Pitney Bowes Inc.

Other

Leroy H Byrne

Arnold Fassman

Hans C Mol

Thomas L Simmel

In a fluid supply and dispensing system including a fluid dispenser for carrying a working supply of fluid at working surface level, and a reservoir which is connected in fluid flow communication with the dispenser for carrying a replenishing supply of fluid at a surface level which establishes the working surface level of fluid in the dispenser, there is provided with an improvement for lowering the working surface level to prevent spillage of fluid from the dispenser when the system is not in use. The improvement includes providing the reservoir with a movable, fluid displacement member, which is normally lowered into the replenishing supply of fluid, and providing means for raising the displacement member at least partially out of the replenishing supply of fluid, when the system is not in use, for lowering the surface level of the replenishing fluid supply and thus the working surface level of the dispenser's working fluid supply.

Fluid supply and dispensing apparatus

A device for dispensing a plurality of rectangular objects and depositing the objects on a surface in uniformly spaced relationship with the objects standing upright on a short edge, more particularly, a device for setting up dominos in a row so that the dominos can be knocked down sequentially. The device includes a wheel supported body which supports an upstanding supply chamber for storing stacked dominos, and an ejecting assembly at the bottom of the supply chamber which ejects the bottom most domino toward the rear of the body as the body rolls across a surface. The ejecting assembly moves each domino into engagement with a top and side guide assembly which cooperates with the ejecting assembly to cause the domino to be deposited on the supporting surface and stabilized thereon in a stationary position before the device moves away from the domino so that the domino remains upright and does not fall.

Article dispensing and positioning device

A rotary collator with a plurality of radially extending partitions in which sheets to be collated are held by a sheet clamp mounted in each bin. The sheet clamp for each bin is released during the sheet ejecting portion of the collating cycle according to a program implemented by a programming disc into which selector pins corresponding to specified bins are inserted. The programming disc moves relative to an electromechanical mechanism which enables an electrical switch to complete a circuit to release the clamps. The spacing of the selector pins is such that consecutive empty bins require the electrical switch to be maintained in a disabled position, while consecutive loaded bins result in maintaining the electrical switch in an enabled position, thereby eliminating bouncing of the switch.

Controller for rotary collator

A cam operated phasing mechanism for a rotary drum collator is described. The rotary drum collator comprises a rotatably mounted drum having pockets for holding sheet material, and an adjacently rotatably mounted withdrawing mechanism for withdrawing sheets from the pockets as the drum and the withdrawing mechanism rotate in a predetermined phase relationship. The predetermined phase relationship between the rotation of the drum and the rotation of the withdrawing mechanism is varied in order to change the phase relationship to accommodate for the depletion of the sheet material from the individual pockets. The change in phase relationship is accomplished by a dual surface cam and double cam follower combination which provides for a simultaneous unitized increase and decrease in corresponding effective working lengths of a drive chain interconnected between the drum and the withdrawing mechanism. This construction provides for a positive increase and decrease in the working lengths of the chain in order to eliminate backlash in an otherwise free system, and eliminates the need for spring-loading any portion of the drive chain which would otherwise not be positively controlled with respect to changes in the aforementioned effected working lengths.

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Waterbury, CT, United States of America

Leroy H Byrne