A medium transporting apparatus including a transport belt that transports a medium while suctioning the medium against a transport surface, a first tray on which the medium transported with the transport belt is mounted, and a transport roller configured to move between a transporting position that nips the medium with the transport belt, and a retracted position that is a position distanced away from the transport belt with respect to the transporting position, in which the transport roller is positioned at the retracted position when a single medium is transported with the transport belt and is positioned at the transporting position when a plurality of mediums in a superposed state are transported with the transport belt.

A sheet suction device includes a sheet bearer having a plurality of suction holes, a suction unit, a first member, and a second member. The first member has grooves arranged in a radial direction, and each of the grooves extends in a circumferential direction. The second member has a plurality of hole rows including a plurality of holes. The plurality of holes in each of the plurality of hole rows is arranged in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of hole rows is arranged in the radial direction. When the first member rotates with respect to the second member, the number of holes communicating with the grooves is changed to change the number of the plurality of suction holes communicating with the suction unit. The plurality of holes includes two or more holes that simultaneously communicate with the suction unit when the first member rotates by a unit rotation amount.

A sheet suction device includes a bearing member configured to bear a sheet on a circumferential surface of the bearing member and rotate, a plurality of suction holes in a bearing region in the circumferential surface of the bearing member, a suction device connected to the plurality of suction holes, the suction device configured to suck the sheet through the plurality of suction holes, and a rotary valve between the bearing member and the suction device. The rotary valve includes: a first member communicating with the suction device, and a second member contacting the first member, the second member communicating with the plurality of suction holes. The first member includes a first groove on a side surface in a circumferential direction of the first member, the first groove communicating with the suction device.

A sheet suction device includes a sheet bearer having a plurality of suction holes on a plurality of bearing areas, a rotational portion having a plurality of holes that is connectable to the plurality of suction holes, a suction unit configured to suck air via the plurality of holes of the rotational portion. The sheet bearer bears a plurality of sheets on the plurality of bearing areas of the circumferential surface of the sheet bearer and rotates. The rotational portion rotates in a same cycle of the sheet bearer. The sheet suction device further includes a switching unit that switches combinations of whether or not to suck the air among the plurality of bearing areas of the sheet bearer according to a phase of rotation of the sheet bearer or the rotational portion.

A marker transport system and a method of operating the marker transport system can include one or more print heads and a marker transport platen upon which a sheet of media moves. The transport platen can include airflow sections comprising process-direction slots. The plates can move in a cross-process direction, and can control airflow in an area under the print heads. The one or more plates in a first position can allow for airflow when the sheet of media is located at the first position and in a second position can block the airflow at the second position. A vacuum can be provided under the sheet of media as the sheet of media traverses a print path across the marker transport platen. A no-vacuum inter-document zone can be provided, which moves along with the sheet of media under the one or more print heads.

A sheet suction device includes a bearing member configured to bear a sheet on a circumferential surface of the bearing member and rotate in a first direction, a plurality of suction holes in a bearing region in the circumferential surface of the bearing member, a suction device connected to the plurality of suction holes, the suction device configured to suck the sheet through the plurality of suction holes, and a first member between the plurality of suction holes and the suction device, the first member rotatable in a second direction different from the first direction to change a suction region of the suction device connected to the plurality of suction holes. A rotation of the first member in the second direction expands the suction region of the suction device in the bearing region of the bearing member.

A method of feeding a print medium comprises receiving a print medium by a media advance system; transporting the print medium by the media advance system to a print zone wherein the transporting comprises applying a first normal force when the print medium is at a first position of the media advance system and applying a second normal force when the print medium is at a second position of the media advance system, wherein the second normal force is different from the first normal force.

A medium conveying apparatus includes a suctioner that suctions a medium of a plurality of media to a feed belt, a driver that moves the feed belt to feed the medium, a first side blower that blows air at a first airflow rate to a first end face of the medium, a second side blower that blows air at a second airflow rate to a second end face of the medium, and a controller that controls the first side blower to blow air to the first end face at a third airflow rate that is greater than the first airflow rate and the second airflow rate when the medium has not been auctioned to a first portion of the feed belt close to the first end face and has been auctioned to a second portion of the feed belt close to the second end face.

A controller drives a floating unit and a conveyor to perform a sheet feed operation, during the sheet feed operation, acquires an amount of received light at a detector during floating of sheets floated by the floating unit each time each sheet is conveyed by the conveyor, and perform a following control of lifting a stacking tray upon the acquired amount of received light being less than a threshold value. The controller, after start of the sheet feed operation, samples amounts of received light at the detector during floating of the sheets floated by the floating unit, performs a threshold value determination process of determining the threshold value by using the sampled amounts of received light, and starts the following control upon determining the threshold value.

A system for controlling curl in sheets passing beneath a camera includes applying a thin layer of high velocity air to a curved baffle positioned beneath the camera. The high velocity air layer, which will have a tendency to follow the curved baffle (Coanda effect), will divert sheets (Bernoulli effect) towards the curved baffle. By positioning the curved baffle along the media paper path and by applying a uniform air stream to it, a lower pressure area will be created. This will flatten the trajectory of the sheets and thereby remove curl before the sheets pass the camera.