In an automatic cloth feeder that conveys cloth with a feeding conveyor, detects a trailing end of the cloth to hold the trailing end with a keeping-transferring part in the process of conveyance, and feeds the trailing end of the cloth into a process as a leading end, the keeping-transferring part has a pair of unfolding members provided as one set are provided on an outlet side of the feeding conveyor in order to hold the left and right trailing ends of the cloth, and the keeping-transferring part has holding pieces that are opened and closed substantially to the right and the left as seen from the top or from the front, to hold the trailing ends of the cloth but not coming into contact with the lifting means, in an open state and that is at the position of the lifting means in a closed state.

A packing system includes a conveyor configured to transport one or more containers. Two or more printers are disposed along the conveyors. The printers are configured to print printed material. Each of the printers has a tray upon which the printed material is deposited from the printer. A robotic arm is disposed proximal to the conveyor and the printers. The robotic arm has an end of arm tool configured to pick the printed material from the tray of each printer. A controller is operatively connected to the printers and the robotic arm. The controller is configured to send one or more print instructions to one or more of the printers to print the printed material. The controller is configured to instruct the robotic arm to place the printed material from the tray into the container.

A sheet-transporting element includes suction openings for holding print sheets, longitudinal sliders including air passages, and transverse sliders including air passages. The longitudinal sliders and the transverse sliders are disposed in a cross-wise configuration and are movable into different positions corresponding to various sheet formats in the positions blocking selected ones of the suction openings.

A sheet-transporting element includes suction openings for holding print sheets, longitudinal sliders including air passages, and transverse sliders including air passages. The longitudinal sliders and the transverse sliders are disposed in a cross-wise configuration and are movable into different positions corresponding to various sheet formats in the positions blocking selected ones of the suction openings.

A printing device includes a printing unit, a pair of transporting rollers (a pair of rollers) that is disposed right before the printing unit and that transport a medium to the printing unit, and a transportation direction changing mechanism that is disposed on an upstream side of the pair of transporting rollers and that changes a transportation direction of the medium before the medium is nipped by the pair of transporting rollers. The transportation direction changing mechanism changes a transportation direction of a following medium such that a leading end portion of the following medium overlaps a preceding medium when the printing unit performs printing in a state where the preceding medium is nipped by the pair of transporting rollers.

A printing device includes a printing unit, a pair of transporting rollers (a pair of rollers) that is disposed right before the printing unit and that transport a medium to the printing unit, and a transportation direction changing mechanism that is disposed on an upstream side of the pair of transporting rollers and that changes a transportation direction of the medium before the medium is nipped by the pair of transporting rollers. The transportation direction changing mechanism changes a transportation direction of a following medium such that a leading end portion of the following medium overlaps a preceding medium when the printing unit performs printing in a state where the preceding medium is nipped by the pair of transporting rollers.

A method of automatically mounting a sheet from a cutting table onto a spacer frame of an insulating glass unit begins with identifying a position and orientation of a specified sheet on the cutting table and moving a robotic sheet pickup apparatus to a corresponding position to that identified for the sheet. An edge of the specified sheet is lifted off of the table, beginning with mechanical suction that brings a corner of the sheet to within proximity of a primary vacuum suction of the pickup apparatus. In particular, the pickup apparatus may have a substantially planar platen with a set of channels coupled to a vacuum source. Once the sheet is fully picked up by vacuum suction, the sheet is laid upon a top surface of a tilt table, which can be simply the platen inverted. The table (or platen) is tilted to bring a corner of the sheet to abut against physical fences. Once the position and orientation of the sheet is so known, the sheet is oriented to correspond to a frame, and attached thereto.

A method of automatically mounting a sheet from a cutting table onto a spacer frame of an insulating glass unit begins with identifying a position and orientation of a specified sheet on the cutting table and moving a robotic sheet pickup apparatus to a corresponding position to that identified for the sheet. An edge of the specified sheet is lifted off of the table, beginning with mechanical suction that brings a corner of the sheet to within proximity of a primary vacuum suction of the pickup apparatus. In particular, the pickup apparatus may have a substantially planar platen with a set of channels coupled to a vacuum source. Once the sheet is fully picked up by vacuum suction, the sheet is laid upon a top surface of a tilt table, which can be simply the platen inverted. The table (or platen) is tilted to bring a corner of the sheet to abut against physical fences. Once the position and orientation of the sheet is so known, the sheet is oriented to correspond to a frame, and attached thereto.

A method and a machine tool for processing workpieces is described, comprising a workpiece movement device and a workpiece support that supports both a workpiece during a processing operation and a workpiece remainder produced from the workpiece during the processing operation, wherein the workpiece support comprises a first support portion and an additional support portion, wherein the first support portion comprises a loading-side support portion arranged in a loading region of the machine tool, wherein the additional support portion is arranged to move relative to the loading-side support portion between the loading region and an unloading region of the machine tool, wherein the unloading region is offset in a horizontal direction from the loading region, wherein the loading-side support portion is arranged to move in a vertical direction between a loading level and a bypass level located above or below the loading level.

A system includes an image forming station, which is configured to apply droplets of one or more printing fluids to a target substrate, so as to form an image thereon, and a substrate conveyor, which includes one or more perforated plates having multiple openings, and is configured to grip and move the target substrate to and from the image forming station for forming the image, the substrate conveyor includes one or more rotatable elements, which are fitted in the respective openings, and are configured to provide mechanical support to the target substrate, and when the target substrate moves over the one or more rotatable elements, at least one of the rotatable elements is configured to rotate in response to a physical contact with the target substrate.