Device for singulating vertically positioned flat mailings from a stack of mail

• US 7,537,207 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2004
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schwarzbauer, Michael, Kutzer, Oliver, Lubben, Hauke
• Primary Examiner(s): Mackey; Patrick H
• Assistant Examiner(s): GONZALEZ, LUIS A
• Application Number:
  US10/577,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20070252321A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 271/34, 271/259, 271/258.01, 271/265.01, 271/270, 271/10.03
• US Class Current: 271/34
• 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 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/35 Spacing
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/10 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2515/34 Pressure, e.g. fluid pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2553/82 with regard to the direction of transport of the handled material
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/04 Endless-belt separators
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/5246 Driven retainers, i.e. the motion thereof being provided by a dedicated drive

Abstract

In a device for singulating vertically positioned flat mailings from a stack of mail, at least two discharge rockers are disposed on top of one another, wherein the discharge rockers are adjacent to revolving second discharge belts that are arranged in a fixed manner along the path of travel. A supporting element in relation to which the stack of mail is aligned ends at a defined distance from the undeflected discharge rockers. A flexible, elongated retaining element is arranged in a resiliently pressed manner from the end of the supporting element to the beginning of the second discharge belts located downstream of the discharge rockers and further on to the discharge rockers and to further discharge belts of successive singulating stages. The distance of the supporting element from the leading end of the second discharge belts relative to the direction of travel is greater than the maximum permissible length of a mailing.

Claims

1. Device for singulating vertically positioned flat mailings from a stack of mail, comprising:

an input area, a transport section and at least one singulating stage located adjacent to the transport section and downstream relative to the a direction of travel of the mailings,

wherein in the input area the stack of mail, aligned in relation to a supporting element, stands on underfloor belts and is held by at least one stack support, and the underfloor belts and the stack supports, at transport the stack of mail to the transport section,

wherein the transport section comprises at least two discharge rockers disposed on top of one another with discharge belts revolving in a driven manner, second discharge belts revolving in a driven manner that are arranged in a fixed manner adjacent thereto and downstream thereof, as well as a driven underfloor belt assigned to the discharge rockers and to the second discharge belts,

wherein a point of rotation of the discharge rockers is pressed by means of a spring force against the stack of mail,

wherein a distance sensor is assigned to each discharge rocker, said distance sensor emitting a drive start signal when there is a defined stack pressure on the respective discharge rocker,

wherein the singulating stage comprises further discharge belts revolving in a driven manner whose speed of travel is higher than a speed of travel of the second discharge belts,

wherein the supporting element ends at a defined distance upstream of the undeflected discharge rockers,

wherein a flexible, elongated retaining element is disposed, said retaining element being arranged in a resiliently pressed manner from an end of the supporting element to a beginning of the second discharge belts and further on to said discharge belts and to the discharge belts of the singulating stage,

wherein a distance from an end of the supporting element to the downstream end of the second discharge belts relative to the direction of travel is greater than a maximum permissible length of a mailing,

and wherein a control of drives of the transport section and of the singulating stage is fashioned such that

at the defined stack pressure on the discharge rockers all the drives of the transport section and of the singulating stage are started,

the drives of the transport section are stopped again or are reduced in speed as soon as a mailing held by the discharge belts of the singulating stage has their speed of travel,

and the drives of the transport section are restarted or switched to their normal discharge speed when a gap before the subsequent mailing is detected by means of a light barrier line disposed along the path of travel.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein low-pressure chambers are disposed behind the second discharge belts and the discharge belts of the further singulating stages, said low-pressure chambers pulling the mailings on to the discharge belts during travel.

3. Device according to claim 2, wherein a low-pressure of the low-pressure chambers of the second discharge belts is less than a low-pressure of the low-pressure chambers of the singulating stage located downstream.

4. Device according to claim 1, wherein stationary scanning rollers or belts running on the mailings are provided for determining mailing speeds.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein an uprighting device with controllably driven friction belts is disposed between the underfloor belts of the input area and the underfloor belt running along the path of travel, said friction belts being drivable such that, when a tilt in a leading part of the mailing stack is identified by means of deflection of the discharge rockers, the leading part of the mailing stack is uprighted.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein a metal sensor for detecting staples is disposed at a transmission between discharge rockers and second discharge belts, said metal sensor emitting, when a staple is detected, a signal to a drive control which responds thereto by reducing a discharge speeds and accelerations until the mailing with the staple has left the singulating device including all singulating stages.

7. Device according to claim 1, wherein a speed of travel of the underfloor belt is lower than that of the discharge belts of the discharge rockers.

8. Device according to claim 1, wherein the point of rotation of the discharge rockers is located at their downstream end on the drive axis.