A driving device includes a motor, a drive gear, a swing gear, a first gear member, a second gear member, a frame, and a bracket. The swing gear can swing between a first position engaging with the first gear member and a second position engaging with the second gear member. The bracket has a slide hole including a pair of contact parts having an arc shape, and an arc hole part for connecting the pair of contact parts with a first sliding surface farther from the drive gear and a second sliding surface nearer to the drive gear. The first sliding surface has a shape retracting to the opposite side to the rotation shaft from tangential lines of the rotation shaft contacting with the contact parts, which are parallel to pressure angle directions between the drive gear and the swing gear, or a shape coinciding with the tangential lines.

A media sheet drive has a continuous belt of a dielectric material for transporting sheet media supported on the belt in a transport direction. A launch mechanism is used to launch a sheet medium onto a top surface of the belt. A charging circuit including a charging roller is used to charge a top surface of the sheet medium and the belt as the sheet medium is launched. Charging acts to generate an electrostatic tacking force to tack the sheet medium to the belt. The charging roller has a second function to smooth out curled edges of paper as it is acted on by the charging circuit so that the full extent of a launched sheet medium may be subject to the electrostatic tacking force.

A recording medium transport device includes: a circulating member that forms a part of a transport path for transporting a recording medium; a holding member that is fixed to the circulating member and thereby circulates and holds a front end portion of the recording medium; plural transport cylinders around which the circulating member is suspended and having a recessed part in which the holding member is stored; and a selection part that selects any one of the plural transport cylinders. A mode for stopping the selected one of the plural transport cylinders so that the recessed part of the selected one of the plural transport cylinders is located at a maintenance position is prepared.

A recording medium transport device includes: a circulating member that forms a part of a transport path for transporting a recording medium; a holding member that is fixed to the circulating member and thereby circulates and holds a front end portion of the recording medium; plural transport cylinders around which the circulating member is suspended and having a recessed part in which the holding member is stored; and a selection part that selects any one of the plural transport cylinders. A mode for stopping the selected one of the plural transport cylinders so that the recessed part of the selected one of the plural transport cylinders is located at a maintenance position is prepared.

An accommodating device includes a device body, an accommodating unit that is movable to a supply position where a user is able to supply a medium by being pulled out from the device body in a pulling direction and of which a centroid position is located on one side surface side with respect to a center in an intersecting direction with the pulling direction, a first expanding and contracting member that expands and contracts to connect the accommodating unit to the device body so as to be able to be pulled out and is fixed to one side surface of the accommodating unit in the intersecting direction, and a second expanding and contracting member that expands and contracts to connect the accommodating unit to the device body so as to be able to be pulled out and is fixed at a position higher than the first expanding and contracting member on the other side surface of the accommodating unit in the intersecting direction.

The present invention relates to a handling installation for handling sheets of cardboard or similar material applicable for implementation thereof in an automated production facility, comprising a first receiving station (1) configured to receive packages formed by cardboard sheets, each of the sheets being defined by four sides, and a second distribution station (2) in which the sheets are delivered face-down coming from the receiving station by means of sheet handling means. The first and second stations comprise modules that are independent from each other, the handling means comprising a robot arm provided with a head with clamping means to hold the package of sheets on any of the four sides, the head having a hinge point that can be coupled to a robot arm, capable of conveniently moving and orienting the clamping means in any of the coordinate axes, the robot arm being mounted on a base that is independent with respect to the first and second stations.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for transporting items of media along a transport path. The apparatus comprises at least one clamp member to apply a clamp force to a bunch of media items located between a support surface and said clamp member, wherein said clamp member is selectively moveable towards or away from said support surface to apply a predetermined clamp force to the bunch of media items.

Provided is a technique capable of detecting the amount of a stack of discharged print media and increasing print speed. A printing apparatus includes a displacement member configured to be in contact with the discharged print media and be displaced according to the amount of the stack of the print media, and detects the stack amount based on the displacement of the displacement member. The apparatus performs a first or second detection operation based on the detected stack amount. In the first detection operation, after a specified number of print media are discharged with the displacement member positioned at the evacuation position where it does not come into contact with a print medium, the displacement member is brought into contact with the print media to detect the stack amount. In the second detection operation, the stack amount is detected with the displacement member in contact with the print media.

A sheet handling apparatus (e.g., banknote insertion/discharge mechanism 20) includes a transport unit (e.g., first transport unit 30) configured to transport a sheet (e.g., banknote) in a first transport path 30a; and driving units 36m and 38m configured to move, along the width direction of the first transport path 30a, at least portions of guiding members 36 and 38 forming edges of the first transport path 30a.

An image forming apparatus includes a transport section that transports a recording material, a grasping section that grasps a remaining situation of a recording material remaining in a transport path through which the recording material is transported by the transport section, a reception section that receives, from a user, an input of the number of removed sheets of recording material removed from the transport path by the user in a case where the transport of the recording material by the transport section is stopped, and a start section that starts the stopped transport by the transport section based on the number of removed sheets input by the user.