In-feed magazine apparatus and method for loading documents

• US 5,829,742 A
• Filed: 07/17/1996
• Issued: 11/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bell & Howell LLC (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Bowe Bell & Howell Company
• Inventors: Faber, Thomas, Wisniewski, Michael, Rabindran, K. George, O'Callaghan, John S., Guenther, Kenneth, Fillcicchia, David, Kerstein, Mel, Kalika, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Milef, Boris
• Application Number:
  US08/725,079
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 271/31.1, 271/150, 271/151, 271/158, 271/159, 414/788.8, 414/790.7, 414/790.3, 414/795.8
• US Class Current: 271/150
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 1/025 with controlled positively-acting mechanical devices for advancing the pile to present the articles to the separating device
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 1/30 with means for replenishing the pile during continuous separation of articles therefrom B65H1/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/11 indicating that the input or output entities exclusively relate to machine elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/214 Inclination
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/10 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1916 Envelopes and articles of mail

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.

Claims

1. 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.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the forward paddle is rotatable about a second axis parallel to the second axis such that upward rotation of the forward paddle about the linear axis disengages the forward paddle from between the first and second stack of documents causing the second stack of documents to merge into the first stack of documents.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the forward paddle is selectively disengagable from the paddle transport mechanism and linearly displaceable along the second axis when in the upwardly rotated position, and the rear paddle is selectively disengagable from the one or more conveyor belts and linearly displaceable along the second axis.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein disengagement of the forward paddle from between the first and second stacks of documents, subsequent rearward linear displacement of the forward paddle to a position adjacent and forward of the rear paddle, and subsequent rearward linear displacement of the rear paddle causes the second stack of documents to merge into the first stack of documents such that additional documents placed between the forward paddle and the rear paddle form the second stack of documents.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the forward paddle includes a gear mechanism in selective operative communication with the paddle transport mechanism configured to permit displacement of the forward paddle in the forward direction.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the gear mechanism is in operative communication with the paddle transport mechanism when the forward paddle is in a downwardly rotated position and is disengaged from the paddle transport mechanism when the forward paddle is in an upwardly rotated position.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the gear mechanism includes a one-way clutch that allows the gear mechanism to rotate in a clockwise direction and does not allow rotation in a counter-clockwise direction to permit forward linear displacement of the forward paddle relative to the paddle transport mechanism when the forward paddle is in the downwardly rotated position.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a spacer projecting from a front surface of the rear paddle to separate the second stack of documents from the rear paddle by a predetermined distance, and a channel disposed in the front paddle configured to engage the spacer during rotation of the forward paddle when the forward paddle is disposed in front of and adjacent to the rear paddle.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the channel in the forward paddle is curved forming a locus corresponding to an arc defined by rotation of the forward paddle about a second axis parallel to the linear axis such that the locus of the channel engages the spacer during rotation of the forward paddle about the second axis.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the spacer projects through a portion of the channel when the forward paddle is disposed in front of and adjacent to the rear paddle.

11. 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).

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of upwardly rotating the forward paddle disengages the paddle from a paddle transport mechanism to allow forward and rearward linear displacement of the forward paddle.

13. The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of downwardly rotating the forward paddle places the forward paddle in a position forward and adjacent the rear paddle and between the rear paddle and the first stack of documents such that the first stack of documents disposed adjacent the rear paddle are not displaced by the forward paddle.