Method and apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles from multiple input paths
First Claim
1. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions;
(b) a plurality of individual sheet input paths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input paths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles;
(c) an output path for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack;
(d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input oaths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input oaths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; and
(e) wherein the plurality of individual sheet input paths comprises at least three sheet input paths.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for assembling a plurality of sheet articles into a document includes a plurality of individual sheet input paths along which one or more sheet articles can be advanced, and a central accumulation area for accumulating the sheet articles. The central accumulation area includes a single-level accumulation surface for receiving one or more sheet articles advanced from each individual sheet input path and accumulating the sheet articles in a single stack. The central accumulation area can receive sheet articles from two or more different directions. The sheet articles can optionally be staged for accumulation into subsets prior to advancement to the central accumulation area. The central accumulation area advances the assembled document into an output path.
56 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input paths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input paths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output path for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input oaths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input oaths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; and (e) wherein the plurality of individual sheet input paths comprises at least three sheet input paths.
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2. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input oaths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input oaths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output path for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input oaths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input paths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; and (e) wherein at least first and second individual sheet input paths are configured to advance sheet articles into the central accumulation area from opposite sides of the central accumulation area. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input paths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input oaths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output oath for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input paths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input paths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; and (e) wherein the accumulator module comprises a transport surface generally disposed at a higher elevation than the central accumulation area, a sheet feeding device for feeding sheet articles along the transport surface, and a stop gate alternately movable between a closed position at which sheet articles are prevented from being fed into the central accumulation area and an open position at which sheet articles are permitted to be fed into the central accumulation area. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input oaths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input oaths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output oath for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input paths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input paths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (e) wherein one of the sheet input paths is an in-line sheet input path oriented generally along the same direction as the output path to define an in-line path through the central accumulation area; and (f) wherein the central accumulation area comprises an upstream end interfacing with the in-line sheet input path, a downstream end interfacing with the output path, a center pocket terminating generally at the downstream end for receiving sheet articles from the sheet input paths, and a center pocket adjustment device movable toward and away from the upstream end for adjusting a longitudinal length of the center pocket. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; a plurality of individual sheet input oaths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input paths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output oath for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input paths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input oaths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (e) wherein the central accumulation area comprises an output device for driving the assembled sheet stack into the output path; and (f) wherein the output device comprises a shuttle plate longitudinally movable along a surface of the central accumulation area, and the shuttle plate comprises a first section on which the sheet articles accumulate and a second section facing a trailing edge of the sheet articles.
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12. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving and combining in a single stack sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input oaths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, one or more of the sheet input paths having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output Path for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling one or more of the individual sheet input oaths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for causing the accumulator module of the one or more individual sheet input paths to accumulate and/or stage the sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to cause the accumulator module to advance the sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (e) wherein the central accumulation area comprises an output device for driving the assembled sheet stack into the output path; and (f) wherein the central accumulation area comprises a stop gate movable between a closed position at which the sheet articles are prevented from being transported into the output path and an open position at which the assembled sheet stack is permitted to be transported into the output path. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. An apparatus for merging multiple sheet paths, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a central accumulation area for receiving and combining in a single stack one or more sheet articles from at least two different directions; (b) a plurality of individual sheet input paths for advancing sheet articles from the at least two different directions to the central accumulation area, each sheet input oath having an accumulator module adjacent to the central accumulation area, the accumulator module adapted to accumulate and/or stage one or more sheet articles prior to advancement of the sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; (c) an output oath for advancing an assembled single stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area as a sheet stack; (d) a controller operatively connected with and controlling the individual sheet input paths based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles in the central accumulation area, the controller being adapted for selectively causing the accumulator module of each of the individual sheet input oaths to accumulate and/or stage sheet articles prior to advancement of sheet articles to the central accumulation area or to advance sheet articles to the central accumulation area at a predetermined time without accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles; and (e) wherein the accumulator module comprises a transport surface generally disposed at a higher elevation than the central accumulation area, a sheet feeding device for feeding sheets along the transport surface, and a stop gate alternately movable between a closed position at which sheets are prevented from being fed into the central accumulation area and an open position at which sheets are permitted to be fed into the central accumulation area. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method for merging multiple sheet paths, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) advancing one or more sheet articles along each of a plurality of individual sheet input paths from at least two different directions; (b) based upon predetermined information for assembling a stack of sheet articles, selectively advancing the one or more sheet articles from each of the individual sheet input paths in a predetermined sequence into a central accumulation area or selectively accumulating and/or staging one or more of the sheet articles adjacent to the central accumulation area and then advancing the accumulated and/or staged sheet articles to the central accumulation area; and (c) accumulating and combining the sheet articles advanced from the individual sheet input paths into a single stack of two or more sheet articles in the central accumulation area and advancing the single stack of sheet articles out of the central accumulation area as a sheet stack into an output path. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of assembling a document, the method comprising:
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(a) advancing one or more sheet articles along each of a plurality of sheet paths toward a central accumulation area from at least two different directions; (b) reading code data printed on one or more of the sheet articles advanced along the plurality of sheet paths; and (c) assembling and combining sheet articles advanced from the plurality of sheet paths together into a predetermined stack of two or more sheet articles in the central accumulation area by advancing the sheet articles to the central accumulation area in a predetermined sequence based upon the read code data and by selectively accumulating and/or staging the sheet articles adjacent to the central accumulation area prior to advancement to the central accumulation area or selectively advancing the sheet articles to the central accumulation area without prior accumulation and/or staging of the sheet articles. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. An apparatus for assembling a stack of sheet articles, the apparatus comprising:
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(a) a plurality of individual sheet input paths along which one or more sheet articles can be advanced; (b) a central accumulation area comprising a single-level accumulation surface for receiving one or more sheet articles advanced from each individual sheet input path and from at least two different directions, and for assembling the sheet articles into a single stack of two or more sheet articles; (c) an output path for advancing an assembled sheet stack of two or more sheet articles from the central accumulation area; (d) at least one accumulator module for accumulating sheet articles of a corresponding sheet input path into a subset and feeding the subset to the central accumulation area; (e) wherein the at least one accumulator module comprises a transport surface generally disposed at a higher elevation than the central accumulation area, a sheet feeding device for feeding sheet articles along the transport surface, and a stop gate alternately movable between a closed position at which sheet articles are prevented from being fed into the central accumulation area and an open position at which sheet articles are permitted to be fed into the central accumulation area; and (f) wherein the at least one accumulator module comprises an actuator-driven rocker arm comprising a front portion, a rear portion and a rocker arm axis between the front and rear portions, the front and rear portions are pivotable about the rocker arm axis, and wherein the sheet feeding device of the at least one accumulator module comprises a roller mounted to the rear portion and the stop gate is mounted to the front portion.
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Specification