Abstract: Feed rollers, stopper rollers situated on both outer sides with respect to the feed rollers, each of the stopper rollers having part of the periphery being a highly frictional portion compared with other peripheral portions, and a flexible, radial member in a position on an inner side with respect to the stopper rollers are disposed on a feed roller shaft; and the highly frictional portions of the stopper rollers are in positions at which phases of the highly frictional portions are the same as phases of highly frictional portions of the feed rollers in a rotational direction respectively. On a pick roller shaft, pick rollers, which have highly frictional portions for passing a paper sheet to a paper sheet running-out section, and have flexible, radial members in positions at a side opposite to the highly frictional portions, are disposed in the same or inside positions in an axial direction with respect to both the outside stopper rollers disposed on the feed roller shaft.

Abstract: A gravity-feed dispenser for a stack of sheets such as inter-folded napkins includes a generally rectangular housing provided with a front wall, a back wall, two sidewalls and a lower portion as well as a funnel portion coupled to the lower portion of the housing provided with a generally convergent profile such that a front wall of the funnel portion extends downwardly and inwardly with respect to the front wall of the housing, a rear wall of the funnel portion extends downwardly and inwardly with respect to the rear wall of the housing and two sidewalls of the funnel portion extend downwardly substantially in alignment with the sidewalls of the housing. A dispensing aperture defined by the funnel portion of the dispenser has an elongate portion extending substantially from one sidewall of the funnel portion to the other sidewall of the funnel portion thus defining an elongate axis of the aperture.

Abstract: A sheet post-process apparatus includes a waiting tray and a processing tray. The waiting tray is provided in the middle of a conveying path and makes standby sheets in the case where a post-process is required. The processing tray has a function which causes the sheets made standby on the waiting sheet to be dropped by self-weight. With this function, the processing tray receives the sheets moved to be dropped and the sheets conveyed from the conveying path without intervening the waiting tray, before carrying out the post-process. Sheet bundles formed on the processing tray are stacked on a storage tray by a sheet conveying mechanism after they have been post-processed.

Abstract: A medium tray (101) comprises a medium support (1) connected to a medium feeding section (100) of an image recording apparatus (200) and receiving record medium (P), and a medium guide (5) extending from the medium support (1) and supporting the record medium (P) such that an angle of a rear portion of the record medium (P) is changed. A lengthy record medium (P) having a length greater than the medium support (1) is supported by the medium guide (5) with the rear portion thereof directed at a different angle so that the length record medium (P) is loaded in the medium tray (101) without enlarging an area projecting from the image recording apparatus (200).

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus to which a cassette accommodating a sheet is detachably mountable includes supplying means for supplying the sheet from the cassette; a reference member having a reference surface for regulating a position of a lateral edge of the sheet being fed in a predetermined feeding direction by the supplying means; feeding means for feeding the sheet in a direction inclined relative to the feeding direction toward the reference surface to abut the lateral edge of the sheet to the reference surface; and moving means for selectively moving the reference member in response to mounting of the cassette such that reference member is placed at a position corresponding to a width of the sheet accommodated in the cassette.

Abstract: At least two sheet conveyors are provided in such a way that several of these conveyors can rotate around the common axis, essentially independent of one another, and thus one of these sheet conveyors is ready to accept or detect the next sheet, if another of these sheet conveyors is still occupied with the transport or the placement of a preceding sheet and that a sensor is coupled mechanically with several of these sheet conveyors.

Abstract: The electrostatic separation of ground crude potassium salts containing kieserite is accomplished by mixing the ground crude potassium salt with a conditioning agent containing a combination of an aromatic carboxylic acid or its derivatives, an ammonium salt of an aromatic carboxylic acid, as well as an unbranched fatty alcohol having a chain length of C10 to C15, and subsequently triboelectrically charging the mixture at a relative humidity of 1-10%. The mixture is then separated into a crude kieserite fraction and a crude potassium fraction by means of an electrostatic separation method. This method increases kieserite yield and the selectivity of a subsequent treatment by means of flotation.

Abstract: The present subject matter relates generally to a system and method for controlling functions in a mail sorting system based on gap length measurement and tracking. The system and method includes a plurality of sensors located along one or more mail piece transport paths. The sensors are used to collect data regarding the gap length between each mail piece transported through the system. The gap length data is processed and stored within a controller/processor that uses the gap lengths to control the operation of one or more devices within the mail sorting system. For example, the gap lengths may be used to control the operation of a diverter, a printer or any other electromechanical, hardware or software device. The gap lengths can be used to trigger and/or inhibit the operation of the one or more devices.

Abstract: A sheet feed device includes a first sheet cassette including an accommodating portion configured to accommodate a first plurality of sheets, and a second sheet cassette disposed on the first sheet cassette and including a holding portion configured to hold a second plurality of sheets, in which one or more characteristics of the first plurality of sheets is different than one or more characteristics of the second plurality of sheets. The sheet feed device also includes a sheet feeder including a sheet feed roller, and the sheet feed device is configured to selectively feed the first plurality of sheets and the second plurality of sheets in a sheet feed direction toward a recording unit. Moreover, the sheet feed device includes a sheet separator configured to separate, one by one, the sheets fed by the sheet feeder.

Abstract: This invention is related to a feeder for transporting a print medium from a tray along a U-shaped transporting path. The feeder includes a movement member coupled to a feeding roller. The movement member includes a first portion located at a position such that the print medium makes contact with the first portion when a transporting roller and the feeding roller simultaneously make contact with the print medium. The first portion receives a force from the print medium when the first print medium makes contact with the first portion. The movement member moves the feeding roller by utilizing the force such that a distance between the feeding roller and the support surface of the tray increases.

Abstract: A method and device for feeding sheets one by one from a stack of sheets to a transportation device are described. The sheet-feeding device comprises a number of parallel, separately driven shafts which are equidistantly spaced from one another and are enclosed in a low-pressure chamber and carry a plurality of feeding wheels. A separating device is arranged above the low-pressure chamber. At least one relieving element is arranged in a vertically displaceable manner between a sheet-supporting position and a non sheet supporting position. Each relieving element is positioned before each wheel shaft and the movement thereof as well as the rotational movement of the wheels are controlled by the control unit depending on the position of the rear edge of the sheet relatively to the wheels.

Abstract: In a sheet detecting sensor, light emitted from a linear light emitting element is blocked by a sheet from entering a light receiving element which is located immediately below the sheet. Only light receiving elements which are not immediately below the sheet, receive light from the linear light emitting element. Light passing through a point in a vicinity of an edge portion of the sheet enters only a light receiving element which is located immediately below that point, but not the other light receiving elements. In addition, even when the position of a sheet varies vertically, the same light receiving element receives light passing through the same point in a vicinity of the edge portion of the sheet. Therefore, even when the position of a sheet varies vertically, the edge position of the sheet can be accurately detected.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for separation and application of thin objects of a non-porous material or of a material of low porosity on a surface. The invention also relates to a package for the thin objects. With the aid of a pick up and lay down head on an application means a vacuum is applied on a part, preferably the middle, of the uppermost object in a stack of thin objects being in a recess of a package. The recess of the package for receiving the objects is at least areawise somewhat smaller than the exterior dimensions of the objects. With the aid of vacuum in the pick up and lay down head the uppermost object is lifted out of the package. The underlying objects in the stack remain in the package by the friction and scrape effects towards the interior walls of the package. Then the pick up and lay down head of the application means is lowered down so that the object is brought into contact with the surface.

Abstract: An over-stack protective portion is provided on a stopper member. When a sheet feeding device is in a standby position, the over-stack protective portion is held in a position in which the over-stack protective portion is in pressure contact with sheets having the maximum stacking height capable of being fed and supported by a sheet supporting portion. Also, when the sheets are to be fed, the pressure contact of the over-stack protective portion with the sheets having the maximum stacking height is released.

Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes a driving force transmitting member for transmitting a rotational driving force to a sheet feeding roller, first and second roller supporting members for supporting the sheet feeding roller. The sheet feeding apparatus further includes supporting portions for swingably supporting the first and second roller supporting members. The first and second roller supporting members are integrally movable with respect to a motion about the supporting portions and are independently movable with respect to a motion, at the supporting portions, about an axis normal to a sheet stacking surface.

Abstract: An automatic document feeder includes a paper tray, a pick-up roller and a sheet-lifting mechanism. A plurality of sheets including a first sheet and a second sheet disposed above the first sheet is stored in the paper tray. The paper tray includes a bottom plate in contact with the first sheet, and a stopper for stopping leading edges of the first sheet and the second sheet. The pick-up roller, which is movable and rotatable, picks up the second sheet and enables the leading edge of the second sheet to pass over the stopper. The sheet-lifting mechanism disposed on the paper tray lifts up the leading edges of the second sheet and the first sheet from the bottom plate.

Abstract: An auto-document feeder re-ingestion stop includes an auto-document feeder having a lower input tray and an upper output tray, the upper output tray having a length which is shorter than the length of input tray so that exiting or exited media depends onto the input tray, a flexible stopper depending from the upper output tray and inhibiting the exited media from being re-ingested by paper-to-paper friction during feeding of media in the input tray.

Abstract: A media transfer method and apparatus enable media to be separated and discharged out of a media cassette of a media dispenser with a uniform transfer interval. The media transfer apparatus includes a pickup roller in contact with media waiting to be discharged, so as to separate and transfer the media sheet by sheet. A main feed roller and a delivery roller transfer a separated sheet of the media to a media transfer route. A sensor detects a front end of the separated sheet, having passed through a juncture between the main feed roller and the delivery roller. When the sensor detects the front end of the separated sheet, a power supplied to the pickup roller is stopped, and the separated sheet continues to be transferred by the driving power of the main feed roller and the delivery roller.

Abstract: In a paper transportation device, a separation pressure adjusting screw is provided in a transportation device main body under a separating pad holder. One end of a coil spring makes contact with the separation pressure adjusting screw, and another end of the coil spring makes contact with a position located away from a separating pad in the separating pad holder. A screw adjusting hole is provided on the separating pad holder for adjusting a screwed-in amount of the separation pressure adjusting screw from above.

Abstract: According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet feeder including; an air blowing unit floating and separating an upper portion of sheet of paper laid on a tray; and a transfer belt adsorbing and transferring uppermost sheet of paper laid on the tray; an optical analog sensor sensing an upper face of the uppermost sheet of paper and comprising a sensing face including a light receiving surface; a shield plate movable with the sheet, the shield plate detecting a position of upper face of the sheet of paper so as to keep a position of the uppermost sheet at a constant position and comprising; an elastic shield member having a C-character shape, a surface of the elastic shield member where the elastic shield member is contact with the light receiving surface of the optical analog sensor being in the same plane of a surface of the elastic shield member where the elastic shield member is contact with the shield-plate.