The present applications relates to techniques and equipment to control the alignment of cut sheets of paper that are transported in parallel in an inserting system prior to their assembly into a document and inserted into an envelope. The alignment of the parallel sheets is adjusted by commanding incremental position changes to servo drive motors used to control the position of the parallel sheets during their transport through a hold module of the inserting system.

A machine for handling limp materials has at least a first and a second gripping device adapted for gripping the same piece of limp material at the same time. At least one of the gripping devices is connected to a drive system adapted for displacing the gripping devices with respect to each other. One of the gripping devices is a manipulator having a displacement mechanism adapted for actively displacing the limp material in a direction which is generally within a plane in which the limp material is held in the manipulator. The machine further has at least one sensor adapted for detecting the limp material and/or regions of interest.

A machine for handling limp materials has at least a first and a second gripping device adapted for gripping the same piece of limp material at the same time. At least one of the gripping devices is connected to a drive system adapted for displacing the gripping devices with respect to each other. One of the gripping devices is a manipulator having a displacement mechanism adapted for actively displacing the limp material in a direction which is generally within a plane in which the limp material is held in the manipulator. The machine further has at least one sensor adapted for detecting the limp material and/or regions of interest.

An image forming apparatus includes a stacking tray on which a sheet is stacked, a cover unit, and an apparatus main body having an image forming unit. The cover unit forms a sheet storage portion storing the sheet between the cover unit and the stacking tray, and covering the sheet stacked on the stacking tray. The cover unit includes a first cover portion attached to a second cover portion that rotates about a rotating shaft at a position on a sheet rear end side in a sheet conveying direction to open and close an opening that leads to the sheet storage portion. An exterior surface of the second cover portion faces outside the sheet storage portion when the second cover portion is closed to close the opening and faces up in a vertical direction when the second cover portion is in an open state where the opening is open.

An image forming apparatus includes a stacking tray on which a sheet is stacked, a cover unit, and an apparatus main body having an image forming unit. The cover unit forms a sheet storage portion storing the sheet between the cover unit and the stacking tray, and covering the sheet stacked on the stacking tray. The cover unit includes a first cover portion attached to a second cover portion that rotates about a rotating shaft at a position on a sheet rear end side in a sheet conveying direction to open and close an opening that leads to the sheet storage portion. An exterior surface of the second cover portion faces outside the sheet storage portion when the second cover portion is closed to close the opening and faces up in a vertical direction when the second cover portion is in an open state where the opening is open.

There is provided a base machine including a base machine feed path that conveys a paper sheet, and a validator identifying the paper sheet conveyed by the base machine feed path; an expansion unit including an extension feed path extending from the base machine feed path, a branching feed path branching from the extension feed path, and a plurality of stacking portions that are connected to the branching feed path and stack the paper sheet identified by the validator; and a control portion that, when a conveyance abnormality occur, continues conveyance operation of at least one of the extension feed path and the branching feed path without immediately stopping the conveyance operation and conveys the paper sheet to a predetermined stacking portion that is any of the plurality of stacking portions, in accordance with a location where the conveyance abnormality occurred and a type of the conveyance abnormality.

There is provided a base machine including a base machine feed path that conveys a paper sheet, and a validator identifying the paper sheet conveyed by the base machine feed path; an expansion unit including an extension feed path extending from the base machine feed path, a branching feed path branching from the extension feed path, and a plurality of stacking portions that are connected to the branching feed path and stack the paper sheet identified by the validator; and a control portion that, when a conveyance abnormality occur, continues conveyance operation of at least one of the extension feed path and the branching feed path without immediately stopping the conveyance operation and conveys the paper sheet to a predetermined stacking portion that is any of the plurality of stacking portions, in accordance with a location where the conveyance abnormality occurred and a type of the conveyance abnormality.

An image printing apparatus that prints an image on a substrate includes: a supply unit that supplies a substrate loaded; a print unit that performs printing on the substrate supplied by the supply unit; a distinguishment unit that distinguishes a substrate category of the substrate supplied from the supply unit; a setting unit that sets a substrate category of a substrate used for printing; a detection unit provided between the print unit and the supply unit to detect a splice portion where substrates are connected; a determination unit that determines whether the substrate category distinguished by the distinguishment unit and the substrate category set by the setting unit match; and a reporting unit that reports an error in a case where the determination unit determines that the substrate categories do not match. The reporting unit does not report the error until the supply unit completes substrate supply preparation.

An image printing apparatus that prints an image on a substrate includes: a supply unit that supplies a substrate loaded; a print unit that performs printing on the substrate supplied by the supply unit; a distinguishment unit that distinguishes a substrate category of the substrate supplied from the supply unit; a setting unit that sets a substrate category of a substrate used for printing; a detection unit provided between the print unit and the supply unit to detect a splice portion where substrates are connected; a determination unit that determines whether the substrate category distinguished by the distinguishment unit and the substrate category set by the setting unit match; and a reporting unit that reports an error in a case where the determination unit determines that the substrate categories do not match. The reporting unit does not report the error until the supply unit completes substrate supply preparation.

A document conveying device (9) includes a sheet feeding tray (44), a discharge tray (43) provided below the sheet feeding tray (44), a feeding roller (51), a conveying mechanism (35), a lifting mechanism (38) which lifts and lowers the sheet feeding tray (44), a discharge tray document sensor (18) which detects the document on the discharge tray (43), and a control part (10) which controls the lifting mechanism (38) such that the document placed on the sheet feeding tray (44) is pressed against the feeding roller (51) when the conveying mechanism (35) conveys the document. The control part (10) controls the lifting mechanism (38) to lower the sheet feeding tray (44) by a larger amount in a case where the document is not detected by the discharge tray document sensor (18) when power is turned on than a case where the document is detected by the discharge tray document sensor (18).