Belt conveyor system comprising: an endless mesh belt, the belt having a mesh structure and having edge areas at the lateral sides, a drive mechanism drivable by a drive motor to rotate the belt, and a steering roller for steering the lateral position of the belt, wherein an edge area comprises a band running substantially parallel to the lateral sides, the band comprising an elastic filler being provided inside the mesh structure, the elastic filler being discernible from the mesh structure, and wherein the belt conveyor system further comprises a band position detector for detecting the lateral position of the band.

A sheet conveying system includes an upstream conveyor section having an endless first conveyor belt movable in a first conveying direction x and extending in a first lateral direction z, the first conveying direction x and the first lateral direction z defining a first conveying plane xz; and a downstream conveyor section having an endless second conveyor belt that adjoins the first conveyor belt and is movable in a second conveying direction x′ and extends in a second lateral direction z′, the second conveying direction x′ and the second lateral direction z′ defining a second conveying plane x′z′. The conveyor sections are adapted to hold the sheets slip-free on the first and second conveyor belts. The second conveyor belt has a shear compliance in the second conveying plane x′z′ that is larger than the shear compliance of the first conveyor belt in the first conveying plane xz.

A transport device transports an individualized sheet-shaped workpiece. The transport device includes: an annular transport belt having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface and having a plurality of suction holes extending between the first surface and the second surface; first and second decompression chambers arranged along a moving direction of the transport belt; and a vacuum degree adjusting mechanism provided in the first decompression chamber and adjusting a vacuum degree in the first decompression chamber. The first and second decompression chambers each abut against the second surface, and each suction the workpiece through at least one of the plurality of suction holes toward the first surface such that the transport belt is capable of transporting the workpiece in the moving direction in a suspended state from the first surface.

Described is a transport device for paper which includes a metal conveyor belt through which air can flow and which is guided over at least two rollers, with the upper section of the belt forming the transport section and its lower section forming the returning section. A vacuum generator is arranged below the upper section. The conveyor belt is a metal mesh so as to be easy to produce and install.

A contact-less liquid application apparatus, and in particular a printing apparatus, for applying a liquid in a contact-less manner on a moving medium. The liquid application apparatus includes a liquid application means configured for applying a liquid on a moving medium, a media transport system configured for moving the medium in a movement direction at a distance of the liquid application means, and a flow control means configured to evacuate at least a portion of the air displaced by the moving of the medium, at least before the medium is in a liquid application position, where the liquid application position is a position in which the liquid application means is applying liquid on the medium.

A vacuum belt conveyor sequentially delivers sheet articles to a digital printer. The sheets are held in position by vacuum on the underside of the sheets through apertures in the belts and covered by the sheets. A plurality of independent plenums on the underside of the belt have chambers respectively communicating with rows of apertures extending along the belt. Vacuum is selectively applied from a manifold only to the plenum chambers that supply apertures that are covered by the sheets so that the ink from the printer will not be directed from its intended position on the sheet by vacuum from adjacent uncovered belt apertures. The sheets are fed to the conveyor in synchronism with the conveyor speed by a timed feeder so that the sheets are carried by the conveyor with a predetermined gap between the sheets and no belt apertures in the gap. A sensor counts the apertures in the belt and activates the feeder at predetermined time intervals.

A sheet feeding device has a mounting portion allowing a stack of sheets to be mounted in a top-bottom direction, a suction/transportation portion provided above the mounting portion for attracting a first sheet positioned on top of the stack, and a blowing portion for blowing air to a foremost edge of the first sheet in a transportation direction while the first sheet is being attracted by the suction/transportation portion, thereby separating the first sheet from a second sheet next to the first sheet. After the first sheet is separated from the second sheet, the suction/transportation portion transports the first sheet in the transportation direction. The suction/transportation portion sets a suction force applied to the foremost edge of the first sheet smaller when the blowing portion blows air to the first sheet than when the suction/transportation portion transports the first sheet.

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.

A device (10) for optically controlling a face (13) of a blank (12) has a vacuum conveyor (20) capable of transporting the blank (12) along a path of travel (15) and which includes a conveyor belt (22) having an apertured structure of which the conveying path follows the path of travel (15) of the blank (12). A suction device (40) is suitable for pressing the blank (12) against the conveyor belt (14). An inspection device (30) inspects the face (13) of the blank (12) during its conveyance by the vacuum conveyor (20). The inspection device is located on the side opposite the vacuum conveyor (20). The suction device (40) delimits three separate successive suction sections (41, 42, 43) along the path of travel (15), including a central suction section (42) that extends opposite the inspection device (30), an upstream suction section (41) and a downstream suction section (43).

A printer includes a print station; a media transport mechanism arranged for conveying print media on a transport path past the print station, the transport mechanism having a support surface for supporting the media; and a vacuum device arranged for attracting the media against the support surface on a section of the transport path downstream of the print station. The vacuum device is divided, in the direction along the transport path, into at least two segments in which the media are attractable with different non-zero suction pressures.