An expanding machine includes a chassis, a feeding roller carrying a honeycomb paper, a guiding roller, and an expansion roller assembly including an upper expansion roller, a lower expansion roller, and a passage gap. The upper expansion roller includes upper projection assemblies that are staggered with respect to each other. Each of the projecting assemblies includes upper projecting portions and upper supporting portions that are alternate with respect to each other. The lower expansion roller includes projecting portions and supporting portions corresponding to the upper expansion roller. When the expansion roller assembly is put into rotation, the upper projecting portions correspond to the lower supporting portion, and the lower projecting portions correspond to the upper supporting portions, so that the projections that are separately arranged may pull and expand the honeycomb paper, making it not readily compress down the honeycomb paper or generating apparent compressing marking.

A media separation apparatus may include: a pickup roller disposed at one side of the loaded media, and configured to sequentially pick up and transfer the loaded media; a feed roller disposed separately from the pickup roller in a media feeding direction, and configured to feed the media picked up and transferred by the pickup roller toward a transfer path; and a media separator disposed at a position facing the feed roller, having a plurality of separation rollers and a separation belt wound around a part of the circumference of each of the separation rollers, and configured to separate a following medium from a leading medium through friction of the separation belt, the following medium being in close contact with the leading medium fed by the feed roller and transferred at the same time as the leading medium.

A web tensioner, a web slitter, a method of tensioning a web, and a method of slitting a web are provided. A corrugated edge nip is used in the tensioner, the slitter, and the methods of tensioning and slitting. The corrugated edge nip can provide a crossweb tension to a suspended web or film in a web line. The corrugated edge nip can be used in conjunction with, for example, a rotary shear slitter to improve slit edge quality.

A tension-inducing shaft system includes a shaft, two shaft caps, and a biasing mechanism. A bore extends through the shaft between two ends of the shaft. The shaft caps are positioned on the two ends of the shaft. Each shaft cap includes a collar having a size that is larger than the bore, a keyed end, and an anchor. The biasing mechanism is arranged inside the bore and is coupled to the anchors of the shaft caps so that the biasing mechanism exerts inward forces on the shaft cap. The keyed ends of the shaft caps can be coupled to a housing so that the shaft caps do not rotate with respect to the housing. The shaft is configured to rotate with respect to the shaft caps such that, when the keyed ends are coupled to the housing, the shaft is capable of rotating with respect to the housing.

A sheet conveying device includes a conveying roller configured to convey a sheet and a plurality of driven rotating units. The conveying roller includes a plurality of roller portions disposed at positions opposite to the driven rotating units. Each of the roller portions has three or more annular grooves arranged side by side. Each of the driven rotating units includes three or more driven rotating bodies that are disposed at positions opposite to the annular grooves, respectively. A plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions are alternately provided on an outer edge of each of the driven rotating bodies. The driven rotating bodies include two first rotating bodies positioned at both ends and one or more second rotating bodies located between the first rotating bodies and having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first rotating bodies.

A sheet conveying device includes a conveying roller configured to convey a sheet and a plurality of driven rotating units. The conveying roller includes a plurality of roller portions disposed at positions opposite to the driven rotating units. Each of the roller portions has three or more annular grooves arranged side by side. Each of the driven rotating units includes three or more driven rotating bodies that are disposed at positions opposite to the annular grooves, respectively. A plurality of convex portions and a plurality of concave portions are alternately provided on an outer edge of each of the driven rotating bodies. The driven rotating bodies include two first rotating bodies positioned at both ends and one or more second rotating bodies located between the first rotating bodies and having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first rotating bodies.

A thickness detector includes a rotator having different shape marks, disposed at different positions in a rotation direction; an opposing member disposed opposite the rotator; a detector to detect and output a displacement amount of the rotator or the opposing member in a sheet thickness direction; and a controller. The controller is configured to acquire first output values for one rotation from the detector, in a state without sheet; determine, based on a value output from the detector, whether one of the plurality of marks is detected in a state with the sheet held; acquire a predetermined number of second output values after one of the marks is detected; extract, from the first output values, values corresponding to the second output values, based on the value corresponding to the detected mark; and calculate a sheet thickness based on the second output values and the extracted first output values.

A flattening device includes: a holder configured to support the following components; at least one flattening roller set, including a first flattening roller and a second flattening roller arranged oppositely at two sides of a sheet medium conveying path; and a power mechanism configured to drive the first and second flattening rollers to rotate. A surface of the first flattening roller is distributed with n arc-shaped grooves arranged in parallel with an axis direction of the first flattening roller, wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1; and a surface of the second flattening roller is provided with at least one arc-shaped protruding portion in rolling engagement with the arc-shaped grooves of the first flattening roller; and wherein, the first flattening roller and the second flattening roller are in rolling engagement to form a conveying passage for the sheet medium.

A flattening device includes: a holder configured to support the following components; at least one flattening roller set, including a first flattening roller and a second flattening roller arranged oppositely at two sides of a sheet medium conveying path; and a power mechanism configured to drive the first and second flattening rollers to rotate. A surface of the first flattening roller is distributed with n arc-shaped grooves arranged in parallel with an axis direction of the first flattening roller, wherein n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1; and a surface of the second flattening roller is provided with at least one arc-shaped protruding portion in rolling engagement with the arc-shaped grooves of the first flattening roller; and wherein, the first flattening roller and the second flattening roller are in rolling engagement to form a conveying passage for the sheet medium.

The present disclosure is, in one aspect, directed to a sheet material dispenser assembly including a dispenser housing with at least one support and a discharge. The dispense assembly has a supply sheet material at least partially supported by the at least one support, and at least one driving roller driven to direct sheet material from the supply of sheet material to the discharge. In addition, the dispenser assembly includes a plurality of pressing rollers at least partially engaging the sheet material against the at least one driving roller as the at least one driving roller is driven to direct the sheet material towards the discharge, which pressing rollers are held in a substantially tensioned arrangement to facilitate a consistent drawing or pulling of the sheet material.