An adjustment method for adjusting the heights of the nipping belts in a transport conveyor that moves flat articles in series and on edge, so that a transport height is substantially constant for the flat articles. The method causes the conveyor to operate empty in such a manner that the nipping belts of heights that are to be adjusted run without any flat article in the conveyor, emits two parallel and superposed light beams towards a belt of height to be adjusted, spaced apart by a certain distance equal to the width of the belt between the two opposite edges of the belt to be adjusted, the light beams emitted from a portable tool, and manipulate a tensioner adjusting the belt so as to move the belt heightwise while it is running empty until the two light beams intersect respective ones of the two opposite edges of the belt.

A sheet feeder, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes an endless attraction belt that is rotatably disposed facing a top surface of a sheet stack, a belt charger to attract an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack, and a sheet separator to press the attraction belt against the sheet stack, bend a contact region to which the uppermost sheet is attracted and contacted to the attraction belt, and separate the uppermost sheet from a subsequent sheet or other sheet of the sheet stack. In this configuration, a curvature of a contact surface of the sheet separator with respect to the attraction belt is changeable.

A traction tensioning device which has one or more upper chain assemblies driven by an upper sprocket pulley and one or more lower chain assemblies driven by a lower sprocket pulley. Each of the upper and lower chain assemblies has a plurality of pads mounted to the chain assemblies. The upper chain assembly is mounted to a movable platen. The lower chain assembly is mounted to a fixed platen. The upper chain assembly and the movable platen are raised and lowered with respect to the lower chain assembly thereby creating a tension on a strip of material passing between the upper and lower chain assemblies.

A sheet feeder especially designed for use in the food and pharmaceutical industries is constructed in a hygienic manner and with suitable materials to permit rapid and effective cleaning and sanitizing thereof. Flexible, liquid impermeable bellows are mounted to the feeder housings in surrounding relation to the apertures through which the machine's several rotary shafts enter the housings. The bellows support bearing isolators that not only seal the housings from fluid entry, but because the bellows can flex, they also permit shaft spacings to be adjusted to adapt the machine to sheets of differing thicknesses and to set infeed belt tension. The sheet feeder's product input hopper and its discharge conveyor are designed to be easily detachable for cleaning in a dipping mode.

An adjustment method for adjusting the heights of the nipping belts in a transport conveyor that moves flat articles in series and on edge, so that a transport height is substantially constant for the flat articles. The method causes the conveyor to operate empty in such a manner that the nipping belts of heights that are to be adjusted run without any flat article in the conveyor, emits two parallel and superposed light beams towards a belt of height to be adjusted, spaced apart by a certain distance equal to the width of the belt between the two opposite edges of the belt to be adjusted, the light beams emitted from a portable tool, and manipulate a tensioner adjusting the belt so as to move the belt heightwise while it is running empty until the two light beams intersect respective ones of the two opposite edges of the belt.

An attachment mechanism includes a first holding member and a second holding member. The first holding member is configured to hold a device side plate of a belt device to attach a main body side plate of an apparatus in which the belt device is incorporated. The second holding member is configured to be fixed to the first holding member. The first holding member and the second folding member are configured to adjust a posture of the device side plate with respect to the main body side plate in assembly of the belt device.

A contact-and-separation system includes a first roller, a second roller, and a contact-and-separation device. The first roller contacts a belt. The second roller is opposed to the first roller. The contact-and-separation device contacts or separates the belt to or from the second roller via a sheet conveyed. The contact-and-separation device includes an eccentric cam, a motor, and a circuitry. The eccentric cam is mounted on an end of a rotation shaft of the first roller. The motor rotates the eccentric cam. The circuitry controls the motor to rotate the eccentric cam to contact or separate the belt to or from the second roller via the sheet conveyed. The circuitry controls the motor to decelerate a rotation speed of the motor on contact or separation of the belt to or from the second roller between the first roller and the second roller.

The present invention concerns a method for joining the ply of a reel of paper in depletion with the initial flap of a new reel, as well as an apparatus adapted for carrying out such a method.

Thanks to the method according to the present invention, and to the apparatus suitable for carrying it out, the joining of the reels takes place without using gluing means, like for example the double-sided tape used in known methods, avoiding the relative drawbacks, the adhesion between the plies of the reels to be joined taking place by electrostatic attraction.

A drying device includes a sheet conveyance portion, a warm air blowing portion disposed above and opposite to the sheet conveyance portion and to blow a warm air from a nozzle on the sheet. A first casing accommodates the warm air blowing portion and a second casing accommodates the sheet conveyance portion. The first casing is movable to a closed position opposite to the sheet conveyance portion and an open position for opening the sheet conveyance portion. The first casing positioned in the closed position moves to the open position by being moved upward to the second casing in a vertical direction, and the warm air blowing portion is movable to the first casing in the vertical direction in a state in which the first casing is positioned in the open position.

The invention relates to a device for decurling a web of material, such as a paper web, which device comprises: a first main roller; a second main roller arranged parallel to and at a distance of the first main roller, wherein the first main roller and the second main roller are arranged in a main plane; and a decurling roller arranged parallel to and between the first and second main roller, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the main plane, wherein the spacing between the first main roller and the second roller is smaller than the diameter of the decurling roller.