Apparatus and methods are provided to minimize waste and improve quality and production in web processing operations. The apparatus and methods provide defect detection in deposition of acquisition material, which on current machines frequently flips and is difficult to detect when it has flipped causing manufacturers to scrap thousands of products. Using the present invention, defects are able to be detected by discerning a difference in the appearance from side to side with a vision camera, and an acquisition inverter can flip the material to a correct orientation.

Examples include: a leveling system for a top feeder of a printer, where the top feeder includes a media positioning arrangement. The leveling system has a detector for detecting reflected light and generating a three-dimensional image comprising at least one media positioning region corresponding to the media positioning arrangement on a top sheet of a media stack installed into the top feeder. Also, the leveling system has an actuator configured to adjust heights of different points of the bottom of the media stack. Further, it has a controller for selecting, based on the three-dimensional image, adjustments to the heights for improving leveling of at least one of the at least one media positioning region; and controlling the actuator to implement the adjustments.

According to an example, an apparatus may include an automatic document feeder, printing components, an externally accessible embedded finishing mechanism, an illumination source to direct attention to the embedded finishing mechanism, and a controller. The controller may determine whether a certain condition has been met pertaining to media sheets fed into the automatic document feeder or printed by the printing components, and in response to a determination that the certain condition has been met, may activate the illumination source.

An apparatus for forming and sorting informational items comprises a folding unit, a conveyor belt, a camera, a controller, and a diverter assembly. The folding unit forms a folded article from a sheet of paper. The conveyor belt transports the folded article. The camera captures an image of the folded article as it passes by the camera. The controller receives and processes the image, and the diverter assembly causes the folded article to move off of the conveyor belt when the controller determines that the folded article fails to satisfy at least one predetermined criteria.

The present application relates to a tracking arrangement for the tracking of a material defect in a sheet material, such as a container material or a product-packaging material. The tracking arrangement may comprise a defect sensor, which is configured to detect a material defect in a sheet material moving thereby or therethrough. The tracking arrangement may also comprise a first structure sensor, which is configured to detect at least one inherent structural feature of the sheet material itself in the region of the material defect, as well as a control arrangement, which is configured to receive data from said first structure sensor.

A device for processing a material web (3) that includes means (2) for conveying the material web in a longitudinal direction (L), wherein both an applied, in particular repeated printed image (9) and a control line (10, 11) extending in the longitudinal direction are configured on the material web (3). The control line (10, 11) has a defined position transverse to the material web (3), and the control line (10, 11) is scanned by means of a sensor (15, 16) in a material web (3) processing step. The control line (3) has a digital code structure in its longitudinal direction (L) that encodes a data set of at least four bits, in particular at least two bytes, of information content.

The present disclosure relates to a method for splicing a web of packaging material, comprising: guiding the web of packaging material through a splicing device comprising one or more imaging devices, a slitter, and a sealing unit; acquiring a first set of images of one or more areas of the packaging material, storing the acquired first set of images, slitting the web of packaging material in one or more locations to form a tail end and a head end of a web of packaging material, aligning the head end and the tail end and superimpose one on the other in preparation for forming a splice, utilizing the imaging devices and the stored acquired first set of images to fine tune the alignment of the head end and the tail end, sealing the splice.

A method for splicing a web of packaging material is provided. The method comprises: guiding the web of packaging material through an automatic splicing device; determining the position of at least one mark of the material web by means of a detector; moving the material web based on the determined positon such that a specific area of the material web is arranged in proximity to a cutting unit; cutting the material web in order to form a separate leading part of the material web; introducing a new leading part of a separate material web into the automatic splicing device; determining the position of at least one mark of the newly introduced material web; moving the newly introduced material web based on the determined position such that a specific area of the newly introduced material web is arranged in proximity to a sealing arm of the cutting unit; and sealing the separate leading part of the material web and the newly introduced material web.

Aspects of automated fabric picking are described. In one embodiment, a system includes a textile cutter including a tabletop upon which textile panels can be cut out from a textile sheet, a textile panel picker, and a computing device. The textile panel picker includes a flexible transport tube, a transport tube transfer arm to position the flexible transport tube over the tabletop and the textile panels, a textile hopper to collect the textile panels, and a pneumatic pump assembly to evacuate air from the textile hopper and through the flexible transport tube. The computing device identifies and tracks the textile panels on the tabletop, directs the transport tube transfer arm to position the flexible transport tube over the textile panels, and directs the pneumatic pump assembly to generate suction to pull the textile panels through the flexible transport tube and into the textile hopper.

An apparatus for manufacturing an electrode plate, includes an unwinder on which an electrode reel is installed; a meandering corrector correcting meandering of an electrode sheet unwound from the electrode reel; a press puncher disposed at a rear end of the meandering corrector; a cutter disposed at a rear end of the press puncher; a detector disposed between the press puncher and the cutter to acquire an image of the electrode sheet; and a controller connected to the detector and the meandering corrector.