The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 07, 2023
Filed:
Mar. 17, 2021
Hikaru Fukasawa, Kanagawa, JP;
Hidetoshi Kojima, Kanagawa, JP;
Tatsuya Sugawara, Kanagawa, JP;
Takashi Nakano, Kanagawa, JP;
Atsunori Yoshida, Kanagawa, JP;
Hikaru Fukasawa, Kanagawa, JP;
Hidetoshi Kojima, Kanagawa, JP;
Tatsuya Sugawara, Kanagawa, JP;
Takashi Nakano, Kanagawa, JP;
Atsunori Yoshida, Kanagawa, JP;
RICOH COMPANY, LTD., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A feeding device includes a loading portion, a lifting mechanism, a conveying unit, a sheet detector, a near-end detector, and process circuitry. The loading portion stacks a plurality of sheets. The lifting mechanism lifts the loading portion. The conveying unit conveys the sheets on the loading portion. The sheet detector detects presence or absence of the sheets on the loading portion at a specified height position. The sheet count detector detects a number of sheets conveyed by the conveying unit. The near-end detector detects a near-end state in which a stack height of the sheets on the loading portion is a specified value or less. The process circuitry controls the lifting mechanism based on a detection result of the sheet detector before the near-end state is detected, and controls the lifting mechanism based on a detection result of the sheet count detector after the near-end state is detected.