In one example, a sheet media alignment system includes: a guide (12) defining a curved media path (14) that extends from an upstream part of the guide to a downstream part of the guide; a movable blocker (16, 56) to block the curved media path (14) at the downstream part of the guide, the blocker movable into and out of a blocking position in which the blocker is spaced from the downstream part of the guide a first distance; and a driver (24, 58) upstream from the curved media path to drive a media sheet into the guide along the curved media path and into the blocker. The driver is spaced from the upstream part of the guide a second distance greater than the first distance such that a media sheet driven into the blocker will buckle between the driver and the guide before it will buckle between the guide and the blocker.

A sheet conveying device includes a blocking member having a blocking surface with which a leading end of a sheet that is being conveyed comes into contact for obliquity correction. The blocking member is rotated by being pushed by the sheet against an urging force of a positioning unit that positions the blocking member to be in the standby position. The blocking member is rotatable to be in a sheet-passage-allowing orientation in which the sheet is allowed to pass. When a trailing end of the sheet that is being conveyed has passed the blocking member, the blocking member that is in the sheet-passage-allowing orientation rotates in a same direction as a sheet conveyance direction and is positioned to be in a standby position.

A medium carrying device includes a first stopper, a second stopper, a lever, and a mechanism that, when the lever is positioned in a blocking area, places the first stopper at a first blocking position and places the second stopper at a second blocking position, when the lever is positioned in a opening area, releases the first stopper to be positioned at a first opening position and releases the second stopper to be positioned at a second opening position. When the lever is positioned at a boundary position in between the blocking area and the opening area, a lever portion of the lever gets positioned in between a first stopper portion of the first stopper positioned at the first blocking position and a second stopper portion of the second stopper positioned at the second blocking position.

A sheet conveying device includes a blocking member having a blocking surface with which a leading end of a sheet that is being conveyed comes into contact for obliquity correction. The blocking member is rotated by being pushed by the sheet against an urging force of a positioning unit that positions the blocking member to be in the standby position. The blocking member is rotatable to be in a sheet-passage-allowing orientation in which the sheet is allowed to pass. When a trailing end of the sheet that is being conveyed has passed the blocking member, the blocking member that is in the sheet-passage-allowing orientation rotates in a same direction as a sheet conveyance direction and is positioned to be in a standby position.

A sheet conveyance device correcting skew of a sheet being conveyed includes: a rotational shaft extending perpendicularly to a sheet conveyance direction; conveyance rollers disposed at predefined intervals and into which the rotational shaft is inserted; gate members being coaxial with the conveyance rollers and disposed between the conveyance rollers along the rotational shaft, the gate members each having an arc-shaped part partially surrounding the rotational shaft and a stopper protruding radially outwards from the arc-shaped part; and a mounting plate elongated along the rotational shaft and being supported rotatably around the rotational shaft and holding the gate members in a same orientation. After the sheet abuts against at least one of the stoppers, the stoppers are pushed out of the conveyance path by the sheet. When the stoppers are positioned on the conveyance path, openings of the arc-shaped parts face toward a downstream side in the conveyance direction.

A medium carrying device includes a first stopper, a second stopper, a lever, and a mechanism that, when the lever is positioned in a blocking area, places the first stopper at a first blocking position and places the second stopper at a second blocking position, when the lever is positioned in a opening area, releases the first stopper to be positioned at a first opening position and releases the second stopper to be positioned at a second opening position. When the lever is positioned at a boundary position in between the blocking area and the opening area, a lever portion of the lever gets positioned in between a first stopper portion of the first stopper positioned at the first blocking position and a second stopper portion of the second stopper positioned at the second blocking position.

The invention relates to a device (1) and method for aligning blanks (2) in a magazine (3) holding a number of blanks (2), each blank (2) being a sleeve shaped piece of packaging material folded planar. The device (1) comprises a plate element (4), and a vibrating means (5) connected to said plate element (4) to vibrate said plate element (4) in relation to said magazine (3), such that said plate element (4) comes into contact with an edge of any unaligned blanks in said magazine in order to align said unaligned blanks. The invention also relates to an apparatus (100) and method for fetching a blank (2) from a magazine (3) holding a number of blanks (2).

A medium feeding device includes: a load unit that is loaded with multiple media; a delivering unit that delivers an uppermost medium of the media loaded on the load unit in a predetermined feeding direction; an ascent-descent unit that causes at least a part of the load unit to ascend and descend about a pivot point defined by a position of the load unit located away from a leading edge of the media in the feeding direction; a regulating unit that is provided toward the feeding direction of the media on the load unit and that comes into contact with the leading edge, in the feeding direction, of the media loaded on the load unit to regulate a loading position of the media; and a blocking unit that allows the load unit to ascend and descend and that blocks at least a part of a gap between the load unit and the regulating unit at an arbitrary ascent or descent position of the load unit.

The sheet stacker includes a sheet conveyor arrangement, configured for feeding a plurality of sheets and having a sheet discharge end, and a stacking bay. In the stacking bay sheets delivered by the sheet conveyor arrangement are formed into stacks. A stack conveyor is provided in the stacking bay and is movable in a conveyor direction parallel to a sheet feeding direction, according to which the sheets are fed from the sheet discharge end onto the stack conveyor. The sheet discharge end is configured and controlled such that it is gradually lifted during sheet stacking, in order to accommodate a growing stack of sheets being formed on the stack conveyor. A stop plate is positioned in the stacking bay above the stack conveyor and in front of the sheet discharge end of the sheet conveyor arrangement. The stop plate is configured and controlled to be gradually lifted from the stack conveyor as the sheet stack grows, to be withdrawn upon completion of the stack thus allowing removal of the stack in an evacuation direction substantially parallel to the conveyor direction, and to be lowered towards the stack conveyor again.

A printing apparatus includes a first and a second housing parts, a printing part, and a conveying part which includes a holding part that holds a first paper sheet and a second paper sheet in an overlapped state and respectively pulled out from a first paper roll and a second paper roll, and conveys the first paper sheet out of the first paper sheet and the second paper sheet held by the holding part to the printing part. The holding part includes a contacting member contacting the second paper sheet out of the first paper sheet and the second paper sheet in an overlapped state, and an opposing member arranged opposing the contacting member and contacting the first paper sheet. A first frictional force between the contacting member and the second paper sheet is larger than a second frictional force between the opposing member and the first paper sheet.