Bell + Howell Company

Signode Corporation

Jack S Abrams

Michael A Wisniewski

Kenneth L Guenther

Thomas J Faber

Karavattuveetil G Rabindran

For a strapping machine, a mechanism is disclosed for mounting a movable chute to a fixed wall and for biasing the chute toward the wall while permitting the chute to move away from the wall so as to allow a strap to be pulled from the chute. The mechanism comprises a wall-mounted bracket, a chute-mounted bracket, and a pivot arm having an end portion connected pivotally to the wall-mounted bracket, an end portion connected pivotally to the chute-mounted bracket, and an intermediate portion, to which a coiled spring is connected at one end so as to bias the chute toward the wall but so as to permit the chute to move away from the wall. The coiled spring is connected at its other end to the first bracket and extends between the brackets.

Chute mounting and biasing mechanism for strapping machine

In a strapping machine comprising a fixed wall and a movable chute, a mechanism is provided for stripping the strap from the chute. The chute has two sections defining a gap straddled by a bracket connecting the sections. A lever is mounted pivotally on the bracket so as to extend through the gap. A pin in fixed relation to the fixed wall extends through an elongate slot in the lever. The lever is arranged to pivot toward an inoperative position as the chute is moved toward the closed position and to pivot away from the inoperative position and to strip a strap from the space between the flanges of the chute as the chute is moved away from the closed position.

Stripping mechanism for strapping machine

An improved printing apparatus for printing pre-selected indicia on an envelope or other documents to be placed on a transport raceway of an insertion machine.

Sheet feed hopper for insertion machine

A novel spring and dual pulley construction wherein the pulley includes a pair of co-axial grooves, one of the grooves having a constant diameter that accepts a powered cable acting in one direction, while the other groove has a varying radius of curvature that accepts a second cable connected to one end of the tension spring and with the other end of the spring fixedly mounted. This arrangement maintains a constant spring force on a member moving along a slide in a reciprocating fashion and having one side thereof connected to said powered cable for movement in one direction and the other side connected to the second cable for movement in the opposite direction activated by a constant spring force regardless of the extension of the spring.

Apparatus for applying a constant tensile force to a moving element

A printer apparatus for a document handling machine is adapted to obtain a signal from a series of information-bearing marks on a first document and transmit that signal to the control device for the printer apparatus to initiate the printing of an image such as a bar code on a second document which is to be furnished in a mailing envelope along with the first document. The printer apparatus automatically removes the second document from a hopper, advances the second document to a printing station, lowers a print head module to the printing station over the second document, prints a specified but variable bar code on the second document, and delivers the imprinted second document to the transport raceway of a document insertion machine.

Growing community of inventors

Arlington Heights, IL, United States of America

Jack S Abrams