GB2183214A - Apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to apparatus for inserting sheets 2, such as letters, into envelopes 6, whereby the envelopes 6 are brought together with the folded sheets 2, and before the envelopes 6 are brought together with the sheets 2 the flap 7 of the envelope 6 is opened by rollers 16, 17 and said flap 7 is dampened by device 26-33 when the folded sheet 2 has been placed in the envelope 6, the above devices being mechanical and synchronized by electromechanical means. The envelopes 6 are placed on an upwardly inclined ramp 5 provided on the end of a tiltable table 3 which is movable relative to the ramp 1 carrying the sheets 2. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes This invention relates to apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes, in which the envelopes are brought into contact with the folded sheets.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes, comprising a ramp for receiving sheets from a folder, said ramp being located above an upwardly inclined ramp which receives envelopes from an envelope feeder, said upwardly inclined ramp being provided on one end of a tiltable table movable relative to the ramp for receiving sheets to determine the meeting of the open envelope with the folded sheet, means for effecting the opening of the flap of an envelope, before the envelope meets the folded sheet, means for effecting the insertion of the sheet in an envelope and means for dampening the flap of an envelope once the envelope contains the folded sheet.

In U.S.A. patent No. 4 471 598 of 1984, the applicant proposed a device for inserting letters into envelopes.

The device was placed in continuation with the extractor of a machine for folding letters, of which the end was above an ascending ramp on which the envelope moved from a conventional feeder.

The said ascending ramp tips at its lower half and withdraws from the exit ramp of the letter folder every time an electromagnet is activated, said activation being carried out by the envelope in which the already folded letter is to be placed.

On the ascending and tilting ramp are transversally placed two sets of rollers, disposed laterally to the surface on which the envelope moves.

The first group of rollers is situated underneath a set of rollers which introduce the letters, while the second group acts on the envelope in which the letter is to be placed, and this envelope, with the flap placed under the exit ramp of the letter folder, has its opening towards the said ramp.

Both the ascending, tilting ramp and the exit ramp from the letter folder, form a concave dihedral on whose internal edge the opening of the envelope is positioned, impeding the passage of the folded letter.

However, in this previous machine the envelope had to be placed with the flap open, and once the letter was placed inside it was necessary to gum the envelope to close it.

The invention now proposes the automation of the machine, by introducing means to open the envelope, and means to wet the gummed strip, so as to give greater output.

The opening of the envelope is carried out by means of a dyhedric plate, turning on a fixed axle above a horizontal plane supporting the envelopes. This dyhedral plate, as its name indicates, is made up of two surfaces placed at an acute angle. One of the surfaces of the dyhedral plate is longer, and has an extension with a hole for the passage of the axle on which it turns, and due to the greater length of this surface, its end is situated beyond the surface which carries the envelopes, with this part of the carrying surface having a corresponding opening for it to pass.

The envelopes whose flaps are to be opened by the aid of the dyhedral plate, are situated in a generally vertical position on a ramp before the ascending ramp, with the lower part of the first envelope leaning on a first roller which turns and thus moves the first envelope, which is then taken by a pair of upper and lower movement rollers whose tangent line is situated slightly under the horizontal plane of the envelope support.

By means of the pair of movement rollers situated near the dyhedral plate, and due to the inclination of the same due to gravity, the front border of the moved envelope, which is the edge opposite that on which the flap emerges, is obliged to pass between the said dyhedral plate and the horizontal support surface. When the front edge of the moving envelope makes contact with the longer surface of the dyhedral plate it is forced to tilt so that the edge of the dyhedral is placed against the envelope, causing the flap which is partially raised due to the placing and direction of the movement rollers, to rest against the lower surface of the dyhedral plate and to turn in order to pass beneath the dyhedral plate, this last movement being possible when the foreward edge of the envelope passes between another pair of movement rollers similar to the previous ones.

When the envelopes leave this last pair of movement rollers, they are open and prepared for later phases in the letter inserting machine.

The means for wetting the flap are made up of an absorbent packing partially lodged in the groove made in an elongated capsule, all of which is placed under the surface on which the envelope moves, in such a way that there is a pad placed in front of the absorbent packing which receives the liquid from the absorbent packing mentioned. The pad is held on a tilting plate activated by an electromagnet, and this electromagnet is activated when the corresponding envelope passes because it connects with the sensor of a micro-switch also set where the envelope passes.

In this way the envelope flaps are wetted adequately and automatically, after passing through the so-called letter inserting machines for the introduction of the corresponding documents, and in this manner the envelopes come out with the flap wetted and are then folded with the consequent gluing and closure of the envelope.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of an example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the layout of the envelope opener and the envelope flap wetting device of a sheet inserting apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a detailed front view of the envelope opener in its initial phase carrying out the process of lifting the flap of an envelope, Figure 3 is a detailed front view of the envelope opener showing the emvelope opener in a more advanced phase of opening an envelope, Figure 4 is a partial side view, showing in detail the area in which the letter is placed in the emvelope, Figure 5 is a detail illustrating the placement and movement of the letter in relation to the envelope at the moment in which the envelope receives the letter, Figure 6 is a side view of the wetting device, showing clearly all the elements which form this part, as well as the horizontal plane or surface on which the envelope whose gummed flap is to be wetted, moves and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the elongated member in which the absorbent material is placed, and the pad which receives the liquid by capillary action, being fed by the pipe connected to the container containing the liquid.

The apparatus is provided with a ramp 1 which receives folded sheets, such as letters, from a sheet folding machine (not shown). On the ramp 1 the folded sheets 2 descend in the direction of a tiltable table 3 forming a ramp.

The tiltable table 3 has at one end an inclined surface which extends from a bend line to form a ramp 5 on which envelopes 6 are stored with their flaps 7 facing forward and placed in the opposite direction to the support ramp 5.

At the line 4, or near to it, is a tilting point 8 about which the table 3 tilts upwards or downwards, as indicated by arrows 9 and 10 indicated in fig. 1, the tilting movement being effected by an electromagnet 11.

On the descending ramp 1, on which the folded sheets 2 slide, there is a set of placement rollers 12 which frictionally hold the folded sheet 2 against its own weight, placing it within reach of another group of rollers 13 which make up a drive transmission with a group of movement rollers 14 which extend through an opening 15 provided in the ascending tilting table 3.

A group of transporting rollers 16-17 ensure the continuity of movement of the unit (envelope and sheet) which, as explained below, are joined by movement group 13-14.

Immediately before the bend line 4 are provided some movement rollers 18 which are intended to contact the first envelope 6 and move and raise it to a pair of movers formed by rollers 19 and 20 whose tangent or point of contact T is at an angle of less than 90 , as shown in fig. 3, and furthermore the point of contact T is situated above the plane of table ramp 3.

Behind the pair of rollers 19-20 is provided a tilting dyhedric plate 21 and behind that are a pair of rollers 22 and 23.

An opening 24 provided in the table 3 permits the action of the tilting plate 21 and the movement rollers 22 and 23.

At the other end of the tilting table ramp 3 is placed, after the group of transportation rollers 16-17, a sensor 25 which activates an electromagnet 26 which, by means of a lever arm 27, rotates an axle 28 on which are provided arms 29 which support a casing 30 in which is set a pad 31 which through an opening 32, rests on a wetting sponge 33 located beneath the table ramp 3.

The wetting sponge 33 is provided in a member 34 which receives, through a pipe 35, liquid from a tank 36.

The traction on the sheet 2 is ensured by two pairs of traction rollers 37-38 and 39-40. The sensor 25 which in fig. 1 appears to be situated above the ascending ramp 3, is situated beneath the plate 3 as can be seen in fig. 6. The sensor 25 is provided to activate the electromagnet 26 so that this, in turn, acts on the lever arm 27 rotating the axle 28 whose arms 29 hold the casing 30 which holds the pad 31.

It can be seen from fig. 2 that the envelope 6, which has been moved by roller 18, is directed towards the pair of rollers 19 and 20 which move it.

The disposition of the rollers 19, 20 and particularly their tangent point T, make the envelope 6 curve and its flap 7 lift up.

At the moment in which the envelope 6 makes contact with the rear part 41 of the dyhedral plate 21, the said plate 21 tilts around the tilting point 42 and its dyhedric face 43 slips over the envelope 6.

It must be noted that part 41 of the plate 21 tends, due to lack of balance, to rest on the ramp 3, but the opening 24 removes this support so that initially it remains unbalanced with the dyhedric face 43 raised to allow free passage of the envelope 6 which, on the closure of the opening 24, offers a support plane which raises part 41 making the face 43 drop and this, as may be seen in fig. 3, provokes the opening of the flap 7 of the envelope 6 which, with the flap 7 now open, advances along ramp 3.

Naturally the opening 24 has a shorter length than that of the envelope 6, which is why the envelope 6 remains perfectly supported and holds the weight of the plate 21.

In a synchronized coincidence, a folded sheet 2, such as a letter, descends by way of the ramp 1 (Figs. 1 to 4 and 5), however, in accordance with fig. 3, since the tilting ascending ramp 3 is in its maximum upper position, the sheet 2 will not be moved by the movement rollers 13 and 15.

The activation of the electromagnet 11 will effect the downward tilt of the table ramp 3 and an envelope 6 with the flap 7 open will be placed in a position to receive a folded sheet 2, and the sheet 2 will be placed in the envelope 6.

The activation signal to the electromagnet 6 is given by the plate 21 when it returns to its rest position and the envelope 6 when descending the ramp 3, the roller 13 which is the driver no longer gives traction to rollers 15 and 17, whereby the envelope 6 is stopped at a point where it offers its mouth to the folded sheet 2, although the flap 7 of the envelope 6 remains under the ramp 1.

The positioning of the envelope 6 to receive the sheet 2 is ensured by the rollers 17 whose weight, by gravity, gives the necessary pressure. In a previous example of the apparatus to which the present improvements are applied, this work was carried out by springs, and the activation now carried out by the tilting dyhedral 21 and the electromagnet 11, was then carried out by a microswitch placed exactly in the position now occupied by the said tilting dyhedral 21. Also in the previous example the transmission between the rollers 15 and 16 was by friction with an intermediate roller, which solution has now been substituted by a simple transmission belt which is cheaper and easy to mount.

Once the sheet 2 is inserted, the ramp 3 descends again and the roller 13 produces traction on rollers 15 and 16 that move the unit which, as appears in fig. 6, activates the sensor 25 which activates the electromagnet 26 which, when pulling the lever arm 27, rotates the axle 28 and then the arms 29 raise the pad 31 allowing the envelope 6 to pass, keeping the sensor 25 activated until the end arm of the flap 7 no longer presses on the sensor 25, when the electromagnet is deactivated and the damping pad 31 rests on the flap 7 of the envelope 6 and wets it, while the envelope 6 advances, moved by the rollers 30 and 40.

As can ben seen in fig. 7, the member 34 holds the sponge 33 which is always impregnated by the liquid which reaches it through the pipe 35 extending from the tank 36 in such a way that the pad 31 is always charged with the liquid necessary to wet the flap 7 of the envelope 6.

The envelope 6 generally come from a machine to which apply address labels and may be transferred manually or automatically to the letter inserting machine.

The envelopes 6 containing the sheets 2, and with the damp flap 7, are closed and sent to postal franking machines, and from there taken to the post office.

The sensors which detect the passage of the envelopes 6 can be regulated to allow for the use of various sizes of envelopes 6.

Claims (5)

1. Apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes, comprising a ramp for receiving sheets from a folder, said ramp being located above an upwardly inclined ramp which receives - envelopes from an envelope feeder, said upwardly inclined ramp being provided on one end of a tiltable table movable relative to the ramp for receiving sheets to determine the meeting of the open envelope with the folded sheet, means for effecting the opening of the flap of an envelope, before the envelope meets the folded sheet, means for effecting the insertion of the sheet in an envelope, and means for dampening the flap of an envelope once the envelope contains the folded sheet.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the means for opening the flap of an envelope comprises a tiltable dyhedric plate and a transporter formed by two rollers located after an entry roller on which the free edge of the flap of the envelope can rest which, drawn by the entry roller, is taken by the two rollers which contract each other at a tangent located before the highest point of the lower roller with respect to the movement plane of the envelope, the free edge of the flap, in use of the apparatus, passing under the edge of the dyhedric tiltable plate which pushes it underneath an area of the said plate that is curved towards the plane of movement, said plate penetrating the envelope and stopping the passage of the envelope which tilts the plate and by tilting places the extreme edge of the plate between the flap and the body of the envelope, lifting the said flap over the plate which has an internal angle less than ninety degrees and its tilt is unbalanced by decentralisation of the pivot axle in such a way that the curved part opposite to the dyhedral hangs down stopping the passage of the envelope and acting as a sensor:

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the means for dampening the flap of an envelope comprises a pad situated in an opening provided in the table forming the plane of movement of the envelope with the sheet, a dampener located under the said table, said absorbent pad being mounted on a plate tilted by the action of an electromagnet activated by a microswitch which has a sensor that stops the passage of the envelope and activates the electromagnet to raise the tiltable plate and said pad above the envelope when it passes under the pad, said pad falling when the flap of the envelope is exactly underneath and no longer acts on the sensor of the microswitch to activate the elec tromagnet.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the pad for receiving liquid rests on the dampener when no envelope is passing and takes liquid by capillary action from the dampener, which liquid is supplied to the dampener through a pipe from a container containing liquid, said dampener being provided on an elongated member having a longitudinal opening in which an absorbent packing is placed.

5. Apparatus for placing sheets, such as letters, in envelopes substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.