatus not to form an image on the recording sheet when the image forming condition with regard to the type of the recording sheet set by the operator does not match the type of the recording sheet detected by the recording sheet type detection device.

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Tokyo, Japan

Masataka Shimoohsako