US 4,416,449 AGranted

Document separating apparatus and method

AssigneeTechnitrol, Inc.

InventorGeorge P. McInerny

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Abstract

A document separation device for separating documents in a stack employs counter-rotating drum and friction belt members to strip away and hold back more than a single document trying to pass between them. The structure employs a pair of friction drums and a free-wheeling pulley between them of slightly smaller diameter but on the same axis. Counter-rotating friction stripper belt is supported between two pulleys one of which is driven and is wrapped over the pulley between the friction drum members. A third rotatable pulley between the two supporting the friction belt is located opposite the free-wheeling pulley and has flanges which bear upon the friction drum surfaces such that the friction belt will normally not contact the third pulley when the friction belt is in direct contact with the idler between the friction drums. The friction belt is slightly slack. When a document passes between the belt and the friction drums, it moves the third pulley against the action of the tensioning means and causes the friction belt which is stretchable and resilient to become more taut. If the document is stiff it becomes further extended and the tautness is increased still further by the third member pressing against the stretchable friction belt on the opposite side of the pulley to provide two points of stretching.

A document separation means for separating sheets from a stack and assuring separation of adjacent documents comprising:

a support frame;
a resilient continuous stretchable friction belt, providing a first friction member and constituting a self-adjusting member permitting accommodation of documents of different thickness and different surface friction characteristics;
two rotatable support and path defining means on the frame for supporting said continuous stretchable friction belt;
two coaxial generally cylindrical friction drums of like diameter rotatably supported on the support frame, each having a friction surface extending around the drum and together providing a second friction member;
a non-friction belt deflection member coaxial with and between the two friction drums and of approximately the diameter of the friction drums but of smaller diameter over the surface of which non-friction member the belt is deflected from a straight path between support means into a conforming path over the non-friction drum surface to thereby supply forces acting normal to a sheet passing between the stretchable belt and the drums to generate frictional forces parallel to the sheet;
drive means on the support frame for driving the continuous stretchable belt through one of the rotatable support members in one direction and the two friction drums together in the opposite direction, such that the first and second friction members are moving in opposite directions over a sheet passing between them;
a third rotatable means freely rotatable about a parallel axis and located between the two rotatable support means of a size to engage and separate portions of the stretchable friction belt at diametrically opposite points;
and
resilient support from the support frame spindle about which the third rotatable means rotates, whereby the third rotatable means is supported at the area of control between the friction belt and the non-friction drum and urged toward said drum.

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Abstract

Claims16