Back to results
US 2016/0052745 A1Published application
Systems and methods for folding a stack of substrate sheets
AssigneeExpress Scripts, Inc.
InventorThomas C. PEGG
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for folding a stack of substrate sheets are provided. The system may include a roller assembly and a positioning mechanism. The roller assembly is configured for folding the stack of substrate sheets and the positioning mechanism is configured to position the substrate or stack for entry into the roller assembly. The positioning mechanism includes an upper curved form and a lower curved form to guide the stack of substrate sheets into a curved position for folding. The positioning mechanism further includes a folding blade positioned to extend through the gap between the upper and lower curved forms. The roller assembly can move the folded stack of substrate sheets in at least two directions.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- feeding a stack of substrate sheets into a first set of rollers by driving an approximate midpoint section of the stack of substrate sheets toward a contact point of the first set of rollers;
- rolling the first set of rollers to receive the approximate midpoint section of the stack of substrate sheets from feeding at a first side of the first set of rollers and passing the stack of substrate sheets to a second set of rollers in a first direction to fold the stack of substrate sheets at the approximate midpoint section to form a closed end of the folded stack of substrate sheets and an open end of the folded stack of substrate sheets;
- receiving the folded approximate midpoint section of the stack of substrate sheets from rolling the first set of rollers at a first side of the second set of rollers;
- reversing from the first direction and rolling the first and second sets of rollers to cause the stack of substrate sheets to travel in a second direction such that the open end of the stack of substrate sheets is received at a second side of the first set of rollers;
- stopping the first set of rollers to hold the open end of the stack of substrate sheets with the first set of rollers after receiving the stack of substrate sheets at the second side of the first set of rollers;
- reversing from the second direction and rolling the first and second sets of rollers to cause the stack of substrate sheets to travel again in the first direction;
- and
- after reversing from the second direction, again receiving the folded approximate midpoint section at a contact point of the second set of rollers and passing the stack of substrate sheets to a second side of the second set of rollers.
5 more elements
A system for folding substrate sheets comprising:
- a roller assembly including a first set of opposing rollers, a second set of opposing rollers juxtaposed with the first set of opposing rollers, and a third set of opposing rollers downstream from the second set of opposing rollers;
- a positioning mechanism including a sheet guide having an upper curved form and a lower curved form, the upper and lower curved forms forming an elongated aperture therebetween, the upper curved form including a first flange adjacent the elongated aperture and extending downwardly and toward the roller assembly, the lower curved form including a second flange adjacent the aperture and extending upwardly and toward the roller assembly,
- the positioning mechanism further including a slidable object slidably positioned to extend through the elongated aperture between the upper and lower curved forms to push a stack of substrate sheets in the curved position toward the roller assembly;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled with the roller assembly and configured to control rotation of the first and second sets of opposing rollers to draw at least a portion of the stack of substrate sheets through the first and second sets of opposing rollers, rotation of the second and third sets of rollers to draw at least a folded portion of the stack through the second and third sets of opposing rollers, reverse direction of rotation to draw at least the folded portion of the stack of substrate sheets back through the third set of opposing rollers, and thereafter reverse the direction of rotation to drive the folded portion of the stack between the third set of opposing rollers.
2 more elements
A system comprising:
- a roller assembly configured;
- and
- a positioning mechanism configured to position a stack of substrate sheets for entry into the roller assembly, the positioning mechanism including an upper curved form and a lower curved form to guide the stack of substrate sheets into a curved position, the upper and lower curved forms forming an elongated aperture therebetween, the positioning mechanism further including a slidable object slidably positioned to extend through the elongated aperture between the upper and lower curved forms to push the stack of substrate sheets in the curved position toward the roller assembly and a clamping mechanism proximate one of the upper and lower curved forms to secure the stack of substrate sheets to a portion of a concave surface of the upper and lower curved forms,
- wherein the clamping mechanism is configured to release the stack of substrate sheets after the slidable object extends through the elongated aperture.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.