Pitney Bowes Inc.

Other

Karel J Janatka

William J Wright

John W Sussmeier

Edward M Ifkovits

Robert J Allen

Boris Rozenfeld

Russell W Holbrook

Linda A Howard

Carlos L DeFigueiredo

Kenneth W Lowell

Joseph A Trudeau

Joseph F Zuzick, Jr

Karen P Synnett

David R Auerbach

Richard F Stengl

Dean H Foster

Neil J Kennedy

Shahzad H Malick

George N Branecky

Michael R Ifkovits

Eric J Janatka

James B Andreyka

Douglas P Sprenger

William Gergely, Jr

Carlos De Figueiredo

Rebecca J Pritting

Joseph R Vassallo

Thomas J Gavaghan

Paul D Boucher

Russel W Holbrook

An apparatus for registering sheet material while being conveyed along a feed path including: (i) a conveyance deck for conveying sheet material along a support surface, (ii) a registration member defining an abutment surface operative to align an edge of the sheet material as the sheet material is conveyed along the support surface of the conveyance deck, and (iii) a drive mechanism disposed adjacent to the registration member and along the conveyance deck. The drive mechanism includes a flexible belt disposed about and supported by at least two rolling elements, and a means for driving the flexible belt about the rolling elements. The flexible belt includes a twisted section defining a plurality of spiral edge segments operative to (i) frictionally engage a surface of the sheet material to urge the sheet material against the abutment surface and (ii) convey the sheet material along the conveyance deck.

Alignment/registration and conveyance apparatus

An apparatus is provided for altering the spatial orientation and/or direction of sheet material. The apparatus includes an input deck for receiving sheet material along an input feed path, an output deck for forwarding sheet material along an output feed path, and an orbit nip roller assembly disposed adjacent to and aligned with the input and output decks. The orbit nip roller assembly includes a primary and secondary roller defining a roller nip which lies substantially parallel to the input and output feed paths. The secondary roller is adapted to be bi-directionally displaced in an arc about the periphery of the primary roller such that the roller nip orbits the primary roller from a first radial position to a second radial position. In the first radial position, the roller nip is adapted to accept sheet material from the input deck at a substantially right angle relative to the input feed path and, in the second radial position, the roller nip is adapted to dispense sheet material to the output deck at a substantially right angle relative to the output feed path.

Apparatus for altering the orientation and/or direction of sheet material in mailpiece fabrication systems

A vacuum deck for a mailpiece insertion module including a plurality of friction drive belts, a support plate slideably supporting the drive belts, a repositionable backstop assembly disposed along the feed path of the envelope for arresting the motion of the envelope when disposed in a first position and permitting the conveyance along the feed path when disposed in a second position, a means for developing a pressure differential across the envelope for urging the envelope into frictional engagement with the friction drive belts, and a breaker plate disposed over and across an upstream portion of the friction drive belts to reduce friction drive forces developed along an upstream end portion of the envelope. In another embodiment of the invention, the pressure differential means is bifurcated such that the pressure differential developed across the breaker plate is lower than the pressure differential developed along the support plate and downstream of the breaker plate.

System and method for preventing envelope distortion in a mailpiece fabrication system

A module in an envelope insertion station for transporting an envelope to an enclosure material insertion location, which uses endless belts to move the envelope until it is stopped by rotatable stops. A fixedly-mounted vacuum module having vacuum ports provides a suction force to the envelope urging the trailing edge of the envelope to press against the belts and provides the normal force required to move an envelope downstream as it enters the insertion deck without slippage against the translating endless belts. Additionally, a second vacuum module having vacuum ports provides suction force urging the leading edge of the envelope to press against the belts and provides the normal force required to prohibit the leading edge of the envelope from buckling during impact with the rotatable stops. The second vacuum module is removably mounted and mechanically linked to the rotatable stops so they can be repositioned together to accommodate different-sized envelopes.

Envelope transport module with vacuum ports for use in an envelope inserting machine

A method of joining a first sheet-metal member to a second sheet-metal member in a right-angle relationship using an H-shaped interlocking member. An opening is provided near an edge of the second sheet metal member with a channel communicating the opening and the edge. The opening is sufficiently wide to allow the H-shaped member to be rotated therein so as to allow the upper and lower slots of the H-shaped member to engage with the second sheet-metal member. A tapped hole is provided in the center section of the H-shaped member, aligned with the channel, so as to allow a screw to be inserted through a hole on the first sheet-metal member and then the channel to engage with the tapped hole. After the screw is tightened, the surface of the first sheet metal member is securely joined to the edge of the second sheet metal member.

Method of assembling parts with interlocking device

A method and system for transporting envelopes from an envelope feeder to an envelope staging area in an envelope insertion machine. The envelope transport system includes two envelope bins and two envelope supply paths linking the envelope bins to an envelope feeder. Each of the bins is used to temporarily store an envelope before that envelope is moved to the staging area. The envelope supply paths are controlled by a flipper gate which alternately opens one path and closes another so as to allow an envelope to enter one envelope bin while another envelope in the other envelope bin is moved to the staging area. With the dual envelope bins connected to the dual supply paths to receive envelopes released by the envelope feeder, the envelope feeder does not have to slow down substantially in order to wait for the released envelope to clear the feeding path.

Dual bin envelope supply device and method

A method and apparatus for staging envelopes in a mail insertion machine. In the mail insertion machine, envelopes are moved into an envelope inserting area one at a time with the flap of the envelopes trailing the envelope bottom edge and flipped away so as to allow enclosure material to be inserted into the envelope. While one envelope is paused in the envelope inserting area for receiving enclosure material, the next envelope is moved towards the envelope inserting area such that the flap of the paused envelope in the envelope inserting area is partially overlapped with the next envelope in a shingling fashion. In order to properly separate these envelopes, a sensing device is used to sense the arrival of the bottom edge of the next envelope in order to control the further movement of the next envelope.

Method and apparatus for staging envelopes

The present invention relates to locking and locating cylindrical components or roller sleeve assemblies on a support shaft. The locking feature is an anti-rotation device that prevents rotation of the roller assembly or sleeve assembly on the support shaft. The locking feature permits axial location of the component or sleeve to a pre-determined position as desired. A pair of over-running clutches or one-way clutches is used to facilitate the feature. The clutches are assembled to a receiving bore in the component or sleeve so that they are able to lock on the support shaft in reverse directions, thereby preventing rotation of those parts on the support shaft.

Locking means for components mounted on support shafts

A method and apparatus for feeding envelopes in an envelope insertion machine, wherein a rotatable pneumatic feeding head is used to pick up an envelope from an envelope stack by a negative air pressure. The pneumatic feeding head is also used to move the envelope to a pair of take away rollers so that the envelope picked up by the feeding head can be moved further away from the envelope stack. It is preferred that the feeding head includes an outer cylinder having a row of vacuum ports and an inner cylinder having a plurality of apertures for air passage operatively connected to a vacuum pump. The inner cylinder is independently rotatable relative to the outer cylinder so that the negative air pressure is provided to the vacuum ports when the apertures of the inner cylinder are aligned with the vacuum ports, and the negative air pressure is turned off from the vacuum parts when the apertures and the vacuum ports are out of alignment.

Method and apparatus for feeding envelopes

A method for supplying envelopes to an inserter system, including the steps of providing an envelope supply structure having an exit point, providing at least first and second supply paths from the exit point of the envelope supply structure and providing a common path from the at least first and second supply paths. Individual envelopes are fed from the envelope supply structure to a selected one of the at least first and second supply paths wherein the envelope is conveyed to a holding area in the selected supply path and from the holding area of the selected supply path it is conveyed to the common path. The envelope then travels from the common path to an envelope insertion area wherein prearranged documents are caused to be inserted into the envelope.

Method for supplying envelopes to an inserter system by way of multiple supply paths

The present invention relates to an input system for feeding one-up sheets from a paper web to a high speed mass mailing inserter system. The input system includes a feeding module for supplying a paper web having two web portions in side-by-side relationship. A merging module is located downstream in the path of travel from the feeding module and is operational to feed the two web portions in an upper-lower relationship so as to reorient the paper web from the side-by-side relationship to an upper-lower relationship. A separating module is located downstream in the path of travel from the merging module and is operational to receive the paper web in the upper-lower relationship and separate the paper web into individual two-up sheets. In order to separate the two-up sheets into one-up sheets, a stacking module is located downstream in the path of travel from the separating module and is configured to receive the two-up sheets, stack the two-up sheets and individually feed one-up sheets from the stack.

High speed pneumatic document input system

An envelope transport system, for transporting envelopes, flaps opened, along a final common path in a direction at ninety degrees from a feed direction along which the envelopes are provided in two parallel paths. The system includes an envelope hopper, for holding envelopes on edge and for providing the envelopes, in turn, on edge; a flipper gate, for receiving envelopes, in turn, and for providing the envelopes alternately to either of the two parallel transport feed paths, each of the feed paths for conveying the envelopes provided to the feed path by action of a sequence of nips arranged along the feed path; a merge station for receiving the envelopes, in turn, from the two parallel transport feed paths, for plowing open the flaps of the envelopes, and for redirecting the envelopes, with flaps open, all to the final, common path at substantially ninety degrees from the two parallel transport feed paths, the substantially ninety degrees measured with respect to the direction of the parallel transport feed paths at the point of entry to the merge station.

Dual pocket right angle turn for an envelope transport system

A sheet feeder for feeding sheets from a sheet stack, having a feed deck for supporting the sheet stack and a pair of spaced apart parallel guide rails on the feed deck for receiving the sheet stack between the guide rails. A sheet feeding assembly is mounted in proximity to a sheet feeding end of the feed deck and is operative to feed individual lowermost sheets from the sheet stack, the sheet feeding assembly including a continuously rotating feed drum having an inner and outer circumference and a plurality of suction openings and a vacuum assembly received in the inner circumference of the feed drum and having at least one rotating cylinder coupled to a vacuum source and movable between an actuated position for drawing air downward through the portion of the feed drum extending above the planar surface of the feed deck and a default position preventing the drawing of air through the feed drum when a vacuum is applied to the at least one rotating cylinder.

Growing community of inventors

Southbury, CT, United States of America

Karel J Janatka