A sheet feeder is provided. The sheet feeder includes a roller to feed a sheet, a motor to rotate the roller, and a motor controller to control rotation of the motor by a feedback control. The motor controller detects a condition of the sheet based on a value acquired in the feedback control at the time a load is applied from the sheet to the roller, while performing a stop control to stop the roller at a designated stop position. The stop control is performed after the motor is rotated in a direction opposite to a direction of feed of the sheet.

An image processing apparatus includes circuitry that estimates a first geometric transformation parameter for aligning first output image data with the original image data, the first output image data being acquired by reading a first output result, and a second geometric transformation parameter for aligning second output image data with the original image data, the second output image data being acquired by reading a second output result; associates, based on the first and the second geometric transformation parameters, combinations of color components of the first and the second output image data, corresponding to pixels of the original image data, to generate pixel value association data; determines, based on the pixel value association data, a mapping for estimating color drift between the first output image data and the second output image data from the original image data; and subjects the original image data to color conversion based on the mapping.

An image reading apparatus is capable of reducing glare that a user feels while PWM-controlling an LED and of detecting an original size in a principal scanning direction with sufficient accuracy. A line sensor receives light emitted from a light source and reflected by an original. When a pressure plate that presses an original to a platen is closed, a control unit controls to supply a line periodic signal of which a period is longer than that for reading an original image to the line sensor, and to supply a lighting control signal of which a duty ratio is smaller than that for reading the original image to the light source in synchronization with the line periodic signal to light the light source and to read an image, and controls to detect length of the original in the principal scanning direction using the image signals from the line sensor.

Provided are systems and methods for identifying, isolating, and/or aligning sheets. An identification system can facilitate accurate identification of a sheet by (i) vacating one or more components of the system that are not the sheet from a zone of detection, and/or (ii) determining a reference axis of the sheet. An isolation system can facilitate accurate isolation of a sheet by (i) providing targeted air flow, and/or (ii) introducing a wave into the sheet. Identification systems and/or isolation systems described herein may facilitate isolation of sheets that were previously fastened together by one or more fasteners. An alignment system can facilitate accurate alignment of a first sheet at an upstream location relative to a second sheet at a downstream location via machine learning.

A medium-feeding apparatus includes a movement detector configured to output information on movement of a medium in a first direction parallel to a feeding direction and in a second direction intersecting the feeding direction. A control unit is configured to perform abnormal feeding processing depending on the movement of the medium in the second direction. In the abnormal feeding processing, the control unit stops feeding of the medium when a first value indicating the movement of the medium in the first direction is within an allowable range and when a second value indicating the movement of the medium in the second direction exceeds a threshold, and continues feeding of the medium when the first value is outside the allowable range.

An image reading apparatus includes a medium mounting portion configured to mount a medium; a feeding means configured to feed a medium from the medium mounting portion; at least one edge guide each configured to regulate a corresponding one of at least one medium width direction edge of the medium having been mounted on the medium mounting portion; a reading means configured to read the medium and disposed on a further downstream side than the at least one edge guide in the medium feeding direction; and at least one medium detection means configured to detect the medium and disposed on a further downstream side than the at least one edge guide in the medium feeding direction and further outside in the medium width direction than at least one edge regulation position for the edge regulation by the at least one edge guide.

Methods and system are disclosed for a double-feed detector with neural network classifier. These includes accepting pages of a print-based media substrate into a scanning device with a paper feed device, back-illuminating the pages using a light source, capturing a page image of back-illuminated pages using an image capture device, detecting noise patterns exhibited by the page image using an image processor, classifying detected noise patterns using a noise pattern classifier, and determining, using classified detected noise patterns and a neural network controller for a neural network model, whether the at least one page is a sheet stack (at least two pages stacked together and passing through the paper feed device concurrently) based on the classified detected noise patterns. On condition a sheet stack is detected, a sheet stack detected signal triggers taking an action.

An image reading apparatus includes: at least one processor configured to: set reading resolutions in a first and a second directions when reading an image of a document; determine an inclination amount of the document; correct an image to reduce the inclination amount; output image data indicative of an corrected image; and obtain information relating to a first direction length of the document. In a case where the first direction length of the document is less than a predetermined length and the processor outputs the image data indicative of the corrected image, whose resolution in the first direction is a first resolution and resolution in the second direction is a second resolution lower than the first resolution, the processor sets the reading resolution in the second direction to a third resolution higher than the second resolution.

According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a conveyance mechanism, a scanner, a buffer memory, a passage sensor, and a controller. The conveyance mechanism conveys a document along a conveyance path. The scanner reads an image on the document at a reading position along the conveyance path and generates image signals corresponding to the image that is read. The buffer memory stores image data corresponding to the image signals. The passage sensor is on the conveyance path upstream of the reading position. The controller determines whether to output the image data from the buffer memory after a sheet passage prediction time elapses based on the length of time required during a normal operation for the trailing edge of the document to reach the reading position.

An image reading apparatus has: electrodes that come into contact with a medium during transport; charge detection circuits, each of which corresponds to one of the electrodes; a reader, and a controller. The controller executes inclination inference processing for calculating the inclination of the medium with respect to a transport path as an inferred inclination value according to a signal from each charge detection circuit, inclination detection processing for deriving the inclination of the medium with respect to the transport path as a detected inclination value according to the result of reading by the reader, and correction value deriving processing for storing a correction value based on the difference between the detected inclination value and the inferred inclination value in a storage section. In inclination inference processing with the correction value stored in the storage section, the inferred inclination value is calculated in consideration of the correction value.