To ensure reliable and productive processing of printed sheets into stacks, a sheet stacker includes: a flipping device for flipping a sheet with respect to the sheet's orientation before being received by the flipping device onto a stack support or a stack of sheets on the stack support; a sensor assembly for detecting an out-of-plane deformation of a top sheet with respect to the underlying stack support or a stack of sheets on the stack support at least for each sheet added to the stack; and a controller configured to determine from data from the sensor assembly whether the top sheet was successfully flipped and stacked.

A printing system for printing on sheets of media having a non-uniform thickness profile. A user interface is controlled to instruct the operator to load a media tray with a stack of media having a specified pattern of media orientations. A media transport system picks sequential sheets of media from the media tray. A front end supplies sequential image data having orientations in accordance with the specified pattern of media orientations. A printing module sequentially prints the supplied image data on the sheets of media in accordance with the specified pattern of media orientations.

A printing system for printing on sheets of media having a non-uniform thickness profile. A user interface is controlled to instruct the operator to load a media tray with a stack of media having a specified pattern of media orientations. A media transport system picks sequential sheets of media from the media tray. A front end supplies sequential image data having orientations in accordance with the specified pattern of media orientations. A printing module sequentially prints the supplied image data on the sheets of media in accordance with the specified pattern of media orientations.

A sheet feeding device includes a sheet tray, a blower, a feeder, an illuminator, an imager, and circuitry. The sheet tray stacks sheets. The blower blows air to the sheets stacked on the sheet tray and floats an uppermost sheet of the sheets. The feeder feeds the uppermost sheet. The illuminator illuminates the uppermost sheet floating. The imager captures an image including the uppermost sheet illuminated by the illuminator. The circuitry adjusts an imaging condition based on the image captured by the imager.

A system and control method are provided for determining an amount of a product dispensed from or added to a product formation. At defined intervals, a mark is projected with a light source imager onto an aspect of the product formation that changes as the amount of product is depleted or added to the product formation. A digital image is taken of the aspect of the product formation that captures the projected mark and is transmitted to a digital imager processor, wherein a feature of the projected mark is analyzed that changes as the product formation decreases or increases in size as the product is dispensed or added. The analyzed feature is compared with a predetermined value of the feature at a predefined size of the product formation to determine an actual amount of the product on the product formation, or amount of product depleted from or added to the product formation.

A system and control method are provided for determining an amount of a product dispensed from or added to a product formation. At defined intervals, a mark is projected with a light source imager onto an aspect of the product formation that changes as the amount of product is depleted or added to the product formation. A digital image is taken of the aspect of the product formation that captures the projected mark and is transmitted to a digital imager processor, wherein a feature of the projected mark is analyzed that changes as the product formation decreases or increases in size as the product is dispensed or added. The analyzed feature is compared with a predetermined value of the feature at a predefined size of the product formation to determine an actual amount of the product on the product formation, or amount of product depleted from or added to the product formation.

Provided is a control unit of a conveying apparatus, the conveying apparatus including: a conveying unit that conveys recording paper along a conveying path; and an imaging unit that images the recording paper and an object not conveyed by the conveying unit, wherein the control unit acquires actual conveyance information of the recording paper from image information of the recording paper imaged by the imaging unit and image information of the object imaged by the imaging unit.

Provided is a control unit of a conveying apparatus, the conveying apparatus including: a conveying unit that conveys recording paper along a conveying path; and an imaging unit that images the recording paper and an object not conveyed by the conveying unit, wherein the control unit acquires actual conveyance information of the recording paper from image information of the recording paper imaged by the imaging unit and image information of the object imaged by the imaging unit.

This paper sheet processing device (100) for processing paper sheets is provided with: an identification unit (55) for identifying paper sheets; stacking units (60, 210) for stacking paper sheets on the basis of the content of classification types identified by the identification unit (55); and a control unit (50, 135, 550) that reads, from a memory unit (56, 136, 560) in which an upper limit of paper sheets to be stacked by the stacking units (60, 210) are stored in association with the content of classification types, the upper limit for paper sheets that correspond to the content of the classification types of the paper sheets stacked by the stacking units (60, 210), and sets the upper limit for paper sheets to be stacked by the stacking units (60, 210).

This paper sheet processing device (100) for processing paper sheets is provided with: an identification unit (55) for identifying paper sheets; stacking units (60, 210) for stacking paper sheets on the basis of the content of classification types identified by the identification unit (55); and a control unit (50, 135, 550) that reads, from a memory unit (56, 136, 560) in which an upper limit of paper sheets to be stacked by the stacking units (60, 210) are stored in association with the content of classification types, the upper limit for paper sheets that correspond to the content of the classification types of the paper sheets stacked by the stacking units (60, 210), and sets the upper limit for paper sheets to be stacked by the stacking units (60, 210).