An example sheet guide devices comprises a housing and a guide member coupled to the housing. The housing is to receive a stack of sheets to staple. The guide member includes a cylinder shaft, a counterbalance component, and guide arm. The cylinder shaft is rotatable and disposed within the housing. The counterbalance component is disposed with the cylinder shaft to shift a center of gravity of the guide member in a first direction. The guide arm is disposed off-center from a central axis of the cylinder shaft in a second direction.

An image reading apparatus includes a stacking portion, a feeding unit, a reading unit, and a discharge portion provided below the stacking portion. The feeding unit feeds a sheet stacked on the stacking portion in a feeding direction. The reading unit reads an image on the fed sheet and the discharge portion discharges the read sheet. The stacking portion includes first and second support surfaces that support the sheet and first and second regulating units to regulate a position of the sheet in a widthwise direction using two opposing ends of the sheet. The second support surface is retractable from a predetermined section above the discharge portion. The first support surface includes a downstream support portion that supports the sheet on a downstream side of the predetermined section in the feeding direction. A part of the second regulating surface is positioned on the downstream support portion.

A center-alignment apparatus for use in an ATM has a transport mechanism to transport a document into the ATM. One or more plates operable in tandem to move the document toward a centerline of a path the document is to travel. Edge-detection sensor(s) on the plate sense an edge of the document when the plate(s) is moved toward the centerline. A translate/rotate mechanism translates and rotates the document while the translate/rotate mechanism transversely moves the document toward the center until another edge-detection sensor detects an edge of the document to create a parallel-aligned document. The control logic controls the plate(s) to centers the parallel-aligned document about the centerline to create a centered document.

A tape ejection guide structure (8) is a structure which guides ejection of a component storing tape (100) ejected from a tape ejection port (23) of a component supply unit (1A), and includes a guide body (81), and a pair of restraining portions (83). The guide body (81) guides an upper surface portion (100A) of the component storing tape (100) which is ejected from the tape ejection port (23) in a tape ejection direction (H2). A pair of restraining portions (83) is connected to both end portions of the guide body (81) in a tape width direction (H3) respectively, and restrains the displacement in the tape width direction (H3) of the component storing tape (100) which is ejected in a state where the upper surface (100A) is guided by the guide body (81).

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a rotorcraft-assisted system and method for launching and retrieving a fixed-wing aircraft into and from free flight. The launch and retrieval system includes a modular multicopter, a storage and launch system, an anchor system, a flexible capture member, and an aircraft-landing structure. The multicopter is attachable to the fixed-wing aircraft to facilitate launching the fixed-wing aircraft into free, wing-borne flight. The storage and launch system is usable to store the multicopter (when disassembled) and to act as a launch mount for the fixed-wing aircraft by retaining the fixed-wing aircraft in a desired launch orientation. The anchor system is usable with the multicopter, the flexible capture member, and the aircraft-landing structure to retrieve the fixed-wing aircraft from free, wing-borne flight.

A second roller set is disposed separately from a first roller set in one direction of the conveyance direction, and includes an intermittent roller that generates, during one rotation, a conveyance enabled time of contacting the card and conveying the card and a conveyance disabled time of not contacting the card and not conveying the card. A third roller set is disposed separately from the second roller set. A reference guide wall receives abutments of a first end portion of the card and arranges a position of the card in the width direction at a reference position. An urging guide wall urges a second end portion of the card toward the reference guide wall by a first urging force. A support wall regulates a movement of the reference guide wall toward the urging guide wall at a position serving as the reference position.

An example sheet guide devices comprises a housing and a guide member coupled to the housing. The housing is to receive a stack of sheets to staple. The guide member includes a cylinder shaft, a counterbalance component, and guide arm. The cylinder shaft is rotatable and disposed within the housing. The counterbalance component is disposed with the cylinder shaft to shift a center of gravity of the guide member in a first direction. The guide arm is disposed off-center from a central axis of the cylinder shaft in a second direction.

A paper guide mechanism that facilitates operation without easily allowing deviation of a wide guide unit. In a paper guide mechanism (10), a position-holding member (13) holds the widthwise position of a widthwise moving member (12) by bringing a first fixing-side locking section (11e) and a first moving-side locking section (13d) into contact with each other on a surface perpendicular to a direction of movement of the widthwise moving member (12) even in a case in which the widthwise moving member (12) is about to move in any direction along the width direction. The position-holding member (13) has a movement-restricting section (13e). The movement-restricting section (13e) restricts the movement of the position-holding member (13) in an orientation in which the first fixing-side locking section (11e) and the first moving-side locking section (13d) are moved away from each other by bringing the position-holding member (13) into contact with a second surface of a supporting member (11) on a side opposite to a first surface.

A medium transport method, which is performed by a medium transport device having a transport unit which includes rollers that can pinch a medium and which transports the medium, includes inserting the medium to a predetermined position, pressing a side end portion of the medium against a side surface guide, and pinching the medium with the rollers, and transports the medium.

A sheet processing apparatus includes a stacking section provided on the downstream side of a collecting section in a transport direction outside an apparatus housing, an alignment section provided on the downstream side of the collecting section in the transport direction, above the stacking section, to be able to shift in a predetermined movable region so as to align a sheet width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the sheet to be stacked on the stacking section, a shaft-direction drive mechanism for shifting the alignment section in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, an alignment plate rotation shaft member for axially supporting the alignment section rotatably, a shaft-direction drive source for operating the shaft-direction drive mechanism, and a neat housing for storing the shaft-direction drive mechanism and the alignment plate rotation shaft member inside the housing.