A media processing device includes: a hopper for supporting a stack of media units (e.g. cards), the hopper including (i) a gate wall configured to abut leading edges of the media units and (ii) an outlet defined at an end of the gate wall; a pick roller at the outlet for engaging an outer one of the media units in the stack and dispensing the outer media unit from the hopper to a media processing path; the gate wall including a flexible gate at the outlet, the flexible gate configured to deflect toward the media processing path responsive to the outer media unit being driven into the flexible gate by the pick roller, wherein the outer media unit deflects when passing by the flexible gate, permitting the outer media unit to be dispensed from the hopper.

A device for separating printing paper sheets comprises a base part and an obstruction element. The base part defines a printing paper accommodating cavity. A deforming mechanism is provided to make sure a middle part of the printing paper sheets can be arched and two edges can get close to the bottom of the printing paper accommodating cavity. The obstruction element is arranged with a middle access portion in cooperation with the deforming mechanism, and on two sides of the middle access portion is arranged with blocking portions through which only one printing paper sheet can pass at a time. The device for separating printing paper sheets makes more than one printing paper sheet that may be transmitted at a time during the transmission of the printing paper sheets. A printer achieves smooth transmission of printing paper sheets and alleviates problems such as downtime and failure of the printer.

A media processing device includes: a hopper for supporting a stack of media units (e.g. cards), the hopper including (i) a gate wall configured to abut leading edges of the media units and (ii) an outlet defined at an end of the gate wall; a pick roller at the outlet for engaging an outer one of the media units in the stack and dispensing the outer media unit from the hopper to a media processing path; the gate wall including a flexible gate at the outlet, the flexible gate configured to deflect toward the media processing path responsive to the outer media unit being driven into the flexible gate by the pick roller, wherein the outer media unit deflects when passing by the flexible gate, permitting the outer media unit to be dispensed from the hopper.

A sheet conveying device includes a conveyor, a supporting section which supports a sheet to be fed to the conveyor and a guide section which is provided on the supporting section and configured to guide a sheet to the conveyor. The supporting section includes a first support region and a second support region which support a sheet. The first support region is provided at a position on an upstream side from the second support region in a sheet conveyance direction. The first support region extends substantially horizontally, and the second support region is inclined in a lower direction toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. The guide section includes a first portion which extends substantially horizontally along the first support region, and a second portion which is connected to the first portion and extends obliquely in the lower direction along the second support region.

An autoloading shingle feeder that singulates an associated stack of media into associated individual articles. The autoloading shingle feeder includes a housing including a base, at least one loading belt with a loading surface that defines a horizontally extending loading plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes at least one feeding belt that is distinct from the at least one loading belt and includes a feeding surface that defines a feeding plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes a carriage assembly that limits vertical movement of the associated individual article when the associated individual article moves from the at least one loading belt to the at least one feeding belt. The carriage assembly includes at least one separator plate including a pressure portion that linearly extends in the loading direction for direct sliding contact with the associated individual article.

An items processing apparatus for placement and singulation of flat items has a placement device and a feed deck and a separation device. A portion of the placement device is arranged below the placement deck of the apparatus. The feed deck has an opening for an separation roller, and a portion of the separation device arranged above the feed deck. This portion and the separation roller form a gate of the separation device for the singulation of a stack of flat items. A control computer controls the placement device and separation device. The placement device is equipped for edge alignment of a stack of flat items with different formats and has at least two transport elements, which enable an automatic displacement of the stack transverse to the transport direction and placement of the stack at an alignment wall, as well as a transport of the stack in the transport direction toward the feed deck of the separation device, as well as a displacement of the stack counter to the transport direction. A movement assembly is provided to move the portion of the separation device in a direction counter to the transport direction. The control computer controls the alignment state of the transport elements of the placement device of the items processing apparatus, and controls the movement of the portion of the separation device. The aforementioned portion enables a displacement of the stack counter to the transport direction.

An autoloading shingle feeder that singulates an associated stack of media into associated individual articles. The autoloading shingle feeder includes a housing including a base, at least one loading belt with a loading surface that defines a horizontally extending loading plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes at least one feeding belt that is distinct from the at least one loading belt and includes a feeding surface that defines a feeding plane. The autoloading shingle feeder also includes a carriage assembly that limits vertical movement of the associated individual article when the associated individual article moves from the at least one loading belt to the at least one feeding belt. The carriage assembly includes at least one separator plate including a pressure portion that linearly extends in the loading direction for direct sliding contact with the associated individual article.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A drop feeder conveys the document packets to the feeder. A sensor provides information related to the thickness of the document packets and the drop feeder is controlled in response to the information related to the thickness of a packet in the feeder. The method includes the control of the drop feeder in response to information related to the thickness of a document packet at the feeder.

A device for separating printing paper sheets comprises a base part and an obstruction element. The base part defines a printing paper accommodating cavity. A deforming mechanism is provided to make sure a middle part of the printing paper sheets can be arched and two edges can get close to the bottom of the printing paper accommodating cavity. The obstruction element is arranged with a middle access portion in cooperation with the deforming mechanism, and on two sides of the middle access portion is arranged with blocking portions through which only one printing paper sheet can pass at a time. The device for separating printing paper sheets makes more than one printing paper sheet that may be transmitted at a time during the transmission of the printing paper sheets. A printer achieves smooth transmission of printing paper sheets and alleviates problems such as downtime and failure of the printer.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic.