US 5,829,742 AGranted

In-feed magazine apparatus and method for loading documents

AssigneeBell & Howell Postal Systems Inc.

InventorsK. George Rabindran, Michael Wisniewski, Thomas Faber, David Fillcicchia, Kenneth Guenther, Joseph Kalika, Mel Kerstein, John S. O'Callaghan

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Abstract

An in-feed magazine apparatus for loading documents includes a magazine feed ramp having one or more document conveyor belts disposed along a bottom surface, the belts being arranged to engage the bottom boundary of the documents. The conveyer belts are configured to effect forward movement of the stack of documents toward a document shingler mechanism along a linear axis defined by forward movement of the conveyer belts. Also included is a backing plate having a lower portion disposed proximal to the conveyor belt, an upper portion disposed vertically upward from the lower portion, and a generally planar face parallel to the plane defined by the face of the documents. An upper and lower sensor sense contact with the front end of the stack of documents while a controller operatively coupled to the upper and the lower sensors determines when the front end of the stack of documents lies in a plane substantially parallel to the face of the backing plate. A jogger mechanism operatively coupled to the controller and the backing plate is configured to reciprocally displace a portion of the stack of documents approaching the backing plate such that the jogger mechanism is energized when the controller determines that the stack of documents is inclined at a forward angle relative to the backing plate where such reciprocal displacement is configured to urge the stack of documents towards a substantially parallel orientation relative to the backing plate.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A loading apparatus for feeding stacks of documents towards a feed-roller mechanism, the stacks of documents extending successively from a front end to a back end, the documents having at least a bottom and a side boundary each defined by substantially coplanar marginal edges of the documents, the apparatus comprising:

a feed ramp having one or more document conveyor belts disposed along a bottom surface, said one or more conveyor belts adapted to engage the bottom boundary of the documents;
the one or more conveyor belts configured to effect forward movement of a first and a second stack of documents toward the feed-roller mechanism along a predetermined path, a face of each document generally parallel to the face of adjacent documents and transverse to a linear axis defined by the forward movement of the documents:
a forward paddle;
a rear paddle parallel to the forward paddle, each paddle having a planar face transverse to the linear axis and generally parallel to a face of the documents;
a controller operatively coupled to the one or more conveyor belts and to the forward and rear paddles to selectively and variably control the speed of the one or more conveyor belts and the forward and rear paddles;
a paddle transport mechanism operatively coupled to the forward paddle to effect forward motion of the forward paddle in selectable linear correspondence with forward motion of the one or more conveyor belts to urge and maintain the first stack of documents in a substantially vertical position relative to the one or more conveyor belts;
and
the rear paddle operatively coupled to the one or more conveyor belts to effect forward motion of the rear paddle in linear correspondence with the one or more conveyor belts such that the second stack of documents is bounded between the rear paddle and the forward paddle.

5 more elements

A method for feeding stacks of documents towards a feed-roller mechanism, the stacks of documents extending successively from a front end to a back end, the method comprising the steps of:

a) separating a forward and a rear paddle by a predetermined distance along a conveyor mechanism;
b) placing a first stack of documents on the conveyor mechanism ahead of the forward paddle;
c) placing a second stack of documents on the conveyor mechanism between the forward paddle and the rear paddle as the documents are transported in the forward direction toward the feed-roller mechanism;
d) transporting the first and second stacks of documents toward the feed-roller mechanism in a forward direction along a predetermined path, the forward and rear paddles moving in selectable linear correspondence with the documents, the first stack of documents being directed into the feed-roller mechanism, said transporting performed under control of a controller to selectively and variably control the speed of the conveyor mechanism and the forward and rear paddles;
e) upwardly rotating the forward paddle about a linear axis defined by the forward motion of the documents when a predetermined portion of the first stack of documents has been directed into the feed-roller mechanism, to disengage the forward paddle from between the first and second stacks of documents to cause the second stack of documents to merge into the first stack of documents;
f) rearwardly displacing the forward paddle to a position adjacent and forward of the rear paddle;
g) downwardly rotating the forward paddle such that the forward paddle is disposed between the rear paddle and the first stack of documents;
h) rearwardly displacing the rear paddle to form a gap of predetermined length between the forward and the rear paddle such that the forward paddle is adjacent the back end of the first stack of documents;
and
i) continuously repeating the steps (c) through (h).

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/725,079Filed 17 Jul 1996 · continuation
Priority: 21 Feb 1996
Granted: 3 Nov 1998
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

B65H 1/025
Adapted to support articles on edge: with controlled positively-acting mechanical devices for advancing the pile to present the articles to the…
B65H 1/30
Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated: with means for replenishing the pile during continuous separation of…
B65H 2511/214
Angle: inclination
B65H 2513/10
Dynamic entities; Timing aspects: speed