Bell + Howell Company

Rolf B Erikson

Kenneth L Guenther

Edward H Zemke

John R Flint

Thomas R Wells

Delmar R Johnson

Bruce A Rady

Jerry J Kosner, Jr

George Rabindran

An addressee's internal mail is accompanied by a director card having machine readable indicia placed thereon for identifying the given addressee. A carrier, holding the addressee's mail and director card is passed under an optical character reader which passes a signal to look-up table apparatus for generating a mail stop signal corresponding to the addressee. Mail director apparatus is then operative in response to the mail stop signal to direct each piece of mail to the desired addressee.

Mail direction system

A new and improved vacuum document feeder provides a vacuum cup support mechanism which follows a somewhat crescent-shaped coupler curve that eliminated the vacuum cup wear-producing disadvantages of the prior art and provides for increased feeding rates. A four-bar system moves a table over the somewhat crescent-shaped coupler curve, while at all times holding an edge of the table parallel to the documents. At least one vacuum cup is pivotally mounted on the table, to sweep over an angle which accommodates leaning documents. Cams on a drive pulley associated with the transport system coordinates the table movement with both the pivoting and vacuumizing of the cups.

Vacuum document feeder

The inventive ink jet printing system is driven from a repertoire data storage medium such as perforated tape or cards, magnetic tape or cards, or the like, on which the stored data may be changed, updated, increased or decreased, or deleted in whole or in part. The data read from this storage medium is fed into a microprocessor which directs a ganged multiplicity of ink jet printing heads, to simultaneously printout a plurality of lines of type. A transport mechanism picks up and feeds paper, magazines, or the like through a printing station where the ganged ink jets print out responsive to the data supplied from the repertoire storage medium. A number of housekeeping functions are carried out simultaneously, to insure that ink is delivered to and collected from the nozzles of the printing heads.

Ink jet printer with deflected nozzles

An electronically controlled photographic image utilization device is arranged to transport a roll of microfilm having all images printed thereon in separate photographic areas, each area being arranged in a microfiche-type format. The photographic image utilization device has an automatic call-up feature so that any given photographic area may be selected in a first dimension and projected responsive to the push of a button, the operation of a rotary switch or both. A special bar code is printed along the edge of the film and used in conjunction with a closed loop film control system to eliminate the need for precise, clock-controlled synchronization between the film transport and the code reading. Preferably, the bar code is read by optical electronic sensors. Responsive thereto, the electronic control system accurately positions a selected photographic image, on the microfilm, within a viewing area. Thereafter, and while the film transport is being held stationary, any image on the microfilm may be selected for projection by a manual movement in second and third dimensions of a simple lens positioning mechanism which is small, compact, and easily moved. The reader may also be operated manually so that the automatic controls may be bypassed, if desired.

Electronically controlled microfilm photographic image utilization device

An ink cartridge comprises a box containing a plastic bag or bladder which is manufactured, filled and sealed in the controlled environment of a factory. As manufactured, the bladder has almost no chance of any substantial amount of air being entrapped therein. It has no openings, except for a small fill opening which is sealed immediately after the bladder is filled with ink. The bladder has rounded contours to prevent entrapment of gas and foreign substances. A plastic tube is welded to the outside of the bladder so that it may be penetrated and the bladder may be cleanly punctured within the tube in order to introduce the ink into the machine without simultaneously introducing air or other foreign matter into the ink. A special follower arrangement feeds a piercing tool into the plastic tube without buckling or kinking it.

Ink jet printer ink cartridge

A system for sorting mailing pieces is described in which pre-addressed labels are applied to mailing pieces and in which selected labels bearing indicia representative of a zip code group are selectively coated to identify them from labels not bearing such indicia. To distinguish coated labels from non-coated labels, each label is considered as having two or more portions, including a first coatable portion and a second reference portion. Only labels bearing zip code group indicia receive a coating on their coatable portions. Thereafter, each label is examined to detect the level of radiation, if any, emitted from its coatable and reference portions. If the level of radiation emitted from a coatable portion of a label exceeds the level of radiation emitted from its reference portion by at least a predetermined difference, such a label is identified as bearing indicia representative of a zip code group.

Device for sorting mail according to zip codes

A system is described for controlling the speed and direction of rotation of first and second spools in a web transport system in which a web is advanced between the spools by first and second drive motors. The system incorporates a servo control which continuously reacts to variations in the speed of the spools so as to drive the spools at respective speeds whose sum is constant and proportional to a selectable control voltage. To achieve this result, the first and second spools, driven, respectively by the first and second drive motors, are coupled to means, such as a corresponding pair of servo generators, for generating electrical outputs representative of the direction and speed of rotation of the spools. A control voltage, proportional to the sum of the desired speeds of the two spools, is continuously and algebraically summed with the outputs of the two servo generators, the summed signal constituting a motor drive signal. A motor drive control receives the motor drive signal and selectively applies it to the drive motor associated with the spool upon which the web is to be wound. The pull thus exerted on the web by the actively driven spool rotates the other spool, both spools thereby rotating their corresponding servo generators. The motor drive signal, derived from the control voltage and the outputs of the servo generators, continuously reflects the changing outputs of the servo generators so as to cause the spools to rotate at respective speeds whose sum is constant and proportional to the control voltage.

Servo system

An electronically controlled photographic image utilization device is arranged to transport a roll of microfilm having all images printed thereon in separate photographic areas, each area being arranged in a microfiche-type format. The photographic image utilization device has an automatic call-up feature so that any given photographic area may be selected and projected responsive to the push of a button, the operation of a rotary switch or both. A special bar code is printed along the edge of the film and used in conjunction with a closed loop film control system to eliminate the need for precise, clock controlled synchronization between the film transport and the code reading. Preferably, the bar code is read by optical electronic sensors. Responsive thereto, the electronic control system accurately positions a selected photographic image, on the microfilm, within a viewing area. Thereafter, and while the film transport is being held stationary, any image on the microfilm may be selected for projection by a manual movement of a simple lens positioning mechanism which is small, compact, and easily moved. The reader may also be operated manually so that the automatic controls may be bypassed, if desired.

Growing community of inventors

Lincolnwood, IL, United States of America

Rolf B Erikson