High speed signature manipulating apparatus

In apparatus for receiving a stream of documents traveling at a first velocity in spaced-apart serial relation and forming such documents into a running shingle traveling at a second velocity which is lower than the first, the combination comprising

• (a) means for imparting a lengthwise bow in each document as it is fed in to inhibit droop when the document is ejected with its leading portion unsupported,
• (b) means for ejecting said documents for flyout from said means (a),
• (c) means forming a moving throat with upper and lower surfaces moving, in their directly opposed regions, at said second velocity, said means being disposed with downstream spacing from and in relation to said means (b) such that the leading edge of an ejected document strikes said upper surface at a location upwardly displaced from the centerline of the throat, and is tucked down to ride with the setback on the preceding document which is traveling with and driven by gripping between the directly opposed regions of said surfaces, the lower surface of said throat being closely spaced from the point of ejection;
• and
• (d) a driven toothed wheel underlying said signatures at the point of ejection, the teeth of said wheel catching the trailing edge of each ejected document and tucking it down to rest on the preceding document traveling with said lower surface.

In apparatus for forming a running shingle from incoming documents traveling at high velocity along a path in serial, spaced apart relation, the combination comprising

• (a) conveyor means for transporting the documents in a high velocity, spaced apart stream to an ejection point at which each successive document is hurled in the direction of said path,
• (b) a first wheel underlying the successive documents as they pass the ejection point and driven to have a peripheral speed substantially equal to or greater than said high velocity, said wheel having a convex periphery engaging successive documents generally along their longitudinal centerlines parallel to said path, said first wheel being formed with a plurality of teeth circularly spaced around its periphery, such teeth serving to catch and tuck down the trailing edge of each successive document as it leaves said ejection point,
• (c) cupping rails for holding down the laterally outboard wings of each document as it passes over said first wheel, the convex periphery of the latter and the rails thus creating a downward bow in each document as it is ejected,
• (d) means forming a moving and generally V-shaped throat downstream of said ejection point and into which the leading edge of each successively ejected document is hurled, the lower surface of said throat being constituted by one flight of a running belt driven downstream at a transport velocity substantially less than said high velocity, and the upper surface of said throat being constituted by a rotatable second wheel having its periphery proximate to that belt at the apex of the throat and intermediate the upstream and downstream ends of said belt flight,
• (e) said means (d) being located so as to result in the leading edge of each successively hurled document striking said second wheel at an impact point above said apex and being cammed down onto the preceding document then being carried by said belt through the apex of the throat, and
• (f) means for receiving from said belt and conveying at said transport velocity the running shingle formed on said belt as a consequence of deceleration of the successive documents due to their leading edges striking said second wheel.

In apparatus for converting a stream of documents traveling in succession and spaced-apart relation at a first, high velocity into a shingle traveling at a second and relatively lower velocity, the combination comprising

• (a) a conveyor for transporting a stream of documents at said first velocity to an ejection point, said conveyor including means for gripping and affirmatively driving each document up to the ejection point EP at which the affirmative drive ceases progressively as the leading edge and succeeding upstream portions of the document pass the ejection point, each document thereby being hurled onwardly substantially along its original path of travel,
• (b) means disposed substantially at the ejection point for imparting a lengthwise bow to each document as it passes,
• (c) means forming a moving throat downstream of said ejection point and into which the leading edge of each successive document is hurled, said moving throat having (i) upper and lower surfaces disposed in a "V-shaped" relation and an apex at its downstream end through which the documents pass, and (ii) means for driving at least one of said surfaces at said second velocity,
• (c1) the downstream spacing from said ejection point EP to an impact point IP, at which the leading edges of successively hurled documents strikes one of the surfaces of the throat, being equal to or greater than the length L of the documents being processed;
• and
• (d) means for adjusting the position of said moving throat in an upstream-downstream direction;
• thereby to condition the apparatus for processing documents of different lengths for different jobs.