Sheet feeding or delivering – Special articles – Envelope
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-16
2001-05-22
Bollinger, David H. (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Special articles
Envelope
C271S009130, C271S225000, C271S303000, C271S184000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234468
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention pertains to a mailing system for creating mail pieces, including an envelope and mail pages, and more particularly to an envelope transport system as part of such a mailing system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In designing a mailing system used to create mail pieces, each mailing piece consisting of mail pages inserted in an envelope, throughput with reliability is always an objective. To achieve reliability it is sometimes advantageous to provide parallel paths, each path operating at a lower throughput than the desired overall throughput so that mail piece components do not change velocity so quickly as to be damaged or to jam in the mailing system.
Many mailing systems include insertion engines, which insert mail pages into an envelope (after the mail pages are folded, if necessary). In some mailing systems with an insertion engine, throughputs as high as 18,000 mail pieces per hour (five per second) are achieved. In such a mailing system, an insertion engine is provided with the envelopes of the mail pieces by an envelope transport system (and is provided with the pages of the mail pieces, to be inserted into the envelopes, by a page transport system).
The envelope transport system includes an envelope hopper (
12
of
FIG. 1
) that must be periodically loaded with envelopes. In some mailing systems, because of various constraints, it is necessary that the envelope hopper be on the same side of the mailing system as where the operator is stationed, and of course that the envelope hopper be easily loadable. An envelope hopper typically holds about 1500 envelopes when fully loaded, and so must be replenished about every five minutes when used in a mailing system operating at a throughput of five mail pieces per second.
In some mailing system architectures, all of these requirements combine so that a layout of the envelope transport system can use a planar envelope hopper (
12
of
FIG. 1
) feeding envelopes (
11
of
FIG. 1
) on edge. In such a situation, what is needed is a design for an envelope transport system that allows using such a feeder, and that provides envelopes at the required high throughput, but that keeps changes in the envelope velocity to within acceptable limits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides an envelope transport system including: an envelope hopper, for holding envelopes on edge and for providing the envelopes, in turn, on edge; a flipper gate, for receiving envelopes, in turn, and for providing the envelopes alternately to either of two parallel transport paths; the two parallel transport paths, each of the paths for conveying the envelopes provided to the path by action of a sequence of nips arranged along the path; a merge station for receiving the envelopes, in turn, from the two parallel transport paths, for plowing open the flaps of the envelopes, and for redirecting the envelopes, with flaps open, all to a final, common path at substantially ninety degrees from the two parallel transport paths, the substantially ninety degrees measured with respect to the direction of the parallel transport paths at the point of entry to the merge station.
In another aspect of the invention, the merge station includes for each parallel transport path a D-shaped roller for hoisting the envelopes from the parallel transport path onto the final, common path.
In a still further aspect of the invention, the merge station also includes for each parallel transport path a plow flap device for plowing open the flaps of the envelopes being transported along the parallel transport path as the envelopes enter the merge station.
In yet a still further aspect of the invention, the merge station also includes for each parallel transport path an adjustable stop for stopping the envelopes at a point on the parallel transport path so that when the envelopes are hoisted onto the final, common path, a centerline of the envelopes is aligned with the centerline of the final, common path.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6036185 (2000-03-01), Baumann et al.
patent: 6062556 (2000-05-01), McCay
patent: 6107579 (2000-08-01), Kinnemann
Janatka Karel J.
Sussmeier John W.
Wright William J.
Bollinger David H.
Capelli C. J.
Cummings Michael J.
Melton Michael E.
Pitney Bowes Inc.
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