A recording-material-transporting device includes a suction unit that suctions a recording material included in a recording-material stack from above, the suction unit including a movable member that moves upward when pushed from below by the recording material moving upward with the suction, the suction unit being movable in an intersecting direction intersecting a vertical direction and moving the suctioned recording material in the intersecting direction, at least a part of the movable member serving as an outside advancing part that advances to an outside of a perimeter of the recording-material stack with the movement of the suction unit in the intersecting direction; and a restricting part that restricts a downward movement of the outside advancing part when the outside advancing part is free of support by the recording material from below.

A sheet transport device includes a processor configured to change lifting control for lifting sheets on a tray, which are to be floated up and handed over, from normal state control to small-quantity state control in a case where it is detected that the remaining number of sheets on the tray is small.

A material separation device comprises a placement component, a blower, a suction component, a suction pad driver, and a controller. The blower blows air at a plurality of aluminum sheets that have been stacked on the placement component to float an uppermost aluminum sheet. The suction component uses suction pads to chuck and hold the uppermost aluminum sheet from above while the air is being blown. The suction pad driver drives the suction component up and down, using servomotors as a drive source. The controller performs control so that the suction pads chucking the aluminum sheet are raised to a temporary stopping position by the suction pad driver, and the suction pads are stopped for a predetermined length of time at the temporary stopping position while the air is stopped, and the suction pads are then raised by the suction pad drivers to a conveyance position.

An apparatus for picking a product, including: at least one vacuum cup including at least one axis passing through the at least one vacuum cup; and at least one damping device surrounding at least a portion of the at least one vacuum cup in a radial direction orthogonal to the at least one axis. The at least one vacuum cup is arranged to create negative pressure and adhere, with the negative pressure, the at least one sheet of material to the at least one vacuum cup. The at least one damping device is arranged to contact the at least one sheet of material to limit displacement of the at least one sheet of material with respect to the at least one vacuum cup.

A recording-material-transporting device includes an attracting part to which a recording material is attracted from below, and a blowing device that blows air from a position higher than the attracting part to an edge of the recording material attracted to the attracting part.

A feeder includes a body, a mount portion disposed in the body to support from below part of recording media stacked thereon, a lift that raises the mount portion, a support portion connected to the body to support from below another part of the recording media while the mount portion is raised, the support portion being located higher than a position of a mount surface of the mount portion while the recording media are stacked on the mount portion, a blowing portion that blows air between the recording media stacked on the mount portion, and a transport portion that transports the recording media stacked on the mount portion.

A robotic manipulator for handling an object is provided. The robotic manipulator includes a first robotic arm and a first end effector coupled to the first robotic arm. A movement of the first robotic arm orients the first end effector with respect to the object. The robotic manipulator includes a housing, a first conveyor operably coupled to the housing, a second conveyor operably coupled to the housing at an angle with respect to the first conveyor, and a first actuation mechanism. The first and second conveyors are arranged to form a top surface and the bottom surface respectively of a spatula-shaped base. The first actuation mechanism operates the first and second conveyors in one of a first direction and a second direction to manipulate the object. The operation of the first conveyor is independent of the operation of the second conveyor.

A single-sheet lifter includes a base frame arranged in a vicinity of a loading area and extending vertically, a separation unit configured to separate an uppermost workpiece from a plurality of the workpieces loaded in the loading area by means of at least one of an injection pressure of air and a suction force, and a counter balancer configured to reduce a weight acting on the separation unit. The separation unit is provided to the base frame so as to be able to move up and down. The separation unit includes a contact member that comes into contact with a surface of the uppermost workpiece. The separation unit is configured to go up following a lifting operation of a workpiece suction lifter and be retracted from above the loading area when the workpiece suction lifter sucks the surface of the uppermost workpiece to lift the workpiece.

A feeder includes a body, a mount portion disposed in the body to support from below part of recording media stacked thereon, a lift that raises the mount portion, a support portion connected to the body to support from below another part of the recording media while the mount portion is raised, the support portion being located higher than a position of a mount surface of the mount portion while the recording media are stacked on the mount portion, a blowing portion that blows air between the recording media stacked on the mount portion, and a transport portion that transports the recording media stacked on the mount portion.

A recording-material-transporting device includes an attracting part to which a recording material is attracted from below, and a blowing device that blows air from a position higher than the attracting part to an edge of the recording material attracted to the attracting part.