Floating idler wheel arm assembly for a document transport
First Claim
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1. An assembly for feeding documents comprising:
- a frame;
a document track mounted on said frame;
a feed wheel mounted on one side of said document track, and drive means for rotating said feed wheel;
an idler wheel; and
moving means for moving said idler wheel between active and inactive positions with respect to said feed wheel;
said moving means comprising;
an arm having first and second ends and a pivot area therebetween, with said idler wheel being rotatably mounted on said first end;
mounting means for mounting said arm at said pivot area to enable said pivot area to move in opposed directions along a line which is substantially perpendicular to said document track while pivoting on said mounting means;
resilient means for biasing said idler wheel towards said inactive, position; and
an actuator for moving said idler wheel towards said active position against the bias of said resilient means when said actuator is energized.
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Abstract
An idler wheel assembly having an idler wheel arm and an idler wheel rotatably mounted on one end of the arm to co-act with a feed wheel located on one side of a document track when the arm is moved from an inactive to an active position relative to the feed wheel. The arm has a pivot area which is mounted to move along the line which is perpendicular to the document track; this enables the assembly to accommodate documents of varying thicknesses. One embodiment uses a loosely mounted pivot point to effect the movement of the pivot area, and a second embodiment uses an elongated slot in the frame of the assembly to effect the movement of the pivot area along the line mentioned.
40 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An assembly for feeding documents comprising:
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a frame; a document track mounted on said frame; a feed wheel mounted on one side of said document track, and drive means for rotating said feed wheel; an idler wheel; and moving means for moving said idler wheel between active and inactive positions with respect to said feed wheel; said moving means comprising; an arm having first and second ends and a pivot area therebetween, with said idler wheel being rotatably mounted on said first end; mounting means for mounting said arm at said pivot area to enable said pivot area to move in opposed directions along a line which is substantially perpendicular to said document track while pivoting on said mounting means; resilient means for biasing said idler wheel towards said inactive, position; and an actuator for moving said idler wheel towards said active position against the bias of said resilient means when said actuator is energized. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An idler wheel assembly for use with a document track having a feed wheel located on one side of the document track, the idler wheel assembly comprising;
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a frame for securing said idler wheel assembly to said document track; an idler wheel; and moving means for moving said idler wheel between active and inactive positions with respect to said feed wheel; said moving means comprising; an arm having first and second ends and a pivot area therebetween, with said idler wheel being rotatably mounted on said first end; mounting means for mounting said arm at said pivot area to enable said pivot area to move in opposed directions along a line which is substantially perpendicular to said document track while pivoting on said mounting means when said idler wheel assembly is mounted on said document track; resilient means for biasing said idler wheel towards said inactive position; and an actuator for moving said idler wheel towards said active position against the bias of said resilient means when said actuator is energized. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification