Gradco-dendoki, Inc.

Other

Pitney Bowes Inc.

Bell + Howell Company

Gradco Systems, Inc.

Truman Products

Princeton Products Inc.

Scan-code, Inc.

Mystic Color Lab, Inc.

John C Hamma

R Clark DuBois

John R Nobile

David W Hubbard

Donald E Barker

Ronald P Sansone

Anthony Storace

Kevin D Hunter

Kenneth L Guenther

Jeffrey D Pierce

Steven M Kaye

Michael A Wisniewski

Fran E Blackman

Michael D O'Hare

George Rabindran

John T Balga, Jr

Martyn R House

Bruce A Brown

Scott Korowotny

Jay L Carley

Wendy F Jai

John O'Callaghan

Stanley Popiel

R Clark Du Bois

Apparatus for opening an envelope having a front panel, a back panel and a closing flap. The apparatus includes: a device for supporting the envelope in a substantially horizontal plane wherein the back panel is situated above the front panel; a device for holding the closing flap below the back panel; an opening horn for separating the back panel from the front panel, the opening horn being pivotable in a vertical plane; and a device for causing the horn to initially contact the closing flap and to pivot the horn into the envelope between the front and back panels, and to raise the horn inside the envelope, whereby the front and back panels are separated.

Opening fingers for envelope inserting apparatus

A mail piece stacking machine is disclosed which is designed for use on conjunction with a mail piece processing or handling machine, such as a typical mailing machine, for stacking a plurality of pieces of mail as they are ejected seriatim from an outlet end of the processing or handling machine. The stacking machine has an elongate frame with a first feeding device consisting of a pair of cooperating rollers disposed adjacent the inlet end of the stacking machine, receives the mail pieces seriatim from the processing or handling machine and positively feeds the mail pieces into the stacking machine. A second elongate feeding device, consisting of a pair of belts traveling at a much slower speed than the first feeding device, receives the mail pieces in shingled overlapped relationship, and transports them to an upwardly angled stacking wall which causes the mail pieces to form a stack of mail pieces in the same upwardly angled orientation which progresses from the stacking wall toward the first feeding device.

Mail piece stacking machine

By providing position control means cooperatively associated with a support pad with said control means being constructed for arcuately moving the support pad in response to activation by the user, with the position control means and pad peripherally surrounded by a cover, a unique, portable, self-contained, unitary, movably adjustable support assembly is attained whereby individuals are able to position the support pad in any desired location or on any surface while also being able to automatically raise and/or lower the support pad to any position for comfort and support. In the preferred embodiment, the movably adjustable support assembly is constructed with expandable shroud means integrally connected with the cover in association with the position control means for expanding in response to the arcuate movement of the position control means while being automatically retracted into a folded configuration when the control means are returned to its original position. In addition, the present invention incorporates a single air flow control assembly which is capable of directly controlling two separate and independent movably adjustable support assemblies, each of which employ separate control means. In this way, individuals with queen or king sized beds are able to employ two separate and independent movably adjustable support assemblies on the single bed for separate and independent control, while employing a single air flow control assembly.

Portable, integrated, universally adjustable position control system

A system for transporting mixed documents having a loading conveyor for transporting documents to a document prefeeder. The document prefeeder transports documents from the loading conveyor on an angled conveyor to a stack feeder that accumulates a shallow stack of documents. A single document feed removes single documents from a shallow stack on the stack feeder and transports the single documents to a main conveyor. A camera on the main conveyor reads each document such as mail, and prints information concerning the document, such as a bar code, on each document. The documents are moved by the main conveyor to an output conveyor for sorting and accumulation.

Mixed mail transport

By providing a package processing system with pulsed or intermittently applied package retardation or separation forces, a highly effective package handling system is attained which is able to process all packages without tearing, ripping, or damaging any surfaces or surface coverings. In its preferred construction, the packages are advanced in one direction and contact one or more rollers rotationally driven to the opposed direction in order to retard and separate stacked packages into a single level array. In addition, each roller is continuously raised and lowered out of and into engagement with the packages passing therebelow. By providing this pulsed or intermittent force, the packages are separated as desired, while also preventing damage to any package surface.

Stacked package separating system

A buffered stacking apparatus selectively diverts horizontally disposed documents from a main conveying path, then stacks and transports the documents to replaceable receiving receptacles. The apparatus has a primary horizontal conveyor belt with a lower reach defining a horizontal primary conveying path and at least one secondary conveyor belt having an upper reach which, when the secondary conveyor belt is in a horizontal position, is disposed in a lower juxtaposed relation to the lower reach of the primary conveying belt. The buffered stacking system also selectively effects pivotal movement of the secondary conveyor belt from the horizontal position to a second inclined position wherein the reach of the secondary belt is inclined to the lower reach of the primary conveyor belt. Documents being transported along the primary conveying path are diverted along the inclined reach when the secondary conveying belt is inclined. The documents diverted at the selected diverter station are transported by the inclined reach to a corresponding buffer assembly which horizontally stacks and aligns the documents. The buffer assembly includes a sweeping device which engages and selectively sweeps the stacked documents from the buffer assembly to the corresponding receiving receptacle disposed transversely adjacent the buffer assembly.

Buffered stacker

A postal finishing kiosk in which a user is provided with a mail piece, such as a postcard. The user supplies the name and address to which the mail piece is to be sent and the kiosk dispenses a finished mail piece to the user with the address printer thereon. A feature of the kiosk is that it stores the mail piece forms on a roll, but delivers a linear mail piece to the user. In an alternative to the invention, the kiosk dispenses a ticket to the user that can be used in activities of the environment in which the kiosk is found.

Postal finishing kiosk

By providing a captured roller construction as the movement assembly for a sensing element, a low cost, accurate, measuring instrument is achieved. In the present invention, the movement of the sensing element causes the movement assembly to produce rotational motion in direct response thereto. As a result, any change in the level of the source condition being monitored is immediately indicated on a visual readout, due to the responsive rotational motion of the movement assembly. By employing captured rollers as the principal means for attaining rotational motion, an easily constructed, dependable, low cost movement assembly and measuring instrument construction is realized.

Pressure measuring instruments

By providing a pointer assembly which is easily mounted to a computer terminal or screen and is movable from a first position to any second position on the terminal or screen, with the position of the pointer being precisely measured and transmitted to the computer, a unique, easily employed signal generating and position controlling system is realized. By incorporating a switch in the pointer assembly or in association with the pointer assembly, any individual is capable of employing the system of this invention quickly, easily, and accurately, without requiring training or expertise. In the preferred embodiment, the pointer assembly is movable both arcuately and longitudinally, relative to a fixed initial position, with any movement from the initial position being precisely measured to determine the desired, user-selected position.

Signal generating/position controlling system

An apparatus is disclosed for receiving sheets from the discharge portion of an electrostatic copy machine, which apparatus receives, stacks and collates the sheets as desired. The apparatus can be electrically independent of the copier and is attached thereto by simple hanger and bracket arrangements. The apparatus includes a plurality of trays which are moved past the discharge opening of the copier, and which are controlled and arranged, selectively to receive (1) a plurality of sheets in each tray; (2) a single copy of each sheet in each of several trays; or (3) a number of identical sheets in one tray and a differing number of other sheets in successive trays. The apparatus can collect, collate, and sort the sheets while the trays are moving in one direction past the copier discharge opening, as well as when the trays are moving past it in the other direction. The apparatus will automatically conclude its sorting cycle whenever there is an extra-ordinary delay in the discharge of the sheets from the copier. In another embodiment, utilizing an appropriate connection to the copier, the apparatus can be arranged to complete its collating cycle only when the exact number of desired copies has been sorted (i.e. independently of any misfeed, delay, or jam-up in the copier operation).

Movable tray sheet sorter

Universal sorter

Copying and sorting apparatus

Combined copying and sorting machine

A sorting machine has bins which are shifted sequentially past a sheet entry location between positions at opposite sides of the sheet entry location, to provide a relatively wide sheet receiving space between adjacent bins at the entry location. The bins have their outer ends pivotally mounted in a frame structure spaced from the sheet entry location, so that the bins slope forwardly. Shifting of the bins is accomplished by a reversible motor driven rotor located at one side of the bins and having recesses to receive trunnions at one side of the bins on each one-half revolution to shift a bin in one direction or the other. The other side of the bin group is unobstructed.

Sorting machine

Growing community of inventors

Milford, CT, United States of America

John C Hamma