Pitney Bowes Inc.

Pitney Dowes Inc.

William J Wright

John W Sussmeier

Eric A Belec

John R Masotta

Karel J Janatka

David R Auerbach

Robert J Allen

Boris Rozenfeld

Carlos L DeFigueiredo

Robert E Manna

Charles C Fuller

Gregory P Skinger

Russell W Holbrook

Daniel J Williams

Linda A Howard

Henry P Braen

Anthony E Yap

Arthur H DePoi

Hans C Mol

Dean H Foster

Lyle W Shaw

Cheryl L Picoult

James B Andreyka

Richard E Kish

Rebecca J Anderson

Carlos De Figueiredo

Robert J Bartoes

Mary-Jo F Brigante

Malcolm F Lester

Mary Jo Brigiante-Murphy

An improved sheet accumulator for stacking serially fed sheets transported on a paper path includes a guide deck. Above the guide deck, a plurality of parallel belts are positioned to provide a driving force for sheets on the deck. Within the accumulator, a ramp apparatus is positioned across the paper path whereby sheets driven by the belts on an upstream portion of the accumulator deck are driven over the ramp apparatus and deposited in an accumulating region of the accumulator deck on a downstream side of the ramp apparatus. Sheets are stopped by an accumulator stop mechanism located at a downstream end of the accumulating region that prevents movement of sheets by the belts while sheets for an accumulation are being collected. When an accumulation is completed, the accumulator stop mechanism allows sheets to be transported from the accumulating region.

High throughput sheet accumulator

An apparatus includes a first feed path configured to transport an envelope from an input at an envelope supply to an insertion location, and a second feed path configured to transport the envelope with a mail piece insert therein from the insertion location to an output. The first and second feed paths intersect at an intersection spaced from the insertion location. The paths are angled relative to each other at the intersection.

Apparatus and method for conveying envelopes in a mailpiece insertion system

An improved apparatus and method for cutting and processing sheets from a web of printed material comprising first and second side-by-side portions of sheets along a length of the web. A first transport is arranged to transport the web in a first horizontal direction. A web splitter splits portions of the web as they are transported on the first transport. An extended path transport, in line with the first transport, transports the second portion of the web in an extended path. A direct path transport, in line with the first transport, transports the first portion of the web on a more direct path. As a result of these different paths sheets within the first and second web portions are re-sequenced in a manner suitable for processing by downstream modules, such as a right angle turn module.

Cutter sequencing method and apparatus

An apparatus for inverting the spatial orientation of sheet material from a desired input to a desired output orientation. The apparatus includes a cage assembly, a torque drive mechanism operative to rotate the cage assembly about a rotational axis and a sheet conveyance mechanism mounting to the cage assembly for conveying sheet material along the rotational axis of the cage assembly. The torque drive mechanism is adapted to assume input and output positions about the rotational axis wherein each position corresponds to the desired input and output orientations of the sheet material. The sheet conveyance mechanism is, further, adapted to: (i) receive sheet material when the cage assembly is in the input position, (ii) eject sheet material when the cage assembly is in the output position and (iii) retard the movement of the sheet material in response to rotation of the cage assembly by the torque drive mechanism.

Sheet material inverter

An improved sheet accumulator for stacking serially fed sheets transported on a paper path. The accumulator includes a guide deck. Above the guide deck, a plurality of parallel belts are positioned to provide a driving force for sheets on the deck. Within the accumulator, a ramp apparatus is positioned across the paper path whereby sheets driven by the belts on an upstream portion of the accumulator deck are driven over the ramp apparatus and deposited in an accumulating region of the accumulator deck on a downstream side of the ramp apparatus. Preferably, snap-down belts are provided between ramp structures snap transported sheets quickly into place on the stack and to hold them there. Sheets are stopped by an accumulator stop mechanism located at a downstream end of the accumulating region that prevents movement of sheets by the belts while sheets for an accumulation are being collected. When an accumulation is completed, the accumulator stop mechanism allows sheets to be transported from the accumulating region. Preferably the guide deck and ramp are adjustable for different sized sheets.

A method and system are disclosed for delivering and feeding a stack of paper to a high-speed sheet feeder. A sheet handling cart is removably connectable to a docking station attached to the high-speed sheet feeder. The sheet handling cart comprises a paper trough which is liftable from the rest of the cart. The paper trough has a trough bottom which longitudinally forms an elongated opening narrower than the bottom of the paper trough, the elongated opening being dimensioned to accommodate a conveyor belt that will protrude upward through the rectangular opening, after the paper trough is lifted from the rest of the cart, in order to advance the stack of paper toward the high-speed sheet feeder.

Paper supply system and cart for a high-speed sheet feeder

An inserter input system including a web feeder providing a web of printed material to be split by a web slitting knife along the web's direction of travel. The split web is then cut transverse to the direction of travel by a rotary cutter operating at a first velocity, resulting in side-by-side individual sheets. Downstream of the rotary cutter, a right angle turn mechanism receives each of the side-by-side sheets and reorients them by ninety degrees. Further the right angle turn reorients the sheets into a serial shingled arrangement. A high speed separation nip pulls individual shingled sheets out from the shingled arrangement. The speed of the separation nip is such that a predetermined gap between the previously shingled sheets is formed. In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the speed of the rotary cutter and right angle turn mechanism are controlled to adjust a quantity of sheets that would be generated from displacement traveled due to inertia during a deceleration of the system to a stop.

System and method for providing sheets to an inserter system using a rotary cutter

A method and system for sheet accumulating wherein a web of material is cut into groups of cut sheets and a right-angle transport device is used to collate the cut sheets into packets. Because the cut sheets in each packet are moved into and out of the right-angle transport device in separate paths with different pathlengths, the cut sheets overlap with each other by an overlapped amount as they exit the right-angle transport device. A path deflector having a curved path is used in at least one of the paths in order to reduce the pathlength difference, thereby increasing the overlapped amount.

Pathlength compensation method and device for high speed sheet cutters

A buffer transport system for staging accumulated documents produced by an input module of an inserter system. The system including a plurality of roller nips in series. Each of the roller nips are driven by an independently controllable motor in communication with a controller. The series of roller nips form stopping stations along the length of the buffer transport. Each of the stopping stations has a uniform length and is comprised of two or more of the roller nips. The roller nips in any given stopping station are electronically geared together under the control of the controller. The controller controls stopping stations to transfer accumulated documents within the stopping stations to a next downstream stopping station when it is sensed that the next downstream stopping station is open. If the next downstream station from a given station is not open, then the controller does not instructs the station to transfer documents downstream. The stopping stations are configurable between at least a first configuration and a second configuration. The second configuration having more roller nips in each station than in the first configuration. The first configuration includes more stopping stations, of shorter length, over the fixed length of the buffer transport than the second configuration.

Configurable multi-station buffer transport for an inserter system

A flexible buffer transport system for staging accumulated documents for transfer to a synchronous downstream transport. Control of movement of accumulations in the buffer being independent of the length of the documents. The system includes a plurality of roller nips in series. The roller nips are spaced a uniform distance apart. Each of the roller nips are driven by an independently controllable motor in communication with a controller. Position sensors also communicate with the controller. The sensors sense positions of lead and trail edges of accumulations of documents within the buffer transport system. For each sampling period in the operating cycle and for each roller nip, the controller determines motion control. First, the controller determines which nips should be slaved together based on which are needed to control a particular accumulation of documents under its control. The motion of the roller nips are also controlled in accordance with a predetermined algorithm to bring a lead edge of an accumulation within a predetermined gap distance from a trail edge of a downstream accumulation.

Station independent buffer transport for an inserter system

A buckle chute having a deflector disposed in front thereof to allow a sheet of document to enter the buckle chute channel or to deflect the sheet away from the channel. The deflector is pivotally linked to two actuator arms on the left and right sides of the buckle chute. Each actuator arm is pivotally linked to a bell crank, which is also pivotally linked to a linking member. The linking members are further connected to a lever such that they can be moved in opposite directions from left to right or from right to left so as to cause the bell cranks to rotate in opposite directions. As such, the actuator arms are simultaneously moved toward or away from the front side to control the deflector position.

Buckle chute folding machine with a deflector control mechanism

The present invention concerns a document processing and collating machine having a feeding path leading to at least one document conveying devices having one or more document accumulating bins for receiving a series of documents that are fed downstream in spaced apart collations with documents in shingled relationship. The document accumulator bins have an intermediate conveying and diverting apparatus which is momentarily engaged to cause a leading end of a shingled collation of documents to be diverted into a document accumulating bin where the documents are registered at their common leading end at a nip of a set of downstream conveying rollers that are stopped during the registration process.

Accumulator having power ramp

A buckle chute having a stop to cause a sheet of document entering the buckle chute to buckle for making a folded edge. The ends of stop are threadably engaged with two lead screws, which are mechanically linked together by a chain, so that the lead screws can be simultaneously turned in order to adjust the position of both ends of the stop. Each end of the stops has a split nut with grooves for engaging with the threads of the lead screws. The split nut can be disengaged from the threads so that the position of one or both ends of the stop can be adjusted.

Adjustable buckle chute folding machine

A turnbar for use in a sheet accumulator having an accumulating assembly which causes sheets serially and separately entering an entry point to overlap each other to form a stack at an exit point. The turnbar is used to change the direction of the sheets at the entry point and the stack at the exit point. The turnbar can be disengaged from the accumulating assembly for jam clearance and maintenance purposes. Preferably, the turnbar has a securing mechanism for removably mounting the turnbar on the sheet accumulator.

Growing community of inventors

Killingworth, CT, United States of America

William J Wright