A web transporting method includes a drive roller (Gd), N (where N is an integer of 1 or greater) driven rollers (Gn) which nip a wound portion of a web between the drive roller and the driven rollers, and a tension application unit which applies a tension Tl to a portion of the web which is one side of the wound portion and applies a tension Th which is higher than the tension Tl to a portion of the web which is opposite the one side of the wound portion, in which an angle θ0, an angle θ(n), a load P(n), a static friction coefficient μ0, and a static friction coefficient μ(n) satisfy a predetermined relational expression (expression 1).

A device for redirecting sheets in a sheet transport mechanism, especially sheets of a print medium in a printing system includes a support member, which carries or supports at least one guide member for directing a path of travel of a sheet. The support member is configured to be mounted adjacent a first transport path of a plurality of sheets and such that the support member is movable between a first inoperative position in which the at least one guide member does not impinge upon the first transport path, and a second operative position in which the at least one guide member is introduced into the first transport path to redirect one or more of the sheets to a second, alternative transport path. The device further includes an actuator configured to move the support member between the first and second positions. The actuator is connected to the support member such that vibrations imparted by the actuator to the support member, as the support member moves between the first and the second positions, are substantially parallel to the first transport path.

A method for providing a stack of book covers for production of finished books includes supplying a task stack of book covers having identical cover formats and stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence. Each book cover in the task stack includes an identifier comprising cover information. The book covers are separated out and conveyed from the task stack as separate book covers in a sequence that does not change until a completion signal is transmitted. The separated out book covers are counted, an identifier on each separated out book cover is detected, and cover information is read out of the respective identifier stored. The separated out book covers are deposited on top of one another in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack. An identifier is stored that identifies the detected stack together with the temporarily stored cover information.

A foil transfer film cartridge includes a supply reel on which a foil film having a widthwise dimension of a first width is wound, and a supply shaft longer in a widthwise direction of the foil film than the first width. The supply shaft is configured to support the supply reel in a manner that allows the supply reel to move in the widthwise direction between a first position and a second position different from the first position.

A method includes, a first step of starting rotation of a rotating axle, which is configured to detachably support a web, in a direction in which the web is wounded onto the rotating axle, a second step of detecting a tension applied to the web after the first step, a third step of performing open loop control on torque applied to the rotating axle until the tension greater than a designated value is detected with the second step, and a fourth step of performing feedback control on the torque applied to the rotating axle based on the detection value of the tension applied to the web after the tension greater than the designated value is detected with the second step.

A medium feeding apparatus includes a feeding roller which feeds a printing medium, a roll holding portion which holds a roll body around which the printing medium is wound, an intermediate roller which pulls out the printing medium from the roll body and feeds the printing medium to the feeding roller, and a controller which synchronizes and controls driving of the feeding roller and the intermediate roller, in which the controller sets a target value in a driving control of the intermediate roller to be greater than a target value in a driving control of the feeding roller, so that tension is not applied to the printing medium between the feeding roller and the intermediate roller, when the feeding roller and the intermediate roller feed the printing medium.

A medium feeding apparatus includes a roll motor which applies torque for rotating a roll body to the roll body, a storage portion which stores output measured value, which is measurement result of output value to the roll motor for rotating the roll body, and a roll control portion which corrects the output measured values stored in the storage portion to correction value in accordance with stop time of the roll motor, and controls the roll motor based on the corrected output measured values.

A medium feeding apparatus includes a feeding portion that performs a feeding operation, which feeds a medium to a downstream side, and a reverse feeding operation, which feeds the medium to an upstream side, and a wind-up portion that performs a wind-up operation, which winds up a medium fed to the downstream side by the feeding operation, and a unwinding operation that unwinds the wound up medium, in which the wind-up portion performs the unwinding operation prior to the reverse feeding operation.

A media transport system includes a belt with a plurality of rows of holes, a vacuum plenum, and a shutter. The belt is positioned over the vacuum plenum carries a plurality of media over the vacuum plenum. A row of holes in the belt includes inter-copy gaps that separate media on the belt and the inter-copy gaps include no holes in the belt. The shutter includes a solid member that prevents a flow of air between the vacuum plenum and a portion of the belt positioned above the first shutter and a first aperture formed through the solid member that is aligned with the row of holes in the belt.

This invention provides a stacker for use in forming stacks of cut sheets received from an upstream utilization device (e.g. a printer, cutter, etc.) that allows for positive driving of sheets into a stack using a stacking unit that includes a series of grippers that are adapted to grip and release a leading edge of each sheet at the appropriate time. In this manner, each sheet is gripped as it arrives from the upstream operation and is passed downstream into the stack, being released so as to properly decelerate at the stack's backstop. The grippers are mounted on a continuous belt between a pair of opposing drive sprockets. An edge sensor located upstream of the stacking unit triggers motion of the belts. The grippers are actuated by a mechanical cam arrangement to selectively grip and release at predetermined positions as the belt is driven.