EP0018057A2 - Singler device for flat articles, e.g. letters - Google Patents
Singler device for flat articles, e.g. letters Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0018057A2 EP0018057A2 EP80200376A EP80200376A EP0018057A2 EP 0018057 A2 EP0018057 A2 EP 0018057A2 EP 80200376 A EP80200376 A EP 80200376A EP 80200376 A EP80200376 A EP 80200376A EP 0018057 A2 EP0018057 A2 EP 0018057A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- article
- detector
- belt
- detector member
- suction means
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
- B65H3/08—Separating articles from piles using pneumatic force
- B65H3/12—Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
- B65H3/124—Suction bands or belts
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
- B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
- B07C1/00—Measures preceding sorting according to destination
- B07C1/02—Forming articles into a stream; Arranging articles in a stream, e.g. spacing, orientating
- B07C1/04—Forming a stream from a bulk; Controlling the stream, e.g. spacing the articles
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/30—Orientation, displacement, position of the handled material
- B65H2301/32—Orientation of handled material
- B65H2301/321—Standing on edge
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2406/00—Means using fluid
- B65H2406/30—Suction means
- B65H2406/32—Suction belts
- B65H2406/322—Suction distributing means
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
- B65H2701/19—Specific article or web
- B65H2701/1916—Envelopes and articles of mail
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a singler device for flat articles, e.g. letters, including first and second article driving means to engage and drive said flat articles sequentially off a stack located in an input position and sideways therefrom via a passage into a delivery position laterally separated from said input position by lateral guiding means for said flat articles, and article detector means mounted in said delivery position for controlling said driving means.
- first and second article driving means to engage and drive said flat articles sequentially off a stack located in an input position and sideways therefrom via a passage into a delivery position laterally separated from said input position by lateral guiding means for said flat articles
- article detector means mounted in said delivery position for controlling said driving means.
- a drawback of this known device is that due to the first driving means being mounted close to the guiding means comprising a guide plate even a small misalignment with respect to the guide plate between two consecutive letters in the input position may give rise to an erroneous operation. Indeed, when for instance the leading edge of two such consecutive letters of the stack are misaligned to such an extent that the second letter instead of the first one is positioned in front of the first driving means the second letter and not the first one will be carried away off the stack when this driving means is operated.
- An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a singler device of the above type but which does not present this drawback, i.e. wherein the flat articles are separated from the stack in the correct order even when they are misaligned to a certain extent.
- said singler device is characterized in that said article detector means include first and second detector members, that said first and second driving means are both both mouted in said input position, said first and second driving means an1 said first and second detector members being arranged in succession along the path followed by an article from said input position to said delivery position and that said second detector member subsequent to having been operated operates said first or second driving means depending on said first detector member being in its non-operated or operated condition respectively.
- the misalignment between two consecutive articles of the stack may be relatively large before it gives rise to an erroneous operation.
- the maximum permissible misalignment is substantially equal to the distance between the first driving means and the guiding means comprising a guide plate.
- the present invention also relates to a vibration damping material comprising two metal outer layers secured to both sides of an inner layer.
- Such a vibration damping material is well known in the art. It is for instance mentioned in the article "Development of Silentalloy Hidamet" by K. Amano et al, Toshiba Review, No 99, Sept.-Oct. 1975, pp 29-32.
- An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vibration damping material of the above type.
- this object is achieved due to the fact that said two metal layers are layers of ahuminium and lead having different thickness respectively, whilst said inner layer is made of a plastic material.
- the singler device as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a horizontal bottom plate 1 on which are mounted a vertical lateral guide plate 2 and an L-shaped front plate 3. These plates 2 and 3 have cut-out end portions 4 and 5 respectively.
- An endless perforated belt 6 runs over rollers 7, 8, 9 and lo and between parts of the front plate 3 which are disposed in the plane of the belt 6.
- the guide rollers 7, 8 and 9 are idlers mounted on axles fixed on the bottom plate 1, whilst roller 10 is a drive roller mounted on a shaft 11 of a drive motor (not shown).
- a feeler 12 of a microswitch is mounted between lower portions of the front plate 3 to which strips 44, 45 made of a friction material are affixed.
- Suction devices 13 and 14 are secured to the front plate 3 and have suction openings 15 and 1 6
- suction devices are for instance diaphragm valves of the type disclosed in British patent 1 225 562 (R. Debackere - W. Mens 5-4). Each of these suction devices is able to create an underpressure or not in its suction opening.
- the bottom plate 1, the lateral guide plate 2,the front plate 3 and a portion of the belt 6 define an input position 17 for a stack 18 of letters or other flat articles.
- This stack 18 is urged gently towards the working face of the perforated belt 6, for instance by means of a pusher plate (not shown) such as described and shown in the above mentioned US patent 2.970 834 and aided by three auxiliary feeder belts 41, 42, 43 with their working faces supporting the letters running toward and transversaly of the working surface of the suction belt 6.
- the motor (not shown) driving the feeder belts 41, 42, 43 is controlled by the microswitch feeler 12.
- the input position 17 communicates with a delivery position 19 via a passage 20 delimited by the portion of the belt 6 located in front of the cut-out portion 5 of front plate 3 and the end portion of the lateral guide plate 2.
- a separator 21 comprising a freely rotatable vertical piece having a substantially L-shaped cross-section is mounted on the bottom plate 1 and in the cut-out portion 4 of the lateral guide plate 2. By not shown spring means the separator 21 is continuously urged into contact with the portion of the belt 6 located in front of the cut-out portion 5 so as to normally close the above passage 20.
- the separator 21 is followed by a suction chamber 22 wherein an underpressure is continuously created and by a pressure roller 23.
- the latter roller 23 is an idler roller mounted on a bracket 24 which is able to pivot about axle 25 fixed on bottom plate 1 and connected to a fixed pin 26 through a spring 27 which continuously urges the roller 23 into contact with the belt 6.
- the delivery position 19 also includes two electrric detector members each comprising a light emitting diode and a photocell mounted in front of each other above the belt and at either side thereof.
- Light emitting diodes 28 and 29 are mounted on brackets 30 and 31 respectively, whilst photocells 32 and 33 are mounted on the supports 34 and 35 respectively.
- the delivery position 19 is followed by a pair of belts 36, 37 carried by rollers 38 and 39, 40 respectively, the belts moving in the direction of the arrows.
- the electric monitoring circuit shown therein includes :
- the start key SK (Fig. 3) is temporarily operated to trigger the monostable circuit MS1 to its unstable condition via the OR-gate Ml and the AND-gate Gl which is enabled due to the inverse output fl being activated.
- the O-output of the monostable circuit MS1 becomes activated, as a consequence of which the bistable circuit Kl is triggered to its 1-condition wherein it operates the suction device 13 (Fig. 4) .
- This device then exerts a suction in the suction opening 15 so that the suction belt 6 starts moving the terminal letter off the stack 18 sideways from the input position 17 into the delivery position 19 against the action of the friction strips 44, 45.
- the output fl thereof becomes activated as a consequence of which the bistable circuit Kl is reset to its O-condition. Also the suction device 13 then becomes inoperative. However, simultaneously with the bistable circuit Kl being reset the bistable circuit K2 is triggered to its 1-condition via the AND-gate G3 and the OR-gate M2 as the 1-output kl of the bistable circuit Kl is then still activated. Due to this the suction device 14 is then operated so that the perforated belt 6 displaces the above terminal letter further into the delivery position 19 from the suction chamber 22 towards the presure roller 23.
- the inverse output f2 thereof becomes activated so that a trigger pulse is produced at the output of the differentiator D and therefore at the output of the OR-gate Ml.
- the monostable circuit MS1 or the monostable circuit MS2 is triggered to its 1-condition via the AND-gate Gl or G2 depending on the output fl or fl of the photocell 32 being activated at that moment respectively i.e. on a letter following the above mentioned terminal letter, hereinafter called second letter, being absent or present in front of this photocell 32 respectively.
- the monostable circuit MS2 is triggered to its unstable condition (Fig. 5). After a time interval T2 has elapsed the 0-output of the monostable circuit MS2 becomes activated as a consequence of which the bistable circuit K2 is triggered to its 1-condition wherein it operates the suction device 14 so that the perforated belt 6 displaces the above second letter further into the delivery position. The rest of the operation is as already described above.
- the distance between two consecutive letters must at least be equal to a minimum value in order that sufficient time should be available to perform other operations, such as for instance the control of a points mechanism.
- This distance is supposed to correspond to a time interval T, taking the operation speed into account. This means that the time interval elapsing between the moment at which the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves the photocell 33 and the moment at which the suction device 13 (Fig. 4) or 14 (Fig. 5) is operated to displace the second letter should be such that the leading edge of this second letter comes in front of the photocell 33 after a time interval T.
- the suction device 13 is qxrated when the second letter is not located in front of the photocell 32 at the moment the terminal letter leaves photocell 33.
- the suction device 14 is operated when the second letter is located in front of the photocell 32.
- the second letter is not located in front of the photocell 32 at the moment the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves the photocell 33 the second letter will be advanced, a time interval Tl later, by the cooperation of the belt 6 and the suction device 13.
- Tl time interval
- the trailing edge of this letter should still be completely in front of the suction device 13 in order to prevent a third letter following the second letter to be displaced by this suction device.
- the minimum letter length able to be processed by the present device is substantially equal to the distance separating the suction device 13 and the photocell 32.
- the second letter is located in front of the photocell 32 at the moment the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves the photocell 33 the second letter will be advanced, a time interval T2 later, by the cooperation of the belt 6 and the suction device 14.
- T2 time interval
- the trailing edge of this letter should still be completely in front of the suction device 14 in order to prevent a third letter following the second one to be displaced by this suction device.
- the minimum letter length able to be processed by the present device is also substantially equal to the distance between the trailing end portion of the suction device 14 and the photocell 33.
- the maximum permissible misalignment of the front edges of the letters of the stack 18 is equal to the distance between the leading edge of the suction device 13 and the guide plate 2 because when the leading edge of a first letter coincides with the leading edge of the suction device 13 and the leading edge of the second letter following the first one makes contact with the guide plate the suction device 13 will be operated because no letter is situated in front of the photocell 32, so that - as it should be - the first letter will be carried off the stack 18 by the belt 6. On the contrary, if the misalignism is larger the second letter instead of the first one will be displaced from the input position towards the delivery position 19.
- the distance between the suction device 13 and the guide plate 2 should be a maximum i.e. the plate 2 should be mounted as close to the photocell 32 as possible.
- the distance between the guide plate 2 and the photocell 32 should be sufficient to mount the separator 21 and the suction chamber 22 so that this limits the maximum permissible alignment.
- the maximum permissible misalignment of the front end portions of the letters of the stacks 18 is somewhat smaller than that at the start of an operation because of the space required by the suction device 14. Indeed, this misalignment is equal to the distance between the leading edge of the suction device 14 and the photocell 32 because when the leading edge of a first letter coincides with the leading edge of the suction device 14 and the leading edge of the second letter following the first one is situated in front of the photocell 32 the suction device 14 will be operated, so that - as it should be- the first letter will be carried off the stack by the belt 6. On the contrary, if the misalignment is larger the second letter instead of the first will be displaced towards the delivery position 19.
- the distance between the suction device 14 and the photocell 32 should be a maximum i.e. the suction device 14 should be as close as possible to suction device 13. But since the distance between the suction device 14 and the photocell 33 is equal to the minimum letter length this means that the photocell 33 should also be as close as possible to the photocell 32. However between the photocells 32 and 33 sufficient room should be provided to mount the elements 21, 22 and 23.
- the following sandwich material composition comprising two metal layers enclosing a layer of organic material produced adequate results : - 3 to 10 millimeters, e.g. 10 millimeters of aluminium; - 1 to 3 millimeters, e.g. 1 millimeter, of lead; - 0.2 to 2 millimeters, e.g. 0.5 millimeter of soft polyvinylchloride.
- Soft polyvinylchloride has a hardness between 60 and 80 Shore A.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
- Controlling Sheets Or Webs (AREA)
- Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
- Delivering By Means Of Belts And Rollers (AREA)
- Laminated Bodies (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a singler device for flat articles, e.g. letters, including first and second article driving means to engage and drive said flat articles sequentially off a stack located in an input position and sideways therefrom via a passage into a delivery position laterally separated from said input position by lateral guiding means for said flat articles, and article detector means mounted in said delivery position for controlling said driving means.
- Such a singler device is already known from US patent 2 970 834. In this known device the first driving means is mounted in the input position close to the guiding means, whereas the second driving means is mounted in the delivery position. These driving means are operated in suooession subsequent to the detector means having detected the passage of the trailing edge of a letter.
- A drawback of this known device is that due to the first driving means being mounted close to the guiding means comprising a guide plate even a small misalignment with respect to the guide plate between two consecutive letters in the input position may give rise to an erroneous operation. Indeed, when for instance the leading edge of two such consecutive letters of the stack are misaligned to such an extent that the second letter instead of the first one is positioned in front of the first driving means the second letter and not the first one will be carried away off the stack when this driving means is operated.
- Separate means might be provided to align the leading edges of the letters on the guide plate but this requires additional equipment.
- An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a singler device of the above type but which does not present this drawback, i.e. wherein the flat articles are separated from the stack in the correct order even when they are misaligned to a certain extent.
- According to the invention this object is achieved due to the fact that said singler device is characterized in that said article detector means include first and second detector members, that said first and second driving means are both both mouted in said input position, said first and second driving means an1 said first and second detector members being arranged in succession along the path followed by an article from said input position to said delivery position and that said second detector member subsequent to having been operated operates said first or second driving means depending on said first detector member being in its non-operated or operated condition respectively.
- In this way the misalignment between two consecutive articles of the stack may be relatively large before it gives rise to an erroneous operation. More particularly, at the start of a singling operation, i.e. after a stack has been brought in the input position the maximum permissible misalignment is substantially equal to the distance between the first driving means and the guiding means comprising a guide plate. Indeed, when for instance the leading edge of the first of these two articles makes contact with the guide plate, whilst the second article is still positioned in front of the first driving means the latter driving means will be operated, due to the first detector member being inoperative, so that notwithstanding this misalignment the first article will be carried off the stack.
- The present invention also relates to a vibration damping material comprising two metal outer layers secured to both sides of an inner layer.
- Such a vibration damping material is well known in the art. It is for instance mentioned in the article "Development of Silentalloy Hidamet" by K. Amano et al, Toshiba Review, No 99, Sept.-Oct. 1975, pp 29-32.
- An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vibration damping material of the above type.
- According to the invention this object is achieved due to the fact that said two metal layers are layers of ahuminium and lead having different thickness respectively, whilst said inner layer is made of a plastic material.
- The above mentioned and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by referring to the following description of an embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which :
- Fig. 1 is a top view of a singler device according to the present invention, an electric monitoring circuit forming part of this device being however not shown;
- Fig. 2 is a cross-section along line II-II of Elg.l;
- Fig. 3 schematically shows the electric monitoring circuit according to the present invention;
- Figs. 4 and 5 are pulse diagrams to illustrate the operation of the device.
- The singler device as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a
horizontal bottom plate 1 on which are mounted a vertical lateral guide plate 2 and an L-shaped front plate 3. Theseplates 2 and 3 have cut-outend portions 4 and 5 respectively. An endlessperforated belt 6 runs overrollers 7, 8, 9 and lo and between parts of thefront plate 3 which are disposed in the plane of thebelt 6. Theguide rollers 7, 8 and 9 are idlers mounted on axles fixed on thebottom plate 1, whilstroller 10 is a drive roller mounted on ashaft 11 of a drive motor (not shown). Afeeler 12 of a microswitch is mounted between lower portions of thefront plate 3 to whichstrips Suction devices front plate 3 and havesuction openings - terminating behind the belt. These suction devices are for instance diaphragm valves of the type disclosed in
British patent 1 225 562 (R. Debackere - W. Mens 5-4). Each of these suction devices is able to create an underpressure or not in its suction opening. - The
bottom plate 1, the lateral guide plate 2,thefront plate 3 and a portion of thebelt 6 define aninput position 17 for astack 18 of letters or other flat articles. Thisstack 18 is urged gently towards the working face of theperforated belt 6, for instance by means of a pusher plate (not shown) such as described and shown in the above mentioned US patent 2.970 834 and aided by threeauxiliary feeder belts suction belt 6. The motor (not shown) driving thefeeder belts microswitch feeler 12. - The
input position 17 communicates with adelivery position 19 via apassage 20 delimited by the portion of thebelt 6 located in front of the cut-outportion 5 offront plate 3 and the end portion of the lateral guide plate 2. Aseparator 21 comprising a freely rotatable vertical piece having a substantially L-shaped cross-section is mounted on thebottom plate 1 and in the cut-out portion 4 of the lateral guide plate 2. By not shown spring means theseparator 21 is continuously urged into contact with the portion of thebelt 6 located in front of the cut-outportion 5 so as to normally close theabove passage 20. - Considered in the direction of advancement of the
belt 6 theseparator 21 is followed by a suction chamber 22 wherein an underpressure is continuously created and by apressure roller 23. Thelatter roller 23 is an idler roller mounted on abracket 24 which is able to pivot aboutaxle 25 fixed onbottom plate 1 and connected to a fixedpin 26 through aspring 27 which continuously urges theroller 23 into contact with thebelt 6. - The
delivery position 19 also includes two electrric detector members each comprising a light emitting diode and a photocell mounted in front of each other above the belt and at either side thereof.Light emitting diodes brackets photocells supports - Finally, the
delivery position 19 is followed by a pair ofbelts rollers - Referring to Fig. 3 the electric monitoring circuit shown therein includes :
- - bistable circuits Kl and K2 controlling the
suction devices - - monostable circuits MS1 and MS2 with time constants Tl and T2 respectively;
- - a differentiator D;
- - AND-gates Gl, G2, G3 and OR-gates Ml and M2;
- - a start key SK connected to an operating voltage V.
- The operation of the above described singler device is described hereinafter by making reference to Figs. 1 to 3 and to Figs. 4 and 5.
- Hereby it is supposed that initially no letters are present in the device so that both the
photocells light emitter diodes 28 an3 29 respectively as a consequence of which both the inverse outputs fl and f2 of these photocells are activated (or on 1). - After a
stack 18 of letters has been put in theinput position 17 the start key SK (Fig. 3) is temporarily operated to trigger the monostable circuit MS1 to its unstable condition via the OR-gate Ml and the AND-gate Gl which is enabled due to the inverse output fl being activated. After a time interval Tl has elapsed the O-output of the monostable circuit MS1 becomes activated, as a consequence of which the bistable circuit Kl is triggered to its 1-condition wherein it operates the suction device 13 (Fig. 4) . This device then exerts a suction in the suction opening 15 so that thesuction belt 6 starts moving the terminal letter off thestack 18 sideways from theinput position 17 into thedelivery position 19 against the action of thefriction strips separator 21 and in front of the suction chamber 22, both these elements restraining advancement by thebelt 6 of all but this terminal letter. Thus, letters which are possibly erroneously displaced with this terminal letter, e.g. due to the fact that they adhere thereto by friction, are substantially prevented from entering thedelivery position 19. - When the leading end portion of the terminal letter is detected by the
photocell 32 the output fl thereof becomes activated as a consequence of which the bistable circuit Kl is reset to its O-condition. Also thesuction device 13 then becomes inoperative. However, simultaneously with the bistable circuit Kl being reset the bistable circuit K2 is triggered to its 1-condition via the AND-gate G3 and the OR-gate M2 as the 1-output kl of the bistable circuit Kl is then still activated. Due to this thesuction device 14 is then operated so that theperforated belt 6 displaces the above terminal letter further into thedelivery position 19 from the suction chamber 22 towards thepresure roller 23. - When the leading edge of this letter is detected by the
photocell 33 the output f2 thereof becomes activated as a consequence of which the bistable circuit K2 is reset to its O-condition (Fig. 4). Also thesuction device 14 then becomes inoperative. However, at that moment the leading edge of the terminal letter is seized between thepressure roller 23 and thebelt 6 and carried further until it is seized between thebelts - Upon the rear edge of the terminal letter leaving the
photocell 33 the inverse output f2 thereof becomes activated so that a trigger pulse is produced at the output of the differentiator D and therefore at the output of the OR-gate Ml. As a consequence either the monostable circuit MS1 or the monostable circuit MS2 is triggered to its 1-condition via the AND-gate Gl or G2 depending on the output fl or fl of thephotocell 32 being activated at that moment respectively i.e. on a letter following the above mentioned terminal letter, hereinafter called second letter, being absent or present in front of thisphotocell 32 respectively. - Normally, no such second letter is located in front of the
photocell 32 and in this case the operation is as described above. - On the contrary when such a second letter is located in front of this
photocell 32 due to the fact that it has for instance been carried off the stack together with the above mentioned terminal letter, the monostable circuit MS2 is triggered to its unstable condition (Fig. 5). After a time interval T2 has elapsed the 0-output of the monostable circuit MS2 becomes activated as a consequence of which the bistable circuit K2 is triggered to its 1-condition wherein it operates thesuction device 14 so that theperforated belt 6 displaces the above second letter further into the delivery position. The rest of the operation is as already described above. - The reason of the above mentioned time intervals Tl and T2 is explained hereinafter. Hereby reference is made to Figs. 4 and 5 wherein the length of the terminal letter corresponds to a time interval TL.
- The distance between two consecutive letters, such as the above mentioned terminal letter and second letter, must at least be equal to a minimum value in order that sufficient time should be available to perform other operations, such as for instance the control of a points mechanism. This distance is supposed to correspond to a time interval T, taking the operation speed into account. This means that the time interval elapsing between the moment at which the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves the
photocell 33 and the moment at which the suction device 13 (Fig. 4) or 14 (Fig. 5) is operated to displace the second letter should be such that the leading edge of this second letter comes in front of thephotocell 33 after a time interval T. - As described above the
suction device 13 is qxrated when the second letter is not located in front of thephotocell 32 at the moment the terminal letter leavesphotocell 33. This second letter is closest to thephotocell 32 when its leading edge is about to come in front of thisphotocell 32. Supposing that in this case a time interval T3 (Fig. 4) is required to reach thephotocell 33 it is clear that instead of operating thesuction device 13 only a time interval T after the trailirg edge of the terminal letter has left thephotocell 33, in which case the second letter would only reach the photocell after a time interval T + T3, thissuction device 13 can already be operated a time interval Tl = T-T3 after the trailing edge of the terminal letter has left thephotocell 33. In this case the second letter will reach thephotocell 33 after the minima time interval T . Thus the operating speed of the device is increased. - As also described above, the
suction device 14 is operated when the second letter is located in front of thephotocell 32. This letter is closest to thephotocell 33 when its leading end portion is about to come in front of the latter photocell e.g. when it is at about 5mm from thephotocell 33 which is in line with the point at which thepressure roller 23 makes contact with thebelt 6. Because in this case a time interval T4 is required to reach thephotocell 33 it is clear that when thesuction device 14 is operated a time interval T2 = T-T4 after the trailing edge of the terminal letter has left thephotocell 33 the second letter will again reach thephotocell 33 after the minimum time interval T has elapsed. - The minimum letter length able to be correctly processed is considered hereinafter.
- As described above, if the second letter is not located in front of the
photocell 32 at the moment the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves thephotocell 33 the second letter will be advanced, a time interval Tl later, by the cooperation of thebelt 6 and thesuction device 13. This means that at the moment the leading edge of this second letter is in front of thephotocell 32 the trailing edge of this letter should still be completely in front of thesuction device 13 in order to prevent a third letter following the second letter to be displaced by this suction device. Hence, the minimum letter length able to be processed by the present device is substantially equal to the distance separating thesuction device 13 and thephotocell 32. - Similarly and as also described above, if the second letter is located in front of the
photocell 32 at the moment the trailing edge of the terminal letter leaves thephotocell 33 the second letter will be advanced, a time interval T2 later, by the cooperation of thebelt 6 and thesuction device 14. This means that at the moment the leading edge of this second letter is in front of thephotocell 33 the trailing edge of this letter should still be completely in front of thesuction device 14 in order to prevent a third letter following the second one to be displaced by this suction device. Hence, the minimum letter length able to be processed by the present device is also substantially equal to the distance between the trailing end portion of thesuction device 14 and thephotocell 33. - The choice of the relative position of the
suction devices photocells - At the start of an operation the maximum permissible misalignment of the front edges of the letters of the
stack 18 is equal to the distance between the leading edge of thesuction device 13 and the guide plate 2 because when the leading edge of a first letter coincides with the leading edge of thesuction device 13 and the leading edge of the second letter following the first one makes contact with the guide plate thesuction device 13 will be operated because no letter is situated in front of thephotocell 32, so that - as it should be - the first letter will be carried off thestack 18 by thebelt 6. On the contrary, if the misalignement is larger the second letter instead of the first one will be displaced from the input position towards thedelivery position 19. It is clear that to have the maximum permissible misalignment at the start of an operation the distance between thesuction device 13 and the guide plate 2 should be a maximum i.e. the plate 2 should be mounted as close to thephotocell 32 as possible. However, the distance between the guide plate 2 and thephotocell 32 should be sufficient to mount theseparator 21 and the suction chamber 22 so that this limits the maximum permissible alignment. - During operation the maximum permissible misalignment of the front end portions of the letters of the
stacks 18 is somewhat smaller than that at the start of an operation because of the space required by thesuction device 14. Indeed, this misalignment is equal to the distance between the leading edge of thesuction device 14 and thephotocell 32 because when the leading edge of a first letter coincides with the leading edge of thesuction device 14 and the leading edge of the second letter following the first one is situated in front of thephotocell 32 thesuction device 14 will be operated, so that - as it should be- the first letter will be carried off the stack by thebelt 6. On the contrary, if the misalignment is larger the second letter instead of the first will be displaced towards thedelivery position 19.
It is clear that to have the maximum permissible misalignment during operation the distance between thesuction device 14 and thephotocell 32 should be a maximum i.e. thesuction device 14 should be as close as possible tosuction device 13. But since the distance between thesuction device 14 and thephotocell 33 is equal to the minimum letter length this means that thephotocell 33 should also be as close as possible to thephotocell 32. However between thephotocells elements - Since vibrations introduced by the driving mechanism and particularly the rollers can create excessive noise, it is desirable to reduce them by making the
bottom plate 1 out of a suitable vibration damping material. The following sandwich material composition comprising two metal layers enclosing a layer of organic material produced adequate results : - 3 to 10 millimeters, e.g. 10 millimeters of aluminium; - 1 to 3 millimeters, e.g. 1 millimeter, of lead; - 0.2 to 2 millimeters, e.g. 0.5 millimeter of soft polyvinylchloride. - Soft polyvinylchloride has a hardness between 60 and 80 Shore A.
- While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention.
Claims (15)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
NL7903193 | 1979-04-24 | ||
NL7903193 | 1979-04-24 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0018057A2 true EP0018057A2 (en) | 1980-10-29 |
EP0018057A3 EP0018057A3 (en) | 1981-02-04 |
EP0018057B1 EP0018057B1 (en) | 1983-11-30 |
Family
ID=19833034
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19800200376 Expired EP0018057B1 (en) | 1979-04-24 | 1980-04-23 | Singler device for flat articles, e.g. letters |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0018057B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPS5928504B2 (en) |
AU (1) | AU5767080A (en) |
BE (1) | BE882940A (en) |
DE (1) | DE3065752D1 (en) |
ES (1) | ES250240Y (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4900007A (en) * | 1987-10-07 | 1990-02-13 | Gaemmerler Gunter | Device for changing the direction of a product flow, particularly of paper products supplied in shingled formation |
EP0507661A1 (en) * | 1991-04-03 | 1992-10-07 | La Poste, Etablissement Autonome De Droit Public | Device for removing flat objects from a pile of such objects, especially for envelopes |
US5154407A (en) * | 1989-10-04 | 1992-10-13 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Cut sheet feeder with suction device |
WO2001024949A2 (en) * | 1999-10-04 | 2001-04-12 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
WO2002060792A2 (en) * | 2001-01-30 | 2002-08-08 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
US8061960B2 (en) | 2006-03-10 | 2011-11-22 | Tbs Engineering Limited | Apparatus for placing battery plates |
US8083462B2 (en) * | 2007-04-11 | 2011-12-27 | Tbs Engineering Limited | Apparatus for placing battery plates in a line |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB9212004D0 (en) * | 1992-06-05 | 1992-07-15 | Esselte Dymo Nv | Printing apparatus |
JP6507299B1 (en) | 2018-09-26 | 2019-04-24 | 株式会社エレーヌ | bra |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2970834A (en) * | 1957-09-06 | 1961-02-07 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Letter feeding device |
GB1094917A (en) * | 1965-06-24 | 1967-12-13 | Siemens Ag | Improvements in or relating to apparatus for transporting flat articles such as letters, postcards and the like |
DE1285484B (en) * | 1965-10-05 | 1968-12-19 | Nederlanden Staat | Feeding device for the individual feeding of the first sheet or the like of a stack |
FR2219095A1 (en) * | 1973-02-27 | 1974-09-20 | Licentia Gmbh |
-
1980
- 1980-04-22 AU AU57670/80A patent/AU5767080A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1980-04-23 EP EP19800200376 patent/EP0018057B1/en not_active Expired
- 1980-04-23 DE DE8080200376T patent/DE3065752D1/en not_active Expired
- 1980-04-24 BE BE2/58528A patent/BE882940A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1980-04-24 JP JP5482980A patent/JPS5928504B2/en not_active Expired
- 1980-04-24 ES ES1980250240U patent/ES250240Y/en not_active Expired
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2970834A (en) * | 1957-09-06 | 1961-02-07 | Pitney Bowes Inc | Letter feeding device |
GB1094917A (en) * | 1965-06-24 | 1967-12-13 | Siemens Ag | Improvements in or relating to apparatus for transporting flat articles such as letters, postcards and the like |
DE1285484B (en) * | 1965-10-05 | 1968-12-19 | Nederlanden Staat | Feeding device for the individual feeding of the first sheet or the like of a stack |
FR2219095A1 (en) * | 1973-02-27 | 1974-09-20 | Licentia Gmbh |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
IBM TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE BULLETIN, Vol. 8, No. 8, January 1966, New York US, L.J. WALLACE: "Jam detection circuit", pages 1035-1036 * |
Cited By (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4900007A (en) * | 1987-10-07 | 1990-02-13 | Gaemmerler Gunter | Device for changing the direction of a product flow, particularly of paper products supplied in shingled formation |
US5154407A (en) * | 1989-10-04 | 1992-10-13 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Cut sheet feeder with suction device |
EP0507661A1 (en) * | 1991-04-03 | 1992-10-07 | La Poste, Etablissement Autonome De Droit Public | Device for removing flat objects from a pile of such objects, especially for envelopes |
FR2674834A1 (en) * | 1991-04-03 | 1992-10-09 | Darchis Pierre | DEVICE FOR THE ONE-TO-ONE EXTRACTION OF FLAT OBJECTS FROM A PILE OF SUCH OBJECTS, IN PARTICULAR ENVELOPES OF LETTERS. |
AU768386B2 (en) * | 1999-10-04 | 2003-12-11 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
WO2001024949A2 (en) * | 1999-10-04 | 2001-04-12 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
WO2001024949A3 (en) * | 1999-10-04 | 2001-10-25 | Lockheed Corp | Singulation mechanism |
US6443444B1 (en) | 1999-10-04 | 2002-09-03 | Lockhead Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
WO2002060792A2 (en) * | 2001-01-30 | 2002-08-08 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
US6575450B2 (en) | 2001-01-30 | 2003-06-10 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Singulation mechanism |
WO2002060792A3 (en) * | 2001-01-30 | 2003-04-17 | Lockheed Corp | Singulation mechanism |
US8061960B2 (en) | 2006-03-10 | 2011-11-22 | Tbs Engineering Limited | Apparatus for placing battery plates |
US8083462B2 (en) * | 2007-04-11 | 2011-12-27 | Tbs Engineering Limited | Apparatus for placing battery plates in a line |
US8641358B2 (en) | 2007-04-11 | 2014-02-04 | Tbs Engineering Limited | Apparatus for placing battery plates in a line |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JPS5612241A (en) | 1981-02-06 |
EP0018057A3 (en) | 1981-02-04 |
AU5767080A (en) | 1980-10-30 |
JPS5928504B2 (en) | 1984-07-13 |
DE3065752D1 (en) | 1984-01-05 |
BE882940A (en) | 1980-10-24 |
EP0018057B1 (en) | 1983-11-30 |
ES250240Y (en) | 1981-11-01 |
ES250240U (en) | 1981-05-01 |
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