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US 4,333,300 AGranted
Envelope processing machine and method
AssigneeMail-Ex Corporation
InventorRobert J. Russell
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMail-Ex Corporation
InventorRobert J. Russell
Estimating the term…
The present invention provides a machine and method wherein envelopes are removed from a supply hopper, one by one, and then transmitted to a plurality of sequentially disposed cutting stations wherein one end edge of the envelope is first severed, and thereafter an adjacent side edge of the envelope is severed. The envelope with two adjacent edges thus severed is transmitted to a processing station at which the envelope is opened and held open by suction cups, for removal of contents by an operator. The envelope is thereafter transmitted to a detector station to confirm content removal and then to a recovery station, and then to a point of discharge. Means is provided for adjusting the opening of the suction cups at the processing station, and stop means is provided for positioning the envelope as it reaches the processing station. The envelope is transmitted toward the processing station in horizontal disposition, and in one form of the invention at the processing station it is repositioned into angular disposition prior to the gripping action of the suction cups.
An envelope processing machine to facilitate operator removal of envelope contents and comprising a supply hopper for envelopes, first cutting means for severing an edge of an envelope, second cutting means for severing an adjacent and contiguous edge of an envelope, means for removing envelopes in one by one relationship from said hopper and conveyor flight means providing movable support for the envelope and for transmitting them with continuous movement along a first path of travel to and through said first cutting means to sever the edge paralleling the first path of travel of movement of the envelope, an envelope processing station, conveyor means for transmitting the envelopes with continuous movement along a second path of travel of movement of the envelope to and through the second cutting means to sever an adjacent and contiguous edge paralleling the second path of travel of movement of the envelope and then to the processing station, and means disposed at the processing station for gripping the opposed envelope side walls and for separating and holding open said side walls by separating the severed adjacent and contiguous edges leaving the counterpart adjacent and contiguous edges connected to facilitate envelope content removal by operator gripping or sliding of the contents.
The method of processing envelopes which comprises severing two adjacent and contiguous edges of an envelope, and thereafter opening the envelope by drawing the walls thereof apart by the application of negative pressure separating the severed adjacent and contiguous edges while leaving the counterpart adjacent and contiguous edges as originally attached.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.