WO1996040575A1 - Paper set feeding - Google Patents
Paper set feeding Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1996040575A1 WO1996040575A1 PCT/US1996/008786 US9608786W WO9640575A1 WO 1996040575 A1 WO1996040575 A1 WO 1996040575A1 US 9608786 W US9608786 W US 9608786W WO 9640575 A1 WO9640575 A1 WO 9640575A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- sheet set
- feeder
- recited
- sheet
- bottommost
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
- B65H3/32—Separating articles from piles by elements, e.g. fingers, plates, rollers, inserted or traversed between articles to be separated and remainder of the pile
- B65H3/322—Separating articles from piles by elements, e.g. fingers, plates, rollers, inserted or traversed between articles to be separated and remainder of the pile for separating a part of the pile, i.e. several articles at once
- B65H3/327—Separating articles from piles by elements, e.g. fingers, plates, rollers, inserted or traversed between articles to be separated and remainder of the pile for separating a part of the pile, i.e. several articles at once the pile being off-set
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/422—Handling piles, sets or stacks of articles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/423—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile
- B65H2301/4232—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile of horizontal or inclined articles, i.e. wherein articles support fully or in part the mass of other articles in the piles
- B65H2301/42322—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile of horizontal or inclined articles, i.e. wherein articles support fully or in part the mass of other articles in the piles from bottom of the pile
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/423—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile
- B65H2301/4232—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile of horizontal or inclined articles, i.e. wherein articles support fully or in part the mass of other articles in the piles
- B65H2301/42324—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile of horizontal or inclined articles, i.e. wherein articles support fully or in part the mass of other articles in the piles from top of the pile
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/423—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile
- B65H2301/4233—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile by peeling, i.e. involving elongated elements traversing pile
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
- B65H2511/20—Location in space
- B65H2511/21—Angle
- B65H2511/216—Orientation, e.g. with respect to direction of movement
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
- B65H2701/18—Form of handled article or web
- B65H2701/182—Piled package
- B65H2701/1826—Arrangement of sheets
- B65H2701/18265—Ordered set of batches of articles
- B65H2701/18266—Ordered set of batches of articles wherein the batches are offset from each other, e.g. stepped pile
Definitions
- PAPER SET FEEDING Background of the Invention The invention relates to feeding offset-jogged sets of sheets.
- individual sheet sets After being printed and/or collated, individual sheet sets are often processed, such as by covering, trimming, folding, stitching, or otherwise binding them. Such processing can occur either “on-line” or “off-line.” In on-line processing, individual sheet sets are removed and transported to the processor as they are outputted from the printer or collator.
- the entire stack of sheet sets is transferred to the processor or processors after printing or collating is complete.
- the processor then identifies and processes individual sheet sets. Because processing equipment typically has a higher "throughput rate" (i.e., sheets per unit time) than printers or collators, the outputs of several printers and/or collators may be fed to a single processing unit.
- a shutter mechanism disposed beneath a hopper for a stack of offset-jogged sheet sets defines an aperture sized to admit individual sets from the stack.
- the shutter mechanism is driven so that the aperture moves from beneath one end of the bottommost sheet set — where a retainer supports the next-to-bottommost sheet set — to beneath the other end of the bottommost set.
- Another aspect of the invention is a method for feeding individual sets from a stack of offset-jogged sheet sets in a hopper.
- a shutter beneath the hopper is moved so that an aperture defined by the shutter moves from beneath one end of the bottommost sheet set to beneath the other end of the set.
- the invention which can be linked to the outputs of existing printing, copying, and/or collating equipment that produces offset-jogged sets — can be used to separate an individual sheet set as a whole from a stack of such sets for further processing, such as covering, trimming, or binding. Because it manipulates entire sheet sets, the invention can process a greater number of sheets per unit time than a device cycling at the same speed that manipulates every sheet within each set. Conversely, the invention can achieve the same overall sheet throughput rate as such a single-sheet manipulator while operating at lower cyclical speeds, thus reducing the likelihood of jamming and both the magnitude and rate of wear.
- the invention achieves these advantages by capitalizing on the offset-jogged nature of the stack of sheet sets. It is thus not necessary to, e.g., mark individual sheet sets, such as with bar codes or other optically readable markings that might remain on the final document and detract from its overall appearance. Nor is it necessary to, e.g., reformat or modify in any way the output from the printer or collator, such as by segregating individual sheet sets with physical markers, such as slip sheets or chip boards interleaved between adjacent sets. Because such markers need not be added to the stack as the sets are generated or separated out from the individual, separated sheet sets prior to processing, the overall complexity of the set-separating operation is reduced.
- the invention can be used to separate sheet sets automatically, reducing or eliminating entirely the amount of human operator involvement necessary to process stacks of sets.
- Preferred embodiments of the invention include the following features.
- a sheet set conveyor (e.g., a rotator or a conveyor belt) is disposed beneath the aperture, and a door is disposed between the conveyor and the aperture.
- the door serves as a buffer to hold an individual sheet set after it passes through the aperture, and opens quickly to drop the set onto the conveyor below.
- the shutter defining the aperture includes a series of rollers extending, e.g., between flexible drive members such as link chains or the sides of a rigid planar frame.
- a sheet of urethane on a tensioning bar biased towards the rollers contacts at least some of the rollers, causing the rollers to spin as the aperture is moved with respect to the hopper by, e.g., a reversible motor or a linear actuator.
- the retainers comprise shelves that extend from opposed sides of the hopper a distance approximately equal to the distance between the offset- jogged ends of the bottommost and next-to-bottommost sheet sets.
- the shelves are pivotally (or alternatively, slidably) mounted to the feeder housing, and include sheets of urethane located to contact the next-to- bottommost and bottommost sheet sets.
- the separation of adjacent sheet sets in the hopper is facilitated by wedges at the edges of the aperture, as well as by air jet passages in either the shelves or the wedges that provide timed air jet blasts.
- the retainer for supporting the next-to-bottommost set comprises a portion of the shutter disposed adjacent the aperture.
- the aperture is defined by opposed edges of two shutter portions that can be moved with respect to one another.
- a sheet set processing system includes an offset-jogged sheet set feeder, a sheet set processor, and a mechanical conveyor that conveys sets from the feeder to the processor.
- the processing system can be used to automatically separate and process individual sheet sets from a stack of such sets loaded into the feeder.
- the system includes a cover feeder, and the sheet set processor comprises one or more of the following: a stitcher, a folder, a face trimmer, a perfect binder, a mailing/inserting system, a shrink wrapper, or a collator.
- FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a sheet set feeder.
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 1, with a stack of sheet sets placed into the feeder.
- FIG. 3 is a top view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 1.
- FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are cross-sectional side views of a mechanism for actuating a shelf of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 1.
- FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of another sheet set feeder.
- FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 5, with a stack of sheet sets placed into the feeder.
- FIG. 7 is a top view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 5.
- FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D are schematic side views showing the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 1 in operation.
- FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 1 mated to a cover feeder.
- FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 mated to a stitcher/folder and a face trimmer.
- FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 mated to a perfect binder.
- FIG. 12 is a perspective view of two of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assemblies shown in FIG. 9 mated in tandem to a mailing/inserting system.
- FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 mated to a shrink wrapper.
- FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 mated to a collator and finisher.
- FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 mated to a collator, a stitcher/folder, and a face trimmer.
- FIG. 16 is a perspective view of two of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assemblies shown in FIG. 9 mated in tandem to a finisher.
- FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the sheet set feeder/cover feeder assembly shown in FIG. 9 with a rotator for rotating sheet sets.
- FIG. 18 is a side view of the rotator of the assembly shown in FIG. 17.
- FIG. 19 is a top view of the rotator of the assembly shown in FIG. 17.
- FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional side view of another sheet set feeder.
- FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional side view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 20, with a stack of sheet sets placed into the feeder.
- FIG. 22 is a top view of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 20.
- FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional side view of a mechanism for actuating a shelf of the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 20.
- FIGS. 24A, 24B, 24C, and 24D are schematic side views showing the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 20 in operation.
- FIGS. 25A and 25B are side views of another sheet set feeder.
- FIGS. 26A, 26B, 26C, and 26D are schematic side views showing the sheet set feeder shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B in operation.
- FIGS. 27A, 27B, 27C, 27D, and 27E are schematic side views showing another sheet set feeder in operation.
- FIG. 28 is a side view of a shelf actuation mechanism for a sheet set feeder.
- FIGS. 29A, 29B, 29C, 29D, 29E, 29F, and 29G are sequential side views showing the shelf actuation mechanism of FIG. 28 in operation.
- FIG. 30 is a schematic side view of a hopper wall and shelf adjusting mechanism for a sheet set feeder.
- FIGS. 31 and 32 are perspective and schematic side views, respectively, of a shield mechanism for a sheet set feeder.
- FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional side view of a sheet set feeder with a stack of sheet sets placed into the feeder.
- FIGS. 34A is a cross-sectional side view of a gripper for grabbing the topmost set from the stack of sheet sets placed in the feeder shown in FIG. 33.
- FIGS. 34B is a cross-sectional side view of another gripper for grabbing the topmost set from the stack of sheet sets placed in the feeder shown in FIG. 33.
- FIG. 35 is a top view of the gripper shown in FIG. 34A.
- FIG. 36 is a cross sectional side view of the output of the feeder shown in FIG. 33 being fed into an accumulator.
- FIGS. 37A, 37B, 37C and 37D are schematic side views showing the sheet set feeder shown in FIG. 33 in operation.
- FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a dual elevator stacking system.
- a sheet set feeder 10 includes a housing 12. Two facing vertical walls of housing 12, left wall 14 and right wall 16, define a hopper 18 for receiving a stack 20 comprised of offset- jogged sheet sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, each of which in turn comprises two or more sheets 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d of, e.g., paper.
- Sheet set feeder 10 can also be used to feed offset-jogged sets of other types of substantially planar sheets, such as of film or fabric.
- the distance between left wall 14 and right wall 16 of hopper 18 is approximately equal to the length of a single sheet set, plus the distance by which each set is offset-jogged with respect to adjacent sets.
- Right wall 16 can be moved toward and away from left wall 14 to adjust the dimensions of hopper 18 to accommodate sets of different lengths.
- a shutter 26 disposed beneath hopper 18 supports stack 20.
- Shutter 26 comprises a series of support rollers 28 disposed between a pair of link chains 30, 32. Rollers 28 are spaced at regular intervals along chains 30, 32, except for one region intermediate the ends of shutter 26 in which the rollers are separated to define an aperture 34.
- the top surface of shutter 26 defines a plane P as the top surface of aperture 34.
- a pair of wedges, left wedge 36 and right wedge 38, are attached, with their pointed ends directed toward one another, to opposite edges of aperture 34. Both the portion of shutter 26 that lies to the left of left wedge 36 and the portion of shutter 26 that lies to the right of right wedge 38 are approximately equal to the distance between left wall 14 and right wall 16 of hopper 18.
- the width of aperture 34 (i.e., the distance between chains 30, 32) is selected based on the width of sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d.
- the length of aperture 34 is selected based on the width of sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d.
- the distance between the opposed edges of wedges 36, 38 is selected based on, among other things, the thickness of sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, the thickness of the individual sheets of paper 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d in each set, and the width and length dimensions of the sheets.
- the length of aperture 34 can be adjusted by, e.g., replacing wedges 36, 38 with wedges of different lengths.
- the length of aperture 34 could be adjusted automatically based on the dimensions of the sets and sheets placed into hopper 18. It has been found that an aperture length of about 4 in. (10.16 cm.) yields acceptable performance when feeding sets of standard 20 pound, 8 x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm.) sheets of paper, where the sets are between 2 sheets and 1 in. (2.54 cm., about 250 sheets) thick.
- Shutter 26, and thus also aperture 34 are reciprocatingly shuttled back and forth with respect to hopper 18 by the action of chains 30, 32.
- Other flexible drive members such as belts, bands, or cables, could be used instead of chains 30, 32.
- Chains 30, 32 are continuous-loop chains that mesh with a pair of sprockets 40, 42 rotatably attached to housing 12. (Only those sprockets that mesh with chain 30 are shown. The sprockets that mesh with chain 32 are arranged in an identical fashion.)
- One of these sprockets, sprocket 40 is driven through a continuous-loop belt 54 by a reversible electric motor 56.
- a door 44 is disposed directly beneath shutter 26, such that the space between door 44 and shutter 26 defines a primary set accumulator 43.
- Door 44 is comprised of left and right door halves 45, 46.
- a rack 47, 48 attached beneath each door half 45, 46 mates with a pinion gear 49, 50 driven by a respective motor 51 (only the motor 51 that drives right pinion gear 50 is shown) .
- a single motor can be used to drive both pinion gears.
- Motor 51 is a high-speed reversible electric motor, and the gear train is selected so that door halves 45, 46 open quickly when motor 51 is energized.
- Secondary set accumulator 52 is disposed beneath door 44.
- Secondary set accumulator 52 can include a conveyor belt 53 for carrying away individual sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d as they drop down from primary accumulator 43, and/or a rotator 540 (FIGS. 17, 18, 19) for rotating the individual sets, e.g., by 90°.
- Sheet set feeder 10 further includes a pair of shelves, left shelf 58 and right shelf 60, pivotally attached to housing 12.
- shelves 58, 60 extend away from walls 14, 16 a distance approximately equal to the distance between the ends of adjacent offset-jogged sheet sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d.
- left shelf 58 extends far enough into hopper 18 to support the left edge of sheet set 22a, but not far enough to support the left edge of sheet set 22b.
- right shelf 60 extends far enough into hopper 18 to support the right edge of sheet set 22b, but not far enough to support the right edge of sheet set 22a.
- Sheets of urethane 57, 61 on the top surfaces of left and right shelves 58, 60 prevent the sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d from slipping off the shelves as shutter 26 moves back and forth.
- left shelf 58 rotates clockwise to the near-vertical orientation shown in FIG. 1.
- left shelf 58 rotates counter-clockwise to its original, horizontal orientation, as shown in FIG. 2.
- right shelf 58 rotates counter-clockwise to a near- vertical orientation, and rotates clockwise back to its horizontal orientation when aperture 34 shuttles back toward left wall 14.
- the mechanism 59 for actuating left shelf 58 is shown in detail in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C.
- the mechanism for actuating right shelf 60 is identical in all material respects to mechanism 59.
- Left shelf 58 is attached to housing 12 by a pin hinge/torsion spring 98, which allows shelf 58 to rotate, and also biases it in a counterclockwise direction against left wall 14.
- Cam followers 99, 100 are rotatably attached to either end of left shelf 58 (see also FIG. 3). When left wedge 36 of aperture 34 moves to the left past left wall 14, cam followers 99, 100 engage channels 101, 102 in respective channel box cams 103, 104 located at the sides of aperture 34.
- Channels 101, 102 are shaped so that, as left wedge 36 continues to move to the left, left shelf 58 rotates clockwise to a near-vertical orientation, as shown in FIG. 4B. At this point, the left edge of channel box cam 103 passes a proximity switch 105, which reverses the direction of rotation of motor 56, and thus also the direction of movement of aperture 34.
- Channels 101, 102 are shaped so that, as channel box cams 103, 104 move to the right, left shelf 58 rotates counterclockwise back up to its original, horizontal, orientation. The path defined by this portion of channel 101 can be steeper than the portion of channel 101 that causes cam follower 99 to rotate shelf 58 clockwise to the vertical orientation.
- shelf 58 rotates back up to its horizontal orientation more rapidly than it rotated down to its vertical orientation.
- shelf 58 drops relatively slowly as box cam 103 moves to the left (FIG. 4A) , and comes back up relatively rapidly as box cam 103 moves to the right (FIG. 4C) .
- shelf 58 is more rapidly positioned to support the left end of the next-to-bottommost sheet set, reducing the likelihood that the left end will "droop" down into aperture 34 (i.e., that the left end will cross the plane P of aperture 34, as defined by shutter 26).
- sheet set feeder 10 further includes a tensioning bar 70 that extends across hopper 18 between left wall 14 and right wall 16. (For clarity, tensioning bar 70 is not shown in FIG. 2.) Tensioning bar 70 is located between the edge of shutter 26 and the edge of stack 20 (set 22a is shown in phantom in FIG. 3), so as not to interfere with the motion of sets 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d as they pass through aperture 34. Springs 72, 74 are disposed between the ends 76, 78 of tensioning bar 70 and fingers 80, 82 projecting horizontally from the inside surfaces of walls 14, 16, biasing bar 70 downward toward shutter 26. A sheet of urethane 84 on the bottom surface of tensioning bar 70 contacts rollers 28 of shutter 26.
- Sheet set feeder 110 is identical in many respects to sheet set feeder 10, except, whereas shelves 58, 60 in feeder 10 pivot, the shelves 112, 114 in feeder 110 retract into the left and right walls 116, 118 of the feeder. As in feeder 10, walls 116, 118, together with a shutter 120, define the hopper 122 of feeder 110, and drive chains 124, 126 move shutter 120 with respect to hopper 122.
- Shelves 112, 114 are slidably disposed between spaced-apart brackets 130, 132, 134, 136 attached to the housing 138 of feeder 110.
- Bearings 148, 150, 152, 154 are attached to drive chains 124, 126 near the corners of the aperture 155 in shutter 120.
- Shelves 112, 114 are also provided with a number of air passages 160, 162 spaced at regular intervals along the lengths of the shelves. Air passages 160, 162 are angled slightly upwardly, and facilitate sheet separation during operation, as described in detail below.
- a manifold 164, 166 at the back of each shelf 112, 114 is in communication with all of the air passages in each shelf.
- a tube 168, 169 connects each manifold 164, 166 to a solenoid valve 170 (only tube 168 is shown connected to valve 170) , which is in turn connected to a source of pressurized gas 172. When solenoid valve 170 is energized, high pressure air is supplied to manifolds 164, 166, causing high-velocity air jets to issue from air passages 160, 162.
- stack 20 is placed into hopper 18 of sheet set feeder 10 so that bottommost set 22a rests on rollers 28, as shown in FIG. 8A.
- the operation of feeder 110 is similar to that of feeder 10.
- the right edge of aperture 34 is initially past right wall 16 of hopper 18, and so left and right shelves 58, 60 are oriented horizontally and vertically, respectively.
- Motor 56 is then energized to cause aperture 34 to move to the left.
- the left wedge 36 of aperture 34 moves past the right edge of bottommost set 22a
- gravity causes the end of set 22a to droop through the aperture (i.e., the end crosses plane P) , as shown in FIG. 8B.
- right wedge 38 moves past right wall 16, right shelf 60 rotates clockwise back to its horizontal orientation, thereby preventing the right edge of next-to-bottommost set 22b from drooping through aperture 34 (i.e., from crossing plane P) .
- left and right wedges 36, 38 may each be provided with a manifold and a series of upwardly angled air passages, as in shelves 112, 114 of feeder 110.
- the passages 180 in right wedge 38 are supplied with air by a line 182 connected to a solenoid valve 184 and a source of pressurized air 186.
- solenoid 184 is activated and jets of air 189 issue from passages 180, further preventing next-to-bottommost set 22b from drooping through aperture 34 and facilitating the separation of set 22a from the bottom of stack 20.
- left wedge 36 moves into the gap 188 between bottommost set 22a and next-to-bottommost set 22b, peeling off bottommost set 22a as shown in FIG. 8C.
- Urethane sheet 61 (FIGS. 1 and 2) on the top surface of right shelf 60 prevents set 22b from slipping to the left off shelf 60 as shutter 26 moves to the left.
- left wedge 58 rotates clockwise to its vertical orientation, allowing set 22a to fall into primary set accumulator 43.
- motor 56 is initially controlled so that it ramps up from zero velocity to a constant speed. This speed is maintained until shutter 26 nears its leftmost or rightmost point of travel, at which point the motor speed is ramped back down to zero. The direction of rotation of motor 56 is then reversed, and the velocity profile repeated for the next cycle.
- the weight of the sets is generally sufficient to cause rollers 28 to roll freely as shutter 26 shuttles back and forth.
- the weight of the sets alone may in some circumstances be insufficient to cause rollers 28 to roll. If so, as it shuttles back and forth shutter 26 may move the entire stack laterally against left and right walls 14, 16, which can "de-jog" the sets (i.e., reduce or eliminate the offset between the ends of adjacent sets) .
- tensioning bar 70 causes the rollers to roll irrespective of the weight of stack 20, preventing or reducing this de-jogging effect.
- Set feeder 10 thus allows individual sheet sets to be removed from the bottom of an offset-jogged stack of such sets.
- set feeder 10 or 110 may be mated with a cover feeder 190, which typically feeds one or more covers 192 for each sheet set 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d fed by feeder 10.
- cover feeder 190 typically feeds one or more covers 192 for each sheet set 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d fed by feeder 10.
- the complete document 194 may then be sent (using conveyor belt 53, shown in phantom in FIG.
- a stitcher/folder 196 e.g., a Standard Horizon SPF-10 or SPF-20, available from Standard Duplicating Machines Corporation, 10 Connector Road, Andover, MA
- a face trimmer 197 e.g., a Standard Horizon FC-10)
- the document may be processed by a perfect binder 198 (FIG. 11, e.g. a Standard Horizon BQ-440) , a mailing/inserting system 199 (FIG. 12, e.g., a Gunther DP 100), and/or a shrink wrapper 200 (FIG. 13, e.g., a Schaffer unit).
- Each offset-jogged sheet set in the stack placed into the hoppers of sheet set feeders 10, 110 is often a entire document, and each set is fed directly to one or more of the above processors or finishers after it is stripped off the bottom of the stack by the feeder. In some instances, however, particularly in the case of lengthy documents, each set is only a portion of a document, and it is necessary to combine multiple sets or add additional pages to a set to make a complete document prior to processing.
- sheet set feeder 10 is mated to, e.g., a Horizon MC-80 collator 510 and a finisher 512 (finisher 512, shown schematically in FIG. 14, generically represents one or more of the above- described processors) .
- Each of the individual sets 514 loaded into feeder 10 is only a portion of a document 516.
- the remaining eight pages of document 516 are loaded into the respective bins 518a-h of collator 510.
- set 514 passes through collator 510 a single sheet is drawn from each bin 518a-h and placed onto set 514 in the proper order to complete document 516.
- the output of collator 510 is then sent to finisher 512 for further processing, such as by stitcher/folder 196 and face trimmer 197 as shown in FIG. 15.
- FIG. 16 An alternative system 520 for combining sheet sets 522, 524 to make a single document 526 is shown in FIG. 16.
- two feeders 528, 530 each similar in construction to either feeder 10 or feeder 110, are connected in tandem, and the output of the second feeder 530 is supplied to a finisher 532.
- a stack 534 comprising sheet sets 522 is placed into feeder 528, and a stack 536 comprising sheet sets 524 is placed into feeder 530.
- Feeder 528 strips sheet set 522 off the bottom of stack 534 and sends it, via a conveyor 538, to feeder 530.
- set 524 is stripped off the bottom of stack 536 and placed on top of set 522 to complete document 526, which is then finished or processed as desired.
- feeders 10, 110 can optionally be provided with a rotator 540 that rotates individual sets 542, e.g., by 90°, as shown in FIG. 17.
- Rotator 540 includes a platter 544 disposed directly beneath door 44 (FIG. 1) of feeder 10. After a set 542 (shown in phantom) falls onto platter 544, the platter is rotated by a motor 546 and drive belt 548 assembly until set 542 is oriented as desired, as indicated by sensors 550, 552 that sense the rotational position of platter 544. Set 542 is then pushed off platter 544 and onto a main conveyor belt 553 by pusher pins 554, 556 that are driven by a secondary conveyor belt 557 so as to travel along slots 558, 560 in platter 544. Main conveyor belt 553 then, e.g., delivers set 545 to a finisher or processor.
- a paper set feeder 210 can have a flexible shutter 212 (comprising chains 211, 213 driven by a reversible motor 215) that is routed behind the left and right walls 214, 216 of a hopper 218.
- left and right shelves 220, 222 support the ends of alternate sets 224a, 224b, 224c, 224c stacked in hopper 218.
- the mechanism 226 for actuating the left shelf 220 of feeder 210 is shown in detail in FIG. 23.
- the mechanism for actuating right shelf 222 is identical in all material respects to mechanism 226.
- Left shelf 220 is attached to the right end of a pivot arm 228 pivotally attached by a pin hinge/torsion spring 230 to the housing 232 of feeder 210.
- a recess 234 in the left end of pivot arm 228 receives the outer race of a bearing 236 attached to one end of an actuating arm 238, such that pin hinge/torsional spring 230 biases pivot arm 228 in a clockwise direction against bearing 236.
- the other end of actuating arm 238 is attached to a cam 240 pivotally attached by a pin hinge 242 to housing 232.
- Cam 240 defines a pair of superimposed crescent-shaped recesses 244, 246 in its outer circumference. Recesses 244, 246 are sized to receive the outer race of a bearing 248 attached to link chain 211.
- link chain 211 moves bearing 248 back up past cam 240, it engages recess 246, rotating cam 240 and actuating arm 238 in a clockwise direction back to its original vertical position.
- actuating arm 238 rotates, bearing 236 engages the top surface of pivot arm 228, rotating it and left shelf 220 in a counter- clockwise direction back to their original horizontal positions.
- paper set feeder 210 The operation of paper set feeder 210 is illustrated in FIGS. 24A, 24B, 24C, and 24D, and is similar in material respects to the operation of set feeders 10 and 110.
- a set feeder 310 includes a shutter 312 comprised of individual rollers 314 disposed between the sides 315 (only one side shown) of a rectangular frame 316, e.g., of metal.
- a pneumatic cylinder 321 shuttles back and forth with respect to the hopper 320, rollers 314 remain essentially coplanar.
- Frame 316 is shuttled back and forth by a pneumatic cylinder 321, but could instead be driven, e.g., manually, by a hydraulic cylinder, or by a drive chain arrangement similar to those employed in set feeders 10, 110, 210.
- set feeder 310 Like set feeder 10, set feeder 310 includes left and right shelves 322, 324 and left and right wedges 326, 328 at the edges of aperture 318. Shelves 322, 324 can be actuated using any of the above-described or below- described mechanisms, or can instead be actuated by any other suitable mechanism, such as individual solenoids that are controlled based on the output of a sensor or sensors that determine the position of the aperture with respect to the hopper. In operation, set feeder 310 behaves in much the same manner as set feeders 10, 110, and 210 as shown in FIGS. 26A, 26B, 26C, and 26D.
- the sheet set feeder need not have separate and discrete right and left shelves that support the edges of the bottommost and next-to-bottommost sheet sets.
- Such a feeder 410 is shown in operation in FIGS. 27A, 27B, 27C, 27D, 27E. (Although feeder 410 does not include right and left wedges at the edges of the aperture 412 in its shutter 414, they could be included if desired.)
- Shutter 414 of feeder 410 is relatively rigid and planar, like shutter 312 of feeder 310, but could instead be flexible if desired. Whereas the lengths of the apertures in set feeders 10, 110, 210, 310 remain fixed during operation, the length of aperture 412 varies as shutter 414 shuttles back and forth. As described below, this is accomplished by using two separate drive systems 432, 434 (shown schematically in FIG. 27A) that independently control, based on the outputs of a series of proximity sensors 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443 located to sense the position of shutter 414, the movement of the left and right halves 444, 446 of shutter 414.
- Drive systems 432, 434 comprise reversible motor and drive chain arrangements similar to those employed in set feeders 10, 110, 210, but could instead comprise, e.g., pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders as in set feeder 310.
- FIG. 28 An alternate shelf actuation mechanism 610 for, e.g., set feeder 10, is shown in FIG. 28.
- Shelf actuation mechanism 610 is similar to left shelf actuation mechanism 59 of set feeder 10, in that it is configured to cause the right paper support shelf 612 to rotate back up to the horizontal orientation more rapidly than it rotates down to the near-vertical orientation.
- Shelf 612 is rigidly attached to a pivot arm 614 in mechanism 610.
- the right end of pivot arm 614 is rotatably attached, via pivot 616, to the housing 618 of a set feeder similar in construction to set feeders 10, 110, 210, 310.
- the left end of pivot arm 614 carries a cam follower 620, which is configured to be received in a box cam 622.
- Box cam 622 is carried between the rollers 624 of a shutter mechanism similar in construction to the shutter mechanisms of set feeders 10, 110, 210, 310. Rollers 624, box cam 622, and another box cam (not shown) disposed on the other side of the shutter define an aperture in the shutter.
- the other box cam is similar in construction to box cam 622, but is configured to rotate a left paper support shelf (not shown) in the same manner that box cam 622 rotates right paper support shelf 612.
- Box cam 622 includes upper and lower pathways 626, 628 defined by a cam pivot arm 630 that pivots with respect to box cam 622 via a pivot 632. The left side of cam pivot arm 630 is overbalanced with respect to the right side of the arm, and thus the arm is biased by the force of gravity in the counterclockwise direction.
- pivot arm 630 Under the force of gravity alone, the left end of pivot arm 630 rests against the bottom wall of box cam 622.
- shelf actuation mechanism 610 is illustrated in sequential FIGS. 29A, 29B, 29C, 29D, 29E, 29F, and 29G.
- FIGS. 29A and 29B when cam follower 620 first enters box cam 622, the right end of cam pivot arm 630 prevents the follower from entering upper path 626, forcing it instead into lower path 628.
- cam follower 620 travels along lower path 628, causing shelf 612 to rotate downward in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 29C.
- follower 620 causes arm 630 to rotate clockwise.
- cam follower 620 moves completely past the left end of pivot arm 630, gravity causes the overbalanced left side of the arm to rotate counterclockwise, until the left end of the arm again rests on the bottom wall of box cam 622, as shown in FIG. 29D. At this point, shelf 612 has rotated to a nearly vertical position, allowing the end of the bottommost paper set (not shown) to drop through the aperture. The shutter (and thus also box cam 622) then reverses 5 direction. As the box cam moves to the left, cam follower 620 comes into contact with the left end of cam pivot arm 630, as shown in FIG. 29E. Because of the steep profile of the left end the arm, cam follower 620 moves up very quickly, causing shelf 612 to rotate
- shelf 612 is more rapidly positioned to support the free end of the next-to-bottommost sheet set
- cam follower 620 continues to traverse upper pathway 626, causing shelf 612 to return to its horizontal orientation, as shown in FIG.
- the offset-jogged stack of sheet sets completely fills the sheet set hopper, covering the
- the hopper can instead be designed to handle sheets of various lengths and widths, e.g., 8 ⁇ in. x 11 in., 11 in. x 17 in., etc.
- the stack can be designed to handle sheets of various lengths and widths, e.g., 8 ⁇ in. x 11 in., 11 in. x 17 in., etc.
- 35 should just fit between the walls of the hopper, such that the offset-jogged ends of the stack are positioned over the paper support shelves. It is also desirable to cover any portion of the shutter mechanism that remains exposed on the sides of the stack, e.g., to prevent debris from entering and possible fouling the set feeder and to protect the operator of the feeder from the reciprocating shutter.
- FIG. 30 A mechanism for automatically moving the hopper walls and paper support shelves to accommodate sheets of different lengths is shown in FIG. 30, and a shield mechanism for automatically covering the side portions of the shutter to accommodate sheets of different widths is shown in FIGS. 31 and 32.
- Movable housing assembly 714 also includes a screw block 716 and a pair of linear bearings 718 that allow the entire housing assembly to be moved longitudinally, along rail 719, toward and away from the opposite wall 720 (and associated paper support shelf 721) of the hopper 722. Most components of adjusting mechanism 710 are positioned along the edge of the hopper, so as not to interfere with the feeding of paper sets.
- Rail 719 extends between a fixed left housing 724 (which carries hopper wall 720 and paper support shelf 721) and a fixed right housing 726.
- a motor 728 attached to left housing 724 drives a lead screw 730 threaded into screw block 716.
- motor 728 When energized to rotate in one direction, motor 728 causes movable housing assembly 714, and thus also hopper wall 712 and shelf 723, to move closer to hopper wall 720 and shelf 721.
- motor 728 causes the distance between the two hopper walls to increase.
- the control of motor 728 can be automated, e.g., to set the appropriate wall-to-wall hopper distance in response to a user's indication of the length of the paper to be processed.
- Mechanism 810 includes a series of overlapping slidable plates 812a, 812b, 812c, 812d, 812e.
- a movable side guide 814, a pair of linear bearings 816, and a screw block 818 are attached to the outermost plate 812e.
- Linear bearings 816 ride longitudinally along a linear rail 820 that extends between the sides of the set feeder hopper.
- a motor driver assembly 822 at one side of the hopper drives a pair of lead screws 824, one of which is threadably engaged with screw block 818, and the other of which is threadably engaged with the screw block (not shown) of the other half of the shield mechanism.
- the innermost plate 812a attaches to the housing 826 of the set feeder. All of the plates 812a, 812b, 812c, 812d, 812e ride on a support rail 828, such that the plates lie just above the shutter 830.
- motor 822 can be energized to rotate in one direction, drawing side guide 814 and outermost plate 812e toward the motor.
- a pair of tangs 832 at either end of plate 812e engage mating tangs 834 on next-to- outermost plate 812d, drawing plate 812d toward motor 822 as well.
- shield mechanism includes two shield halves, each of which is driven by one of lead screws 824. Either or both shield halves can be independently decoupled from its associated lead screw 824, such that, e.g., only one shield half moves when motor 822 is energized.
- both shield halves are coupled to lead screws 824.
- both shields close at the same rate to cover the exposed shutter on both sides of the center-positioned (or "center-registered") stack.
- the left shield half is decoupled from its associated lead screw 824.
- motor 822 is energized, only the right shield half moves to cover the exposed shutter.
- the right shield half is decoupled from its associated lead screw 824.
- the control of motor 822 can be automated, e.g., to close the shield by the appropriate amount in response to a user's indication of the width of the paper to be processed. So, in a set feeder that employs both shelf adjusting mechanism 710 and shield mechanism 810, the user could, e.g., press a button indicating the size of the paper to be processed (e.g., 8 ⁇ in. x. 11 in.), and the two mechanisms 710, 810 could automatically adjust the hopper size and cover any exposed portions of the shutter.
- a button indicating the size of the paper to be processed e.g., 8 ⁇ in. x. 11 in.
- Sheet set feeder 1010 includes a housing 1012. Two facing vertical walls of housing 1012, left wall 1014 and right wall 1016, define a hopper 1018 for receiving a stack 1020 comprised of offset-jogged sheet sets 1022a, 1022b, 1022c, 1022d, each of which in turn comprises two or more sheets 1024a, 1024b, 1024c, 1024d of, e.g., paper.
- Sheet set feeder 1010 can also be used to feed offset-jogged sets of other types of substantially planar sheets, such as of film or fabric.
- the distance between left wall 1014 and right wall 1016 of hopper 1018 is approximately equal to the length of a single sheet set, plus the distance by which each set is offset-jogged with respect to adjacent sets.
- Right wall 1016 can be moved toward and away from left wall 1014 to adjust the dimensions of hopper 1018 to accommodate sets of different lengths (e.g. by using mechanism 710) .
- An elevator 1026 disposed within hopper 1018 supports stack 1020. Elevator 1026 comprises a substantially flat surface that is moved up and down by an elevator mechanism 1028.
- Elevator mechanism 1028 may be driven by, e.g., a motor or a pneumatic pump, and may comprise, e.g. , a lead screw and screw block assembly, a chain drive arrangement, or a hydraulic or pneumatic piston.
- Pivoting fingers 1030, 1032 are located near the top opening of hopper 1018 on the left and right sides of hopper 1018, respectively. Pivoting fingers 1030, 1032 are pivotable about pivot points 1034, 1036 and are moved by pivoting mechanisms 1038, 1040, respectively. Pivoting mechanisms 1038, 1040 can be driven by, e.g., reversible electric motors, solenoids or pneumatic pumps. Pivoting mechanisms 1038, 1040 can be operated to pivot fingers 1030, 1032 around pivots 1034, 1036, and also to move pivots 1034, 1036 left and right along respective slots.
- Pivoting fingers 1030, 1032 hold topmost left- jogged and right-jogged sets 1022a and 1022b in place at their left and right ends, respectively. Pivoting finger 1030 can also be long enough to hold lower right-jogged set 1022b in place at its left end. Pivoting fingers 1030, 1032 depress respective ends of sets 1022a, 1022b slightly at the points of contact (which may cause respective opposite ends of sets 1022a, 1022b to be raised slightly, depending on the sheet material and the dimensions of the sheets) , facilitating the separation of sets 1022a, 1022b.
- a linear rail 1042 is disposed above hopper 1018.
- a gripper 1044 (shown in detail below in FIGS.
- 34A, 34B and 35 is attached to a carriage 1046, which moves back- and-forth along rail 1042 by, e.g., a reversible electric motor 1050. Reversing the direction of rotation of motor 1050 reverses the direction of motion of gripper 1044 along linear rail 1042. Gripper 1044 is moved left and right along linear rail 1042, and can be closed to grab the end of the topmost set, and opened to release the set. The rotational speed of motor 1050 may be controlled to vary the linear speed of gripper 1044 along linear rail 1042. To provide for smooth motion of gripper 1044, motor 1050 is initially controlled so that it ramps up from zero velocity to a constant speed.
- a level sensor 1058 located near the top opening of hopper 1018 detects the height of stack 1020 within hopper 1018.
- Level sensor 1058 may be, e.g., an "electric eye” sensor (photosensor) or other type of sensing device.
- Level sensor 1058 determines when stack 1020 has been raised to a predetermined height by sensing the presence of the top of stack 1020 in the region of the top opening of hopper 1018.
- Level sensor 1058 communicates with elevator mechanism 1028 via a controller (not shown) to activate elevator mechanism 1028 to move elevator 1026 upward so that top set 1022a is positioned at the proper height to be grabbed by gripper 1044.
- a rubber-tipped push rod or snubber 1148 resides within left wall 1014 of housing 1012 and is actuatable to move horizontally back and forth. Snubber 1048 is capable of pushing a right-jogged set, e.g., next-to- topmost set 1022b, to the right a short distance so that gripper 1044 may easily grab the right end of set 1022b.
- Air jets 1150, 1160 are disposed on housing 1012. Air passages 1151, 1162 connected to air jets 1150, 1160, respectively, pass through housing 1012 and are angled slightly downwardly. Air passages 1151, 1162 are directed toward the left and right ends of topmost set 1022a and next-to-topmost set 1022b.
- Air jets 1150, 1160 may be controlled to issue air blasts, or slower, more steady streams of air, through air passages 1151, 1162.
- Air jets 1150, 1160 comprise manifolds 1152, 1164 and solenoid valves 1154, 1166, respectively, which are in turn connected to a source or sources of pressurized gas.
- solenoid valves 1154, 1166 When solenoid valves 1154, 1166 are energized, air from the gas source is supplied to manifolds 1152, 1164, causing air to issue from air passages 1151, 1162.
- Valves 1154, 1166 can be operated to deliver low-velocity to high-velocity air flow.
- Air jet 1150 may be activated to produce a stream of air directed downwardly toward the right end of next-to-topmost set 1022b, to facilitate set separation during operation, as described in detail below.
- air jet 1160 may be activated to produce a stream of air directed downwardly toward the left end of next-to-topmost set 1022b.
- gripper 1044 is comprised of substantially planar jaws 1052, 1054 which, in their open position, are spaced apart by a distance at least slightly greater than the thickness of the set which is to be grabbed.
- the interior surfaces of jaws 1152, 1054 are lined with thin rubber pads 1053, 1055, which, when in contact with the sheets of the grabbed set, provide a friction force to assist in holding the set within jaws 1152, 1054.
- Jaw 1152 is fixedly connected to gripper arm 1045.
- Jaw 1054 is connected to a movable rod 1056 that may be activated to move up and down by, e.g., a solenoid or a motor/lead screw/screw block arrangement (such as used in hopper wall and shelf adjusting mechanism 710) .
- Rod 1056 is telescoped within gripper arm 1045 to be movable therein.
- Rod 1056 may be moved upward, bringing jaw 1054 closer to jaw 1152 to grab topmost set 1022a.
- Rod 1056 may also be moved downward, increasing the separation between jaws 1152, 1054 to release the grabbed set.
- jaws 1052, 1054 may be pivotally connected for grabbing topmost set 1022a, as shown in FIG. 34B. Instead of the single-pivot arrangement shown in FIG.
- the jaw assembly could be a multi-pivot linkage, such as a parallelogram linkage.
- a leading edge sensor 1060 disposed on jaw 1052 near the opening formed by jaws 1052, 1054, detects when the right edge of topmost set 1022a has entered jaws 1052, 1054.
- a trailing edge sensor 1062 disposed on jaw 1052 near rod 1056 detects when gripper 1044 has fully captured the right edge of topmost set 1022a. When this occurs, set 1022a is grabbed by closing jaws 1052, 1054.
- Leading edge sensor 1060 and trailing edge sensor 1062 may be, e.g., electric eye sensors, similar to level sensor 1058 described above.
- an accumulator 1076 is located adjacent to hopper 1018.
- a substantially planar surface 1077 runs along the length of accumulator 1076 from hopper 1018. Planar surface 1077 is positioned at a height so that topmost set 1022a remains substantially horizontal when set 1022a is pulled off the top of stack 1020 and through accumulator 1076.
- gripper 1044 releases grabbed set 1022a within accumulator 1076, it will fall without substantially disturbing the organization of the sheets of set 1022a, since set 1022a remains in a nearly horizontal orientation as it is pulled into accumulator 1076 until it is dropped.
- Accumulator 1076 includes a conveyor belt 1080.
- Accumulator 1076 can include other means for carrying away sets 1022a, 1022b, 1022c, 1022d, and/or a rotator 246 (FIGS. 17, 18, 19) for rotating the individual sets, e.g. , by 90°.
- the bottom of gripper 1044 is spaced above conveyor belt 1080 by a distance greater than the thickness of a typical large set 1022a, e.g., about two inches.
- Two solenoid-actuated pins 1078 project from the top surface of conveyor belt 1080 when the solenoids are energized, and are recessed below the surface of the conveyor belt when deenergized.
- An indicator switch 1200 (such as a proximity switch) lies directly above pins 1078, such that when a finger 1079 on gripper 1044 moves past the switch, it sends a signal to the controller to open the jaws of the gripper.
- the pins 1078 are spaced apart (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG.
- top set feeder 1010 is configured to interface with finishing and processing equipment, such that the conveyor belt 1080 supplies individual sets, in sequence to, e.g., a cover feeder 190 (FIG. 9) , a stitcher/folder 196 and/or a face trimmer 197 (FIG. 10) , a perfect binder 198 (FIG. 11) , a mailing/inserting system 199 (FIG. 12) , and/or a shrink wrapper 200 (FIG. 13) .
- stack 1020 is placed into hopper 1018 of sheet set feeder 1010 so that bottommost set 1022d rests on elevator 1026, as shown in FIG. 33.
- level sensor 1058 may not detect that set 1022a is at the proper height to be grabbed by gripper 1044. If so, level sensor 1058 will send a signal to the controller (not shown) to activate elevator mechanism 1028 to raise elevator 1026.
- level sensor 1058 detects that set 1022a is at the proper height to be grabbed by gripper 1044, level sensor 1058 sends a signal to the controller (not shown) to activate elevator mechanism 1028 to cease upward movement of elevator 1026.
- gripper 1044 moves along linear rail 1042 from right to left to grab the right end of topmost set 1022a.
- Two different cycles are used to remove the offset-jogged sets 1022a, 1022b, 1022c, 1022d from the top of stack 1020.
- left-jogged set 1022a is removed from the top of stack 1020.
- carriage 1046 moves along linear rail 1042 from the right until leading edge sensor 1060 detects the right edge of set 1022a.
- sensor 1060 sends a signal to the controller to activate air jet 1150, producing a blast of air through air passage 1151 to slightly raise the right end of set 1022a and slightly lower the right end of set 1022b, facilitating separation of sets 1022a, 1022b.
- the blast of air from jet 1150 in conjunction with the effect of pivoting finger 1030, which pushes down on the left side of set 1022a and consequently may raise the right side of set 1022a, facilitates separation of the right ends of sets 1022a, 1022b so that the jaws 1052, 1054 of gripper 1044 may easily slide around the right end of set 1022a.
- Pivoting mechanism 1038 is activated by, e.g., a timer or a stepper mechanism (not shown) , to rotate finger 1030 to release the left edge of set 1022a to allow set 1022a to be pulled off the top of stack 1020.
- carriage 1046 reverses direction and moves to the right to pull set 1022a off the top of stack 1020.
- the timer or stepper mechanism that activates pivoting mechanism 1038 may also activate air jets 1150, 1160 to issue air blasts, or slower, more steady steams of air, through air passages 1151, 1162 to facilitate separation of sets 1022a, 1022b so that set 1022a may easily slide across the top of set 1022b.
- pivoting finger 1030 is activated by the timer or stepper mechanism to contact the left end of next-to-topmost set 1022b to help prevent set 1022b from being pulled to the right by gripper 1044 along with topmost set 1022a.
- gripper 1044 pulls set 1022a to the right.
- conveyor belt 1080 is stopped, and the solenoids that drive pins 1078 are energized to extend the pins.
- the controller opens jaws 1052, 1054 of gripper 1044.
- gripper 1044 continues to move to the right between the pins, set 1022a is stopped by pins
- set 1022a falls onto conveyor belt 1080.
- the lower jaw 1054 of gripper 1044 is then closed, the solenoids that drive pins 1078 are deenergized to retract them, and conveyor belt 1080 is switched on to deliver set 1022a to, e.g., the associated processing equipment.
- level sensor 1058 detects that the topmost set 1022b of stack 1020 is not at the required level to be grabbed by gripper 1044. Level sensor 1058 sends a signal to the controller (not shown) to activate elevator mechanism 1028 to raise elevator 1026 until topmost set 1022b is at the proper height to be grabbed by gripper 1044. When level sensor 1058 detects that topmost set 1022b has reached the proper level to be grabbed by gripper 1044, level sensor 1058 sends a signal to the controller (not shown) to cause elevator mechanism 1028 to cease the upward movement of elevator 1026. In the second cycle, right-jogged set 1022b is removed from the top of stack 1020. As shown in FIG.
- carriage 1046 moves along linear rail 1042 from the right so that the open jaws 1052, 1054 of gripper 1044 will easily slide around the right edge of topmost set 1022b.
- the controller (not shown) activates pivoting mechanism 1034, 1036 to rotate fingers 1030, 1032, respectively, upward and out of the path of gripper 1044.
- leading edge sensor 1060 detects the right edge of set 1022b, it sends a signal to the controller (not shown) to stop carriage 1046.
- the controller then activates snubber 1048 to push set 1022b to the right a short distance so that gripper 1044 may easily grab the right end of set 1022b.
- the timer or stepper mechanism may also activate air jets 1150, 1160 to issue air blasts, or slower, more steady streams of air, through air passages 1151, 1162 to facilitate separation of sets 1022b, 1022c so that set 1022b may easily slide across the top of set 1022c.
- gripper 1044 pulls set 1022b to the right, and the set is disengaged from the gripper in the manner described above in connection with set 1022a.
- Pivoting fingers 1030, 1032 are reset to their original positions, and the first and second cycles are repeated until all remaining sets 1022c, 1022d are fed onto conveyor belt 1080.
- An additional feature of the invention is a stacker 1100 for loading offset-jogged sets onto elevator 1026.
- a second elevator 1082 may be loaded while individual sets are removed from elevator 1026 according to the procedure described above.
- Elevators 1026 and 1082 are driven independently by, e.g., separate belt systems (not shown) .
- elevator 1082 While stack 1020 on elevator 1026 is being processed on the left portion of the system shown in FIG. 38, elevator 1082 is at the right of the system and at its lowest position, or an intermediate position, and a new stack of sets may be loaded onto elevator 1082. Alternatively or additionally, elevator 1082 may rest at the lowest position so that a dockable cart 1084 may be locked onto elevator 1082, e.g., using mechanical guides and couplings, to transfer a stack of sets 1083 onto elevator 1082. Alternatively or additionally, elevator 1082 may be lowered in incremental steps, as determined by a sensor or sensors 1088, so that stacks of sets may be loaded manually at a height convenient for the operator. Sensor 1088 may be, e.g., an electric eye sensor.
- elevator 1026 When processing on elevator 1026 is complete, elevator 1026 is moved to the right portion of the system shown in FIG. 38 and lowered to be loaded, elevator 1082 (loaded with a stack 1083 of sets) simultaneously moves to the left for processing of stack 1083. What is claimed is:
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU60417/96A AU6041796A (en) | 1995-06-07 | 1996-06-04 | Paper set feeding |
EP96918063A EP0830303A4 (en) | 1995-06-07 | 1996-06-04 | Paper set feeding |
JP9501279A JPH11513957A (en) | 1995-06-07 | 1996-06-04 | Paper set supply |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US08/486,931 US5556254A (en) | 1995-06-07 | 1995-06-07 | Paper set feeding |
US63564796A | 1996-04-22 | 1996-04-22 | |
US08/486,931 | 1996-04-22 | ||
US08/635,647 | 1996-04-22 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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WO1996040575A1 true WO1996040575A1 (en) | 1996-12-19 |
Family
ID=27048841
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1996/008786 WO1996040575A1 (en) | 1995-06-07 | 1996-06-04 | Paper set feeding |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0830303A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH11513957A (en) |
AU (1) | AU6041796A (en) |
WO (1) | WO1996040575A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0914969A2 (en) * | 1997-11-10 | 1999-05-12 | Kurt Rünzi | An apparatus for stacking and sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US6192295B1 (en) | 1997-11-10 | 2001-02-20 | William H. Gunther | Method of sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US8235373B2 (en) | 2008-05-20 | 2012-08-07 | Goss International Americas, Inc. | Multiplex gathering device and method |
US8443963B2 (en) | 2008-05-20 | 2013-05-21 | Goss International Americas, Inc. | Multiplexed gathering device and method |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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DE60118331T2 (en) | 2000-08-01 | 2006-11-09 | P.E.I. Protezioni Elaborazioni Industriali S.R.L., Calderara Di Reno | Protective cover for attachment to a movable in at least one plane work organ |
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US4547115A (en) * | 1984-01-25 | 1985-10-15 | Charbonnet Carl D | Apparatus for transporting and aligning panel-like members |
US4907942A (en) * | 1986-08-29 | 1990-03-13 | Schneider Gmbh & Co. | Arrangement for separating paper sheet pads from a stack |
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US3640426A (en) * | 1970-11-12 | 1972-02-08 | Marvin H Hammer | Device for sequentially dispensing sets of sheets |
FR2592640B1 (en) * | 1986-01-03 | 1988-04-29 | Bertin & Cie | DEVICE FOR SEPARATING PACKETS OF SHEETS, PARTICULARLY PAPER, FORMING A STACK |
-
1996
- 1996-06-04 EP EP96918063A patent/EP0830303A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1996-06-04 WO PCT/US1996/008786 patent/WO1996040575A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1996-06-04 AU AU60417/96A patent/AU6041796A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-06-04 JP JP9501279A patent/JPH11513957A/en active Pending
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US4079846A (en) * | 1975-09-19 | 1978-03-21 | Meinan Machinery Works, Inc. | Apparatus and method for taking out a single sheet from a stack of veneer sheets |
US4547115A (en) * | 1984-01-25 | 1985-10-15 | Charbonnet Carl D | Apparatus for transporting and aligning panel-like members |
US4907942A (en) * | 1986-08-29 | 1990-03-13 | Schneider Gmbh & Co. | Arrangement for separating paper sheet pads from a stack |
US4988263A (en) * | 1988-10-15 | 1991-01-29 | Ostma Maschinebau Gmbh | Apparatus for the destacking of pallets |
US5380147A (en) * | 1991-07-19 | 1995-01-10 | Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V. | Device for picking up bendable flat parts |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0914969A2 (en) * | 1997-11-10 | 1999-05-12 | Kurt Rünzi | An apparatus for stacking and sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
EP0914969A3 (en) * | 1997-11-10 | 1999-09-15 | Kurt Rünzi | An apparatus for stacking and sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US6192295B1 (en) | 1997-11-10 | 2001-02-20 | William H. Gunther | Method of sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US6234467B1 (en) | 1997-11-10 | 2001-05-22 | Kurt Runzi | Apparatus for stacking and sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US6324442B2 (en) | 1997-11-10 | 2001-11-27 | Gunther Technologies Inc. | Method of sorting printed documents and feeding them to a finishing machine |
US8235373B2 (en) | 2008-05-20 | 2012-08-07 | Goss International Americas, Inc. | Multiplex gathering device and method |
US8443963B2 (en) | 2008-05-20 | 2013-05-21 | Goss International Americas, Inc. | Multiplexed gathering device and method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0830303A4 (en) | 2000-02-02 |
EP0830303A1 (en) | 1998-03-25 |
JPH11513957A (en) | 1999-11-30 |
AU6041796A (en) | 1996-12-30 |
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