A sheet feeding device, which is included in an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, includes a sheet loader, an air drawing body, an attracting and conveying device, an air duct and a blocking device. The sheet loader is a device on which a bundle of sheets is loaded. The air drawing body is configured to generate suction air. The attracting and conveying device is configured to attract a sheet on top of the bundle of sheets by the suction air and convey the sheet. The air duct is configured to intake the suction air drawn by the air drawing body, to the attracting and conveying device. The blocking device is configured to block the suction air in the air duct.

An endless conveyer belt is stretched between drive and idle rollers. A carriage is arranged so as to reciprocate along the endless conveyer belt. A suction box is arranged between upper and lower belt portions of the endless conveyer belt and fixed to the carriage. A stopper plate is fixed to the carriage and extends across a conveyer surface and upward from the conveyer surface. A conveyance roller pair is arranged at the upstream end of the conveyer surface. A region of the conveyer surface from a stopper plate to the upstream end u forms a sheet accumulation area. A cover sheet covers a region upstream of the suction box in the sheet accumulation area. The cover sheet is subjected to tension in the longitudinal direction by a winding-type constant force plate spring and continually tensed spaced apart from the endless conveyer belt.

Embodiments of a system and method for shingulating, singulating, and synchronizing articles in an article feeder system are disclosed. The article feeder system may include a shingulating device configured to receive a stack of articles and to produce a positively lapped stack of articles, a plurality of picking devices configured to pick one or more articles from the positively lapped stack of articles and to produce one or more singulated articles, and one or more synchronization devices configured to deliver the one or more singulated articles to one or more sorter windows.

A mail hazard screening machine is configured to compress mail pieces or envelops through compression rollers and draw out this air and any hazard that may have been contained in the envelope. The system may be able to detect a wide range of hazards such as chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, explosive and drugs, abbreviated CBRNE+D. The sample air, the air drawn out from the hazard screening system, may be directed to one or more analysis devices and the mail processing machine may be stopped if any hazard is detected. The mail piece containing the hazard can then be found and further inspected safely.

A mail feeder system may be configured to deliver mail pieces to the hazard screening system without compression of the mail pieces or envelopes

A mail processing system utilizes a conveyor to shingle or de-shingle mailpieces as they move through the processing system and utilizes belts to move the mailpieces. A first shingling conveyor moves a first mailpiece to overlap with a second mailpiece to create shingled mailpieces. A second shingling conveyor moves a first mailpiece away from a second mailpiece to de-shingle them to create singulated mailpieces. A camera takes images of the mailpieces in the conveyor and image analysis software is used to determine dimensional aspects of the mailpieces that are used to control the belt speeds to move mailpieces with respect to each other. A mail processing system may include a mail processing station that scans addresses, applies postage and/or weighs the mailpieces. Mail may be de-shingled prior to being weighed and then re-shingled for subsequent processing, or mail may shingled prior to passing through a scale if weighing is not necessary.

A feeding device comprises a suction feeding unit having a belt for feeding a sheet in a suction state and a belt driving unit, a sheet detection sensor, and a control unit. The control unit controls the belt drive unit so as to feed the sheet in a feeding direction at a first speed. If the sheet does not arrive at the sheet detection sensor, the control unit controls the belt drive unit so as to execute a low-speed feeding ox moving the belt in the feeding direction at a second speed lower than the first speed or so as to execute a reverse feeding of moving the belt in a reverse feeding direction opposite to the feeding direction.

A device for separating printed products out of a stack, the device including a feed device which defines a substantially horizontal plane, a first stop element which is arranged on a mounting support as well as a transfer device which defines a substantially horizontal plane, wherein the feed device moves the stack against the first stop element, wherein the transfer device accepts and transfers the bottommost printed product out of the stack from the feed device, wherein the feed device includes a vacuum conveyor, by means of which the bottom surface of the bottommost printed product is sucked up at least in portions, as well as to a corresponding method.

Embodiments of a system and method for singulating articles in an automatic stack feeder are disclosed. The automatic stack feeder may comprise a pressure sensor on a perforated drive belt assembly configured to sense the pressure exerted by a stack of articles. The sensed pressure may be used to control various portions of the automatic stack feeder, such as a belt or a paddle.

Embodiments of a system and method for singulating articles in an automatic stack feeder are disclosed. The automatic stack feeder may comprise a pressure sensor on a perforated drive belt assembly configured to sense the pressure exerted by a stack of articles. The sensed pressure may be used to control various portions of the automatic stack feeder, such as a belt or a paddle.

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.