A mail singulator system determines a position of an optical panel to automatically adjust a loading conveyor speed to prevent stacked and overlapped mailpieces in the singulator and large gaps between mailpieces. The optical panel is configured between the front mailpiece of a mail stack on the loading conveyor and the optical sensor. The optical panel changes position with the pressure exerted by the mail stack and provides signals to the controller to adjust the conveyor speed. An optical sensor may detect a far threshold position or limit distance to increase the speed of the conveyor and may detect a near threshold position of limit distance to reduce the speed of the conveyor. The optical panel may have a low friction surface to allow the mail to slide into the conveyor and an optical surface to allow reliable optical sensor detection of the optical panel position.

An insertion assembly for the continuous and automated feeding of laminar elements into a graphic printing station without the involvement of roller elements in the process, allowing the distance between the laminar elements in question to be adjusted such that adjacent laminar elements may be positioned very close to each other regardless of their length. Said assembly comprises an insertion device (1) that includes a rotating belt system on which the laminar elements (3) can be moved horizontally, and suction means, with the insertion device (1) connected to a stacking area (4) and; a pulling device (2) that includes a rotating belt system on which the laminar elements from the insertion device (1) can be moved, and suction means, with the pulling device (2) connected to a graphic printing station, said pulling device adjoining the insertion device (1) in a direction of forward motion.

A device for reducing rotation of an article during singulation of a stack of articles is disclosed. The device may include a torsion element, a rotatable member configured to rotate about an elongated axis of the torsion element between a first position and a second position, and a revolving member coupled to the rotatable member. An outer surface of the revolving member contacts a drive belt in the first position and an article in the second position. The torsion element exerts torque on the rotatable member when it moves from the first position towards the second position. The torque causes the outer surface of the revolving member to apply a frictional force to the article, thereby minimizing rotation of the article. Systems and methods of singulating articles are also disclosed.

A feeding device includes a plurality of suction units, disposed above a conveyed medium stacked on a stacker, to attract the conveyed medium. At least one of the plurality of suction units includes a rotary fan including a board and a plurality of walls extending from the board; and a driver to rotate the rotary fan. The at least one of the plurality of suction units generates a vortex air with a side of the board with the plurality of walls directed to the conveyed medium. The at least one of the plurality of suction units being a suction unit generates a vortex air.

A sheet-member separation device includes a first air blower, an attractor, a conveyor, a second air blower, and an adjuster. The first air blower blows air onto a front side of a stack of sheet members in a sheet-member conveyance direction. The attractor attracts an uppermost sheet member floated from the stack of sheet members by the air blown from the first air blower. The conveyor conveys, in the sheet-member conveyance direction, the sheet member attracted by the attractor. The second air blower blows air toward a lateral side of the sheet member. The adjuster moves the second air blower and the attractor together to adjust positions of the second air blower and the attractor in the sheet-member conveyance direction.

A mail singulator system determines a position of an optical panel to automatically adjust a loading conveyor speed to prevent stacked and overlapped mailpieces in the singulator and large gaps between mailpieces. The optical panel is configured between the front mailpiece of a mail stack on the loading conveyor and the optical sensor. The optical panel changes position with the pressure exerted by the mail stack and provides signals to the controller to adjust the conveyor speed. An optical sensor may detect a far threshold position or limit distance to increase the speed of the conveyor and may detect a near threshold position of limit distance to reduce the speed of the conveyor. The optical panel may have a low friction surface to allow the mail to slide into the conveyor and an optical surface to allow reliable optical sensor detection of the optical panel position.

A paper feed apparatus includes: a sheet tray on which sheets are stacked; a sheet attractor which is located above the sheet tray and attracts sheets one by one from the above; a leading edge fan which is located in a leading edge side of the sheets and blows separation air against leading edges of the sheets to separate an uppermost sheet of the sheets closest to the sheet attractor from lower sheets located below the uppermost sheet; a sheet conveyor which is located in a downstream side of the sheet attractor along a conveying direction of the sheets to convey the uppermost sheet which is attracted by the sheet attractor and separated from the lower sheets by the leading edge fan; and a lifting member which is detachably provided on the sheet tray to support a tail side of a back of the sheets.

A sheet feeder includes a lift table, a first sheet-side restricting member, a second sheet-side restricting member, a suction conveyor, a rear-end restricting member, an upper distance-measuring sensor, a lower distance-measuring sensor, and processing circuitry. The first sheet-side restricting member and the second sheet-side restricting member restrict first ends and second ends opposite to the first ends, respectively, of sheets. The suction conveyor sucks and conveys a sheet floated. The rear-end restricting member restricts the sheets from moving in a longitudinal direction of the sheets. The upper distance-measuring sensor and the lower distance-measuring sensor measure a first distance and a second distance, respectively, to the first sheet-side restricting member or the second sheet-side restricting member. The processing circuitry compares measurement results of the first distance and the second distance to determine whether a distance between the first sheet-side restricting member and the second sheet-side restricting member is adequate.

A method is provided for supplying a corrugated board article or a paperboard sheet article from a feeder apparatus for receipt by an article processing host machine. The method includes feeding the article to a feeder apparatus including a sheet supporting feed table surface having a feed end and a delivery end, feed elements, and a control surface selectively movable between a covering state and an exposing state. In the exposing state the feed elements are exposed to contact and drive the article along the sheet supporting feed table. The control surface is selectively movable to an angled state to selectively angle the control surface to consecutively conceal the respective feed elements as the article moves over the feed elements.

A paper feeding apparatus for feeding paper from a paper-mounting table on which a paper bundle is mounted includes a suctioning conveyor that suctions and conveys uppermost paper among the paper bundle mounted on the paper-mounting table; and a hardware processor that controls the suctioning conveyor, wherein the suctioning conveyor includes a suction region for suctioning paper in a paper width direction orthogonal to a paper conveyance direction, and the hardware processor controls distribution of a suction amount in the paper width direction based on stiffness and a paper width, which is a paper size in the paper width direction, of paper.