An apparatus for controlling curl in sheets between two transports includes a curved baffle placed between the two transports. A thin layer of high velocity air is applied to the curved baffle. The high velocity air layer, which will have a tendency to follow the curved baffle (Coanda effect), will divert sheets (Bernoulli effect) towards the curved baffle. By positioning the curved baffle between the two transports and by applying a uniform air stream to it, a lower pressure area will be created. This will flatten the trajectory of the sheets and ensure acquisition by the downstream transport.

Embodiments of a system and method for shingulating, singulating, and synchronizing articles in an article feeder system are disclosed. The article feeder system may include a shingulating device configured to receive a stack of articles and to produce a positively lapped stack of articles, a plurality of picking devices configured to pick one or more articles from the positively lapped stack of articles and to produce one or more singulated articles, and one or more synchronization devices configured to deliver the one or more singulated articles to one or more sorter windows.

Embodiments of a system and method for shingulating, singulating, and synchronizing articles in an article feeder system are disclosed. The article feeder system may include a shingulating device configured to receive a stack of articles and to produce a positively lapped stack of articles, a plurality of picking devices configured to pick one or more articles from the positively lapped stack of articles and to produce one or more singulated articles, and one or more synchronization devices configured to deliver the one or more singulated articles to one or more sorter windows.

A sheet-fed press includes at least two units embodied as modules. The at least two modules respectively each comprise at least one individual drive, each individual drive being configured as a position-controlled electric motor. At least one of the at least two modules is configured as a non-impact coating module, and the at least coating module is arranged as at least another of at least two modules that is configured as a primer module or as a painting module.

A transport device stacks partial book blocks along a transport path formed of transfer paths, and includes: a first transfer path at a start of the transport device; a first separating element downstream of the first transfer path and upstream of a second transfer path; a second separating element downstream of the second transfer path and upstream of a processing machine that is operatively connected to the transport device; and a transition path which is arranged either upstream or downstream of the second separating element and within which a book block product that is to be introduced therein is transferable from a transport position where it is lying flat and into a transport position where it is guided standing up. At least one of the transfer paths is equipped with at least one sheet stack feed unit and/or at least one collator-feeder.

Disclosed is an automated insert feeding system and related methods, capable of removing bulk-packaged items from a tray or other package, and separating the bulk-packaged items individually for distribution into individual packages in high speed reliable fashion. The disclosed systems can also be loaded with multiple packages of the pre-packaged items for automatic feeding into the system which allows human operators to load several packages and allow the system to work unattended, thereby reducing man-hours spend on the process.

A mail singulator system determines a position of an optical panel to automatically adjust a loading conveyor speed to prevent stacked and overlapped mailpieces in the singulator and large gaps between mailpieces. The optical panel is configured between the front mailpiece of a mail stack on the loading conveyor and the optical sensor. The optical panel changes position with the pressure exerted by the mail stack and provides signals to the controller to adjust the conveyor speed. An optical sensor may detect a far threshold position or limit distance to increase the speed of the conveyor and may detect a near threshold position of limit distance to reduce the speed of the conveyor. The optical panel may have a low friction surface to allow the mail to slide into the conveyor and an optical surface to allow reliable optical sensor detection of the optical panel position.

A conveyor includes a plurality of belt support assemblies each having a drive wheel assembly at one end and an idler wheel assembly at the other end. Each of the drive and idler wheel assemblies includes a motion converter for converting the rotational movement of a shaft into linear motion along the shaft and an actuator for selectively engaging the motion converter and the shaft. A controller controls the operation of the shafts and the actuators to selectively and individually control the location of each end of each belt assembly relative to one another and to a centerline of the conveyor.

A method of manufacturing a glass includes a conveying step of moving a conveyance sheet material that contacts a lower surface of a glass film, to thereby convey the glass film. The conveyance sheet material includes a first contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the glass film on an upstream side in a manufacture-related process step, a second contact portion that contacts the lower surface of the glass film on a downstream side in the manufacture-related process step, and a non-contact portion that is prevented from contacting the lower surface of the glass film. In this method, the manufacture-related process step includes subjecting the glass film to a predetermined process at a position corresponding to the non-contact portion between the first and second contact portions while simultaneously moving the first, second , and non-contact portions of the conveyance sheet material through the conveying step.

Disclosed is an automated insert feeding system and related methods, capable of removing bulk-packaged items from a tray or other package, and separating the bulk-packaged items individually for distribution into individual packages in high speed reliable fashion. The disclosed systems can also be loaded with multiple packages of the pre-packaged items for automatic feeding into the system which allows human operators to load several packages and allow the system to work unattended, thereby reducing man-hours spend on the process.