A conveying apparatus for feeding sheets into a processing apparatus is discloses which comprises a plurality of nips within which sheets are gripped and driven along a conveying direction towards the processing apparatus, each nip being defined between a respective drive wheel and an opposing reaction surface. The drive wheels are omni-wheels configured to apply a frictional force to advance the sheets in the conveying direction while permitting free movement of the sheets in a direction transverse to the conveying direction, the reaction surfaces permitting free movement of the sheets in the transverse direction, and an elongate guide is arranged on one side of the conveying apparatus, to extend generally parallel to the conveying direction, the conveying apparatus being configured to urge conveyed sheets in the transverse direction into contact with the guide. A control system is provided to move the guide generally in the transverse direction in dependence upon sensed fiducials on the conveyed sheets, to ensure correct alignment of the sheets in the transverse direction with respect to the processing apparatus.

A sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) comprises a transport system (32) for transporting sheets (12) or parts thereof from a respective input end (20i, 22i, 24i) to a respective output end (20o, 22o, 24o). A gripper unit (46) is releasably coupled to the transport system (32) and is configured for holding at least a part of one of the sheets (12). Additionally, at least one handover mechanism (47d, 47r) is provided being configured for decoupling the gripper unit (46) from the transport system (32) and providing the gripper unit (46) to a neighboring sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) and/or receiving a gripper unit (46) from a neighboring sheet material processing unit (20, 22, 24) and coupling the received gripper unit (46) to the corresponding transport system (32). Additionally, a sheet material processing machine (10) is presented which comprises at least two such sheet material processing units (20, 22, 24).

A device for changing a sheet pile (14) in a sheet feeder (10) for a sheet treating machine comprises a main pile supporting unit (18) with a main pile actuating unit (20) for lifting and lowering the main pile supporting unit (18), wherein the main pile supporting unit (18) comprises a supporting surface (22) adapted to support a pallet (16) carrying a sheet pile (14). The device further comprises a residual pile supporting unit (24) with a residual pile actuating unit (26) for lifting and lowering the residual pile supporting unit (24). The residual pile supporting unit (24) comprises a plurality of residual pile bars (38) extending substantially parallel to each other and being substantially parallel to the supporting surface (22) of the main pile supporting unit (18), wherein the residual pile bars (38) are coupled to a bar actuating unit (43) adapted to move the residual pile bars (38) on a line parallel to the direction of extension of the respective residual pile bar (38) into a sheet pile region (30) and retract the residual pile bars (38) from the sheet pile region (30). The bar actuating unit (43) is configured to retract the residual pile bars (38) while introducing an oscillatory movement of the residual pile bars (38) along the direction of extension of the residual pile bars (38).

Further, a method for changing a sheet pile (14) in a sheet feeder (10) is presented.

A sheet suction device includes a drum having multiple suction ports in a circumferential surface of the drum, the drum configured to bear a sheet on the circumferential surface and rotate in a circumferential direction of the drum, and a suction device configured to suck the sheet through the multiple suction ports to attract the sheet on the circumferential surface. The drum includes multiple suction regions aligned in the circumferential direction on the circumferential surface, each of the multiple suction regions includes the multiple suction ports aligned in the circumferential direction and in an axial direction of the drum on the circumferential surface, the multiple suction regions include an upstream region, a middle region, and a downstream region in the circumferential direction, and the middle region has the multiple suction ports at both outer sides in the axial direction of the drum.

A garment production system, comprising a virtual development environment configured to receive and store in a database thereof body information relating to a user, establish measurements for the user based on the body information, display, on a display device connected to the virtual development environment, a virtual representation of the user using the established measurements, customize one or more garments for the user based on the established measurements, display, on the display device, a virtual representation of the one or more customized garments on the virtual representation of the user, receive and store in the database personalization information from the user regarding the one or more customized garments, and alter the one or more customized garments and the virtual representation thereof based on the received personalization information for manufacture thereof.

Equipment for stacking sheets with a stack support, input rollers for feeding entering sheets and transport belts with lower branches arranged above the stack support. A compensation mechanism modifies the height of the stack support, while the transport belts are motorized to drag the entering sheets with the lower branches and deposit the sheets on the stack support or on stacked sheets. An arrest member is provided for the entering sheets, a pressure member for the stack to be stacked and a sensor device for a last sheet of the stack. The arrest member arrests the sheets in stacking while the pressure member is contiguous to the stop member and operates on the last sheet of the stack with a stabilizing function and in which the compensation mechanism is servoized to the sensor, for maintaining constant the height of the last sheet of the stack from a reference plane.

In some examples, a substrate handling system includes a sheet processing machine and at least one alignment device that includes at least four stops. At least one stop is configured as a front stop, at least one stop is configured as a rear stop, and at least two stops are configured as lateral stops. The at least two lateral stops are arranged opposite one another, and the at least one front stop and the at least one rear stop are arranged opposite one another. The alignment device includes at least one support element that is configured as a propping element for propping at least one partial stack of sheets in the alignment device. Further, at least one respective support element is arranged at the at least two lateral stops and at the at least one rear stop.

A sheet conveyor includes a conveyance belt configured to convey a sheet on a first surface of the conveyance belt in a conveyance direction, a suction device configured to suck the sheet onto the conveyance belt via the conveyance belt, and multiple supports between the conveyance belt and the suction device in a vertical direction, the multiple supports configured to support a second surface of the conveyance belt. A longitudinal direction of each of the multiple supports is parallel to a direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the multiple supports are arrayed in the conveyance direction.

A feeder of a sheet treating or a sheet processing machine comprises a sensor system, which sensor system, on a front side pointing in a direction of transport of the sheets to be fed or on the opposing, rear side of the pile of sheets to be fed, comprises one or more sensors, by the use of which sensors, a distance, with respect to at least two locations, which are spaced apart from one another transversely to the transport direction, at the relevant front or rear sides of the pile, can be ascertained. A method is provided for detecting or correcting sheets having deviated positions or dimensions in such a sheet feeder of a sheet treating or processing machine.

A conveyance apparatus includes a conveyor and processing circuitry. The conveyor conveys a sheet. The processing circuitry controls conveyance of the sheet by the conveyor and switching a direction in which the conveyor conveys the sheet to a direction opposite to a direction in which the sheet is ejected, after the conveyance of the sheet is stopped under a predetermined condition.