A transport device for a sheet-format substrate has at least one first substrate feed device and has at least one second substrate feed device. The at least one second substrate feed device comprises at least one forward stop and at least one singulating device. At least one substrate guiding device is arranged between the at least one first substrate feed device and the at least one second substrate feed device. The at least one substrate guiding device has at least one directing element. The at least one directing element is mounted such that it is movable or is moved in two different directions independently of one another.

To correct a posture of a paper sheet inserted from various positions and angles to a normal transport state without causing any deformation due to contact with a side wall while transporting the paper sheet continuously and non-intermittently. A drive-side unit (20) includes at least one drive roller (25) that is supported rotatably about a shaft orthogonal to a normal paper-sheet transport direction and axially movably, an elastic biasing member (40) that elastically biases the drive roller in an axial direction, and a cam mechanism (50) that transmits a driving force from a driving source to the drive roller, and operates when an external force exceeding a predetermined value in a direction other than a normal transport direction is applied to the paper sheet transported by the drive roller, so as to change an axial position of the drive roller against an elastic biasing force, and a driven-side unit (100) includes a driven roller that changes a transport grip between the drive roller and a paper sheet according to a change of an axial position of the drive roller.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a storage unit storing a sheet, a conveyance member to convey a sheet, a support shaft portion, and a separation unit. The support shaft portion has one end fixed to a main body of the sheet conveyance apparatus and the other end as a free end that is not fixed to the main body. The separation unit pinches and conveys a sheet with the conveyance member and separates a plurality of sheets stored in and fed from the storage unit one by one. The separation unit includes a separation member that is supported by the support shaft portion and rotatable with the support shaft portion, and a holding member to hold the separation member. By moving the holding member in an axial direction of the support shaft portion, the separation unit is removed from the apparatus with the holding member holding the separation member.

Alignment apparatuses include a frame and contact elements connected to the frame. The contact elements contact items that are to be transported in a processing direction relative to the frame. The contact elements are in permeant fixed positions relative to the frame, and do not move relative to the frame. Adjustable mounts are connected to the frame and move the frame in the processing direction and in a perpendicular cross-processing direction. A controller is electrically connected to the adjustable mounts, and the controller is adapted to control the adjustable mounts to simultaneously move the frame and all the contact elements in the cross-processing direction and the processing direction while rotating the frame. Methods laterally shift imaging on sheets that have had rotational correction performed by such alignment apparatuses.

Examples of a paper-clearance apparatus for removing jammed paper from a printer are described herein. The paper-clearance apparatus includes an outer shaft mounted transversely above a printing medium path of a printer; an inner shaft movably disposed inside the outer shaft; a roller assembly including a sliding bush mounted over the outer shaft; and a handle connected inside the inner shaft from outside a printer housing. The handle is being rotatable so that the roller connected with the inner shaft touches the jammed paper and rotates along with the jammed paper to grip the jammed paper. Further, the handle is being pullable away from the printer housing so as to pull out the jammed paper beneath the printer housing.

Examples of a paper-clearance apparatus for removing jammed paper from a printer are described herein. The paper-clearance apparatus includes an outer shaft mounted transversely above a printing medium path of a printer; an inner shaft movably disposed inside the outer shaft; a roller assembly including a sliding bush mounted over the outer shaft; and a handle connected inside the inner shaft from outside a printer housing. The handle is being rotatable so that the roller connected with the inner shaft touches the jammed paper and rotates along with the jammed paper to grip the jammed paper. Further, the handle is being pullable away from the printer housing so as to pull out the jammed paper beneath the printer housing.

A single nip de-skew, lateral registration, and process direction registration device removes skew, laterally registers, and registers in the process direction substrates moving along a media transport path. The single nip de-skew, lateral registration, and process direction registration device includes a fixed roller that is longer than a rotating wheel that forms a nip with the fixed roller. The wheel has a coefficient of friction that is higher than a coefficient of friction of the roller so an actuator translating the wheel along the fixed roller laterally registers and de-skews substrates.

Alignment apparatuses include a frame and contact elements connected to the frame. The contact elements contact items that are to be transported in a processing direction relative to the frame. The contact elements are in permeant fixed positions relative to the frame, and do not move relative to the frame. Adjustable mounts are connected to the frame and move the frame in the processing direction and in a perpendicular cross-processing direction. A controller is electrically connected to the adjustable mounts, and the controller is adapted to control the adjustable mounts to simultaneously move the frame and all the contact elements in the cross-processing direction and the processing direction while rotating the frame. Methods laterally shift imaging on sheets that have had rotational correction performed by such alignment apparatuses.

A paper sheet separation device includes a separation roller coming into contact with paper sheets, a feed roller rotating with respect to the separation roller to convey the paper sheets separately one by one, and a pair of guide members having guide faces coming into sliding contact with a front end of the paper sheets and being provided on both sides in an axial direction of the separation roller. A friction coefficient of the guide face is smaller than a friction coefficient of a peripheral face of the separation roller. The guide face is provided protruding outward of the separation roller from the peripheral face of the separation roller in a radial direction of the separation roller. The guide face is supported to be able to move inward in the radial direction of the separation roller at a contact point between the separation roller and the feed roller.

The medium detection unit is a component constituting an optical path of the detection light, and includes a first optical element disposed on an upper side of the medium transport path and a second optical element disposed on a lower side of the medium transport path so as to face the first optical element, the second optical element has a facing surface that faces the first optical element, the facing surface being located at a position that is not in contact with a medium nipped by both the first roller pair and the second roller pair, and a medium feeding direction by the first roller pair is a direction by which a leading edge of a medium fed out abuts a position upstream in the medium transport direction relative to a position where the detection light is received on the facing surface.