CA1047962A - Sheet feeding system - Google Patents

Abstract

SHEET FEEDING SYSTEM
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An in-line inserter device comprises envelope and insert feeding assemblies, a stuffing-station assembly and a sealing and stacking assembly. The envelope feeding assembly withdraws envelopes from a hopper-held envelope stack and conveys them, first with an accelerating conveyor and then with an endless conveyor, along an involute path toward the stuffing station. Mistake detecting rolls are positioned slightly downstream of ejection rolls for detecting mistakes and indicating when more than one mistake is made. The insert feeding assembly comprises a plurality of hopper-held insert stacks which are positioned in line with an insert conveyor. The insert conveyor carries dispensed inserts from the hopper-held insert stacks to the stuffing station. The stuffing station assembly coordinates operation of the insert and envelope feeding assemblies in a special way to efficiently accomplish the stuffing of the inserts into the envelopes. Subsequent to such stuffing, filled envelopes are conveyed from the stuffing station, sealed, and stacked by the sealing and stacking assembly.

Description

1~4~g6Z
This application is a ~livision oE Canadi~n Serial No.
249,6~3, filed April 6, 1976.
SHEET FEEDING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ~:
This invention relates to apparatus for handling business mail and, in particular, it relates to in-line envelope inserter devices.
Many present mechanical devices for stuffing inserts into envelopes employ conveyors for conveying envelopes along a path while raciprocating jaws, moving laterally to the envelope path, stuff inserts into the ~ -~
envelopes. In many cases, the envelopes are stopped at each ~:
stuffing station and a respective jaw thereat is activated.
'rhese types of inserter devices are rather jerky and vibra-tional in operation, so that undue wear is caused thereto over long periods of time and their~accuracy is thereby ;
impalred.
~ Thus, it is an object of one aspect of this invention ,~ ~
to provide an inserter which is not undul~ jerky~in operation, -~ ~;
but which provides smooth, continuous motions.
It is an object of an aspect of this invention to pro~ide such an inserter assembly which can be compact i~
size, but yet is efficient and accurate in operation.

~- ~
A difficulty that has been encountered ~.n some prior art in-line sheet feeders is that when in-line sheet~ ; -hopper~s thereof are operated simultaneously, a significantly high-power requirement to drive all the hoppers together is ::
brought ahout. Thus, it is an object of another aspec~ of ~; this in~ention to provide an in-line sheet feeding appara~ls which does not have an unduly large power requirèment to~ ;

drive~hoppers.
~30 4t7962 SUMMARY
Thus, the invention con-templates a sheet feeding system which comprises shee-t supply means for supplying sheets one at a time, and sheet transportiny means ~or receiving the supplied sheets, transporting the sheets along ~ -an initial sheet path while simultaneously orienting the supplied sheets to have a predetermined attitude relative to the sheet transporting means, and thereafter transporting -the supply sheets along a curved sheet path while maintaining;~
the predetermined attitude relative to the sheet transporting -~
means. That sheet transporting means comprises a curved ;~
endless conveyor having clamps mounted thereon for gripping ~-and transporting the sheets in the curved path while maintaining the sheets ln the predetermined attitude, and with the clamps including a means for opening the clamps at ~
appropriate times to receive and to release the sheets and ~-closing the clamps at appropriate times to grip the sheets.
The improvement is provided wherein the sheet transporting means further includes a fast-speed endless conveyor, a :: ... . .
low-speed endless conveyor, and an elongated brush positioned ~ -, .
ad~acent to the curved endless conveyor. The fast-~and low-speed endless conveyors are adjacent to the initial sheet path and are positioned on the same side of the initial sheet-path following parallel, laterally spaced, paths, and the elongated brush is positioned on the opposite .:
side of the initial sheet path from the fast- and low-speed conveyors~for continuously urging sheets travelling along ~`
the initial sheet path against the fast speed conveyor, with the fast- and low-speed conveyors and the brush receiving the supplied sheets and transporting them to the cl~mps.
; The speed endless conveyor has pins thereon against which , ' :

~L()4~7916Z
the fast-speed endless conveyor drives and, in cooperation with the brush, holds the supplied sheets to thereby orient .~.
the supplied sheets to have the predetermined attitude relative ; -;~
to the sheet transporting means. The fast- and low-speed endless conveyors and the brush are located relative to the clamps of the curved endless conveyor such that the sheets ~ .
are held against the pins by the fast-speed endless conveyor .:
and the brush as they enter and are clamped by the clamps - :
of the curved endless conveyor to maintain the predetermined attitude.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other features, and advantages . .:
of embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the ~ .
following more particular description of said embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like .
~. :
reference:characters refer to the same parts throughout the :; ; .
: different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, - .
emphasis being placed instead on illustrating principles in a clear manner.
: , .
:~ 20 FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an in-line inserter . :' according to the invention;
: ~ FIG. 2 is a side view of apparatus~associated with .
an envelope path of travel in the apparatus of FIG. 1, with :~ some elements thereof being.depicted schematically;
FIG. 3 is an isometric, partially schematic, drawing of a pull-foot insert feeding device for the in-line . inserter of FIG. 1 including a mistake detector; .

r ` ~ .

~ ;.

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~.. ,- , ~.. . . ,, ,. .,: . . . , , -, - - . . ~ . . . . . .

1047g62 FIG. 3a is a secti.on taken of a porti.on o~ t~e FIG. 3 device depict.ing the mist~ke detector in more detail; ..
FIG. 4 iS a side, partially schematic, view of a portion of another-embodiment envelope dispensing and conveying mechanism to be used with the in-line inserter of FIG. l;
FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken line 4a-4a o FIG.
4; ~
FIG~ 4b is a side view of yet a third embodiment ;~ :
of envelope dispensing and conveying mechanisms to be used in the in-line inserter of FIG. l;
' FIG. 5 is an isometric view of apparatus associated with a stuffing station of the inserter of FIG. l; ;
PIGS. ~ and 7 are additional isometric views of ;.
apparatus associated with the stuffing station at different points in time during its sequence of operation; .
FIG.. 8 is a partially cutaway isometric view of :: ~:
. pusher arms and associated structures; and - ~ ~ FIG. 9 is an isometric view of apparatus forming a .
: portion of the sealing and stacking system of the in-line inserter of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
~,: :
Referring to the elements of the invention as embodied in the drawings, an overall in-line inserter assembly 10 (FIG. 1) basically comprising four independently operating, ~ ~-but cooperating subsystems as follows: a stuffing station 12, with associated structure~; an insert system 14 for furnishing inserts from insert hoppers 16a-d and conveying . .
them;toward the stuffing station 12i an envelope sys-tem 18 ~: - for furnishing envelopes from an envelope hopper 20 and ~ 30 conveyin~ them toward:the stuffing station 12 at which the :

: _ 4 _ , , :

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~l047~6Z

envelopes are mated with the in~erts; and a seal.incJ and stacking system 22 which handles stuf~ed ~nvelopes.
Describing first an embodiment of the envelope system 18, with reference ~o FIG. 2, bottom-most envelopes in a hopper-held stack 24 are withdrawn, one at a time, by a -pull-foot feeding device 26 in the manner described in a commonly assigned United States Patent No. 4,013,283, March 22, 1977, Winston A. Orsinger and Norwood E. Tress for a Pull-Foot Sheet Feeding Device. As described in the Applicant's U.S. Patent No. .~

4,060,228, a bottom-most envelope is bent : -:
away ~rom the hopper-held stack 24 by a reciprocating suction cup 28. The pull-foot feeding device 26 is then cammed to a position between the bottom-most envelope and the hopper- ~-held stack 24. A b~ttom roller 30 is also cammed upwardly on an arm 32 to pinch the bottom-most envelope between the heel of the puil-foot feeding device 26 and the hottom roller 30. The pull-foot feeding device 26 is then cammed outwardly, away from the hopper-held stack 24, to the right in FIG. 2, pulling the bottom-most envelope with it until the bottom-most envelope is finally gripped by driven ejection : --rolls 33. The ejection rolls 33 feed the envelope to fas-ter~
driYen transfer rolls 34. Thus, the envelope's speed is .
gradually accel~rated to that of a gripper-jaw transport chain 36. It might be noted that the ejection rolls 33 are one-way clutched so that their speed can be increased to follow that of an envelope as it is driven faster by the transfer rolls 34.
Gripper jaws 38 are mounted on the gripper-jaw ;~
, transport chain 36 for gripping envelopes received from the transEer rolls 3~ and delivering them to the stu~E:ing s~a~i.on :~ . , ;',~ '; ' ~ 5 ~

:1047962 :~

1~... The gripper-jaw chai.n 36 is driv~n in the direction .:
indicated by arrows in FIG. 2 and its relative positi.on is -~
coordinated by a timing chaln (not shown) with the position of the pull-foot feeding device 26 such that a gripper jaw 38a is in an appropriate position to recei.ve an envelope fed by the pull-foot feeding device 26, as is depicted in FIG. 2.
In this respect, the gripper jaws.38 are opened and closed at appropriate times for gripping and releasing envelopes :
by stationary, grip-and-release cams 40a and b. .
Describing the journey of a single envelope from .~ ;
the transfer rolls 34 to the stuffing station 12, a gripper jaw 38 grasps the single envelope and draws it past a rotating sucker foot 40 which serves to initiate opening of the envelope's flap. As the envelope is drawn past the rotating sucker.foot 40 the sucker foot 40 grips the envelope's flap for a predetermined period of time and then releases it.
The rotational speed of the sucker foot 40 is related to ~:
that of the gripper jaw transport chain 36 such that the ~:.; sucker foot partially opens the flap. ~ : :
2a ~ ~ ~ As the envelope is moved further along the path of the gripper jaw transport chain 36, it is drawn past a .::
. stationary rake 42 which serves to fully open the envelope's ~: , flap.
The grippe.r jaw transport chain 36 then conveys .
. the envelope around a sprocket 44 and partially around a . - sprocket 45 to the insert stuffing station 12. Upon arriving at the stuffing station 12, the envelope rides up onto a :~
stripping ramp 4G whereupon the cam 40b opens the gripper ;~ : : jaw 38 and the envelope is pinched between driven, envelope ~ 30 positioning rollers 48.and idlex-type pressure belts 50 .

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10~796Z
(See also FIG. 5). The envelope positlonincJ roller~ ~8 extend sligh~ly above the top surface of the stripping ramp 46 through slots 51 (FIG. 5) in the strippiny ramp 46.
The idler-type pressure belts 50 ridc on pullcys 52, 54 and 56. Supporting arms 59 are fixed to a controlling ', -~
shaft 58 and the pulleys 52, 54 and 56 are rotatably mounted on the supporting arms 59. The pressure belts can thus be lowered into position, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, at the same moment that the gripper jaw 38 is opened to release an envelope. Thus the envelope positioning rollers 48 and the pressure belts 50 assume full control over the envelope as the gripper jaw 38 drops below the level of the stuffing station and proceeds on its return route to the envelope hopper 20. The driven, envelope positioning rollers 48 are programmed to stop rotating with the envelope held in a ~', ;' stufflng position, which is illustrated in FIG. 7. A flap ~ ' holder (not shown) is then rotated upwardly to grip the ,~ envelope's flap between the flap holder and an insert track ~ ,~
69 which will be described in more detail below. The :,, 20 envelope's main body is thusly held ready to be opened to '-receive inserts.
, Sucker feet 62 are fixedly mounted on a separate ,' controlling sha~t (not shown) for rotation therewith. This 'o ,~
:
separate controlling shaft rotates concurrently with the controlling shaft 58. After suction is'applied to the ;-- sucker feet 62, so that they grip the top side of an envelope, '~
~ .
the,sucker feet 62 are rotated upwardly, at the same time that controlling,shaft 58 lifts the pxessure belts 50. Thus, the top side of the envelope in the stuffing position is pulled upwardly by the sucker feet so that the envelope is _ 7 _ 796;2 now opened. Boxinc3 fingers 6~, which are mountcd on a lateral reciprocatin~ sllaft 66, are moved in~o s~lch an OpCIl envelope to maintain it in this receiving, open position, as in FIG. 7.
Turning next to the insert system, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 8, inserts are fed from insert hoppers 16a-d onto an insert track 69 (FIG. 8) by means of a pull-foot ' feed mechanisms of the same type as the pull-foot device 26 ~-described above with the envelope system 18. It is not thougilt necessary to describe this mechanism again here. An lnsert which is pulled away from one of hopper-held stacks 70 (FIG. l) is delivered by a set of transfer rolls 72 onto ' ' the insert track 69, which is situated below the insert ~;
hoppers 16a-d. The insert track (shown in FIG. 8) includes spaced sets of pusher pi~s 74 carried on continuously-moving ;constant speed conveyor chains 76. The conveyor chains 76 progress in the direction of the stuffing station 12 (FIG.
1), in~the same direction in which the inserts are withdrawn from the hoppers 16a-d. ~ ' The hoppers 16a-d are arranged so that they are ~
. .. .
operated alternately 1n phase. Elaborating on this, hoppers 16a and c deposit their inserts onto the insert track at the .. . . .
~' same time, and hoppers 16b and d deposit their inserts at ' '`

'`` the same~time, but 180 out of phase with hoppers 16 a and '~
, . . . . .
~" c. This staggered phase relationship of the hoppers, which ' " ' ~' can be adjusted depending on the sizes of the inserts, is desi~ned to smooth out the insert hopper's power requirements and to allo~ a low insert conveyor chain velocity. '~

The conveyor-chain's sets of pusher-pins 74 are spaced'closer together than the distance between the ; ~ :
.
:
. ~ ., : - - - ~

~L04796~2 resp~ctive ins~rk hoppers 16~-d (ten incllcs ap~lr~ comL~clrccl to fifteen inches between the ;~oppers). Such a distance ratio permits the use of relatively low velocity conveyor chains 76 for the insert track while, at the same time, permitting each of the hoppers to dispense an insert in front of each pusher-pin set while maintaining the staggered pha~e dispensing process explained above. This phasing and spacing relationship, while permitting relatively even power consumption and a moderate chain speed, also aids in avoiding vibrational problems, high wear rates and material handling problems.
As mentioned above, the conveyor chains 76 are continuously moving, thus, it is necessary that the insert hoppers 16a-d be programmed to deliver inserts in timed ~;
sequences witA the sets of pusher pins so that inserts from -~
each of the insert hoppers 16a-d are deposited on the insert track 69 in front of the appropriate pusher pin sets. A
timing chain (not shown) is provided for this purpose.
As is best illustrated in FIGS. 6 through 8, ~; ~
20 pusher arms 78 are-mounted for reciprocating movement on the ~ ~ ;
overall in-line inserter frame in the path of the insert track 69, downstream of the insert hoppers 16a-d. The ~ : ;
structure for reciprocating the`pusher arms 78 in slots 80 is not depicted in the drawings and is not described for the sake of simplicity. In any event, end blocks 82 (one shown) simultaneously slide in oppositely located slots 80 and carry with them a pusher-arm shaft 84. The pusher-arm shat 84 is rotatably mounted in the end blocks 82 and a mechanism (not shown) located at the slots 80 causes positive rotation of the pusher-arm shaft 84 in a seq~lence to be described _ g _ .' ' ' ' . ' ' , ~.

~4 below~ The pusher-arms 78 are rigidl~ clamped to the pusher~arm shaft 84 by clamps 86.
The feet 88 of the pusher-arms 78 ride on subtracks go (FIG. 8) of the insert track 69 when the pusher-arms 78 are being used to push an insert pile toward envelopes located at the stuffing station 12. However, when the -pusher-arms 78 are retracted, back toward the insert hoppers, the pusher-arm shaft 84 is rotated in a clockwise direction to raise the pusher-arms 78 away from the insert track 69 so that they can pass over an insert pile (not illustrated) that is being pushed along the insert track 69 by the pusher-pins 74. -~
-Once the feet 88 pass over the insert pile, the pusher-arm shaft 84 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction so that the feet once again, move onto the subtracks 90. Now the ;
mechanism (not shown) for driving the end blocks 82 begins to move the pusher arms 78 toward the stuffing station at an increasing speed until the feet 88 of the pusher-arm 78 overtake the insert pile and finally shove it onto an open, -~-or boxed, envelope at the stuffing station.
Turning next to the sealing and stacking system 22, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 ana 9, after an envelope has been stuffed, it is conveyed by the pressure belts 50 and the envelope positioning rollers 48 (FIG. 2) to an envelope guide 92, which causes the bottoms of the envelopes to drop downwardly into a vertical track 94. A speciàl envelope guide 96 (FIGS. 2 and 9) is located at the down-stream end of envelopes as they drop into the vertical track 94 which causes the downstream ends of the envelopes to b~
closer to a track wall 98 than does the other guide 92.
Further, the downstream ends of the envelopes fall onto a iO47962 firs~ conveying roller 100 (FIG. 9). The first conveying roller 100, by rota~ing in the direction indicated in FIG.
9, causes the downstream ends of the envelopes to move between the firs~ conveying roller 100 and and the wa~l 98 and also, to be conveyed toward a second conveying roller .
102 and a conveying belt 104. The envelope..; are conveyed by these elements into a flap moistener 106.
The flap moistener 106 comprises a collvoluted guid~
108 to guide envelope flaps to positions normal to the main bodies of the envelopes. In these positions, the envelope flaps are passed over a moistener (not shown) located beneath -~",~' a moistener plate 110. The envelopes are transported beyond the flap moistener 106 by a further conveying roller 112 until ,~
they come to a flap closing bar 114. The flap closing bar ,~
114, is bent so that it guides the envelope flaps down-~ardly .;
and finally urges them inta positions approximately adjacent with the main bodies of the envelopes. The envelopes are ~
then passed between pressure rollers ~not shown) which press ;~ ,' . .
,the flaps tightly against the m?.. in bodies of the envelopes ~:' so that glue on the flaps adheres to the main bodies, there~y sealing the envelopes. The envelopes are then conveyed to an ;~

' envelope stacking rack 116 (FIG. 1).
'~
', , Describing now to the operation of the over-all device, envelopes are individually fed from a hopper-held ', ,stack 24 (FIG. 2) by means of a pull-foot.feeding device ' ';
, 26 and rollers 33 and 34 to gripper jaws 38 at the gripper- '' ~jaw chain 36. The gripper-jaws 38 transport and release the '' envelopes, individually, to the pressure belts 50 and the ~ envelope positioniny rollers 48 at the stuffing station 12.
;~ 30 Upon arriving at the stuffing station 12, the .' ' . , ~, . , -- 11 -- , ~. ' ' ' ~' :, . .- - ,,. ~ . - - - ~ ,, 16)4796Z
envelopes are gripped by thc sucke~ f~et G2 whi.ch ~Ire raised, along with the p.ressure belts 50, to open ~he envc].opcs. ~t:
this point, boxiny fingers 6~ are moved i.nto the envelopes to insure that they are held open.
Simultaneously with the above recited steps, inserts from each of ~he insert hoppers 16a-d (Fi~. 1) are dropped, one on top of the other, onto the insert track 69 (FIG. 7) in front of respective pusher pin ~4 sets (FIG. 8). The pusher pin sets push the respective insert piles along the insert track 69, toward the stuffing station 12. sefore each pile reaches the stuffing station 12, it is first passed over and then overtaken by the feet 88 of the pusher-arms 78. The insert stack 91 (Fig. 6) i.s now under the control of ~he pusher arms.78 and while an envelope is held open a-t -thc s-tufEiny station, the pusher arms 78 drive the insert stack 91 into the awaiting open envelope (F~g- 7).
Following insert-pile insertion, the pusher arms are raised and withdrawn to pick up the next insert stack and the boxing fingers 64 are extracted from the open envelope.
The envelope is released by the sucker feet 62 and the con~
trol~ing shaft 5~ (FIG. 5) is rotated so that the pressure ~ ~.
belts 50 again press the stuffed envelope toward the envelope positioning rollers 48. The envelopes are driven, by the envelope positioning rollers 48, bottom edge first, toward the rounded guide 92 (FIGS. 2 and 9) to finally fall into the vertical track 94.
Once in the vertical track, the envelopes are conveyed by the ~irst and second conveyiny rollers 100 and 102 and the conve~ing belt 10~ (FIG. 12) through the flap 30 moistener 106, the flap closing bar 114 and finally, to the .. ~ . . ....

104 ;99~
envelope stacking rack 116.
Describin~ next a mistake-detector accessory (FIG.
3) which is used with the in-line inserter described above for detecting when the insert and envelope systems are dispensing too many or not enough envelopes, and using the ~ :
same reference numbers for elements corresponding to elements .~.
already described, with reference to the sets of ejection ~.
rolls 33, depicted in FIG. 3, each set includes ~pper and lower ejection rolls~33a and 33b. The lower ejection rolls :
10 33b are mounted on stationary frame members 118. However, ;~
the upper ejection rolls 33a are mounted on ejection roll ~ ~
levers 120 (not shown for the left upper ejection roll 20a ~:
for the sake of simplicity). The ejection roll levers 120 are pivotally mounted on stationary frame members 122 and are biased by springs 124 to urge the upper ejection rolls 33a toward the lower ejection rolls 33b to thereby hold sheets between the upper and lower rolls, but to also allow the upper and lower ejection rolls 33a and b to part so that an undue number of simultaneously fed sheets can pass between ; 20 the rolls. -. Mounted adjacent to one of the sets of ejection rolls is a mistake, or double/miss detector 126. Th~ double/miss -~
detector comprises a lower, stationary, metallic detection roll 128 which is concentric with, and approximately equal in `
size to, the lower ejection rolls 33b. An upper detection ` roll 130 is mounted on a detection lever 132 (FIG. 3a~ which .
is pivotally mounted to the frame 134. The upper ejection ;.

roll 33a is shown in FIG. 3a, however, the ejection roll lever ;~

120 on which the upper-ejection roll 33a is mounted is not shown in FIG. 3a for the sake of clarity~ It can be seen in FIG. 3a .:
- 13 - ~
' 4~62 that the upp~r cletcction roll 130 forms a nip 136 wit~l the lower detection roll 128, which is sl.i~h~ly clO~n~tr~aM o~ the nip formed between the upper and lower ejection rolls 33a and 33b.
The detection lever 132 includes a riyid detection feeler 138 which moves with the detection lever 132. The detection lever 132 is mounted at a pivot 140 to a portion of the stationary frame 134. A point arm 142 is also pivotally attached to a recessed portion 144 of the stationary frame 10 134 at a pivot 146. The point arm 142 is held in a stationary position against the tip of an.adjusting screw 148, which is ~ .
screwed into a portion 150 of the frame 134, by a contracting spring 152 which is mounted between the frame 134 and the ~. :
point arm 142. :
The point arm 142 has a "double" electrical contact 154 and a "miss" electrical contact 156. :. -:
With reference to FIG. 3, the double and miss :.
. electrical contacts 154 and 156 are respectively attached to : -counters 158 and 160 which count up to predetemined amounts and~then eject signals to a machine shutdown control 162.
The counters 158 and 160 accept signals received from the double and miss electrical contacts 154 and 156 at times :: :
; selected by a clock 164. The clock 164 is in turn, driven . ~ ~.
~ by a linkage with the pull-foot feed devices 26 to provide -:
a clock pulse for each reciprocation of the.pull-foot feeding .
devic~es 26. In another embodiment, not shown, a reset :. dete tor is provided for resetting the counters 158 and 160 in response to each proper feed. Thus, only consecutive ~-mistakes can activate the machine shut-down control 162 in ~:
30 this embodiment. .

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~479~iZ
In operationl the ejcctlon rolls 33a ~nd b ~ip an envelope that is fed by t~le pull-foot fecdincJ deviccs 26 and the -~
bottom rollers 30. The ~jection roll sets 33a and b positively transport these envelopes or inserts to the nip of the lower and upper detection rolls 128 and 130, the clock 164 is energized by linkage with the pull-foot feeding devices 26 to provide pulses to the counters 158 and 160. If ~he envelope is of the right thickness, the detection teeler 13B is not touching either of the double or miss electrical contacts 10 154 or 156 and no signal reaches the counters 158 or 160.
Howevex, if there is either a double or a missed envelope or insert, the detection feeler 138 will touch respectively the double or miss electrical contact 154 or 156 to thereby complete an electrical circuit to a respective counter and a signal will respectively be fed to that counter. In this ~;
- event, however, the pull-foot eeding device continues to feed envelopes or inserts. If the next time the clock 164 ~;
-~
provides a pulse to the same counter there is again a similar ~
.
mistake, a signal will again be sent to that counter. The 20 counters 158 and 160 are adjustable to count to a desired number of counks before ejecting signals to the machine , ~ .
shutdown control. Assuming that the "miss" counter 160 is set for three misses, when there have been three misses, the counter 160 sends a signal to the machine shutdown control 162 and the overall pull-foot insert feeding mechanism is shutdown. An operator, at this point, chec~s out the system to find out what the problem is.
A counter 166 resets the double and miss counters ~
158 and 160 every predetermined number of feeds of sheets by `; ~;
the pull-f~ot feeding devices 26 as measured by the clock 164.
' , ~ , , ,:
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It should be recogni~ed that thc arranyement of the ejection rolls 33a and b allow easy access by an operator to the suction cup 28 as well as to the bottom rollers 30 and the feet of the pull-foot feeding devices 26.
Further, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by positioning the nip 136 of the lower and upper detection rolls 128 and 130 slightly downstream of the upper and lower ejection rolls 33a and b, only those sheets which are or are not, actually fed by the pull-foot mechanism can produce indications of "doubles" or "misses".
Finally, allowing the point arm 142 to pivot about pivot 146, allows the detection feeler 138 to ~e rigid and therefore more accurate. In this regard, when the rigid detection feeler 138 contacts the double electrical contact , ~ 154, but yet must move further to allow an undue number of ;
-~ sheets to pass between the lower and upper detection rollers 128~and 130, the pivot arm 142 rotates to allow for such further movement.
Turning next to a second-embodiment envelope feeding system depicted in FIGS. 4 and 4a to be used in the FIG. 1 in-line inserter in place of the apparatus depicted in FIG.

2, a transition conveyor comprise~ an endless conveyor ~ ;
;~ .
system 168, an entrance roll 170, and a brush 172. The ,;
endless conveyor system 168 comprises two high-speed endless ` belts 174 (FIG. 4a) that are positioned between low-speed registration belts 176. All of these belts travel in approximately coextensive parallel paths. The high-speed endless belts 174 have rougher surEaces than the low-speed registration belts such that the high-speed endless belts have more influence on driving envelopes that are placed on these ' ' ' ' ',' , ' ~ .

.. .. . , . . . , - . . , :

~634~7g62 belts. I~ one ~mbodiment, -the high-specd endless bclts 174 are raised slightly hi.gher ~han -the low-s~eed r~CJistrati~on belts, to insure theix gr~ater influence of drivin~.
The low-speed registration belts, however, have registration pins 178 thereon that are arranged in sets of two. These pins extend into the path of sheets driven by the high-speed endless belts 174.
The brush 172, contacts the upper sides of the envelopes on the endless conveyor system 168 to urge the envelopes toward the high-speed endless belts 174.
The clamps 38 on the endless chain 36 and the pins ~ -~
178 on the low~speed registration belts 176, travel at the same speed and are in coincidence with each other so that sheets driven against a set of pins 178 are also in a clamp i`
38 at a station 180. At this station, the clamps are held open by a cam 182. -In operation, envelopes are ejected one at a time by the pull-foot feed mechanism 26. The flaps o~ these envelops are opened by a reciprocating envelope-flap opener 20 ~ 184. Each envelope is picked up by high-speed endless belts ~;~
174 and the entrance roll 170, but thereafter it continues to ;
be fed by the high-speed endless belts 174 and the brushes 172.
The high-speed endless belts 174 drive the envelope against a pair of registration pins 178, and thereafter, the high-speed ~;
endless belts 174 slip~ to hold the envelopes in registration ~`
against the pins. Since these pins are synchronized with, and coincident with, open clamps 38 at the station 180, the leading edge of the envelope is inserted into an open clamp ~
38 where it remains until the clamp and the envelope pass the ~`
cam 182, at which time the clamp closes. The clamp then ~ ' ::

, , ~796Z
carries the envelope ~o the s-~uE~incJ statlon ].~ .
It will be appr~ciated by those skilled in the ar~
that this transition conveying system allows continuous operation of the envelope feeding system while providing accurate registration of envelopes and controls placing of the envelopes in conveying clamps.
FIG. 4b depicts an embodimen~ of this invention wherein a~ endless conveyor system 168 identical to the endless conveyor system 168 of FIGS. 4 and 4a, is used to convey envelopes from the pull-foot feed mechanism 26 to a drum/belt feed mechanism 186. In this case, the drum/helt mechanism 186 replaces the endless chain 36 and clamps 38 of the FIG. 4 embodiment. However, operation of the endless conveyor system 168 is the same as described with reference to FIG~ 4. When envelopes leave the endless conveyor system 168 of FIG. 4b, they are clamped between a drum 188 and a belt 190 which are driven to move the envelopes to the stuffing station 12. -~
~ Again, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the conveyor system 168 provides continuous feeding of envelopes, while insuring registration and con-trolled speed of the envelopes.
It should be noted that the above described in-line inserter has many advantages over previous inserters. Firstly, the inserts themselves are pulled from hoppers in nearly the same direction as they are subsequently transported. This is in contrast with current ri~ht-angle-feed machines and pro vides smoother and faster operation. Also, the chain transports ;
of this machine are continuous rather than intermittent as are many current machines. Again, this enhances smoother operation.
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~1~47962 Similarly, the ~nvelopos travel on a continuous invol~lte path Erom the envelope hopper to the sealing and stacking system, which enhances compactness and, again, ::
provides smooth operation.
While the invention has been shown and described --: with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, that various altera~
- tions in form and detail may be made therein without departing :
from the spirit and scope of the invention. - -~

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Claims (3)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. In a sheet feeding system comprising:
sheet supply means for supplying sheets one at a time; and sheet transporting means for receiving said supplied sheets, transporting said sheets along an initial sheet path while simultaneously orienting said supplied sheets to have a predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, and thereafter transporting said supply sheets along a curved sheet path while maintaining said predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, said sheet transporting means comprising a curved endless conveyor having clamps mounted thereon for gripping and transporting said sheets in said curved path while maintaining said sheets in said predeter-mined attitude, said clamps including a means for opening said clamps at appropriate times to receive and to release said sheets and closing said clamps at appropriate times to grip said sheets;
the improvement wherein said sheet transporting means further includes a fast-speed endless conveyor, a low-speed endless conveyor, and an elongated brush positioned adjacent to said curved endless conveyor, said fast- and low-speed endless conveyors being adjacent to said initial sheet path and being positioned on the same side of said initial sheet-path following parallel, laterally spaced, paths, and said elongated brush being positioned on the opposite side of said initial sheet path from said fast- and low-speed conveyors for continu-ously urging sheets travelling along said initial sheet path against said fast speed conveyor, said fast- and low-speed conveyors and said brush receiving said supplied sheets and transporting them to said clamps, said low speed endless conveyor having pins thereon against which the fast-speed endless conveyor drives and, in cooperation with said brush, holds said supplied sheets to thereby orient said supplied sheets to have said predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, said fast- and low-speed endless conveyors and said brush being located relative to said clamps of said curved endless conveyor such that said sheets are held against said pins by said fast-speed endless conveyor and said brush as they enter and are clamped by said clamps of said-curved endless conveyor to maintain said predeter-mined attitude.

2. In a sheet-feeding system comprising:
sheet supply means for supplying sheets one at a time; and sheet transporting means for receiving said supplied sheets, transporting said sheets along an initial sheet path while simultaneously orienting said supplied sheets to have a predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, and thereafter transporting said supplied sheets along a curved sheet path while maintaining said predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, said sheet transporting means comprising a curved conveyor including a cylindrical drum and an endless belt pressing against said drum for gripping said sheets therebetween and transporting said sheets in a curved path while maintaining said sheets in said predetermined attitude;
the improvement wherein said sheet transporting means further includes a fast-speed endless conveyor, a low-speed endless conveyor, and an elongated brush positioned upstream of said curved conveyor adjacent to said initial sheet path, said fast- and low-speed conveyors being positioned on the same side of said initial sheet path and following parallel, laterally spaced, paths, and said elongated brush being positioned on the opposite side of said initial sheet path from said fast- and low-speed conveyors for urging sheets travelling along said initial sheet path continuously against said fast-speed conveyor, said fast- and low-speed conveyors and said brush receiving said supplied sheets and transporting them to said drum and said endless pressure belt, said low speed endless conveyor having pins thereon against which the fast-speed endless conveyor drives and, in cooperation with said brush, holds the supplied sheets to thereby orient the supplied sheets to have said predetermined attitude relative to said sheet transporting means, said fast- and low-speed endless conveyors and said brush being located relative to said drum and said endless pressure belt such that said sheets are held against said pins by said fast-speed endless conveyor and said brush as they enter a nip formed between said drum and said endless pressure belt in said predetermined orientation.

3. In a sheet feeding system as in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said curved conveyor transports said sheets in a curved path of approximately 180° to thereby invert said sheets and direct them in approximately the opposite direction from which the sheets travel in said initial sheet path.