The specification discusses various lacing engine configurations for use in an automated footwear platform. For example, lacing engines with mechanisms to detect lace cable position and/or lace cable tensions are discussed. In an example, the lacing engine can include a housing, a lace spool and a detection mechanism. The lace spool can be at least partially disposed within the housing, and be adapted to collect a portion of the lace cable in response to rotation in a first direction during tightening of the footwear platform. The detection mechanism can detect a state of the lace cable manipulated by the lacing engine.

In an example, a lacing engine apparatus can include a housing and a drivetrain. The housing can be securable within a footwear article. The drivetrain can include a motor, a sun gear, a planet gear, a rotating ring gear, and a spool. The spool can be secured to the ring gear and can be rotatable therewith. The spool can be configured to control a lace of the footwear article and can be configured to wind the lace as the ring gear rotates in a first direction.

An automatic line reel includes a flexible line wound onto a motor-driven reel assembly. A processor controlling the motor detects contact pressure between the flexible line and a triangular pressure transducer, automatically extending the flexible line when the contact pressure exceeds a preset threshold. Line extension stops when contact pressure falls below a second preset threshold. The flexible line may be retracted and rewound around the reel assembly by activation of a switch on a wireless remoted control, by a switch on the automatic line reel, or by activation of a smart phone application program in data communication with the processor controlling the reel assembly. A reel assembly is optionally configured to maintain uninterrupted fluid communications through the automatic line reel as the reel assembly rotates. The reel assembly may optionally be configured to maintain uninterrupted electrical signal communication through the automatic line reel.

In an example, a lacing engine apparatus can include a housing and a drivetrain. The housing can be securable within a footwear article. The drivetrain can include a motor, a sun gear, a planet gear, a rotating ring gear, and a spool. The spool can be secured to the ring gear and can be rotatable therewith. The spool can be configured to control a lace of the footwear article and can be configured to wind the lace as the ring gear rotates in a first direction.

In some embodiments, apparatus and methods are provided for improved handling of lithography masks including a mask inverter that includes a first contact pad dedicated to inverting masks that have not been cleaned; a second contact pad dedicated to inverting masks that have been cleaned; an actuator coupled to the first and second contact pads and operable to invert the first and second contact pads; and a controller coupled to the actuator and operative to control the actuator. Numerous other aspects are provided.

A sheet feeding device includes a feeding guide of resin material constituting a sheet feeding path along which a sheet is fed; a feeding roller for feeding the sheet along the feeding path, the feeding roller being provided with a metal shaft; a sheet sensor configured to detect the sheet fed along the sheet feeding path; and a grounding member electrically grounding the shaft. The feeding guide has a guiding surface for guiding the sheet, and the guiding surface is provided with a hole portion for exposing the shaft to the sheet feeding path.

A medium transporting apparatus includes a feeding roller that rotates to transport a medium along a transportation path, an electrode installed downstream of the feeding roller on the transportation path and having conductivity, and an electric charge detecting circuit that outputs a signal having a magnitude corresponding to an amount of an electric charge, which moves from the medium to the electrode after the medium being transported along the transportation path comes into contact with the electrode.

Devices include electrically conductive elements contacting a vacuum belt, and a voltage source connected to the electrically conductive elements. The electrically conductive elements form an electrical circuit from the voltage source, through the belt, and back to the voltage source. The electrically conductive elements are positioned so that they are separated from the belt when the belt moves the sheets of media between the electrically conductive elements and the belt. A processor is capable of identifying leading edges of the sheets of media on the belt (when voltage of the electrical circuit changes from a relatively higher voltage to a relatively lower voltage) and identifying trailing edges of the sheets of media on the belt (when the voltage of the electrical circuit changes from the relatively lower voltage back to the relatively higher voltage).

Lacing engine systems, apparatus, and methods of operation are discussed. In an example, a lacing engine apparatus can include a housing, a drivetrain, and a lace take-up mechanism for retracting a length of lace cable upon activation. The drivetrain can include various reduction gears to reduce rotational speed out of the motor and power the lace take-up mechanism. The lace take-up mechanism can include structures such as a double-yoke, a radial pulley including an outer rotating disc and an inner stationary disc, a variable take-up spool, or a zip-strip mechanism.

In some examples, a non-transitory machine readable medium can include instructions executable by a processing resource to assert a low print media level notification responsive to determination that a first amount of print media in a media receptacle of an imaging device is less than a set value, detect a second amount of print media in the media receptacle of the imaging device, compare the detected second amount of print media to a print media threshold that is based on the set value and a selectable print media value, and maintain the low print media level notification responsive to a determination that the detected second amount of print media is less than the print media threshold.