Pitney Bowes Deutschland Gmbh

Pitney Bowes Technologies Gmbh

Christian Botschek

Martin Sting

Rainer Oberheim

A supply station for positioning enclosures on an enclosure-collating path of a mail-processing installation allows a simple conversion from operation for processing a stack of comparatively flexible, thin enclosures to operation for processing a stack of comparatively thick, essentially inflexible enclosures. The conversion is achieved using a magazine housing inside a supply station housing mounted so that it can be secured in two different pivot positions, whereby in one pivot position the lowermost enclosure of a stack of enclosures is bent using a vacuum arrangement in which the front end of the enclosure in the withdrawal direction can be gripped by a gripper, while in a second pivot position of the magazine housing, the front end in the withdrawal direction of a lowermost, comparatively thick and essentially inflexible enclosure is pushed by means of a pusher arrangement directly into the open claws of the gripper.

Supply station for positioning enclosures on an enclosure-collating path

In a rotary feeder for conveying enclosures, in particular into conveying compartments of an enclosure-collating path, during operation, shocks within the gear mechanism of the drive unit of the feeder drum on account of gear mechanism play are avoided and the level of noise during operation is reduced in that a cam-actuated pair of claws () is provided in each case at two diametrically opposite locations of the feeder drum () of the rotary feeder, and the cam () for actuating the pairs of claws is configured in sections (O) with an increasing in the radial spacing of its profile in accordance with a claw-opening movement counter to the prestressing force of prestressing means () and, in sections (C) with a decrease in the radial spacing of its profile in accordance with a claw-closing movement under the prestressing force of the prestressing means, such that a braking moment on account of the claw opening counter to the prestressing force of the prestressing means, this braking moment being transmitted to a rotating follower roller () and a link (), bearing the latter, for claw actuation, and to the feeder drum () via the claw pivoting shaft (), is compensated for by an accelerating moment on account of the claw closure under the prestressing force of the prestressing means, this accelerating moment being transmitted to a rotating follower roller () and a link (), bearing the latter, for claw actuation, and to the feeder drum ().

Rotary feeder with cam actuated claw members

In an enclosure-collating device, in particular for mail-processing installations, a shorter dimensioning of the enclosure-conveying compartments on a collating path in the direction of the enclosure conveying on said collating path is achieved in that enclosures are fed into the enclosure-conveying compartments obliquely with a movement component in the conveying direction of the enclosure-conveying arrangement by an oblique conveying device of a transfer device serving to feed the enclosures into the enclosure-conveying compartments.

Enclosure-collating device, in particular for mail-processing installations

In an envelope-filling station for mail processing systems having an envelope-feeding arrangement for single, open envelopes, an intermediate envelope-conveying arrangement extending at an angle thereto in the direction of an angle stop arrangement provided for the purpose of aligning the envelope, and an envelope-advancing arrangement from which the envelopes are accepted from the angle stop arrangement, a simplification of the design, and effort needed to control the component parts is achieved when the angle stop arrangement, with the exception of a stopping straightedge that is to be provided to achieve extremely precise alignment of an envelope that is supplied at an angle, contains as a further part of the angle stop arrangement a conveying nip between the upper strand of an intermittently driven conveying belt of the envelope-advancing arrangement and a pressure-exerting roller that is pre-tensioned near the beginning of the upper strand of this conveying belt. The envelope-advancing arrangement has coupling means following the pressure-exerting roller that interact with the intermittently driven upper strand of the conveying belt of this envelope-advancing arrangement, in particular a roller bar that can be moved up and down, said means conveying an aligned envelope to a position in front of the feeding station, independent of the function of the pressure-exerting roller, and transporting the filled envelope out of the inserting station.

Envelope-filling station for mail processing systems

In a processing station for a mail processing machine, a housing is formed by parallel housing side parts, standing opposite each other at a distance corresponding to the width of the conveying track of the mail processing machine, a housing part connecting these across the conveying track and a supporting partition fixed to the connecting housing part, situated in a vertical median plane relative, to the distance between the housing side parts and parallel to the housing side parts, and restricted to a prismatic or cylindrical space above a level at a distance from the surface of the conveying track. The supporting partition serves to support bearings for axles and shafts of an actuating apparatus arranged in the processing station in question, in such a manner that the space immediately above the conveying track surface is kept free of drive members and control members for the actuating apparatus in order to enable large-format inserts or sets of inserts to be passed through the processing station.

Processing station for a mail processing machine

An envelope filling station at which enclosures are pushed into envelopes. Envelopes are provide to the filling station via an envelope conveyor transverse to the push-in direction. A roller bar positioned above the conveyor is lowered while transporting envelopes and raised while documents are pushed into the stopped envelopes, A stop means, stops the envelopes on the conveyor at an appropriated filling location. Upstream of the conveyor an auxiliary conveying arrangement provides envelopes to the conveyor from a direction perpendicular to the conveyor.

Envelope-filling station

In an apparatus for handling sheet-like articles, in particular an envelope-filling station, an overload-prevention means is incorporated in the connection between a drive mechanism and an actuating arrangement for push-in fingers, which are guided over a base plate, in that the drive mechanism has a crankshaft, a crank and a connecting rod, which is routed from said crank to an auxiliary drive lever, in that the auxiliary drive lever is mounted on the same shaft as a drive lever of the actuating arrangement, coaxially with respect to said drive lever and such that it can be pivoted relative to the same, and in that spring means clamp the auxiliary drive lever and the drive lever together on a pivot stop, which is provided between said levers, such that the levers cannot separate during the operating stroke.

Device for handling objects in sheet form

A drive and actuating system for an envelope-filling station in which enclosures or sets of enclosures are fed, by a driven conveyor, to a push-in station in which a push-in arrangement, which has a pivot drive, receives the enclosures or sets of enclosures and pushes them into envelopes, which are held ready in an open state. The envelopes are then delivered into a position opposite the push-in station, from oriented transversely to the push-in direction, by an envelope-conveying arrangement. Further, a multiplicity of functions of the individual parts of the envelope-filling station can be forcibly synchronized in an adjustable manner and a comparatively straightforward and clear construction of the overall drive and actuating system is produced.

Drive and actuating system for an envelope-filling station

An envelope-filling bench for adding onto a push-in station of mail-processing machine, the bench containing an envelope-conveyor for transporting envelopes in front of the push-in station and for transporting them away once the envelopes have been filled with enclosures or sets of enclosures. The envelope-filling bench formed essentially from two vertical transverse partition walls, which are spaced apart parallel to one another, a sheet-metal C-profile support, which runs horizontally the direction perpendicular to the transverse partition walls, and a sheet-metal L-profile support, which is welded into said sheet-metal profile support. It being the case that openings and cutouts in the walls of box chamber enclosed by the sheet-metal supports are produced by punching sheet-metal blanks prior to the production of the sheet-metal supports by angling operations. The openings and bores in the walls of said box chamber serve for receiving bearings of shafts and spindles for rollers wheels of the envelope-conveyor.

Envelope-filling bench

In an apparatus for handling sheet-like articles, in particular in an envelope-filling station, in which a carrier ( ) provided with push-in fingers ( ) is moved back and forth by means of an actuating arrangement ( ) in order for articles which are conveyed up by means of a conveying path ( ) to be received from the conveying path and handled in the conveying direction, improved adaptation of the handling speed of the push-in fingers ( ) to the conveying speed of the conveying path ( ) is achieved in that a drive mechanism ( ) of the actuating arrangement contains a crank drive, on the crankshaft ( ) of which there is fastened an elliptical two-belt pulley ( ) which is coupled, via a toothed belt ( ) to a continuously driven, round belt pulley ( ).

In an envelope-filling apparatus for mail-processing machines, the adjustment of the push-in depth of enclosures into open envelopes in the operating stroke of a pivot-lever arrangement, which bears a push-in-finger arrangement, is simplified in that said pivot-lever arrangement is designed as a three-lever rectilinear-guidance mechanism, of which the third lever, which serves as the carrier hand for the push-in-finger arrangement, has, at its free end, a slide guide which can be secured and is intended for adjusting the distance between a push-in-finger shaft for the push-in-finger arrangement and the point of articulation of the longer lever of the three-lever rectilinear-guidance means on the carrier hand.

Envelope-filling apparatus for mail-processing machines

In an apparatus for handling sheet-like articles, in particular in an envelope-filling station, the smoothness of running is increased, even in the case of high cycle speeds, in that a guide control means is provided so that push-in fingers, which are moved back and forth by an actuating arrangement, can be lowered and raised relative to a base plate both in the operating stroke and in the return stroke, it being the case that provided for the operating stroke is a framework-side guide part and for the return stroke is a diverter-like changeover guide part, which is actuated by the guide contact element itself and ensures in each case smooth transitions to the housing-side guide part.

In a gripper mechanism for devices for handling sheet-like or plate-like articles, particularly for mail-processing machines, simple and reliable setting for the handling of light, thin and also heavy, thick articles can be effected by the use of pivotable gripper claws on the gripper hand provided at the end of a pivotable gripper arm, by virtue of the fact that a plane which is oriented approximately perpendicular to the gripper arm longitudinal axis, and in which the contact area between articles to be handled and a pivotable gripper claw also lies, is at such a distance in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the gripper arm from the pivot axis of this pivotable gripper claw that an additional pivoting moment acts on the latter in the closure direction, generated under the effect of tensile forces which seek to remove the articles to be handled from the gripper claws when these are closed, as a result of which articles of widely varying weight and varying thickness are at all times gripped securely.

Gripper mechanism for devices for handling objects in the form of sheets or plates, in particular for post processing machines

With regard to an installation designed to handle sheet-like pieces by means of gripper arms ( ) provided with gripper clutches ( ), a particularly simple and economical structure requiring less components can be obtained by a design according to which the distribution crankshaft gear carries a distributing disk with operating cams ( ) for enabling oscillatory movements by the gripper arm ( ), said disk interacting with the cam follower ( ) in an actuating mechanism which is coupled with the swivelling gripper clutch ( ) of the clamping device ( ) and mounted on the gripper arm ( ). The distributing disk has been specially designed for that purpose.

Device for handling sheet-like pieces

In a gripper mechanism for devices for handling objects in the form of sheets or plates, simple and easy operability of the gripper claws of pivoting gripper arms into the open position for adjustment purposes, test purposes and the like is achieved in that a manual operating element made of plastic is connected in the gripper claw operating drive between an operating lever which is mounted on the relevant gripper arm such that it can pivot, and a coupling linkage which is connected to one of the gripper claws which can pivot, and this manual operating element can pivot on the operating shaft of the gripper claw operating drive in such a manner that the claw can be caused to open easily while the machine is at rest, without any risk of injuries.

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Rodermark, Germany

Christian Botschek