An imaging device includes a substrate supply, a printing system with at least one marking device adapted to transfer an image to a substrate resulting in a marked substrate, a scanning device and a substrate output. The substrate supply, printing system, scanning device, and substrate output are provided along the same shared substrate path providing an imaging system with reduced complexity.

A powder-amount detection device includes an outer electrode, an inner electrode, and a detector. The outer electrode is disposed outside a powder container to be replaceably installed to an image forming apparatus. The inner electrode is disposed inside a powder supply port of the powder container. The detector is configured to apply an electric field between the outer electrode and the inner electrode to detect a capacitance between the outer electrode and the inner electrode.

According to an embodiment of a tension maintaining device of a media transport belt, a device for maintaining tension of a belt to ensure a gripping force of the belt for gripping and transporting bundled media, in which a plurality of pieces of media are stacked, includes a rotation shaft; a link member coupled to the rotation shaft while having a predetermined length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the belt, and provided to be rotatable about the rotation shaft in response to a change in the number of pieces of the bundled media in contact with the belt; a first roller rotatably coupled to a first roller shaft provided at one end of the link member and maintained in contact with the belt; and a second roller rotatably coupled to a second roller shaft provided at the other end of the link member and maintained in contact with the belt.

A banknote validator having a housing, a validation sensor; and a banknote drive mechanism. The banknote drive mechanism may be arranged to transport a banknote from an input aperture to a stacking device. The banknote drive mechanism may delimit a first banknote pathway proximal to an input aperture, and a second banknote pathway proximal to the stacking device. A pivotable security gate arrangement may be included that is resiliently biased to project into the second banknote pathway.

A medium transporting apparatus includes an endless conveyor belt having an outer surface to which a sheet P adheres, at least two rollers, which are a first roller and a second roller, around which the conveyor belt extends. The second roller is located downstream of the first roller in a medium transporting direction. The medium transporting apparatus also includes a backing plate that supports an inner surface of the conveyor belt at a position between the first roller and the second roller. In the medium transporting apparatus, the backing plate includes a hollow-containing portion that is formed at an upstream end of the backing plate in the medium transporting direction. The hollow-containing portion has a plurality of hollows formed therein in a width direction that intersects the medium transporting direction. The plurality of hollows are formed in a support surface that supports the conveyor belt.

A sheet end position regulating device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a first contact body disposed movable on a sheet loading portion on which a sheet is loaded and configured to contact an end portion of the sheet, a fixing body disposed movable between a fixing position at which a position of the first contact body to the sheet loading portion is fixed and a releasing position at which the position of the first contact body is released, and a second contact body disposed movable between a contact position at which the fixing body contacts a contact target portion to regulate movement of the fixing body form the fixing position to the releasing position and a non-contact position at which the fixing body does not contact the contact target portion.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, an endless belt and a plurality of stretching rollers. The stretching rollers includes a tiltable steering roller, a sliding member, a first stretching roller having a smallest diameter, and a second stretching roller having a largest diameter of the diameters. With respect to rotational axis directions of the stretching rollers, lengths of contact portions of the stretching rollers with the belt are shorter than a width of the belt, the length of the contact portion of the first stretching roller with the belt is a first length, the length of the contact portion of the second stretching roller with the belt is a second length shorter than the first length, and end positions of the contact portions of the first and second stretching rollers with respect to the rotational axis direction are different from each other.

A device for transporting notes of value comprises a first idler pulley mounted in the device and at least a second idler pulley mounted in the device, as well as an endless belt running around the idler pulleys, and a freely rotatable guide roller mounted in the device and having at least one connecting area for reception in a receiving opening of the device. The axis of rotation of the guide roller has in a first receiving position of the connecting area in the receiving opening a first orthogonal distance to a plane in which the axes of rotation of the idler pulleys run. The axis of rotation of the guide roller has in a second receiving position of the connecting area in the receiving opening a second orthogonal distance to the plane.

A device for printing flat packages fed individually to a printing unit of a franking machine, pass the printing unit on one side and are guided on a side edge in the conveying direction, including a conveying apparatus which grips the packages at a front end and, by a guide plate forms a conveying plane of a conveying gap with an opposite conveying unit of the conveying apparatus. In the conveying direction, the conveying unit has two endless drawing devices next to each other which circulate a common axle on deflecting rollers, and the upper run of which, and the lower run of which are guided on running rollers mounted freely rotatably in pairs so as to lie opposite one another at pivotable ends of double lever arms assigned to the upper and the lower run, and supported on the inner side of the runs by spring force.

The present invention seeks to flatten a sheet when transferred onto an endless belt conveyor facing a print head assembly in a simple and/or low costs manner. Thereto a sheet conveyor is provided comprising an endless, air permeable belt and pressing means. The pressing means comprise a plurality of pressing members spaced apart from one another in a lateral direction of the belt, each pressing member comprising a body which body is moveable in a perpendicular direction with respect to the belt as well rotatable or pivotable around an axis in the perpendicular direction independent of the corresponding bodies of other pressing members. This provides a simple and passive sheet flattening means, resulting in low operational and material costs.