A sheet conveying device includes a blocking member having a blocking surface with which a leading end of a sheet that is being conveyed comes into contact for obliquity correction. The blocking member is rotated by being pushed by the sheet against an urging force of a positioning unit that positions the blocking member to be in the standby position. The blocking member is rotatable to be in a sheet-passage-allowing orientation in which the sheet is allowed to pass. When a trailing end of the sheet that is being conveyed has passed the blocking member, the blocking member that is in the sheet-passage-allowing orientation rotates in a same direction as a sheet conveyance direction and is positioned to be in a standby position.

A sheet conveying device includes a blocking member having a blocking surface with which a leading end of a sheet that is being conveyed comes into contact for obliquity correction. The blocking member is rotated by being pushed by the sheet against an urging force of a positioning unit that positions the blocking member to be in the standby position. The blocking member is rotatable to be in a sheet-passage-allowing orientation in which the sheet is allowed to pass. When a trailing end of the sheet that is being conveyed has passed the blocking member, the blocking member that is in the sheet-passage-allowing orientation rotates in a same direction as a sheet conveyance direction and is positioned to be in a standby position.

An apparatus for moving veneer includes a leaf spring having at lower tip end thereof sharpened edges and configured to move a veneer sheet toward its preceding stationary veneer sheet. Further lowering the leaf spring with the tip end already stuck in the veneer sheet causes the leaf spring to be resiliently deformed, which creates a force due to restoring force of the leaf spring that acts on the veneer sheet to move toward the preceding veneer sheet thereby to reduce or eliminate a gap between the two veneer sheets. Additional leaf spring movable with the above leaf spring and configured to hold the preceding veneer sheet during the movement may be provided.

A method for operating a packaging machine including one or more of the method steps advancing a transport chain along a chain deflection pulley, wherein chain clips are arranged on the transport chain and moved during the advancing motion of the transport chain along a run-on contour, to open at least one of the chain clips; introducing a flat material blank into the at least one open chain clip using a feed device or by entraining the flat material blank using a connection to a second material blank preceding the flat material blank, wherein the material blank enters the open chain clip during an advancing motion of the transport chain; closing the chain clip by leaving the run-on contour, to grip and secure the material blank in the chain clip; and transporting the material blank to a work station using the transport chain.

A sheet conveyance method using a sheet conveyance apparatus that includes a conveyance path and a plurality of alignment members disposed along the conveyance path, the method includes: determining a set of alignment members to be operated based on a length of the paper sheet from among the plurality of alignment members; and aligning the paper sheet conveyed on the conveyance path using the determined set of alignment members.

In a sheet stacking apparatus, a first notch portion in which a first limiting member is movable and a second notch portion in which a second limiting member is movable are formed in a stacking surface of a stacking unit, and the first and second notch portions are arranged such that a minimum distance between the first notch portion and a center of the stacking unit in the widthwise direction is shorter than a minimum distance between the second notch portion and the center of the stacking unit in the widthwise direction.

A center-alignment apparatus for use in an ATM has a transport mechanism to transport a document into the ATM. One or more plates operable in tandem to move the document toward a centerline of a path the document is to travel. Edge-detection sensor(s) on the plate sense an edge of the document when the plate(s) is moved toward the centerline. A translate/rotate mechanism translates and rotates the document while the translate/rotate mechanism transversely moves the document toward the center until another edge-detection sensor detects an edge of the document to create a parallel-aligned document. The control logic controls the plate(s) to centers the parallel-aligned document about the centerline to create a centered document.

A sheet conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a detector to detect a lateral end face of a sheet, a first pair of rollers to hold and convey the sheet and swing in a direction parallel to a plane of the sheet, a second pair of rollers to convey the sheet together with the first pair of rollers, and a controller to rotate the first pair of rollers to multiple angles, detect time changes at each angle at the lateral end face while conveying the sheet, and determine a home position corresponding to a position where respective rates of the time changes of the sheet at the first and second nip regions are substantially identical to each other or a home position having a least difference of rates of the time changes of the sheet at the first and second nip regions.

A media handling assembly contains a transport path for driving a document sheet downstream in a process direction. A first side edge extends lengthwise along the process direction. A registration guide edge extends lengthwise along the process direction and is situated opposite the first side edge. The media handling assembly includes at least one nozzle that is arranged proximate the first side edge. The at least one nozzle selectively discharges an airstream transverse the process direction towards the registration guide edge. The airstream drives the sheet against the registration edge guide for side registering and deskewing of the sheet.

A medium feeding apparatus includes a curved path that is a medium feeding path formed between a first pair of feeding rollers and a second pair of feeding rollers. The medium is transported along the curved path while being curved downward. The medium feeding apparatus further includes an accommodating portion formed outside a curve of the curved path and configured to accommodate a deformed part of the medium at the curved path. The first pair of feeding rollers is provided at a center area in a medium width direction intersecting with a medium feeding direction. The accommodating portion has a pushing member configured to push the deformed part of the medium upstream in the medium feeding direction.