Envelope feeding apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for serially feeding envelopes along a path of travel so as to facilitate the further processing thereof, and comprisinga support table which includes a generally flat upper surface,an envelope stop fixed to said upper surface so as to define a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction which is perpendicular thereto,envelope feeder means positioned on said upper surface of said support table at a location laterally spaced from said stop so as to define an envelope receiving position therebetween, and for serially delivering envelopes in the lateral direction into engagement with the stop and so as to overlie the envelope receiving position,envelope conveying means mounted to said support table for conveying each envelope received at the envelope receiving position along a longitudinal path of travel on the upper surface,means adjustably interconnecting the envelope feeder means and said support table so as to permit the lateral spacing between said envelope feeder means and said stop to be adjusted to thereby vary the lateral dimension of the envelope receiving position and accommodate envelopes of varying size, said means adjustably interconnecting the envelope feeder means and the stop including adjustable linkage means directly interconnecting the stop and the envelope feeder means, with said linkage means having a variable lateral dimension and including locking means for locking the same in a selected lateral dimension, andwherein said envelope feeder means includes a feeder having a frame which rests upon said upper surface of said support table so as to permit sliding movement of said feeder on said upper surface when said locking means is released, and such that the linkage means maintains the alignment of the feeder with the stop during such sliding movement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for serially feeding envelopes along a longitudinal path of travel and which includes a support table, an envelope feeder mounted to the support table for feeding envelopes individually from the bottom of a vertical stack of envelopes in a lateral direction to an envelope receiving position on the table, and an envelope conveying system for feeding the envelopes from the envelope receiving position along a longitudinal path of travel and through a plurality of processing stations, such as a flap opening station and a product insertion station. The feeder is directly connected to a fixed envelope stop on the table by an adjustable linkage so as to define the envelope receiving position between the stop and the feeder, and so that the lateral position of the feeder may be readily adjusted on the table to change the dimension of the envelope receiving position and thereby accommodate envelopes of varying size.
50 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for serially feeding envelopes along a path of travel so as to facilitate the further processing thereof, and comprising
a support table which includes a generally flat upper surface, an envelope stop fixed to said upper surface so as to define a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction which is perpendicular thereto, envelope feeder means positioned on said upper surface of said support table at a location laterally spaced from said stop so as to define an envelope receiving position therebetween, and for serially delivering envelopes in the lateral direction into engagement with the stop and so as to overlie the envelope receiving position, envelope conveying means mounted to said support table for conveying each envelope received at the envelope receiving position along a longitudinal path of travel on the upper surface, means adjustably interconnecting the envelope feeder means and said support table so as to permit the lateral spacing between said envelope feeder means and said stop to be adjusted to thereby vary the lateral dimension of the envelope receiving position and accommodate envelopes of varying size, said means adjustably interconnecting the envelope feeder means and the stop including adjustable linkage means directly interconnecting the stop and the envelope feeder means, with said linkage means having a variable lateral dimension and including locking means for locking the same in a selected lateral dimension, and wherein said envelope feeder means includes a feeder having a frame which rests upon said upper surface of said support table so as to permit sliding movement of said feeder on said upper surface when said locking means is released, and such that the linkage means maintains the alignment of the feeder with the stop during such sliding movement.
Specification