Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including a chassis with an opening formed on one side thereof; a first placement section, on which a sheet inserted through the opening is placeable; a cover configured to be openable to expose and closable to cover the opening and configured to form, when in a position to expose the opening, an outer part of the first placement section outside the chassis; and a second placement section arranged in an upper position with respect to the first placement section, and on which a sheet inserted through the opening is placeable, is provided. The second placement section is detachably attached to the chassis through the opening.

Abstract: The sheet stacking system discharges a sheet to one of a first stacking apparatus including a first stacking tray and a second stacking tray, and a second stacking apparatus including a third stacking tray, executes one of a first discharging method and a second discharging method, the first discharging method for moving, after a sheet is discharged to the first stacking tray by executing a job, the sheet which has been discharged to the first stacking tray to the second sheet stacking tray and discharging a sheet to the first stacking tray of the first stacking apparatus by executing the job, and the second discharging method for, after a sheet is discharged to the first stacking tray by executing the job, discharging a sheet to the third stacking tray of the second stacking apparatus by executing the job.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device includes a housing provided with first and second side surfaces facing each other, and third and fourth side surfaces substantially orthogonal to the first and second side surfaces and facing each other. An entrance port is formed in the first side surface, an exit port is formed in the second side surface, and a sheet conveying path is formed in the housing. The housing includes first and second guide members constituting the sheet conveying path. The first and second guide members are connected to be pivotally movable relative to each other on the side of the third side surface. A gap portion is formed between the first and second guide members in a region from the connection portion on the side of the third side surface to the first side surface.

Abstract: There is disclosed a printer and a stacking system to receive and stack tags. The stacking system includes a tag stacker and a removable tag-receiving tray to facilitate transferring a stack of tags from the tag stacker to the place where the tags are to be used. A method of handling tags involves the provision of at least first and second removable trays wherein a first tray with a stack of tags can be replaced by an empty second tray so that the stacking of additional tags can recommence without waiting for the first tray to be emptied.

Abstract: A sheet feed device has a tray with holding surface for holding sheets, a feed unit for feeding sheets from the tray, and a separation plate. The separation plate has an inclined surface and two or more separation portions that separate a sheet from the sheets held in the tray. At least one of the separation portions projects a first distance from the inclined surface. The separation plate also has a projection positioned on the inclined surface that projects a second distance from the inclined surface. The second distance is greater than the first distance. A first of the separation portions is positioned upstream of the particular projection in the sheet feed direction, and a second of the separation portions positioned downstream of the particular projection in the sheet feed direction.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include a media tray for a media advance mechanism. The media tray includes an access door attached to the media tray via a hinge oriented in a vertical direction and a cleanout disposed on an interior surface of the access door. The access door pivots open around the hinge. The cleanout is mounted such that the cleanout can move translationally along the access door.

Abstract: Provided is a technology capable of identifying presence/absence of buckling at an occurrence of a jam and determining more appropriately whether or not to perform automatic sheet discharge. A sound collecting device provided on a conveying path of an image forming apparatus is used to collect sound generated from a sheet at the occurrence of the jam. Generated spectrum data is obtained by analyzing characteristics of the collected sound. The generated spectrum data is compared with reference spectrum data, to thereby identify the presence/absence of the buckling and discriminate the conveyance propriety of the sheet.

Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus, a jam detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can suppress erroneous detection of a jam. The paper conveying apparatus includes a sound signal generator, provided with a sound detector near a conveyance path of a paper, for generating a sound signal, and a sound jam detector for determining whether a jam has occurred based on a variation of a component of the sound signal.

Abstract: A conveyor device includes a conveyor including a conveyor roller to convey a sheet along a conveyance path, a cover movable between a closed position where the cover covers the conveyor roller and an open position where the cover is separated from the conveyor roller. The conveyor further includes a pinch roller urged toward the conveyor roller when the cover is in the closed position. When the cover is in the closed position, the conveyor roller and the pinch roller define a nip point along the conveyance path. The conveyor device includes a holder supported by the cover and to rotatably support the pinch roller and an urging member disposed between the cover and the holder to move the holder away from the cover to urge the pinch roller toward the conveyor roller when the cover is in the closed position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, an output unit that outputs the recording medium on which the image has been formed while providing the recording medium with a wave-like shape in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a transport direction of the recording medium, and a member having an opening through which the recording medium is output. The opening has a shape corresponding to the wave-like shape of the recording medium provided by the output unit.

Abstract: A sheet feeding portion is provided with a pair of separation rollers that include a feed roller which conveys the sent sheet and a retard roller which applies a rotation force to return the sheet in a direction opposite to a sheet feeding direction through a torque limiter in a state of being pressed against the feed roller. The sheet feeding portion further includes a rotation transmitting mechanism that transmits a rotation of the retard roller, at the time of sending the sheet to the sheet feeding direction, to the pickup roller and a changing mechanism that switches a retard pressure, which allows the retard roller to be pressed against the feed roller, according to a reaction force that is transmitted to the retard roller from the pickup roller.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus including a first tray having a first holding portion for holding sheets, a second tray disposed above the first tray and including a second holding portion for holding sheets, a sheet feeder that selectively feeds a sheet from one of the first tray and the second tray in a sheet feed direction, a recording unit that records an image on the sheet fed by the sheet feeder, and a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is recorded by the recording unit. The second holding portion of the second tray moves above the first holding portion of the first tray. The second tray further includes a discharged sheet receiving portion for receiving the sheet discharged by the discharge roller. The second tray including the discharged sheet receiving portion pivots relative to the first tray.

Abstract: The present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of correctly detecting an origin of a conveying roller for conveying a print medium at the time of its rotation with a simple configuration that does not accompany an increase of cost. For this purpose, the printing apparatus is equipped with a lock mechanism (a lock link lever) for stopping rotation of the conveying roller at a predetermined rotational position and saves a count value of a rotation amount of the conveying roller when the conveying roller is locked by the lock mechanism concerned as origin information. After this, driving of the conveying roller is controlled based on the saved origin information and a phase of rotation of the conveying roller obtained from the count value of the conveying roller.

Abstract: An articulating sheet guide is used in connection with a printing system. A primary media transport nip is disposed adjacent a media sheet source supplying a media sheet. A secondary media transport nip is downstream. A link has a front surface facing upstream, and a proximal end pivotally mounted. From adjacent the primary media transport, the link will pivot past the secondary media transport. A link pocket is disposed transversely to the process direction on the link front surface. The V-shaped link pocket is adapted to receive the media leading edge. The primary media transport nip will move the media sheet toward the link. The link pocket will receive the media leading edge. The media sheet movement will cause the link to move in an arcuate path guided by the pivotal movement of the link into engagement by the secondary media transport nip. The link pocket will release the media leading edge. The operation is nearly silent.

Abstract: The invention proposes a method and an installation for monitoring and/or controlling at least one handling apparatus for handling a multiplicity of preferably sheet-like products, in particular printed products, each product being assigned a reference (4). The installation comprises a transporting apparatus for transporting the multiplicity of products at a distance apart from one another along a transporting direction to at least one handling apparatus, or past the same, at least one detecting apparatus (1, 1?) at least for picking up references of the products and for communicating messages belonging to the references, and at least one processing unit (3) for processing the messages. In at least one delay device (5), a number of messages relating to references (4) from a plurality of products are combined to form a message group (6) and are communicated to the processing unit (3) via a communications medium (2) once a delay period (9) has elapsed.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sheet ejecting device. The sheet ejecting device includes a sheet stacking section; a bumping section; a sheet ejecting section; a mode selecting section; and a control section. The sheet ejecting section includes a pair of sheet clamping members which clamps one sheet or a plurality of overlapped sheets at a sheet clamping position and moves the one sheet or the plurality of overlapped sheets to a sheet stacking position in the sheet stacking section. The mode selecting section allows selection of an operation mode of the pair of sheet clamping members between a normal mode in which speed of the pair of sheet clamping members is a normal speed and a low speed mode in which a speed is lower than the normal speed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet medium detection device, which comprises a light guide bar (2) provided on one side of a medium conveying passage (4) and provided with a plurality of reflection surfaces (21) arranged with Intervals along a length direction of the light guide bar, wherein each of the reflection surfaces (21) reflects the light within the light guide bar (2) to the other side of the medium conveying passage (4); a plurality of light receivers (31), each of which, being opposite to a reflection surface (21) of the light guide bar, is provided on the other side of the medium conveying passage (4); and a point light source (1) provided at least on one end of the light guide bar along the length direction of the light guide bar, wherein each of the reflection surfaces (21) is provided obliquely to form an obtuse angle relative to the light guide bar (2) on the side where the point light source (1) locates.

Abstract: There is provided a conveying device including a controller that makes a conveying speed of a printing medium conveyed by a first conveyor unit be higher than a conveying speed of a printing medium conveyed by a second conveyor unit and makes the printing medium be conveyed while forming sagging on the printing medium between the first and second conveyor units. The controller makes a sheet sensor acquire the amount of light, which passes through the printing medium conveyed between a light emitting part and a light receiving part, as the amount of received light and determines whether or not the double-feed of the printing media has occurred only when this amount of received light is smaller than the double-feed criterion amount of received light at substantially the same conveying distance of the printing medium conveyed by the first conveyor unit.

Abstract: A paper sheet processing apparatus comprises a taking-in unit 10 configured to take therein paper sheets, a transport unit 70 configured to transport the paper sheets, a recognition unit 20 configured to recognize the paper sheets, a plurality of stacking units 60a to 60d configured to stack the paper sheets, the paper sheets stacked in the stacking units 60a-60d being able to be removed from the stacking units 60a-60d, and a detection sensor 25a to 25d configured to detect whether the paper sheets have been removed from the stacking units 60a-60d. When a control unit 50 judges that the paper sheets have been removed from the stacking units 60a to 60d based on information from the detection sensor 25a to 25d, the control unit 50 outputs removal information on the removed paper sheets or the stacking units 60a to 60d from which the paper sheets have been removed.

Abstract: There are provided a paper conveying apparatus which can drive paper set guides, paper feed rollers, retard rollers, and conveyor rollers by a single motor. The paper conveying apparatus includes a paper set guide for setting paper, a paper feed roller for feeding paper set at the paper set guide, a retard roller arranged facing the paper feed roller, a conveyor roller for further conveying paper fed by the paper feed roller, a motor for generating a drive force for driving the paper set guide, and a transmission mechanism, arranged straddling a transport path of the paper, for transmitting the drive force to the paper feed roller and the retard roller, wherein the conveyor roller is driven by the transmission mechanism.