Pitney Bowes Inc.

Therics, Inc.

Theries, LLC

James A Fairweather

Thomas M Lyga

Robert J Allen

James A Salomon

Norman R Lilly

George J Doutney

Theresa Bartick

Gary S Jacobson

Christopher M Gaylo

Michael J Lorello

David J Eaton

Neil F Baldino

Anthony Chiappetta

Carl R Chapman

Donald Surprise

Aaron D Smith

Joseph K Patterson

Steven A Supron

Peter A Materna

Wesley A Kirschner

Steven H Joyce

Thomas J Bradbury

Douglas E Weitzel

Michael J Ramadei

Christopher D Clark

Timothy J Pryor

David R Welch

Edward C Miller

Daniel P Goslicki, Jr

Kathleen D Chesmel

George T Barrett

Adolphe Youssef

Anthony W Chiappetta

Joseph P Mozdzer

An apparatus includes a printer and a buffer coupled to the printer for temporarily storing sheets fed out from the printer. The apparatus further includes a control mechanism for monitoring the buffer to determine a number of sheets currently stored in the buffer. The apparatus also includes a data source device that is separate from the printer and is coupled to the printer for selectively providing pages of print data to the printer. The data source device is coupled to the control mechanism and is operative to provide the pages of print data to the printer in response to control signals from the control mechanism.

Mail creation system with improved control of print-data downloading

A thru-beam sensor is positioned such that the beam passes through the crease line of the envelope when the envelope is parked in the insertion area. As the envelope enters the insertion area, the through beam sensor is set to current level A. The sensor is used to accurately position the envelope based on the passing of the lead edge. Once the envelope is in position, the current in the thru-beam emitter pair is raised until the envelope is no longer obstructing the line of sight of the sensor. From this state, the insert or plurality of inserts that are entering the accumulator can be detected, as the presence of the inserts will inhibit light transmission between the emitter and receiver. Using the sensor system proposed here, the inserts trailing edge can be detected at the crease line of the envelope.

Method of sensing pack insertion at crease line of envelope

A method for coding the address location on a document or in a data base so that two or more electronic mailings with differing address placements may be combined together and sorted while the mailings are still in electronic form in order to take advantage of workshare discounts, delivery sequence efficiency, desired delivery date, class of delivery service, etc.

Dynamic selection of fold-address to match document layout

A print interface system including a printer integrated in combination with a sheet handling system such as a mailpiece inserter. The print interface system facilitates the handling of sheet material in various operating modes, including conventional printing, duplex printing, and mailpiece creation modes. The system includes a printer having multiple feed paths for printing on opposing face surfaces of a sheet material. One of the feed paths directs sheet material to a staging tray and another feed path directs sheet material to a downstream module of the sheet handling system. The system further includes a positionable diverter for directing sheet material to one of the feed paths and a sheet sensor for determining when a sheet of material has been directed along the feed path leading to the output tray. A controller is operative to alternately reposition the diverter from one of two positions. A first position directs sheet material to the staging tray following a first print operation, and a second position directs sheet material to the downstream module of the sheet handling system. The controller, furthermore, repositions the diverter following a threshold period of time from receipt of the staging signal issued by the sheet sensor.

Print interface system for a sheet handling device

A page buffer for receiving and holding, in queue, pages prepared by a printer and subsequently processed by mailpiece inserter. The page buffer includes pairs of vertically-aligned rollers defining a plurality of page stations therebetween. Each pair of rollers is spaced-apart and defines a nip for driving printed pages along a feed path. Furthermore, each page station is defined by and between a first pair of rollers disposed downstream of an adjacent second pair of rollers. A drive means is also provided for independently driving the pairs of vertically-aligned rollers. The drive means is controlled such that, in a first operating mode, the pairs cooperate to drive printed pages along the feed path. In a second operating mode, the drive means is controlled such that at least one of the page stations causes its respective first pair of rollers to retain and hold a leading edge portion of a printed page while the adjacent second pair drives and releases a trailing edge portion of the printed page. The printed page is, therefore, held within the page station such that the trailing edge droops below the feed path in a predominantly vertical orientation.

Sheet/page buffer for sheet handling apparatus

A print interface system includes a printer integrated in combination with a sheet handling system such as a mailpiece inserter. The print interface system facilitates the handling of sheet material in various operating modes, including conventional printing, duplex printing, and mailpiece creation modes. The system includes an interface module having upper and lower housing segments defining first and second feed paths. A first feed path directs sheet material to a stacking surface of the upper housing segment and a second feed path directs sheet material to a downstream module of the sheet handling device. A repositionable diverter bifurcates the path exiting the printer to direct sheet material to one of the two feed paths. Furthermore, the upper housing segment is pivotally mounted to the lower housing segment to provide internal access to one of the first and second feed paths.

Multi-function low profile print interface for a sheet handling device

An ingestion assembly is provided for a singulating apparatus having a conveyor system for moving a stack of sheet material along a feed path. The ingestion assembly is spatially positioned above the conveyor belt and includes at least one singulating roller driven in a direction opposing the motion of the conveyor belt. The ingestion assembly comprises an assembly support rotationally mounting the singulating roller at a downstream end portion and pivotally mounting to the singulating apparatus at an upstream end portion. A movable guide mounts to the assembly support and is positionable relative thereto as a function of a force vector imposed on the guide by the sheet material. Additionally, the moveable guide includes a surface operative to guide the sheet material into a singulating interface which is formed between the singulating roller and the conveyor system. In operation, sheet material enters the throat of the ingestion assembly and contact is made with the moveable guide. When the force vector, imposed by the sheet material, is less than a threshold level, the guide assumes a first position operative to shingle sheet material in preparation for singulation by the singulating roller. When the force vector, is greater than the threshold level, movable guide assumes a second position operative to pivot the assembly support and increase the singulating interface. Consequently, sheet material having a larger thickness dimension may pass for separation by the singulation apparatus.

Ingestion guide assembly for augmenting sheet material separation in a singulating apparatus

The sheet capacity of a pivoting feed head is combined with a complimentary pivoting design for the paper tray lift, such that a large total capacity of sheets is attained within a compact space, while allowing the lifting mechanisms to be located outside of the perimeter of the paper tray.

Method to accommodate a large capacity of sheets in a feeder mechanism

A feeder for feeding media items from a tray includes a first nudger roller and a second nudger roller. The first and the second nudger roller are moveably mounted to the feeder. The first and the second nudger rollers are in a first position when a tray of a first type is connected to said feeder the first and said second nudger rollers are in a second position when a tray of a second type is connected to said feeder. The tray of a first type may be a shingle feed tray and the tray of a second type may be a stacks feed tray. With the shingle feed tray the first position for the first and the second nudger rollers are where each nudger roller engages each media item in a shingles tray when each such media item is positioned in the shingles tray to exit the shingles tray and to be moved from the shingles tray into said feeder. With the stacks feed tray the second position for the first and the second nudger rollers are where the first nudger roller is positioned out of engagement with media items in a stacks tray and the second nudger rollers is positioned to each engage each media item in the stacks tray when each such media item is positioned in said stacks tray to exit the stacks tray and to be moved from the stacks tray into said feeder.

Multimode stack and shingle document feeder

A method and apparatus for folding inserts by inverting the insert sheet after the first fold is made and reintroducing the folded insert sheet into a first buckle chute from the opposite end. The second fold is then made in a second buckle chute which results in either a bottom address or a middle address appearing on the folded insert in a manner that the address will appear through the window of the envelope.

Paper folder utilizing sheet inversion to develop auxiliary fold types

Discrete means of setting a feeder to process a wide range of media, i.e., sheets, slips, envelopes, booklets and hand collated documents, etc. as well as providing a method of utilizing the feeder for manual feed operation. The foregoing is accomplished by a friction-clutch retard feeder equipped with one or more friction clutches. When a selection lever is moved to a position, a primary clutch engages the separator roller with a resistive torque T. The selection lever configures the mechanism such that the separator roller rotation is resisted entirely by the torque of the primary clutch. When the selection lever is moved to a position, the ground of the primary clutch is removed, and the rotation of the separator roll is coupled through a gear ratio to a secondary clutch. The selection of the gear ratio and the value of the secondary clutch allows the separation mechanism to be resisted by a second torque, T, which can be lower than T.

Method of providing multiple separation modes in a feeder

A materials handling system includes a feeder station having a plurality of material feeders and an insertion subsystem. Each of the plurality of feeders are connected to a common material transport path. A first material transport path is connected to the common material transport path and to the insertion subsystem. A second material transport path is connected to the common material transport path and to the insertion subsystem. A third material transport path is connected to the first material transport path and to said insertion subsystem. The second material transport path may include a materials processing subsystem such as a folder subsystem. The common materials transport may include a pre-fold accumulator transport having a pre-fold accumulator gate. A first diverter may be provided to selectively divert materials being transported by the pre-fold accumulator transport to the first or to the second material transport. A second diverter may also be provided to selectively divert materials traveling along the first materials transport to the third material transport.

Paper handling system material feed path arrangement

A system and method for accumulation of media invention includes a series of upper and lower transport belts for feeding media seriatim along a path of travel. An accumulator pocket is positioned between the upper and lower drive belts along the path of travel. An upper and a lower accumulator ramp is positioned adjacent the accumulator pocket are moveable between a first position and a second position. The first accumulator ramp position is such that the lower ramp is positioned to engage media moved seriatim along the path of travel to guide the media to form a forward accumulation of media in the accumulator pocket. The upper accumulator ramp second position is such that the upper accumulator ramp is positioned to engage media moved seriatim along the path of travel to guide the media to form a reverse accumulation of media in the accumulator pocket. One or more rollers can be mounted to cooperate with the lower accumulator ramp and one or more rollers can be mounted to cooperate with the upper accumulator ramp to reduce forces which would tend to cause previously assembled media collations to shear apart during transport into the accumulator pocket. The upper and lower accumulator ramps may also be positioned to enable transport of media through the system without the accumulation of media in the accumulation pocket.

Forward and reverse media accumulation system

A method and an arrangement for feeding shingled media item includes a tray for supporting a stack of shingled media items. The tray has an exit area and each of the media items has a bottom edge. A feeder separates and feeds media items from the shingled stack of media items. The tray is connected to the feeder with a first and a second cavity formed at the exit area of the feed tray and the front of the feeder such that media items moved from the tray into the feeder are supported on a portion of the media item bottom edge. A rail structure is attached to the surface for supporting the media items bottom edge adjacent the media item exit area. The feeder may include a separator roller and a feed roller positioned with respect to the first and the second cavity such that the media items are moved from a media item shingle orientation upstream of the separator roller and the feed roller to a media item feed orientation down stream of the separator roller and the feed roller with said media item side edges out of contact with the feed head guide surfaces.

Shingle mode media item feed arrangement

A media item feed tray with an exit area for media items includes a sled moveable toward and away from the feed tray exit area. A biasing surface is mounted to the tray and extends away from the feed tray exit area. A spring member is mounted on the moveable sled and is connected to the biasing surface such that when the moveable sled is moved away from the feed tray exit area energy is stored in the spring member. The biasing surface may be a shaped rail with a cam surface and the moveable member may include a cam follower which engages the shaped rail cam surface. A first cam section and a second cam section can be provided with the moveable sled urged toward the feed tray exit area when the cam follower engages the shaped rail first cam surface section and urged away from the feed tray exit area when the cam follower engages the shaped rail second cam surface section. A mechanism can be provided for locking the sled from movement and with a sled front face which can be positioned to facilitate loading of media items into the feed tray and positioned for media item feeding operation.

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Milford, CT, United States of America

James A Fairweather