EP0484177B1 - Procédé et dispositif pour changer la direction du mouvement d'articles plats - Google Patents

Procédé et dispositif pour changer la direction du mouvement d'articles plats Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0484177B1
EP0484177B1 EP19910310129 EP91310129A EP0484177B1 EP 0484177 B1 EP0484177 B1 EP 0484177B1 EP 19910310129 EP19910310129 EP 19910310129 EP 91310129 A EP91310129 A EP 91310129A EP 0484177 B1 EP0484177 B1 EP 0484177B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
article
roller pairs
deck
conveying
registration wall
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.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19910310129
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0484177A1 (fr
Inventor
Shahzad H. Malick
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
Original Assignee
Pitney Bowes Inc
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Pitney Bowes Inc filed Critical Pitney Bowes Inc
Publication of EP0484177A1 publication Critical patent/EP0484177A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0484177B1 publication Critical patent/EP0484177B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • 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
    • B07C1/18—Orientating articles other than in a stream, e.g. turning, deflecting or changing direction
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H29/00—Delivering or advancing articles from machines; Advancing articles to or into piles
    • B65H29/58—Article switches or diverters
    • 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
    • B65H2301/34—Modifying, selecting, changing direction of displacement
    • B65H2301/341—Modifying, selecting, changing direction of displacement without change of plane of displacement
    • B65H2301/3411—Right angle arrangement, i.e. 90 degrees
    • B65H2301/34112—Right angle arrangement, i.e. 90 degrees changing leading edge

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for changing the direction of motion of flat articles, and in particular to method and apparatus for changing the direction of motion of mailpieces in an inserter machine.
  • turn flat articles such as letter envelopes
  • These devices are required where envelopes are discharged from an inserter and are not properly oriented to be fed to a downstream device such as a franking machine.
  • An inserter is a machine that places selected items in an envelope for further processing.
  • the filled and sealed envelope is then conveyed to a franking machine to have postage imprinted thereon.
  • turner devices have the disadvantage of not only having to turn the envelope to have it properly oriented but are also an integral part of the inserting machine.
  • a device for turning paper sheets through 90° when they are being forwarded has a rotating paddle which engages the sheets and is arranged at approximately 90° to the incoming direction (x) of the sheets.
  • a series of stoppers are arranged at the edge of a square or rectangular tray, opposite to the incoming edge.
  • a series of retractable stoppers are arranged at another edge (the exiting edge). The paddle wheel in use drives the sheets generally towards the exiting edge. The retractable stoppers are moved down to let the sheet leave the tray, the sheet having been turned through 90°
  • the Burkhardt apparatus requires a side-justified line of travel along the first direction of travel so that the deflection rollers can engage the article at the right moment to achieve an accurate change in direction.
  • the center line of travel of the mailpiece is fixed with the side guides being adjustable for handling various sized mailpieces.
  • an apparatus for changing the direction of travel of a flat article without changing its orientation comprising: a deck mounted on a frame, said deck having a first or input side for receiving an article from a first direction; means for conveying the article over said deck in a second direction which forms an angle equal to or less than forty-five degrees (45°) with the first direction, whereby the orientation of the article being conveyed in the first direction is maintained when said article is conveyed in the second direction; a registration wall extending in a third direction which forms a right angle with the first direction; means for conveying the article in said third direction after said article is in contact with said registration wall; characterised in that said deck has a second side extending in said second direction; said second direction conveying means is arranged to engage the leading edge of the flat article after said article has been fed to said deck and has been disengaged by the means for conveying the flat article in the first direction; and said registration wall is fixedly positioned downstream from said second direction conveying means and adjacent a third side of
  • a method for changing the direction of motion without changing the orientation of flat articles is also claimed herein.
  • An apparatus for changing the direction of motion of flat articles being conveyed along a first path to a second path.
  • the apparatus comprises a deck mounted on a frame.
  • the deck has a first side for receiving an article from a first direction and a second side for conveying the article in a second direction which forms an acute angle equal to or less than forty-five degrees (45°) with the first direction.
  • the conveying structure engages a leading edge of the article only after the article has been disengaged by a conveying structure in the first direction.
  • There is a registration wall positioned downstream from the second direction conveying structure adjacent a third side of the deck.
  • the registration wall extends a third direction whereby the registration wall is at a right angle to the first direction, wherein the leading edge of the article is driven against the registration wall after the article has been disengaged by the second direction conveying structure.
  • a flat article direction changing device 5 which includes a plate 10 secured to a deck 12 being mounted on three leg members 13.
  • Deck 12 has an input side 14 and an exit side 16.
  • the deck is provided with eight rectangular slots 18, each of which has projected in part a continuously driven roller 20.
  • driven rollers 20 have a rubber surface, for example, a urethane surface.
  • Pulley 34 is operatively connected to drive shafts 40 by a staggered pulley/belt arrangement, generally designated 42, for driving rollers 20.
  • the interior drive shafts 40 each drive two driven rollers 20 and the exterior drive shafts 40 each drive one roller 20.
  • device 5 can include more than two rollers per shaft depending on the size of the article and the amount of control needed to achieve the right angle change in direction.
  • the orientation of the roller device 5 is not limited to 45 degrees (45°). Any angle less than 45 degrees (45°) can be used to deflect the envelope. When an alternate angle of deflection is employed, the length of the deck and the number of rollers may increase in achieving the right angle change in direction.
  • Each idler roller assembly 48 includes a supporting shaft 52 fixably mounted at one end to the plate 10 and at the other end to plate 11 for supporting idler roller assembly 48. This ensures fixed distance among shafts 52. Plate 11 is supported by shafts 52 and is suspended above deck 12.
  • Each assembly 48 includes an idler roller 50 which is rotatably mounted on a pivotable lever arm 54.
  • a torsion spring 56 is mounted on the shaft 52 and is attached at one end to arm 54 and at the other end to a retaining collar 58 also fixably secured to shaft 52.
  • Another retaining collar 59 is used to secure arm 54 to shaft 52.
  • a resultant counter clockwise movement, as viewed in Fig. 2 is therefore applied to each roller 50 and a normal force is applied to corresponding lower, driven roller 20 by the roller 50. In this manner, device 5 can handle envelopes of various thicknesses.
  • the lower, driven rollers 20 are fixably mounted on drive shafts 40 which are suitably journaled to two plates under deck 12, one of which plates is designated 41, the other is not shown. Although the lower rollers 20 are the driven rollers, the top rollers 50 could be driven and the bottom rollers 20 could be the idler rollers.
  • the right angle transfer device 5 takes a stuffed envelope conveyed from the insert station 70 of an inserter machine and changes the direction of travel by ninety degrees (90°) without changing the orientation of the envelope.
  • the speed of the rollers 20 is such that the linear speed of the envelope through the transfer device 5 is slightly less than the exit speed of the envelope from the upstream insert station 70. It has been found that when the envelope is engaged by the first two roller pairs at 72, there is an abrupt jarring which encourages the enclosures to settle to the bottom edge of the envelope.
  • the exit speed of the envelope from the upstream insert station may vary from job to job and from inserter to inserter. It has been found that using variable speed motor 30, the speed of the rollers 20 on transfer unit 5 can be adjusted accordingly based on any exit speed of the envelope at the insert station 70.
  • the envelope travels at a forty-five degree (45°) angle across transfer device 5 until the envelope is released by the last two roller pairs at 74.
  • the envelope hits the registration wall 80 and becomes engaged by takeaway roller assembly 82 at the same linear speed. As seen in Fig. 1, the orientation of the envelope is maintained as the envelope travels through the transfer device 5.
  • the position of registration wall 80 is adjustable for handling different sized envelopes.
  • Wall 80 is positioned such that envelope 15 does not make contact with wall 80 until the envelope leaves the control of the last pair of rollers at 74.
  • Roller assembly 82 is adjustably positioned along registration wall 80 to ensure that the envelope is not engaged until it leaves the control of the last pair of rollers at 74.
  • the present invention can be used at new inserter speeds, for example, 9600 cycles. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the rollers provide a constant positive drive of the envelope, and eliminate the abrupt mechanical rotation typically associated with turners in this area of the inserter machine.
  • envelope 15 is not engaged by the rollers in transfer device 5 until the envelope has been released by the drive means exiting insert station 70.
  • envelope 15 is not engaged by takeaway roller assembly 82 until envelope 15 has been released by the rollers in transfer device 5.
  • Fig. 2 shows the downstream idler roller 50 in a raised position in phantom to show that the idler rollers 50 can be raised to provide an alternative method for accommodating different sized envelopes.
  • the idler roller 50 of roller assembly 48a may be raised to ensure that the envelope 15 is not engaged by any roller assembly when envelope 15 hits wall 80.
  • the transfer device 5 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 performs a change in direction to the right. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a transfer device configured in the mirror image of device 5 will perform a change in direction to the left.
  • the center line 76 of envelope 15 is fixed leaving the insert station 70. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, regardless of size of envelopes, the center line of any envelope conveyed from the insert station 70 will always be engaged at the same point 72 in transfer device 5.
  • transfer device 5 is independently driven and controlled and is not an integral part of the inserter machine.
  • Transfer device 5 includes its own drive motor 30. Once transfer device 5 is turned on, driven rollers 20 can be continuously driven independent of the starting, stopping and interruption in the operation of the inserter machine.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Registering Or Overturning Sheets (AREA)
  • Attitude Control For Articles On Conveyors (AREA)
  • Separation, Sorting, Adjustment, Or Bending Of Sheets To Be Conveyed (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Appareil pour changer la direction du parcours d'un article plat sans changer son orientation, comprenant:
       un plateau (12) monté sur un châssis, ledit plateau ayant un premier côté ou côté d'entrée (14) destiné à recevoir un article provenant d'une première direction;
       des moyens (20, 48) pour acheminer l'article (15) sur ledit plateau dans une seconde direction qui forme un angle égal ou inférieur à quarante-cinq degrés (45°) avec la première direction, de façon que l'orientation de l'article acheminé dans la première direction soit conservée lorsque ledit article est acheminé dans la seconde direction;
       une paroi d'enregistrement (80) s'étendant dans une troisième direction qui forme un angle droit avec la première direction;
       un moyen (82) pour acheminer l'article (15) dans ladite troisième direction après que ledit article soit en contact avec ladite paroi d'enregistrement (80);
       caractérisé en ce que
       ledit plateau (12) comporte un second côté s'étendant dans ladite seconde direction;
       ledit moyen d'acheminement dans la seconde direction (20, 48) est aménagé de façon à engager le bord avant de l'article plat (15) après que ledit article ait été chargé sur ledit plateau (12), et ait été désengagé par le moyen pour acheminer l'article plat dans la première direction; et
       ladite paroi d'enregistrement (80) est placée de façon fixe en aval dudit moyen d'acheminement dans la seconde direction (20, 48), et adjacente à un troisième côté dudit plateau (12) s'étendant dans ladite troisième direction, de façon que ledit bord avant de l'article plat soit entraîné par son propre élan contre ladite paroi d'enregistrement (80) après que l'article plat (15) ait été désengagé par ledit moyen d'acheminement dans la seconde direction (20, 48).
  2. Appareil selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ledit moyen d'acheminement dans la seconde direction (20, 48) comprend plusieurs paires de rouleaux, chacune desdites paires de rouleaux étant placée en ligne avec ladite seconde direction.
  3. Appareil selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ladite seconde direction est à quarante-cinq degrés (45°) par rapport à ladite première direction.
  4. Appareil selon la revendication 1, dans lequel dans lequel ladite troisième direction est à quatre-vingt dix degrés (90°) par rapport à ladite première direction.
  5. Appareil selon la revendication 2, dans lequel chacune desdites paires de rouleaux (20, 48) comporte un ensemble de rouleaux libres à ressort (48) et un rouleau entraîné (20).
  6. Appareil selon la revendication 5, dans lequel lesdits rouleaux entraînés (20) sont entraînés à une vitesse réglable par un moteur à vitesse variable (32).
  7. Appareil selon la revendication 6, dans lequel ladite vitesse du rouleau entraîné est inférieure à la vitesse dudit moyen d'acheminement dans la première direction.
  8. Appareil selon la revendication 6, dans lequel la commande dudit moyen d'acheminement dans la première direction (20, 48) est indépendante de la commande d'un dispositif d'insertion dans lequel l'appareil est configuré.
  9. Appareil selon la revendication 5, dans lequel chacun desdits rouleaux libres (48) peut pivoter pour désengager une association quelconque de paires de rouleaux, de façon que lorsque les articles sont acheminés par ledit moyen d'acheminement dans la seconde direction, lesdits moyens d'acheminement dans la première et dans la troisième directions n'engagent pas l'article (15).
  10. Appareil selon la revendication 1, dans lequel ladite paroi d'enregistrement (80) est placée de façon réglable de façon à manipuler des articles de tailles variées.
  11. Procédé pour changer la direction du mouvement sans changer l'orientation d'articles plats (15) acheminés dans une première direction vers une troisième direction qui fait un angle droit avec la première direction, le procédé comportant les étapes de:
    a) chargement d'un courant d'articles dans la première direction par un premier moyen d'entraînement;
    b) engagement du bord avant de chacun desdits articles par au moins deux parmi plusieurs paires de rouleaux (20, 48), après que ledit article ait été désengagé par ledit premier moyen d'entraînement, ladite paire de rouleaux étant configurée en deux rangées parallèles au moins, chacune desdites paires de rouleaux faisant un angle dans une seconde direction, qui est égal ou inférieur à quarante-cinq degrés (45°), par rapport à ladite première direction;
    c) acheminement de chacun des articles par les paires de rouleaux sur un plateau (12) dans la seconde direction;
    d) entraînement par son propre élan dudit bord avant de chaque article contre une paroi d'enregistrement (80) après que chacun de ces articles ait été désengagé de la paire de rouleaux dans la seconde direction, ladite paroi d'enregistrement (80) étant placée à angle droit par rapport à la première direction, et en aval de la paire de rouleaux (20); et
    e) acheminement de chacun des articles le long de la paroi d'enregistrement par un troisième moyen d'entraînement (82).
  12. Procédé selon la revendication 11, dans lequel, en fonctionnement, lesdites paires de rouleaux sont entraînées et sont commandées indépendamment du premier et du troisième moyens d'entraînement.
EP19910310129 1990-11-02 1991-11-01 Procédé et dispositif pour changer la direction du mouvement d'articles plats Expired - Lifetime EP0484177B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US60851290A 1990-11-02 1990-11-02
US608512 2003-06-27

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0484177A1 EP0484177A1 (fr) 1992-05-06
EP0484177B1 true EP0484177B1 (fr) 1995-08-09

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ID=24436826

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19910310129 Expired - Lifetime EP0484177B1 (fr) 1990-11-02 1991-11-01 Procédé et dispositif pour changer la direction du mouvement d'articles plats

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EP (1) EP0484177B1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2054515C (fr)
DE (1) DE69111976T2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2074023A1 (fr) * 1991-07-19 1993-01-20 Shahzad H. Malick Methode et appareil servant a aligner des articles plats en modifiant leur direction
US5597156A (en) * 1994-11-03 1997-01-28 Masterflo Technology, Inc. Modular folded sheet conveyor system
DK1057762T3 (da) 1999-05-31 2004-03-08 Ferag Ag Fremgangsmåde og indretning til transport af genstande, der ankommer i en overlappende formation
CN111545469B (zh) * 2020-05-25 2022-08-02 莆田学院 一种智慧物流包裹分拣调整系统

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1177559B (de) * 1962-07-11 1964-09-03 Telefunken Patent Einrichtung zum Umlenken und Wenden von biegsamen flachen Gegenstaenden
GB1474595A (en) * 1974-05-08 1977-05-25 Dean Res Corp Routing and conveying apparatus
US4155440A (en) * 1977-07-05 1979-05-22 Pitney-Bowes, Inc. Document turning station
DE3134266C2 (de) * 1981-08-29 1984-11-29 Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh, 6000 Frankfurt Vorrichtung zum Ändern der Bewegungsrichtung von in Richtung ihrer langen Kanten einlaufenden Briefen und ähnlichen rechteckigen Sendungen
US4909374A (en) * 1986-01-13 1990-03-20 Pitney Bowes Inc. Flat article direction changing device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE69111976T2 (de) 1996-04-11
CA2054515C (fr) 2002-03-19
CA2054515A1 (fr) 1992-05-03
DE69111976D1 (de) 1995-09-14
EP0484177A1 (fr) 1992-05-06

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