A sheet transport device includes a transport path along which a sheet is transported in one direction, the sheet being transported with a corner at a leading end of the sheet being located on a first lateral side of the path, a sheet rotating section that rotates the sheet so as to increase an angle of the sheet and so as to orient the leading end, a sheet moving section that moves the sheet toward the first lateral side, and plural sheet butting portions that are arranged side-by-side in the one direction, on the first lateral side, the sheet butting portions allowing the moved sheet to be butted thereagainst to orient the sheet in the one direction. When the sheet is butted against the sheet butting portions to be oriented in the one direction, the corner is located at a position where no sheet butting portions are provided.

An image reading apparatus includes a first opening/closing unit to openably and closeably support a sheet conveyance portion with respect to an image reading portion, and a second opening/closing unit to openably and closeably support the sheet conveyance portion with respect to the image reading portion. The first opening/closing unit includes a first spring to urge the sheet conveyance portion in a direction in which the sheet conveyance portion moves from a closed position toward an opened position, and the second opening/closing unit includes a second spring to urge the sheet conveyance portion in the direction in which the sheet conveyance portion moves from the closed position toward the opened position and an oil damper to attenuate vibration energy of the sheet conveyance portion. The first opening/closing unit does not include an oil damper.

A medium conveyance device includes: a plurality of roller pairs arranged in a width direction of a recording medium, the plurality of roller pairs including at least two end-side roller pairs respectively located near two ends of the recording medium in the width direction and at least one center-side roller pair located near a center of the recording medium in the width direction, the plurality of roller pairs each including a pair of rollers that convey the recording medium while nipping the recording medium and are individually contactable with and separable from each other; and a contact and separation mechanism that moves a first roller of the pair of rollers of the at least one center-side roller pair in a thickness direction of the recording medium or moves a first roller of the pair of rollers of each of the at least two end-side roller pairs in the thickness direction of the recording medium, to make a difference in separation timing.

A printing apparatus includes a transport unit configured to transport a medium, a winding unit disposed downstream, in a transport direction, of the transport unit, the winding unit being configured to wind the medium, and a tension applying unit including a rod member biased toward the medium between the transport unit and the winding unit, the rod member being for applying a tension to the medium. The tension applying unit is configured so that the rod member moves along a predetermined direction as at least one of the transport unit and the winding unit is driven to transport the medium. An upper limit position of a movement of the tension bar along the predetermined axis is changed according to a winding mode of the winding unit.

A sheet conveying apparatus, including: a sheet storage portion; a roller to convey sheets by rotating about a rotation axis; an arm rotatably supporting the roller and pivotable about an arm pivot axis; a presser plate pivotable about a presser-plate pivot axis; and a pivot mechanism to pivot the presser plate such that a contact angle, which is an angle defined upstream in a sheet conveyance direction by the arm and an uppermost one of the sheets contacting the roller, is less than a maximum angle in a time period from a sheet maximally loaded state to a sheet minimally loaded state, the maximum angle being an angle defined upstream in the conveyance direction by: only one sheet assumed to be placed on the presser plate which is the presser plate in the maximally loaded state; and the arm the roller of which contacts the one sheet.

A paper sheet handling apparatus includes an insertion slot to which a banknote is inserted, a conveyor mechanism that conveys the paper sheet inserted through an insertion slot, and a corrective member that has an elastic deformation portion designed to contact the paper sheet inserted to the insertion slot and corrects a direction of conveyance of the paper sheet inserted through the insertion slot using the elasticity of the elastic deformation portion. The corrective member is disposed at least on both ends in the width direction of the insertion slot, along a face of the banknote inserted to the insertion slot, or at positions, on a conveyor line for the paper sheet inserted through the insertion slot, facing the ends in the width direction of the insertion slot.

An image reading apparatus includes a sheet conveyance portion, an image reading portion configured to read an image on the sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance portion, and an opening/closing device configured to openably and closeably support the sheet conveyance portion with respect to the image reading portion. The opening/closing device includes a first opening/closing unit and a second opening/closing unit. The first opening/closing unit is provided at, in a movement direction of the movable portion, a position in a first distance from a reading position. The second opening/closing unit is provided at a position in a second distance longer than the first distance from the reading position in the movement direction. The second opening/closing unit includes an attenuation device configured to attenuate vibration energy of the sheet conveyance portion, and the first opening/closing unit does not include an attenuation device.

A sensor signal is generated from a plurality of sensors located on a sensing roll, wherein each signal is generated when each sensor enters a first nip between the sensing roll and a rotating component during each rotation of the sensing roll. A rotating applicator rod forms forming a second nip with the sensing roll such that each sensor enters the second nip during each rotation of the sensing roll. A periodically occurring starting reference is generated associated with each rotation of the applicator rod and the signal generated by each sensor is received so that a particular one of the sensors which generated the signal is determined and one of a plurality of tracking segments is identified. The signal is stored to associate the sensor signal with the identified one tracking segment.

A sensor signal is generated from a plurality of sensors located on a sensing roll, wherein each sensor enters a nip between the sensing roll and a rotating component during each rotation of the sensing roll. A rotating applicator rod forms forming a second nip with the sensing roll such that each sensor enters the second nip during each rotation of the sensing roll and each sensor generates a sensor signal upon entering the second nip. A periodically occurring starting reference is generated associated with each rotation of the applicator rod and the signal generated by each sensor is received so that a particular one of the sensors which generated the signal is determined and one of a plurality of tracking segments is identified. The signal is stored to associate the sensor signal with the identified one tracking segment.

A material conveyor, included in a transfer device of an image forming apparatus and configured to use position control of rotary bodies, includes a first rotary body and a second rotary body disposed opposing each other in an opposing region through which a material is conveyable, and a contact and separation device configured to cause at least a surface, of at least one of the first rotary body and the second rotary body to move, between a separated position and a contact position. The contact and separation device is configured to cause the at least the surface to move from the separated position to the contact position, at a first speed, and then to move at a second speed slower than the first speed. A method of position control includes moving at least the surface at different speeds or based on a distance relative to a threshold distance.