A roller assembly for transporting a substrate includes a step roller and a plurality of first auxiliary rollers. The step roller includes a main roller, and a pair of edge rollers sleeved on the main roller and located on two opposite ends of the main roller, respectively. The plurality of first auxiliary rollers are disposed on two opposite sides of the step roller, respectively. A first film forms a closed loop through the first film being rolled on the plurality of first auxiliary rollers and the step roller cyclically. A method using the same is also provided.

A paper correction apparatus B corrects a curl of a sheet S by passing the sheet S through curved paper conveying routes CCP1 and CCP2 whose curving amounts can be changed. The paper correction apparatus B is provided with a control unit B3 which sets the curving amounts of the curved paper conveying routes CCP1 and CCP2, and changes a sheet interval in accordance with the curving amounts which are set. By this configuration, it is possible to inhibit the productivity from being reduced due to paper correction during performing post-printing processes in a finisher which is located in the downstream side of the paper correction apparatus B.

To form a web conveying path that bends and conveys a web, a web conveying device has: a plurality of foil supporting members that are disposed at prescribed intervals in a conveying direction of the web and that support a surface of the web that is being conveyed; a foil extending member stretched between the foil supporting members, which pulls an end of the web downstream in the conveying direction of the web such that the web extends from a starting point to an end point of the web conveying path that is formed by the foil supporting members; and a moving mechanism that moves the foil extending member from the starting point to the end point of the web conveying path.

A paper sheet stacking mechanism 50 includes a stacking wheel 52, a roller 54 that is disposed outward from the stacking wheel 52 so as to be coaxially aligned with the stacking wheel 52 and that is rotatable about a shaft 53 at a greater angular velocity than that of the stacking wheel 52, and a transport unit that is configured to transport a paper sheet to the gap between two adjacent vanes 52b of the stacking wheel 52. The transport unit is located such that a discharge position is disposed outward from the outer periphery of the base 52a of the stacking wheel 52 and inward of the circular region defined by the tips of the vanes 52b of the stacking wheel 52 during the rotation of the stacking wheel 52, when viewed in the axial direction of the shaft 53 of the stacking wheel 52.

A paper sheet transportation mechanism includes: transportation portions between which a paper sheet is sandwiched so as to transport the paper sheet; and a transportation guide that protrudes in a direction of the paper sheet sandwiched by the transportation portions such that the paper sheet is deformed into a wave shape in a cross section perpendicular to a transportation direction of the paper sheet, and that extends in the transportation direction.

A conveyor configured to transport sheets along a transport path from an input end to a discharge end includes a main frame, an upper conveyor deck supported by the main frame and having a plurality of belts and a lower conveyor deck supported by the main frame and having a plurality of wheels. The transport path is defined by the contact surfaces of the plurality of belts in the first contact region and the contact surfaces of the plurality of wheels in the second contact region, and the conveyor is configured such that the sheets make direct contact with the contact surfaces of the plurality of belts and make direct contact with the contact surfaces of the plurality of wheels when the sheets move along the transport path. The wheels are shiftable in the third direction relative to the belts and relative to the main frame.

A conveyor includes a first conveyor deck having a first plurality of contact elements, each having a contact surface movable around a closed path from a contact region to a non-contact region, the first contact regions lying in a plane or being bounded by the plane and a second conveyor deck having a second plurality of contact elements, each having a contact surface movable around a closed path from a contact region to a non-contact region, these contact regions lying in a second plane or being bounded by the second plane. The transport path of the conveyor is defined by the contact surfaces of the first and second contact elements in the contact regions, and the first plurality of contact elements are belts and the second plurality of contact elements are wheels.

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.

A conveying apparatus includes an upper conveyor and a lower conveyor, the top of the lower conveyor facing the bottom of the upper conveyor and defining with the bottom of the upper conveyor a sheet transport path. An air duct having an opening facing the top of the upper conveyor is mounted over the upper conveyor, and a fan is provided that is in fluid communication with the air duct. The fan draws air through the opening, into the air duct and out an exhaust vent. A housing substantially encloses the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor and is connected to the air duct, and the housing has a bottom opening located below the sheet transport path such that a majority of the air drawn through the opening by the fan passes through the upper conveyor.

A curl-correcting device includes a roller, a belt, a pair of rollers, and an adjuster. The roller is disposed facing the convex side of a curled sheet. The belt is rotatable in a predetermined direction to convey the sheet sandwiched between the roller and the belt. The pair of rollers is located at positions of an upstream side and a downstream side in a rotation direction of the belt, and each abuts the roller via the belt. The adjuster adjusts a winding angle at which the belt is wound around the roller by varying an interval between the pair of rollers in the rotation direction of the belt.