Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – To receiver for pack of sheets
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-21
2001-01-30
Bollinger, David H. (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
To receiver for pack of sheets
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179286
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the processing of sets or jobs fed from a copying or printing machine for stacking or post processing, it is a common procedure in the case of machines which feed the sheets from a printer or copier with the printed side of the sheet facing upwardly, to employ an inverter, so that as the sheets are fed from the printer or copier to the stacking or post processing machines the sheets are stacked in the correct order, printed side down.
The use of a sheet inverter between the stacker or the post processing machine causes a delay in the continuous feeding of the sheets so that inversion of sheets in a sheet inverter limits the upper range of the speed of the sheet delivery without causing a delay in the operation of the sheet printing or copying machine output. On the other hand, inversion of the sheets being fed face up makes necessary the inversion in order to properly stack the sheets from the first to the last sheet of the set or job.
An example of inversion is seen in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 356,656, filed Jul. 19, 1999, co-owned herewith and to which reference may be had. In this apparatus the first sheet fed thereto is stopped at a staging station at which the second fed sheet is positioned beneath the first fed sheet, and then the two sheets are fed together to a receiving station at which the sheets are inverted to first sheet beneath the second and subsequent sheets in order.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which substantially permits the continuous feeding of sheets from a printer or copier operating at low speed, but, as well as at relatively fast output speeds, say, up to 100 and above sheets per minute, wherein the printer or copier feeds the sheets from first to the end with the printed side facing upwardly but wherein the sheets are stacked first to last in order so that the first sheet is on the top of the stack and the last sheet is on the bottom of the stack representing a set or job in the order fed.
Another object is to provide a method involving receiving the sheets at a horizontal stacker continuously from a printer or copier with an upper printed surface, including the steps of moving the leading end of successive sheets progressively beneath the previous sheets, elevating the trailing end of successive sheets, and stacking a group of said sheets with the printed surfaces facing in the order fed.
In accomplishing the foregoing the sheets are fed from a printer or copier into a receiving tray on which an intermittently driven set of rollers on a conveyor are caused to lift the trailing edge of the sheet and then the rollers progressively elevate the sheet from the trailing end to the leading end so that the sheet is, without inversion, fully elevated to the top run of the conveyor to form a stack of sheets in the order fed.
With such a construction, the speed of the output of sheets from the printer or copier is reasonably irrelevant over a low range or a relatively high range or rate of sheets per minute fed from the source machine and substantially no inter-copy gap or inter-set slow down of the source machine is required such as for the purpose of allowing the sheets to be inverted.
More specifically, the rollers are caused to rotate in the opposite direction from their direction of movement of the conveyor so as to assist in maintaining the sheets in a slightly downward disposition and so as to assure trailing end registration or precise registration against a backstop which may be provided either by the vertical face of the copier or printer or separately.
Furthermore, if desired, the device may be provided with means for offsetting the sheets while they are being gathered into sets or jobs, so that finished sets or jobs are correspondingly offset by offsetting mechanism well known in the art, but not shown in this application.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be recognized by those skilled in the art by reference to the attached drawings or will be described in the specification.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4808054 (1989-02-01), Cuzin
patent: 5364089 (1994-11-01), Manzer
patent: 2229531 (1973-02-01), None
patent: 2107686 (1973-05-01), None
Bollinger David H.
Gradco (Japan) Ltd.
Lee, Jr. Newton H.
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