Techniques are described herein for reducing bowing effects on a substrate while the substrate is being transported, for example in an elevator mechanism, from a first travel path to a second travel path, where the first travel path is offset from the second travel path so that the first travel path is not collinear with the second travel path. The substrate can be any substrate that is bowed and for which one wishes to eliminate or reduce the bow. One specific substrate that can benefit from the techniques described herein are personalized documents such as plastic cards including but not limited to financial (e.g. credit and debit) cards, drivers' licenses, national identification cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, employee badges, and other plastic cards which bear personalized data unique to the card holder and/or which bear other card or document information.

A sheet conveyance apparatus conveying a sheet includes a conveyance roller and first and second rotary members. A first virtual line and a second virtual line cross each other when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller, with the first virtual line passing through the rotation center of a first longitudinal end of the first rotary member and a rotation center of a second longitudinal end of the first rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller. A second virtual line passes through the rotation center of a third longitudinal end of the second rotary member and the rotation center of a fourth longitudinal end of the second rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller.

A sheet discharging device includes a housing, a drive roller, a first pinch roller, a second pinch roller, a holder, a guide member, and an urging member urging the first pinch roller toward the drive roller. The second pinch roller is positioned downstream of the first pinch roller in a discharging direction. The holder has a connecting portion supporting the first and second pinch rollers. The first pinch roller is movable between a contact position in contact with the drive roller and a separated position separated from the drive roller. Between the first and second pinch rollers in the discharging direction, the guide member is farther away from the drive roller than the connecting portion is when the first pinch roller is at the contact position, and is closer to the drive roller than the connecting portion is when the first pinch roller is at the separated position.

A sheet conveyance apparatus conveying a sheet includes a conveyance roller and first and second rotary members. A first virtual line and a second virtual line cross each other when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller, with the first virtual line passing through the rotation center of a first longitudinal end of the first rotary member and a rotation center of a second longitudinal end of the first rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller. A second virtual line passes through the rotation center of a third longitudinal end of the second rotary member and the rotation center of a fourth longitudinal end of the second rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller.

A sheet conveyance device includes a conveyance roller to convey a sheet, an ejection roller to eject the sheet from the sheet conveyance device, a conveyance relay roller disposed between the conveyance roller and the ejection roller, a driven roller disposed in contact with the conveyance relay roller to form a nip, and an openable portion to open and close relative to a housing of the sheet conveyance device. A pivotable roller holder to pivot relative to openable portion is attached to the openable portion. The pivotable roller holder holds the conveyance relay roller and the driven roller to maintain a nip pressure between the conveyance relay roller and the driven roller when the openable portion is opened.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a conveyance roller, a first rotary member forming a first nip portion conveying a sheet in a first conveyance direction, a rotation axis of the first rotary member being inclined with respect to a rotation axis of the conveyance roller such that a center of one end of the first rotary member is positioned at a different position in the first conveyance direction with respect to a center of the other end, and a second rotary member forming a second nip portion conveying a sheet in a second conveyance direction, a rotation axis of the second rotary member being inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller such that a center of one end of the second rotary member is positioned at a different position in the second conveyance direction with respect to a center of the other end.

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.

A paper delivery device includes a shift frame movable in a second direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a first direction along which paper is delivered to outside, a driver that moves the shift frame in the second direction, a drive roller with a first outer peripheral surface extending in the second direction and supported by the shift frame such that the drive roller is rotatable about a first shaft parallel or substantially parallel to the second direction, a first driven roller with a second outer peripheral surface extending in the second direction and contactable with the first outer peripheral surface at a first contact position, the first driven roller supported by the shift frame such that the first driven roller is rotatable about a second shaft parallel or substantially parallel to the second direction following the rotation of the drive roller, the first driven roller being rotated in a state where the paper is nipped between the first outer peripheral surface and the second outer peripheral surface thus transporting the paper in the first direction, and a second driven roller with a third outer peripheral surface extending in the second direction and contactable with the first outer peripheral surface at a second contact position downstream of the first contact position in the first direction, the second driven roller being supported by the shift frame such that the second driven roller is rotated about a third shaft disposed parallel or substantially parallel to the second direction following the rotation of the drive roller, the second driven roller being rotated in a state where the paper which is nipped between the first outer peripheral surface and the second outer peripheral surface is nipped by the first outer peripheral surface and the third outer peripheral surface thus transporting the paper in the first direction.

A substrate de-bowing mechanism, system and method are described. The mechanism can include a substrate support, one or more stationary contact members, and one or more dynamic or movable contact members that are adapted to contact the substrate and bend the substrate in a desired direction to reduce or eliminate bowing of the substrate. The mechanism is controlled by a CPU or other controller that can adjust the de-bow parameters of the de-bowing mechanism based on input settings that can be dynamic and/or static settings. The mechanism can be used to de-bow a variety of substrates including plastic cards, passports, and passport pages.

A sheet processing device includes a housing, a sheet stacking portion, a sheet discharge portion, a contact member, a conveyance unit, and an association mechanism. A sheet discharge portion is disposed in the housing and faces a space over the sheet stacking portion, the sheet discharge portion including a pair of discharge rollers. The contact member is disposed in the sheet discharge portion, and is movable to project into a sheet conveyance passage to come into contact with a surface of the sheet. The conveyance unit is selectively mounted in the space of the housing, and is configured to receive a sheet delivered by the pair of discharge rollers and convey the sheet. The association mechanism is operable to cause the contact member to recede from the sheet conveyance passage in association with the mounting of the conveyance unit in the housing.