Tab Products Company, Inc.

Bescorp, Inc.

Chad Bones

Timothy D Lindsay

Jeffrey C Hollis

Troy M York

Eric E Scott

Thomas S Trebotich

An inexpensive paper folding machine includes a paper feeder that reliably propels sheets one at a time in a downstream direction. The feeder includes a paper supply station that biases a stack of sheets against a pickoff wheel. The pickoff wheel propels the topmost sheet to a gate tip. The gate tip is comprised of a singulator that is biased against the pickoff wheel. A clearance is set between a singulator screw and the singulator. The clearance is greater than the sheet thickness, but less than two times the sheet thickness. As a sheet is propelled by the pickoff wheel from the paper supply station, the sheet leading edge enters the nip between the pickoff wheel and the singulator. The singulator pivots to take up part of the clearance. If a second sheet is propelled with the topmost sheet, the second sheet cannot pass between the nip. The paper folding machine further comprises a skew compensator that compensates for sheets that are misoriented relative to the downstream direction. In a modified embodiment, a relatively soft pickoff wheel is used, and the clearance is less than the thickness of a sheet. The pickoff wheel is compressed as the sheet passes through the nip between the singulator and the pickoff wheel.

Paper folding machine with gate tip feeder

Paper folding machine with feeder

A label applicator applies adhesive labels to opposite surfaces of a piece of stock. The labels are affixed to a backing sheet having turning strips on a leading edge thereof. The backing sheet is advanced along a label tray in a manner that peels a first portion of a label from the backing sheet and feeds the peeled portion to a transfer point. A piece of stock is placed on a stock tray such that the area to which the label is to be applied is under the transfer point. The stock tray is tilted to bring the first surface of the piece of stock into contact with the first portion of the label at the transfer point. Continued tilting of the stock tray causes the label to be squeezed between the stock and a plate and to peel a second portion from the backing sheet. The plate is linked to a wrapping roller by bars and levers. Further tilting of the stock tray against the plate forces the wrapping roller, through pivoting and sliding motions of the bars and levers, to travel along a path that contacts the second portion of the label and wraps it around the piece of stock and applies it to the second surface thereof.

Label applicator

A sequence stacker edge stacks envelopes or the like. Belts carry shingled envelopes in a downstream direction to an angled stop. The belts are carefully spaced vertically above a deck. As a stack of envelopes forms against the stop, the weight of the stack deflects the belts until the top surfaces of the belts become aligned with a stationary surface. At that point, the weight of the stack is transferred from the belts to the stationary surface. Consequently, the downstream driving force of the belts on the envelopes' bottom edges is greatly reduced. The result is that the sequence stacker can stack many more envelopes without backward tipping of the envelopes than prior stacking machines. In an alternate design, certain portions of a stack remain urged downstream at all times by the belts. For that purpose, short spacers are placed at intervals under the belts. The short spacers prevent full deflection of the belts' top surfaces into alignment with the stationary surface, so that the weight of the portions of the stack over the short spacers is not transferred to the stationary surface. The belts therefore continuously exert a downstream driving force on the portions of the stack located over the short spacers.

Sequence stacker

Growing community of inventors

Modesto, CA, United States of America

Chad Bones