EP0102704B1 - Multi-station document inserter with automatic startup and shutdown document collation sequences - Google Patents

Multi-station document inserter with automatic startup and shutdown document collation sequences Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0102704B1
EP0102704B1 EP19830303846 EP83303846A EP0102704B1 EP 0102704 B1 EP0102704 B1 EP 0102704B1 EP 19830303846 EP19830303846 EP 19830303846 EP 83303846 A EP83303846 A EP 83303846A EP 0102704 B1 EP0102704 B1 EP 0102704B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
document
envelope
documents
modules
feeder module
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.)
Revoked
Application number
EP19830303846
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0102704A2 (en
EP0102704A3 (en
Inventor
Peter N. Piotroski
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Pitney Bowes Inc
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Pitney Bowes Inc
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Publication date
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Application filed by Pitney Bowes Inc filed Critical Pitney Bowes Inc
Publication of EP0102704A2 publication Critical patent/EP0102704A2/en
Publication of EP0102704A3 publication Critical patent/EP0102704A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0102704B1 publication Critical patent/EP0102704B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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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
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43M—BUREAU ACCESSORIES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B43M3/00—Devices for inserting documents into envelopes
    • B43M3/04—Devices for inserting documents into envelopes automatic

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to document inserters, and more particularly to multi-station document inserters.
  • U.S. Patent US-A- 3 606 728 there is shown a multi-station inserter machine which has a plurality of document feeder modules, an envelope feeder module, switch means for activating these, and a supervisory control means.
  • this U.S. Patent does not appreciate the need for a particular operation upon start-up and shut-down. That is, it does not disclose a means for avoiding the manual clearance of the feed deck of the machine as is discussed above in connection with the prior art.
  • a multi-station document inserter comprising:-
  • the present invention also provides for a method for automatically providing completely collated stacks of documents in a multi-station document inserter, which method is claimed in Claim 2.
  • FIG. 1 one arrangement for a multi-station document inserter is illustrated as 10.
  • the details of such a multi-station document inserter, including the programs and circuitry therefor, are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 394,388, European Patent Publication EP-A-102 699 of which the inventors are Peter N. Piotroski and John M. Gomes, entitled, Universal Multi-station Document Inserter the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • the document inserter 10 includes a plurality of feeder modules 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24.
  • Feeder module 12 is an envelope feeder and is positioned at one end of transport deck or path 26.
  • the other document feeder modules, 14-24 may comprise any type feeder modules, such as those disclosed in the aforementioned patent application.
  • the feeder module 24, which is the feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module 12 is typically a control document feeder.
  • the feeder modules 14-24 typically include scanners for communicating with the supervisory control circuit 28.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 includes a plurality of PROMS programmed to operate the inserter in accordance with a desired customer configuration.
  • the operator actuates a switch (finger touch) on the central control display 30 to initiate the Sequence Start Routine.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 Upon activation of the switch for the Sequence Start Routine, the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates a Sequence Start Routine.
  • signals are sequentially transmitted from the supervisory control circuit 28 to each uniquely addressed feeder module and the distributed processor associated therewith over signal bus 32 beginning with the feeder module 24 most remote from the envelope feeder module 12.
  • the addressed distributed processor activates the appropriate module devices (motor, clutch, and brake) for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 then transmits a signal to the next uniquely addressed feeder module 22 and its associated distributed processor activates the appropriate module devices for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. This process is repeated sequentially for the remaining feeder modules 20-12 so that a completely collated stack of documents is transmitted to and inserted into the envelope at the envelope feeder module 12. Thereafter, all of the feeder modules feed documents onto the transport deck 26 every cycle.
  • the operator also actuates a switch (finger touch) on the central control display 30 to initiate the Clear Deck (Sequence Stop) Routine.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates the Clear Deck Routine.
  • signals are sequentially transmitted from the supervisory control circuit 28 to each uniquely addressed feeder module and the distributed processor associated therewith, beginning with the feeder module 24 most remote from the envelope feeder module 12.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 sends a signal to the distributed processor to deactivate the feeder module 24.
  • the supervisory control circuit 28 sends a signal to the adjacent module 22 to deactivate it. This process is repeated sequentially for the remaining modules 20-12 so that a final completely collated stack of documents is transmitted to and inserted into an envelope at the envelope feeder module 12. That is, no documents will remain on the transport deck 26.
  • the inserter 10 is sequenced on for one cycle with the first feeder module 24, (the one most remote from the envelope feeder module 12) feeding a document(s) onto the transport deck 26.
  • the adjacent feeder module 22 is then sequenced on for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26.
  • This process is continued sequentially with the remaining feeder modules 20-14, to provide a complete collation of documents for insertion into an envelope feeder module 12.
  • the inserter 10 will undergo continuous operation by feeding the proper documents from each feeder module, 24-14, and the envelope from envelope feeder 12, during each cycle, as described in the aforementioned copending patent application.
  • the inserter 10 is sequenced off with the first feeder module 24 (the one most remote from the envelope feeder module 12) being deactivated after it has fed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26.
  • the adjacent feeder module 22 is then sequenced off after it has fed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. This process is continued sequentially with the remaining feeder modules 20-14 to provide a final completely collated stack of documents for insertion into an envelope at the envelope feeder module 12 without any documents remaining on the transport deck 26.

Description

  • The present invention relates to document inserters, and more particularly to multi-station document inserters.
  • Known multi-station document inserters require substantial training of inserter operators to enable them to locate any documents present on the transport deck of the inserter prior to start up or after shut down and to manipulate the documents and feeder modules to provide a complete document collation when the inserter is activated. That is, prior to start up the operator would often have to remove the documents from the transport deck and reinsert them by hand into the proper feeders or discard them.
  • In U.S. Patent (US-A-) 3 606 728 there is shown a multi-station inserter machine which has a plurality of document feeder modules, an envelope feeder module, switch means for activating these, and a supervisory control means. However, this U.S. Patent does not appreciate the need for a particular operation upon start-up and shut-down. That is, it does not disclose a means for avoiding the manual clearance of the feed deck of the machine as is discussed above in connection with the prior art.
  • According to the present invention, there is provided a multi-station document inserter comprising:-
    • a plurality of document feeder modules;
    • an envelope feeder module for feeding envelopes and inserting stacks of collated documents into the envelopes;
    • a transport deck for transmitting documents from the document feeder modules to the envelope feeder module;
    • supervisory control means for transmitting control signals in a machine cycle to activate and deactivate the various feeder modules;
    • distributed processing means associated with each of said document feeder modules, said distributing processing means receiving the control signals from said supervisory control means;

    the supervisory control means being arranged, upon start-up of the inserter, to transmit a control signal in each machine cycle to activate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated initial stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module and arranged thereafter to transmit control signals to activate all of the document feeder modules in each machine cycle;
    characterised in that:
    upon shutdown of the inserter, the supervisory control means transmits a control signal in each machine cycle to deactivate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated final stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module and inserted into an envelope, and no documents remain on the transport deck.
  • The present invention also provides for a method for automatically providing completely collated stacks of documents in a multi-station document inserter, which method is claimed in Claim 2.
  • The invention will be better understood from the following non-limiting description of an example thereof given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
    • Figure 1 is a schematic view of the arrangement of the feeder modules for a six station document inserter, excluding the envelope feeder module; and
    • Figure 2 is a flow chart of the supervisory program illustrating the Sequence Start and Clear Deck Routines used in a document inserter according to the present invention.
  • Referring to Figure 1, one arrangement for a multi-station document inserter is illustrated as 10. The details of such a multi-station document inserter, including the programs and circuitry therefor, are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 394,388, European Patent Publication EP-A-102 699 of which the inventors are Peter N. Piotroski and John M. Gomes, entitled, Universal Multi-station Document Inserter the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • As illustrated in Figure 1, the document inserter 10 includes a plurality of feeder modules 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24. Feeder module 12 is an envelope feeder and is positioned at one end of transport deck or path 26. The other document feeder modules, 14-24, may comprise any type feeder modules, such as those disclosed in the aforementioned patent application. Further, the feeder module 24, which is the feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module 12, is typically a control document feeder. Moreover, it is the first document feeder along the document transport path 26 of the inserter 10 since the documents are fed from left to right in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1. Further, as disclosed in the aforementioned copending patent application, the feeder modules 14-24 typically include scanners for communicating with the supervisory control circuit 28. Further, the supervisory control circuit 28 includes a plurality of PROMS programmed to operate the inserter in accordance with a desired customer configuration.
  • The operator actuates a switch (finger touch) on the central control display 30 to initiate the Sequence Start Routine. Upon activation of the switch for the Sequence Start Routine, the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates a Sequence Start Routine. In carrying out this routine, signals are sequentially transmitted from the supervisory control circuit 28 to each uniquely addressed feeder module and the distributed processor associated therewith over signal bus 32 beginning with the feeder module 24 most remote from the envelope feeder module 12. In response to a signal from the supervisory control circuit 28, the addressed distributed processor activates the appropriate module devices (motor, clutch, and brake) for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. The supervisory control circuit 28 then transmits a signal to the next uniquely addressed feeder module 22 and its associated distributed processor activates the appropriate module devices for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. This process is repeated sequentially for the remaining feeder modules 20-12 so that a completely collated stack of documents is transmitted to and inserted into the envelope at the envelope feeder module 12. Thereafter, all of the feeder modules feed documents onto the transport deck 26 every cycle.
  • The operator also actuates a switch (finger touch) on the central control display 30 to initiate the Clear Deck (Sequence Stop) Routine. Thereupon, the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates the Clear Deck Routine. In carrying out the routine, signals are sequentially transmitted from the supervisory control circuit 28 to each uniquely addressed feeder module and the distributed processor associated therewith, beginning with the feeder module 24 most remote from the envelope feeder module 12. The supervisory control circuit 28 sends a signal to the distributed processor to deactivate the feeder module 24. After feeder module 24 is deactivated, the supervisory control circuit 28 sends a signal to the adjacent module 22 to deactivate it. This process is repeated sequentially for the remaining modules 20-12 so that a final completely collated stack of documents is transmitted to and inserted into an envelope at the envelope feeder module 12. That is, no documents will remain on the transport deck 26.
  • As apparent from the flow chart 34 in Figure 2, once the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates the Sequence Start Routine, the inserter 10 is sequenced on for one cycle with the first feeder module 24, (the one most remote from the envelope feeder module 12) feeding a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. The adjacent feeder module 22 is then sequenced on for one cycle to feed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. This process is continued sequentially with the remaining feeder modules 20-14, to provide a complete collation of documents for insertion into an envelope feeder module 12. Thereafter, the inserter 10 will undergo continuous operation by feeding the proper documents from each feeder module, 24-14, and the envelope from envelope feeder 12, during each cycle, as described in the aforementioned copending patent application.
  • Once the supervisory control circuit 28 initiates the Clear Deck Routine, the inserter 10 is sequenced off with the first feeder module 24 (the one most remote from the envelope feeder module 12) being deactivated after it has fed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. The adjacent feeder module 22 is then sequenced off after it has fed a document(s) onto the transport deck 26. This process is continued sequentially with the remaining feeder modules 20-14 to provide a final completely collated stack of documents for insertion into an envelope at the envelope feeder module 12 without any documents remaining on the transport deck 26.

Claims (2)

1. A multi-station document inserter comprising:-
a plurality of document feeder modules;
an envelope feeder module for feeding envelopes and inserting stacks of collated documents into the envelopes;
a transport deck for transmitting documents from the document feeder modules to the envelope feeder module;
supervisory control means for transmitting control signals in a machine cycle to activate and deactivate the various feeder modules;
distributed processing means associated with each of said document feeder modules, said distributing processing means receiving the control signals from said supervisory control means;

the supervisory control means being arranged, upon start-up of the inserter, to transmit a control signal in each machine cycle to activate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated initial stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module and arranged thereafter to transmit control signals to activate all of the document feeder modules in each machine cycle;
characterised in that:
upon shutdown of the inserter, the supervisory control means transmits a control signal in each machine cycle to deactivate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated final stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module and inserted into an envelope, and no documents remain on the transport deck.
2. A method for automatically providing completely collated stacks of documents in a multi-station document inserter station having a plurality of document feeder modules, an envelope feeder module which feeds envelopes and inserts collated stacks of documents into the envelopes and a transport deck transmitting documents from the document feeder modules to the envelope feeder module, and supervisory control means for transmitting control signals in a machine cycle to activate and deactivate the various feeder modules, said method comprising the steps of
transmitting upon start-up of the inserter, a control signal in each machine cycle to activate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated initial stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module, and
thereafter, transmitting control signals to activate all of the document feeder modules in each machine cycle, the method being characterised by further transmitting upon shutdown of the inserter, a control signal in each machine cycle to deactivate the document feeder modules one-by-one in sequence beginning with the document feeder module most remote from the envelope feeder module so that a completely collated final stack of documents is transmitted to the envelope feeder module and inserted into an envelope, and no documents remain on the transport deck.
EP19830303846 1982-07-01 1983-07-01 Multi-station document inserter with automatic startup and shutdown document collation sequences Revoked EP0102704B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US39438982A 1982-07-01 1982-07-01
US394389 1982-07-01

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0102704A2 EP0102704A2 (en) 1984-03-14
EP0102704A3 EP0102704A3 (en) 1985-07-31
EP0102704B1 true EP0102704B1 (en) 1990-01-24

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ID=23558762

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19830303846 Revoked EP0102704B1 (en) 1982-07-01 1983-07-01 Multi-station document inserter with automatic startup and shutdown document collation sequences

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DE (1) DE3381138D1 (en)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4568072A (en) * 1984-10-29 1986-02-04 Pitney Bowes Inc. Interactive system for defining initial configurations for an inserter system
US5912979A (en) * 1990-11-02 1999-06-15 Bell & Howell Mail Processing Systems Co. Method and apparatus for object surveillance along a transport path
FR2714744B1 (en) * 1993-12-30 1996-03-15 Neopost Ind Office machine with programmable tasks for processing mail.
DE4407871C2 (en) * 1994-03-04 1997-08-21 Francotyp Postalia Gmbh Arrangement for the controllable optional feeding of filling material to an inserting device

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3606728A (en) * 1969-09-08 1971-09-21 Bell & Howell Co Insertion machine
US3870295A (en) * 1972-12-04 1975-03-11 Xerox Corp Sorter supplement control
US3905594A (en) * 1973-04-16 1975-09-16 Norfin Memory and visual indicator system for sorting device
US3934867A (en) * 1974-06-03 1976-01-27 Pitney-Bowes, Inc. Collating, folding and inserting system
US3935429A (en) * 1975-02-18 1976-01-27 Pitney-Bowes, Inc. Process and apparatus for controlling document feeding machines from indicia contained on a document fed therefrom

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0102704A2 (en) 1984-03-14
DE3381138D1 (en) 1990-03-01
EP0102704A3 (en) 1985-07-31

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