Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – With transfer means between conveyor and receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-30
2001-09-11
Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
With transfer means between conveyor and receiver
C271S302000, C198S404000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286828
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for rotating at least one flat object. Such an apparatus is known from French patent application 2,315,131 in which an apparatus is described for turning over cards with a magnetic strip which have been inserted the other way around into an automatic machine or the like.
This apparatus has a rotor with a pair of transport rollers which define a nip for transporting and retaining a card. When the rotor is in a receiving and feeding position, a feed path extending along a sensor extends into the rotor and between the two transport rollers. A card inserted into the apparatus passes along the sensor into the area between the two transport rollers.
For driving the two transport rollers, there is provided a driving gear wheel capable of driving the transport rollers by way of transmission gear wheels and a first transmission roller. From the driving gear wheel, also a second transmission roller is driven, located on the opposite side of the rotor. The first transmission roller and the second transmission roller are suspended in a carrier with two arms which are pivotable about a common axis parallel to and spaced from the rotation axis of the rotor and are coupled to each other through a spring and a stop. The arm carrying the first transmission roller further comprises an indexing pawl which can engage in indexing recesses of the rotor for retaining the rotor in two receiving and feeding positions.
When the rotor is in any of the two receiving and feeding positions, the indexing pawl engages in one of two indexing recesses of the rotor and the first transmission roller is in engagement with a roller which is suspended coaxially and non-rotatably relative to one of the transport rollers, so that the transport rollers are driven.
If it is desired to turn the card, an electromagnet pulls towards itself the arm which carries the indexing pawl, so that the indexing pawl engaging in the indexing recess of the rotor is pulled from that indexing recess. As a result, also the first transmission roller is moved away from the roller coupled to the transport rollers, so that the drive of the transport rollers stops.
The other arm of the carrier, connected to this arm via a spring, then moves along. As a result, the second transmission roller engages a roller which is coaxial relative to the axis about which the rotor is rotatable. The rotor is thereby driven and so caused to rotate.
Shortly after the rotor has started to rotate, the electromagnet is deactivated again, so that the indexing pawl comes to lie against the outer circumference of the track in which the indexing recesses have been provided. The rotation of the rotor is subsequently stopped when the indexing pawl falls into the opposite one of the two indexing recesses. The arm carrying the first transmission roller thereby moves to its initial position again, so that the drive of the transport rollers is resumed again. The other arm then also moves back to its initial position, so that the second transmission roller's engagement of the roller coaxial with the rotor ends again.
A drawback of this apparatus is that it is not very suitable for processing heavier objects nor for achieving very high processing speeds. Objects easily slip too far, or fall from the rotor or are slung from the rotor during rotation thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a solution which makes it possible to process heavier objects and to achieve very high processing speeds.
This object is achieved according to this invention by providing an apparatus for rotating at least one flat object, having: a frame, a rotor which is rotatably suspended relative to the frame, which rotor is arranged for receiving an object in the rotor and comprises: at least one passage for at least receiving or feeding specimens of the objects and at least one transport element having a circulating circumferential surface for engaging a specimen of the objects in the rotor for bringing a specimen of the objects via the passage into or out of the rotor, a transmission element, a coupling structure between the transmission element and the rotor, a transmission between the transmission element and the at least one transport element of the rotor for causing the at least one transport element to rotate relative to the rotor in response to rotation of the transmission element relative to the rotor, a positioning structure for retaining the rotor in at least one position relative to the frame, and a drive for driving the transmission element, while the coupling structure is arranged for: retaining the transmission element relative to the rotor in a rotation condition in which the positioning structure allows rotation of the rotor relative to the frame, and releasing rotation of the transmission element relative to the rotor upon transition to a transport condition in which the positioning structure retains the rotor relative to the frame.
As a consequence, objects can be stopped and retained in the rotor very fast and reliably, without this requiring that in the transport condition a great friction occurs for stopping the transport elements when the drive thereof is discontinued.
Further objects, features, effects and details of this invention appear from the claims and the following description of an exemplary embodiment presently preferred most, with reference to the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5771058 (1998-06-01), Kobayashi
patent: 5927713 (1999-07-01), Driscoll et al.
patent: 649583 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 2315131 (1977-01-01), None
patent: 621533 (1946-01-01), None
Patent Abstracts of Japan, abstract of Japanese Patent application publication No. 63136762. Aug. 6, 1988.
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Neopost B.V.
Skaggs H. Grant
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