Roll Systems, Inc.

Butler Automatic, Inc.

John W Clifford

H W Crowley

Bruce J Taylor

Peter E Bianchetto

William F Bolza

Tamas Hetenyi

Thomas Connolly

John R Fairhurst

Richard A Sjostedt

John M Fiske

Steven P Lewalski

Stephen E Silva

Edward F Meihofer

Robert A Mavilia

Andrew P Butler

Richard A Butler, Jr

George F Corcoran

Stephen C Dangel

Raymond W Johnson

Alexander Jesensky

Geoffrey C Grigg

Pierre Gachet

Matthew D Bouche

Robert S Kurz

A web handling apparatus includes a base, a housing, a splicing head mounted in the housing, and first and second non-rotatable swing out roll shafts, each shaft having opposite first and second ends. The roll shafts are normally positioned in the housing substantially parallel to the splicing head so that web can travel through the splicing head to on from web rolls on the roll shafts. A web accumulator mounted to the housing conducts web to or from the splicing head and the housing is movably mounted to the base so that the housing can move relative to the base in either direction parallel to the roll shafts. An actuator connected between the housing and the base moves the housing relative to the base in response to signals from a web position sensor so as to minimize the side lay of web extending to or from the apparatus. The splicing head employs special mirror image upper and lower splicing sections which facilitate preparation of the leading end of the ready web while the other web is running and the two splicing sections cooperate to make a consistent high quality butt or lap splices between the two webs.

Web splicer

An apparatus for selectively streaming and merging side-by-side sheets is provided. In general, sheets enter in a side-by-side orientation onto an input feed surface and are directed selectively upwardly or downwardly onto overlying upper and lower feed surfaces by a diverter assembly having two diverter sides. The diverter sides can be independently moved to direct sheets upwardly or downwardly. The upper feed surface and lower feed surface have opposing edge guides. The upper feed surface and lower feed surface can be moved with respect to each other so that the edge guides are placed one sheet width apart or more than two sheet widths apart. By orienting the two diverter halves, and setting the desired distance between the upper and lower edge guides, sheets can pass along each of the upper and lower surfaces in a side-by-side streamed or over-lapping merge orientation. Sheets pass out of each of the upper and lower feed surfaces onto a common output surface through an output ramp at which time they are either side-by-side streamed or merged. Each edge guide can include an offset actuator that moves at selected times to provide an offset to selected sheets as they enter the output feed ramp. Sheets can be derived from a wide web that is slit and cut as it enters the input feed unit.

Cut sheet streamer and merger

A system for stacking continuous folded forms or web coming from a folder and separator and moving to a conveyor. A table is positioned adjacent and in line with the conveyor and in a position for receiving a horizontally-extending stack of folded forms disposed on the table top. The table is a tiltable table and is able to be tilted from a substantially-horizontal position to a substantially-vertical position to likewise move the stack from a horizontal to a vertical stack position. A cart is movable to a position adjacent to the tilted table for receiving from the table the vertical stack for support on the cart. The cart can include a plurality of storage locations that can each be provided with a stack.

Method and apparatus for business forms processing

A system and method for utilizing a continuous pinless web that is free of tractor pin feed holes within a utilization device that is originally adapted to feed web having tractor pin feed hole strips along its widthwise edges is provided. The utilization device can comprise an IBM high-volume laser printer having an image transfer drum synchronized to a pair of tractor pin feed drive units. A drive roller is operatively connected to the lower pin feed unit according to a preferred embodiment. A registration controller is utilized to synchronize the movement of the web with the operation of the utilization device element using a differential and a separate registration motor. The image transfer drum and drive roller are each synchronized to a central drive motor that generates pulses via an encoder. The pulses track the movement of the image transfer drum. A mark sensor reads marks on the web to synchronize actual movement of the web with the image transfer drum using the registration motor. The movement of the registration motor is averaged over the length of each section or page in the web to avoid jump discontinuities. The printer's fuser section draws web from the image transfer element at a controlled rate and with a desired steering alignment. Signals that emulate those originally generated by a skew/advance/retard sensor that tracks pin feed holes are generated by comparing fuser drive pulses to drive motor pulses and monitoring the location of the pinless web edge as it passes under a dedicated edge location sensor.

Method and apparatus for pinless feeding of web to a utilization device

A high speed sheet feeder for use with utilization devices that process sheets comprises a source of sheets, that can include a web cutter and a transport unit having a surface along which the sheets travel in a downstream direction. The surface can include a pair of conveyors that act as sheet justifiers and have at downstream ends thereof wait stations that can comprise pairs of nip rollers. Sheets are halted at each wait station and simultaneously passed along the surface as a sheet request signal is received from the utilization device. The transport unit can further include a bump/turn module that receives sheets from the conveyors and passes them at 90.degree. angle to their initial direction of travel into the utilization device via a port in the utilization device adapted to feed sheets upon request.

High speed sheet feeder

A high speed sheet feeder for use with utilization devices that process sheets comprises a source of sheets, that can include a web cutter and a transport unit having a surface along which the sheets travel in a downstream direction. The surface can include a pair of conveyors that act as sheet justifiers and have at downstream ends thereof wait stations that can comprise pairs of nip rollers. Sheets are halted at each wait station and simultaneously passed along the surface as a sheet request signal is received from the utilization device. The transport unit can further include a bump/turn module that receives sheets from the conveyors and passes them at a 90.degree. angle to their initial direction of travel into the utilization device via a port in the utilization device adapted to feed sheets upon request.

A system for conveying folded web and forming discrete stacks of folded web comprising a conveyor that receives a stack of folded output web from a web folder and separator. The conveyor drives the web from an upstream end, adjacent the web folder and separator, to a downstream end. A supporting surface, which can comprise a plurality of pivoting rails biased by a spring, selectively supports the web remote from and off of the conveyor so that a compressed stack can be formed adjacent the folder and separator. At selected times, the stack is moved by the supporting surface into communication with the folder and separator so that it can be conveyed downstream. An elevator platform can be located at the downstream location for receiving successive stacks thereon. The elevator ascends and descends so that the tops of the successive stacks are aligned with the conveyor for receipt of a further stack thereon. The elevator platform can include a drive that enables it to rotate so that successive stacks are deposited on the elevator platform in a rotationally offset orientation relative to each other.

Separator for forming discrete stacks of folded web

An apparatus for stacking and separating sheets of web material provides a conveyor for transporting the sheets from a source of sheets. The sheets are conveyed in a stream that is aligned in a downstream direction from a source to a stacking location. A kicker mechanism is located along the conveyor to offset sheets in a direction that is substantially transverse to the downstream direction. A stacking mechanism is positioned at the stacking location for receiving each sheet from the conveyor and overlaying each sheet into a stack that extends downstream in a horizontal orientation that is substantially parallel to the ground. The kicker mechanism may include an elastomeric foot that engages and withdraws from each selected sheet to drive it transversely to the downstream direction. The sheets may be cut from a continuous web source.

Web stacker and separator with sheet offsetting kicker

A stacker jam detector, for use in a sheet handling device such as a stacker and separator, comprises a source of sheets that directs sheets downstream to a delivery location. The source of sheets includes a sheet sent signal generator that transmits a sheet sent signal in response to transferral of each of the sheets from the source. A moving sensing service, such as an elastomeric wheel, is provided at a delivery location, which can comprise a vertical stack. The surface engages each of the sheets as each of the sheets is transferred to the delivery location. Movement of the sheets thereover causes proportional movement of the sensing surface. A signal, such as a pulse, is generated in response to the movement of the sensing surface. A detector measures the signal and compares the signal received relative to at least one sheet sense signal to a predetermined signal value and indicates whether a sheet has been properly delivered to the delivery location.

Stacker jam detector

Web-fed sheet stacker and separator

A web roll handling system comprises a roll loading section, a plurality of splicers and at least one robotic vehicle arranged to travel back and forth between the loading section and the plurality of splicers.

Automatic web roll handling system for splicing

Web splicing apparatus employs a pair of driven nip rolls which controllably feed web from a running roll into a festoon as web is drawn out of the festoon at a constant rate by a downstream web consuming machine. The nip rolls are driven by a DC motor connected in a closed loop servo system which compares the speed of the web entering the festoon with the web line speed to develop a command signal for the motor. During normal operation, the command signal includes a web velocity trim signal developed by monitoring the position of the festoon dancer relative to a selected reference position so as to minimize tension upsets and to maintain the dancer within its control range. During a splice sequence, the command signal comprises a deceleration ramp having a selected slope to provide controlled deceleration of the web to minimize tension upsets and to permit actuation of the splicing nips prior to actual web stop. After the splice is made, the command signal comprises an acceleration ramp whose slope is automatically adjusted to apply the least necessary tension to the ready web for new roll acceleration consistent with a given splicing speed. Further with this arrangement, the gain of the system is independent of the changing size of the expiring roll.

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Ashland, MA, United States of America

John W Clifford