Pitney Bowes Inc.

Franklin J Buckley

Gerald C Freeman

Steven A Supron

Joseph H Marzullo

Kenneth A Schulz

Christopher D Clark

Robert P Rebres

Geoffrey S Coleman

David W Hubbard

Walter Wolog

Earl E Eschweiler, Jr

Susan Mahmoodi

James S Hou

Harold L Taylor

An envelope stripping apparatus is disclosed for opening and holding open the flaps of envelopes or mail processed in a mailing machine or other envelope-processing machine. The flaps of the envelopes are held down against a vacuum plenum during transport of the envelope. The envelopes are fed along the feeding path towards a moistening device while the flap is stripped and held by the vacuum plenum. An arrangement of the plenum apertures is such that stiffer portions of the flaps have more vacuum applied than those that are of lesser area, or at the extreme end of the flap. A second arrangement of the envelope flaps will cause additional holding of the end of the flap if it is a larger envelope with a greater area at the end such as a square flap.

Envelope stripping apparatus

The present invention includes a deskew mechanism for a mailing machine. The deskew mechanism includes a horizontal feed deck and a vertical registration wall. A roller is mounted for rotation and located spaced from the registration wall so as to extend upwardly from the feed deck. A deskew finger is pivotally mounted above the feed deck. The deskew finger includes an inboard ski located to form a corrugation gap relative to the roller and at least one outboard ski located at an opposite side of the roller from the registration wall. A stop mechanism restricts downward movement of the deskew finger to prevent the deskew finger from contacting the feed deck.

Universal deskew feeder for a mailing machine

A high speed, high volume mailing machine which utilizes ink jet technology for the printing of postage indicia on envelopes being fed through the mailing machine and on discrete portions of tape fed past the printing device of the mailing machine includes a tape storing and feeding mechanism which stores a roll of tape in the form of a web of indefinite length for feeding a discrete portion of the tape past the feeding device for each printing operation of the mailing machine, and feeds the tape forward to bring the printed portion thereof past and then reverses the movement of the tape to bring the new leading edge thereof to the beginning of the printing area. The tape storing and feeding mechanism provides a fixed support for the portion of the tape being printed on so as to maintain a critical gap between the surface of the tape and the plane of the jet nozzles to achieve a high printing quality. The tape storing and feeding mechanism also provides a feeding device which maintains effective control over the movement of the tape without contacting any part of the printed portion thereof, and further provides ample shock absorbing for the roll of tape so that sudden acceleration of the tape strip does not tear the tape in the printing area.

Tape storing and feeding mechanism for mailing machines

Apparatus for cross-folding paper sheets, including: a first folding device for imparting a first fold to a paper sheet; a transport module secured to the first folding device for receiving a once folded paper sheet, and a second folding device oriented perpendicular to the first folding device and secured to the transport module, wherein the transport module includes a pivotable paper stop assembly having a self-centering stopping surface to stop and align the once folded paper sheet and a brush for controlling bounceback of the once folded paper sheet.

Cross folder transport

Apparatus for separating a pair of contiguous rollers from each other, the rollers being located beneath a cover. The apparatus includes: a pair of opposed, side frames; a lower roller fixedly mounted to the side frames; an upper roller adjustably mounted to the side frames; a biasing agent to bias the upper roller against the lower roller; a cover for the upper and lower roller pivotably mounted to the side frames; and a cable connected to the cover and to the upper roller. When the cover is pivoted from its closed positon to its open position, the cable is caused to move the upper roller away from the lower roller.

Pivoting cover to separate pair of rollers

In an inserter including a support member rigidly extending transversely over a paper path in the inserter, a self adjusting document scanning apparatus includes a scanner having a scan head and structure for mounting the scanner to the support member. The mounting structure is operatively coupled to the support member so as to allow position adjustments of the scanner in the transverse direction. The mounting structure also provides a fixed reference for the upward movement of the scanner. There is linkage for coupling the scanner to the mounting structure. The linkage holds the scanner stationary in longitudinal and transverse directions and allows downward-upward movement of the scanner. Paper guides are operatively coupled to the scanner for maintaining a fixed distance between the scan head and a sheet of paper being scanned. The paper guides, the linkage and the mounting structure cooperatively control movement of the scanner whereby the scan head remains parallel to the paper path and is a fixed distance from the sheet when the sheet is being scanned.

Self adjusting scanner apparatus maintaining scan distance

A mounting system for a developer unit in an electrophotocopier having a photoreceptor mounted on a drum for assuring proper alignment and pressure between the developer unit and the photoreceptor drum. The mounting system comprises a fixed platform having a rectangular slot located midway between the ends thereof, said slot having a length extending perpendicular to the axis of the photoreceptor drum, a developer unit slidably mounted at either end on said fixed platform, the developer unit having a base plate with an aperture in alignment with the rectangular slot, a pair of spacer wheels coaxial to and slightly larger in diameter than the applicator shell on the developer unit rotatably mounted on either end of the developer unit, means for urging the spacer wheels against the photoreceptor drum, and a locking and guiding device removably insertable in said rectangular slot in said fixed platform. The locking and guiding device includes a rotatable pin having a cap portion and a shank portion, the shank portion being reciprocably slidable in both the aperture and the slot, a compression spring located beneath the cap portion and above the base plate and surrounding the upper part of the shank portion of the pin, and a cam-lock fixedly secured to the bottom of the shank portion having a configuration such that the cam-lock may pass through the rectangular slot and upon rotation be locked into sliding engagement with the length of the rectangular slot.

Growing community of inventors

Bethel, CT, United States of America

Franklin J Buckley