Pitney Bowes Inc.

Kevin J O'Dea

Russell W Holbrook

Donald T Dolan

Norman J Bergman

John W Sussmeier

John R Masotta

Peter C DiGiulio

Nicholas R Antonelli

Francis E McDermott

James L Vanderpool

Robert A St John

Neil J Kennedy

Luciano P Dos Santos

Jeffrey L Chodack

Gary W Comstock

An apparatus includes a frame, a rotatable first shaft, wherein the first shaft includes a first cam, a rotatable second shaft, an item gripper connected to the second shaft by a connection including a link and an offset shaft rotatably connected to the link, and a linkage. The link is adapted to rotate with the second shaft for pivoting the offset shaft about the second shaft. The item gripper includes jaws adapted to open and close when the offset shaft is axially rotated relative to the link. The linkage connects the first cam on the first shaft to a rider on the offset shaft. The linkage includes a second having a stepped surface for a stepped movement of the rider along the stepped surface to open the jaws during a predetermined angular movement of the offset shaft about the center axis of the second shaft.

Cam driven insert gripper

An on-edge stacker having a deck surface to support a vertical mail stack, which is allowed to expand from the upstream end to the downstream end. A paddle, movably mounted on a linear support member, is used to support the downstream end of the mail stack. The linear support member is positioned at a level lower than or substantially the same as the deck surface so that the mail can be swept from the deck surface from either longitudinal side of the stacker. A toggle switch is disposed near the downstream end so that when the paddle moved by the expanding stack reaches beyond a certain point, the toggle switch is triggered to indicate that the stack is full or almost full. The paddle has a wedge-shaped blade so that it can slide the stacked mailed on the deck surface without damaging the mail.

Paddle and paddle support in on-edge mail stackers

A sheet feeding device for feeding sheets of paper to an inserter system having a control system. The sheet feeding device including a sheet supplying device that is coupled to the control system and is operative to supply sheets of paper at a first controlled rate. A sheet stacking device is coupled to the sheet supplying device and is operative to receive and stack the sheets fed from the sheet supplying device substantially atop one another. The sheet stacking device includes a sheet feeder operative to supply individual sheets at a second controlled rate to another device in the inserter system that is coupled to the sheet feeder. A sheet monitoring system is coupled to the control system and is operative to determine a stack height for the sheet stack in the sheet supplying device such that the height determination for the sheet stack effects the rate for the first controlled rate of the sheet supplying device.

System and method for document input control

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.

System and method for providing sheets to an inserter system

A mail handling machine includes a mechanism for serially transporting along a main path sealed and unsealed close-flapped envelopes, some of which may be mis-sealed. The machine also inlcudes a mechanism for opening the flaps of the unsealed close-flapped envelopes. The flap opening mechanism includes a shaped blade pivotally mounted on the machine and located along the main path. There is also a shaped portion of a deck that includes a fixed guide edge located along the path and downstream of the blade. The blade strips open the flaps of the unsealed envelopes. A member is hingedly mounted to the trailing edge of the blade. The member is biased so as to obstruct the gap between the blade and the guide edge to prevent opened flaps from entering the gap. When a mis-sealed envelope engages the blade, causing the blade to move pivotally, the shaped portion cams up the member, which contacts the mis-sealed envelope and urges it out of engagement with the blade.

Mail handling machine with improved envelope flap opening means

A moistening arrangement for moistening the flaps of envelopes comprising a guide path for guiding envelopes, a moistener, an arrangement for moving the moistener transversely of the guide path, a first drive for moving envelopes at a first speed onto the guide path, a detector for detecting the first speed, and a second drive for moving envelopes away from the guide path at a second speed. The first and second drives are spaced apart a distance less than the lengths of the envelopes. A sensor arrangement senses the widths of the flaps of envelopes at a determined position between the first and second drives, and a control arrangement is provided for controlling the position of the moistener as a function of the speed of an initial portion of the envelope, and as a function of the speed of a final portion of the envelope.

Control system for moistener

A moistening arrangement for moistening the flaps of envelopes comprising a guide path for guiding envelopes, a moistener, an arrangement for moving the moistener transversely of the guide path, a first drive for moving envelopes at a first speed onto the guide path, a detector for detecting the first speed, and a second drive for moving envelopes away from the guide path at a second speed. The first and second drives are spaced apart a distance less than the lengths of the envelopes. A sensor arrangement senses the widths of the flaps of envelopes at a determined position between the first and second drives, and a control arrangement is provided for controlling the position of the moistener as a function of the speed of the first means for an initial portion of the envelope, and as a function of the speed of the second means for a final portion of the envelope.

An envelope drive assembly for assuming displacement control over an envelope along a deck supported on a support assembly including a drive means for receiving the envelope traversing the deck and assuming displacement control over the envelope. The drive means has a shaft having a drive roller fixably mounted centrally around a portion of the shaft such that a radial portion of the drive roller extent into an opening in the deck. A motor drive is provided for rotating the shaft. A support member having at least one biasing roller rotatively mounted thereto is positioned radially opposite the drive roller. The support member is pivotally mounted and biased such that the biasing roller is biased against the drive roller. A processor controls the drive motor. A sensor is provided for sensing the presence of the leading and trailing edge of the envelope in the nip area of the biasing roller and drive roller and informing the processor thereof. An encoder wheel is rotatively mounted to the shaft for informing the processor of the change in displacement of the envelope in the drive means.

Sheet drive system having an encoder apparatus

In a mail-handling machine for processing mixed mail, a flap-stripper for opening the flap of an unsealed envelope is mounted for rotation to intercept and detect a mis-sealed envelope to avoid jamming the machine. A deflecting finger with a small idler roller pushes down on the envelope before it reaches the flap-stripper.

Mail handling machine with mis-sealed envelope detector

In a mail-handling machine for processing mixed mail, a flap-stripper for opening the flap of an unsealed envelope is mounted for rotation to intercept and detect a mis-sealed envelope to avoid jamming the machine.

A moistening arrangement for moistening the flap of an envelope moving in a first direction in a given plane, includes a nozzle directed to spray a liquid at an envelope flap along a given locus in the plane. A source of first signals that are a function of the position of the edge in the plane is provided. An arrangement responsive to the first signals moves the nozzle in a direction substantially parallel to the plane for moistening the flap at positions thereof. The source comprises a source of first signals corresponding to the edge positions of the flap at a position spaced a given distance from the locus in a second direction opposite the first direction. A source of a second signal corresponding to the velocity of the envelope is provided. The arrangement for moving the nozzle comprises means for moving the nozzle as a function of the given distance and the first and second signals, so that the nozzle is moved to be substantially continuously positioned to be adjacent the edge of an envelope flap passing the locus.

Nozzle control systems for moistener

A moistening arrangement for mositening the flap of an envelope comprising an applicator, such as a nozzle directed to apply a liquid to an envelope flap along a given locus, includes a source of first signals that are a function of the width of the flap. An arrangements responsive to the first signals moves the applicator along the edge of the flap for moistening the flap at positions thereof. A source provides second signals that are a function of the shape of the flap. A pump is controlled to supply a quantity of the liquid to the applicator that is a function of the second signals.

Pump system for moistener nozzle

A moistening arrangement for moistening the flap of an envelope moving in a first direction in a given plane, wherein a nozzle directed to spray a liquid at an envelope flap along a given locus in the plane, a source of first signals is provided that are a function of the position of the edge in the plane. An arrangement responsive to the first signals moves the nozzle in a direction substantially parallel to the plane for moistening the flap at positions thereof. The nozzle comprises a hollow needle having a bore sufficiently small that the flow of liquid therethrough is substnatially independent of pressure applied to the liquid.

Growing community of inventors

Sandy Hook, CT, United States of America

Kevin J O'Dea