High speed machine for inserting sheets into envelopes
First Claim
1. A machine for inserting preselected items such as sheets of paper into envelopes, comprising:
- a first table means including an elongate envelope feed conveyor means;
a second table means disposed in substantially parallel relation to said first table means, said second table means including an elongate sheet feed conveyor means, at least one sheet feeder means and at least one sheet pusher means;
a third table means disposed substantially transversely to said first table means and said second table means;
said third table means including an envelope loading station aligned with said elongate envelope feed conveyor means and an envelope insertion station aligned with said elongate sheet feed conveyor means, said envelope loading station and said envelope insertion station being transversely spaced apart with respect to one another;
said envelope loading station including an envelope hopper; and
said elongate envelope feed conveyor means adapted to hold an elongate queue of envelopes aligned with said envelope hopper so that keeping said envelope hopper full of envelopes requires infrequent additions of envelopes to said queue.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A high speed machine that inserts about twelve thousand sheets or stacks of sheets of paper per hour into the same number of envelopes. A first table delivers an elongate horizontal queue of thousands of envelopes to an envelope hopper. A second table, parallel to the first table, includes a plurality of independently-controllable sheet feeders and delivers individual groups of stacked sheets to an envelope insertion station that is transversely spaced apart from the envelope hopper. A third table is disposed transversely to the first two tables and includes the envelope insertion station. Clamps carried by an elongate sprocket chain mounted in the third table sequentially remove envelopes from the bottom of the envelope hopper and pull them past an envelope flap-opening structure to the envelope insertion station where the envelopes are opened by a puff of air. The envelopes are then pulled past a moistening device, an envelope flap-closing device, and a roller that seals the envelopes and ejects them from the third table to a collection station. Pusher members that push the sheets into the envelopes at the envelope insertion station are mounted on a high speed rotary assembly that eliminates the back-and-forth motion of earlier pusher members.
43 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A machine for inserting preselected items such as sheets of paper into envelopes, comprising:
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a first table means including an elongate envelope feed conveyor means; a second table means disposed in substantially parallel relation to said first table means, said second table means including an elongate sheet feed conveyor means, at least one sheet feeder means and at least one sheet pusher means; a third table means disposed substantially transversely to said first table means and said second table means; said third table means including an envelope loading station aligned with said elongate envelope feed conveyor means and an envelope insertion station aligned with said elongate sheet feed conveyor means, said envelope loading station and said envelope insertion station being transversely spaced apart with respect to one another; said envelope loading station including an envelope hopper; and said elongate envelope feed conveyor means adapted to hold an elongate queue of envelopes aligned with said envelope hopper so that keeping said envelope hopper full of envelopes requires infrequent additions of envelopes to said queue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification