Sheet-material associating – Associating or disassociating – Sheet associating
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-06
2001-02-20
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Sheet-material associating
Associating or disassociating
Sheet associating
C271S009010, C271S009110, C271S009130, C273S14900R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189880
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to a device for collating sheets of paper for subsequent transport together to a collection station, with feeders for separating the sheets of paper. In the general state of the art it is already known how to separate the sheets of paper arriving for collation, in particular in an envelope-stuffing or collating system, for example, by means of a conveyor belt, for transport to a collection station. Further processing, such as envelope stuffing and distribution in a collection bin occurs from this collection station.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the problem of improving a collating device to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the collation operation.
This problem is solved according to this invention, in that the feeders provided for simultaneous feeding of the sheets of paper are connected to a chute which is located above the collection station. The advantage of this arrangement is that the separated sheets of paper are fed into a chute which is free of transport restrictions of any kind. Therefore, mechanical transport features are not needed, so that the expense for the manufacture of such equipment will be reduced significantly.
The separated sheets of paper fed into the chute float downwardly on a cushion of air and thus an orderly collating of the sheets of paper is possible in an exceptionally simple and effective manner. The cross section of the chute in this case should preferably be dimensioned so that the side walls forming the shaft have a spacing which is only slightly larger than the length of the appropriate side of the sheet of paper. In this regard, it should be mentioned that the paper for collation need not be individual sheets of paper, of course. Rather, already folded or otherwise joined paper may be used. The term paper as used within the framework of this disclosure is not restricted exclusively to the material “paper.” Rather, this term is intended also to include sheet-like, also folded or otherwise joined, sheets or leaves of any particular material, such as plastic.
The feeding of the sheets of paper takes place preferably simultaneously, so that due to the presence of the chute, a uniform sinking of the separated sheets of paper is possible.
In a further refinement of the invention, the chute can have a rectangular shape, whereby the feeders are located on at least on one side of the chute. Alternatively, it is possible to place the feeders at opposite sides of the chute and with a height offset. For a smooth output of the sheets of paper, the feeders can be positioned at an angle to a vertical axis of the chute, whereby it is expedient for the angle of incline of the feeders to be in a range of 60° to 80°, with respect to the vertical axis.
According to another feature of the invention, the feeders on the front side leading to the chute are each equipped with a retention device and with separating rollers. In order to be able to transport relatively soft sheets of paper, in a further refinement of the invention, an additional stabilizing roller can be provided in the feeder which gives the sheets of paper a slight V-shape. This will stabilize the sheets of paper and improve the aerodynamics of the sheets of paper moving in the chute.
Openings for the escape of air can be provided, preferably in the base of the chute, so that the air located underneath the sheets of paper floating downward can escape below and the sinking movement of the sheets of paper will not be disrupted by eddy currents or streams. Thus a clean collating or placement will be assured.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one, and preferably two, of the side walls forming the chute are designed so that the distance between the mutually opposite side walls can be adjusted. In this regard, the given side walls are designed so that they are displaceable. Preset positions corresponding to fixed standard sizes of sheets of paper can be defined by lock-in positions. The given side walls can be locked into these lock-in positions, but it should also be possible to lock the walls in any particular intermediate position. Thus, sheets of paper of different size can be optimally collated. By setting of the distance(s) of the side walls, that is, defining the cross section of the chute, the air cushion forming beneath the sheets of paper, and thus the rate of sinking and the sinking behavior of the sheets of paper, can be affected and adjusted in an optimum manner.
The adjusting of the position of the side walls can take place, of course, through the use of a suitable adjusting drive.
The invention will be explained in greater detail below based on the embodiments presented in the drawing.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, considered along with the accompanying drawings.
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patent: 2821384 (1958-01-01), Mendes
patent: 3510119 (1970-05-01), Linden
patent: 4310160 (1982-01-01), Willette et al.
patent: 5711518 (1998-01-01), Portaro et al.
patent: 5718427 (1998-02-01), Cranford et al.
patent: 5954473 (1999-09-01), Folsom
patent: 664 749 A5 (1988-03-01), None
patent: 55-151457 (1980-11-01), None
Ellis Christopher P.
Mackey Patrick
Rena Infomationstechnik GmbH & Co. KG
Shaffer & Culbertson LLP
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