Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus is configured to press a fold line that is formed on a sheet. The sheet processing apparatus includes: a sheet supporting unit configured to support the sheet in a pressing direction for pressing the fold line; a pressing unit configured to press the fold line that is formed on the sheet that is supported by the sheet supporting unit; and a pressing-force generating unit configured to generate a pressing force for pressing the sheet supporting unit against the pressing unit at a central part in a direction along which the fold line is formed.

Abstract: A system for collating a plurality of media including a compiler having a first position and a second position, a first bin arranged elevationally lower than the first position, a second bin arranged elevationally lower than the second position and adjacent to the first bin, a collated stack receiver arranged proximate the second bin opposite the first bin, first, second and third guides, the first and second guides positioned on opposing sides of the first bin, and the second and third guides positioned on opposing sides of the second bin, a movable wall arranged generally perpendicular relative to the first, second and third guides, the movable wall forming a side of the first and second positions, the movable wall and the first, second and third guides forming three sides of the first and second bins, the movable wall is translatable in a process direction, and a pusher.

Abstract: A napkin assembly including an open ended chute for storing a stack of napkins therein and an openable and closeable front member relative to the open end of the chute is disclosed. The chute is made of first to fourth sidewall members and a rear member that are separately injection molded pieces that include a clip structure for clipping the pieces together. Opposed ones of the sidewall members are identical pieces allowing them to be interchanged with one another during manufacture. The front member includes a transparent window to allow a depth of the stack to be viewed from the outside. The front member includes locking tabs to lock it in a closed position relative to the chute. The tabs may be flexed through openings in the chute from the outside into a lock release position. The chute includes blocking members to prevent over inward deflection of the locking tabs.

Abstract: To suppress the bending of sheets, a sheet conveying apparatus includes a sheet conveying portion including an abutting portion for abutting against an end portion of the sheet supported by a supporting portion and which conveys the sheet being abutted against the abutting portion by moving in a predetermined moving direction, and a pressing portion which is provided on the sheet conveying portion such that the pressing portion is movable in a thickness direction of the sheet and which presses the sheet toward the supporting portion. The pressing portion includes an inclined portion arranged to be closer to the supporting portion at an upstream side than a downstream side, and a contacting portion configured to contact a surface of the sheet being abutted against the abutting portion to press the sheet to the supporting portion at a position distant from the abutting portion.

Abstract: A binding device includes a sheet-bundle forming unit; a binding unit that executes a series of operation including inserting a wire into a sheet bundle and bending the wire; a power supply unit; a detector that detects a first timing for transitioning from bending operation to recovery operation; a first timekeeper that measures time from a start point of the series of operation to a first time point, which is an end of a scheduled first-timing detection period; a unit-of-processing manager; and a supply power controller. When the first time point is reached before detection of the first timing, the controller causes the power supply unit to adjust the electric power before the first timing is reached, such that the first timing is detected before the first time point in the series of operation for a second bundle belonging to the same unit of processing as a first bundle.

Abstract: A printing system comprises: a printing unit configured to print an image on a sheet; and a control unit configured to control to perform creasing at a first pressure at a portion, corresponding to an edge of a spine cover, of the sheet on which the printing unit has printed the image, and perform creasing at a second pressure different from the first pressure at a portion of the sheet that corresponds to a hinge.

Abstract: A sheet folding device includes two rollers, a blade, two parallel pins, and two gears. The first and second parallel pins are passed through first and second pin through-holes penetrating through first and second shaft portions in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the shaft portions. The first and second gears have first and second shaft through-holes through which the first and second shaft portions are passed, and first and second grooves in which the first and second parallel pins are inserted, respectively. Projection portions formed on inner side wall of the second groove and projecting from both sides of the second shaft portion cause the second parallel pin to closely contact a side wall that is, in the second groove, opposite to the projection portions, and cause the second parallel pin to closely contact a portion of the second pin through-hole.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus determines whether crease processing at a plurality of portions set on the sheet includes crease processing on two, front and back surfaces of the sheet; determines, if it is determined that crease processing includes crease processing on the two surfaces of the sheet, whether a connected post-processing apparatus that performs crease processing on a sheet can perform crease processing on the two, front and back surfaces of the sheet by one feeding; and controls, if it is determined that the connected post-processing apparatus cannot perform crease processing on the two surfaces by one feeding, to change, to one of the front and back surfaces of the sheet based on attribute information of the sheet, a surface to be processed in crease processing at the plurality of portions.

Abstract: A notebook including a group of a preset number of consecutive unit forms which are printed on both faces thereof and spreadably zigzag-folded is produced through a process that includes: printing on both surfaces of a continuous web by two printers each equipped with an endless belt-shaped printing plate, with intermediate inversion of the two surfaces of the web, followed by zig-zag folding and cutting and separating the printed web for each of the preset number of forms. The obtained notebook is capable of preventing falsification and missing pages by inclusion of a horizontal ruled line provided in a main data region and formed of a succession of micro characters.

Abstract: A prophylactic kit apparatus configured to be used with only a single patient includes a plurality of sealed modules and a housing configured to contain those sealed modules such that only one of the plurality of sealed modules can be removed from the housing at a time. This kit may include a physically-discrete informational patient aid disposed within the housing and having information disposed thereon. By one approach these physically-discrete informational patient aids can have a bookmark form factor. So configured, a medical services provider can readily provide the physically-discrete informational patient aid to a patient to thereby facilitate the patient becoming informed regarding the corresponding prophylactic service with little or no burden on the service provider.

Abstract: The present application provides a cutlery dispenser for dispensing a number of cutlery utensils. The cutlery dispenser may include a housing, a front cover enclosing the housing, a dispensing wedge, and a dispensing trough positioned on the front cover. The dispensing wedge angles a leading cutlery utensil into the dispensing trough for dispensing therethrough.

Abstract: A dispenser including a rear housing member and a front housing member that are connected by way of a first hinge so that the front housing member is openable relative to the rear housing member in order to fill a space defined by the front housing member and the rear housing member with at least one stack of sheet products. The front housing member and the rear housing member also include components for forming a second hinge. The first hinge allows the front housing member to open from a first side of the rear housing member in a first rotational direction, and the second hinge, when formed, allows the front housing member to rotate in an opposite direction from an opposite side of the rear housing member.

Abstract: Devices dispense medicine and dietary supplements in solid dosage form. The dimensions of the selection slots for the solid dosage forms in a device can be customized in depth by adding or subtracting spacers, and in width by adding or subtracting thickness inserts, or otherwise by employing components of suitable dimensions. Also, structures and methods for resolving jams of solid dosage forms are disclosed.

Abstract: The invention relates to the production of books with wire or spiral bindings or other comparable bindings, wherein sub-layers (2) made of punched sheets are collected one over the other in a successive manner into a book (5) at a collecting station (3), and the book is subsequently bound. According to the invention, a sub-layer (2) is held in a clamped manner by at least one lateral clamping device (12) which moves together with the sub-layer while the sub-layer is transported into the collecting position, while the sub-layers (10) already collected at the collecting station (3) are held in a fixed manner by means of at least one needle (13) which is moved upwards through the punched holes (4) from below. The clamping of the pliers is released only when the needles (13) are also located in the punched holes (4) of the newly conveyed sub-layers (2) as a result of the needles being moved upwards.

Abstract: A disposable glove dispensing system may allow for a user to efficiently put on a disposable glove without touching the outside of the glove. In various embodiments, a disposable glove may comprise an opening for hand entry having a first opening edge and a second opening edge, a first interconnection point located near the first opening edge, where the first interconnection point attaches the disposable glove to a first adjacent disposable glove, and a second interconnection point located near the second opening edge. The second interconnection point may attach the disposable glove to a second adjacent disposable glove, wherein the disposable glove is positioned between the first adjacent disposable glove and the second adjacent disposable glove. Furthermore, a disposable glove dispensing system may comprise a pack of interconnected disposable gloves, and a glove dispenser comprising two glove hangers for hanging the pack of disposable gloves hang.

Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a conveyance roller pair that rotates in a certain direction to convey a sheet, a first normal-reverse rotation roller pair that is capable of rotating in a normal direction and a reverse direction and rotates to convey the sheet, a first driver that drives the first normal-reverse rotation roller pair to rotate, and a first driving force transmitter that transmits a driving force of the first driver for rotating the first normal-reverse rotation roller pair in a first specific direction to the conveyance roller pair so as to rotate the conveyance roller pair in the certain direction, and blocks a driving force of the first driver for rotating the first normal-reverse rotation roller pair in the direction opposite to the first specific direction from being transmitted to the conveyance roller pair.

Abstract: A method is provided for retaining a stack of sheets in a post-processing unit which improves retaining capabilities of a retaining element while retaining a stack of sheets. This method comprises the steps of forming a stack of sheets, providing a wire from a wire source, the wire being plastically-elastically deformable, selecting a retaining element type from one of a clip element type and a stapling element type, determining a wire deforming program for forming a retaining element of the selected retaining element type, forming the retaining element according to the wire deforming program by bending the wire at a number of positions along the wire and cutting the wire, and applying the formed retaining element to the stack of sheets, thereby retaining the stack.

Abstract: A system for collating a plurality of media including a first bin, a second bin arranged adjacent to the first bin, a collated stack receiver arranged proximate the second bin opposite the first bin, three guides, a movable wall arranged generally perpendicular relative to the three guides, and a pusher. The movable wall is translatable in a process direction. When the guides are positioned in non-retracted locations, a first set of the plurality of media is deposited in the first bin and a second set of the plurality of media is deposited in the second bin, and when the guides are positioned in retracted locations, the pusher moves the first set to the second bin vertically above the second set to form a combined set and moves the combined set to the collated stack receiver. The position of the movable wall varies based on characteristics of the plurality of media.

Abstract: An apparatus for post-processing sheets which is installed at a discharge end of a longitudinal discharge type image forming apparatus includes a tamper which arranges opposite ends of one side of a longitudinal direction of a sheet stack discharged from the discharge end in a first direction and stacked as many as a preset number of sheets, and transfers the arranged sheet stack in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and a sheet post-processing unit which performs post-processing in parallel with a longitudinal end of the sheet stack transferred in the second direction by the tamper or performs post-processing while being rotated by an arbitrary angle with respect to a corner end portion of the sheet stack.

Abstract: A blade dispenser for housing a plurality of unshelled blades, dispensing the blades one at a time therefrom and receiving used blades and storing the used blades therein. The dispenser includes a housing that has ribs forming a track, a dispensing slot at a first end of the housing, a pusher and a spring that aid in dispensing blades through the slot art the first end of the housing and a closure element that includes a slot connected to a second end of the housing to receive used blades.