US3747297A

US3747297A - Flap-opening apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3747297A
Application number: US00199971A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Hankins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-11-18
Filing date: 1971-11-18
Publication date: 1973-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-24

Abstract

Apparatus for automatically opening the flaps of a plurality of envelopes. Storage means are provided for handling envelopes in large volume and automatic feeder means are provided for feeding said envelopes into a flap-opening component of the apparatus. Flattening and ejection means automatically draw the envelopes through said feeder means and said flap-opening component and eject said envelopes from the device after the flaps thereon have been opened while simultaneously prohibiting the re-closure of opened flaps after ejection.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 Hankins 1451 July 24, 1973 Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee Attorney-Warren J. Krauss [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for automatically opening the flaps of a plurality of envelopes. Storage means are provided for handling envelopes in large volume and automatic feeder means are provided for feeding said envelopes into a flap-opening component of the apparatus. Flattening and ejection means automatically draw the envelopes through said feeder means and said flapopening component and eject said envelopes from the device after the flaps thereon have been opened while simultaneously prohibiting the re-closure of 7 opened flaps after ejection.

19 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures [54] FLAP-OPENING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Charles William Hankins, 1218 Mission Rd, South San Francisco, Calif. 94080 22 Filed: Nov. 18,1971

21 Appl. No.: 199,971

[52] 0.8. CI. 53/381 R, 53/186 [51] lnt Cl B65b 43/39 [58] Field of Search 53/381 R, 188, 186; 270/68 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,568,401 I 3 1971 Bronschu 53/186 2,668,053 2/1954 Bach 53/381 R X I8 O I 26 38 Q 24 37 Q2 r"\\ 1 I) I J i .J

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically opening the flaps of envelopes.

A fast and economical approach to the problem of opening the flaps of a large volume of envelopes has eluded industry for some time. The problem has been particularly vexing for mail order operations and other large organizations where large-scale recurrent billing is required.

Generally, envelopes are supplied to the user in boxes with the flaps disposed in a normally closed position. This is because the gummed portion of the average envelope flap must be protected from ambient moisture during storage and such protection is afforded by the outer paper surfaces of the envelopes when the envelope flap is in the normally-closed condition. As a consequence, mailing operations usually involve the preopening or flapping" of each individual envelope prior to the insertion therein of the material to be sent. traditionally, this flapping has been accomplished, even in large-volume situations, by manual means. In the typical large-volume mailing operation, teams of workers are periodically hired or diverted from other tasks for the sole purpose of opening the flaps on envelopes. It is rather obvious that such a system is an extremely costly and inefficient solution to the flapping problem. Thus, industry has long sought a cheaper and more efficient system for effectively handling large volumes of envelopes. The present invention is directed to the provision of such a system and, in particular, to an apparatus capable of automatically performing a function normally carried out by manual means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant flap-opening apparatus comprises a variable-capacity envelope storage section which holds a plurality of envelopes having their flaps in a normallyclosed position, a flap-opening section, and a feeder section which automatically draws each individual envelope through the flap-opening section. Subsequent to passage through the flap-opening and feeder sections of the apparatus, the opened envelopes are engaged by means which assure that the flaps will remain in the open condition during their travel through the apparatus and finally the envelopes are passed through a flattening and ejection means which flatten each of the envelopes to remove most of the normally-found closing bias of the flaps and to eject the opened envelopes in an orderly fashion toward a final point of use. The apparatus may be actuated manually or in a fully automatic mode by means of inexpensive motor and control means.

The accompanying drawings show, by way of illustration, the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof. It should be recognized that other embodiments of the invention, applying the same or equivalent principles, may be used and that structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ment of the flap-opening apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional, elevational view of the invention taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and showing the envelope storage section loaded with envelopes ready for the flap-opening operation;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, partially cut away, which shows the operative positions of the various elements as envelopes are being passed through the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the instant invention will now be presented. The particular embodiment shown is comprised of four main sections shown generally at l, 2, 3 and 4. These are, respectively, the envelope storage section, the flap-opening section, the feeding section, and the flattening and ejection section. The storage section generally comprises a bin or chute member 5 which is adjustably mounted by means of a fastening means 6 upon a frame member or table portion 7. A slot means 8 is provided in the table portion to allow movement of the member 5 along the length of the slot means, when desired, to provide a variable capacity for envelopes of various sizes and configurations.

With further reference to FIG. 3, one can appreciate the manner in which the envelopes which are to be opened or flapped are stored against the chute member 5. The envelopes, shown generally at 9, are stored flap down and inclined rearwardly upwardly by virtue of the oblique disposition of the chute member 5 with respect to the table portion 7. The forward portion of the envelope storage section is comprised by a plate member 10. This plate member is mounted upon another portion of the frame structure 11 between two oppositely disposed channel members 12. The channel members are provided with slot means 13 which coact with a pair of suitable fastening means 14, such as knurled screws or the like, which are removably attached to the plate member 10 and which can be tightened with the plate member in any desirable position to afford vertical adjustability for member 10. Mounted upon the plate member 10 are a pair of adjustable skidder bar members 15 which members are slotted at 16 and adjustably attached to the plate member 10 by means of slidable screw fasteners 17 or the like. These skidder bar members 15 are provided with tapered portions 18 which incline to a minimus at a point coterminus with the bottom edge portion of the plate member 10. The skidder members, and particularly the tapered portions thereof, are adapted to contact the forward edge portions of. the envelopes when such envelopes are in the above-described storage area and to coact with the bin chute member 5 to guide the envelopes individually towards the feeding and opening sections of the apparatus as will be more fully described hereinafter.

As best shown in FIGS. 2-4, the flap opening section of the apparatus is comprised of three laterally-spaced

finger members

19, 20, and 21. As clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, these finger members are formed in an upwardly-opening J-shape and attached to a portion of the frame member 22 by suitable means such as pin meansor screw fasteners. The central finger member 19 generally extends longitudinally forwardly of the other two members towards the feeding section of the apparatus and is shown in its operative disposition. The

finger members

20 and 21, however, are spaced laterally outwardly from the central finger member and, in operation, are readily adjustable from side to side as shown in FIG. 2 to afford capacity for envelopes of different dimensions. The central finger member 19 is usually fixed as shown but may also be laterally adjustable, if desired. The

members

19, 20 and 21 are made from a spring-like material such as spring steel, formed resilient fluorocarbon plastics, or the like. With particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the upwardlyprojecting portions of the finger members are adapted to engage each individual envelope flap which passes thereover for the purpose of opening same. While the preferred number of finger members is three, it would be possible, within the spirit of the invention, to utilize a greater or lesser number of elements.

The feeding section 3 of the apparatus will now be described. Rotatably disposed upon a shaft 23 are a pair of spaced-apart drum members 24. These drum members are keyed or splined to the shaft 23 which shaft is journalled for positive rotation within a portion of the frame member 11. Instead of two separate drum members 24, it would be possible to utilize only a single drum member which would extend transversely completely across the apparatus. The drum members 24 may be solid in section as shown or may be hollow members which are connected to the shaft 23 by means of webbing or the like and which may be made from such rigid materials as metal or high-strength plastic.

Disposed fixedly upon each of the drum members 24 is a gripper segment 25. These gripper segments are made from resilient material such as rubber, soft fluorocarbon, polyethylene foam, or the like, and are attached to the drum members 24 by positive means such as glue, rivets or holding tabs and slots cut in the drum members. Each segment has an included angle a of approximately 60 to 85. The gripper segments are provided with a plurality of fingerlike projections 26 which, as shown, are disposed in double rows having four projections each. While this particular arrangement has proven to produce optimum results, it should be understood that other numbers and arrangements of projections on the gripper segments may be provided. For instance, diamond-shaped or crisscrossed configurations would, in some cases, produce very favorable results. As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the function of these gripper segments and the projections thereon is to engage the bottom surfaces of the individual envelopes and to feed the envelopes into the apparatus. The shaft 23 may be rotated by means of a crank mechanism 27 or optionally by means of an electric or fluid motor, shown in phantom at 28 in FIGS. 1 and 2. It must be noted at this point that the particular drive means for the instant apparatus may be coordinated with other apparatus to perform, if desired, an entire mailing operations sequence. For example, the instant flapping apparatus could be coordinated with an inserting machine which would take the open fiapped envelopes upon ejection from the instant apparatus and stuff or insert the materials to be mailed therein and then feed the filled envelopes on to a machine which would then seal and address them. All of this could be done by a computerized control system with a coordinated drive means which would properly sequence the function of each component in the system to provide the desired result. Thus, the instant invention might be considered as one component of an integrated overall system for handling large-volume mailing operations.

Returning to the description of the feeding section of the device, plate member 10 is provided with a pair of holding bands or O-rings 29. Although these holding bands are shown to have a circular cross section in the preferred embodiment, other shapes are possible. The bands may be continuous toroids as shown and may be fitted over the plate member 10 by means of the removal of the plate member by a loosening of the fastening means 14 and a sliding movement of the plate member 10 upwardly and out of the channel members 12. Alternatively, the holding bands may be separable members which are wrapped around the plate and then connected in place. The bands are movable upon the plate member to provide for adjustability and to compensate for wear which might occur in portions thereof. The purpose of these holding bands is to retard all of the envelopes residing in the storage area except for the lowermost envelope in the stack, which envelope is fed through the apparatus between the plate member 10 and drum members 24.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be noted that the skidder bar members and, more particularly, the minimi of the tapered portions 18 project inwardly towards the plate member 10 to a greater extent than do the holding bands 29. Thus, at the lowermost point on the plate member 10, the holding bands 29 extend outwardly beyond the confines of the skidder member portions 18 to engage the envelopes. The holding bands are made from resilient material such as rubber or the like having an inherent semi-adhesion property which presents a frictional surface sufficient to retain all of the envelopes in place until each has dropped to the bottom of the storage section and to the lowermost extent of the plate member 10 and has, in fact, made contact with the drum members 24 or the gripper segments 25. The adjustability of the plate member 10 may be used to vary the spacing between the holding hands 29 and the drum member surfaces to provide enough space for a single envelope to pass therebetween. This spacing will, of course, vary with the thickness of the envelopes handled but it should generally be no more than enough to allow one envelope to pass through at a time. The vertical positioning of the skidder bar members may also be adjusted with respect to the holding bands 29 to provide the optimum amount of bandholding surface which is exposed to the envelopes in each particular situation. In other words, as the skidder members 15 are raised upwardly, the tapered portions 18 thereof expose more and more of the adherent holding band surfaces to the envelopes to increase the holding force applied to such envelopes.

Disposed upon the rearward surface of the plate member 10 are a plurality of spring-loaded roller means 30. These roller means are shown most clearly in FIGS. 2-4. The roller wheel itself may be fabricated from rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene, or the like. A mild downward biasing force may be provided in the roller means by a coil or leaf spring, the purpose being to hold the roller wheels down upon the drum member surfaces 24 during the entire rotation of same.

Immediately rearward of the drum members 24 is a platform bar member 31. As shown, this platform bar member is attached to the frame structure 32 and extends transversely from one side of the apparatus to the other across the path of envelopes emitted from the feeding section. The purpose of the platform bar member is to support such emitted envelopes, the flaps of which have already been opened and to direct said envelopes into the ejection and flattening sections of the apparatus while retaining the open condition of the flaps.

The ejection section of the apparatus shown generally at 4, is comprised of a pair of transverse rollers or

platens

33 and 34. These platens are supported rotatably upon shafts which are keyed to the platens. The platen 33 is an idler member and is supported rotatably by a pair of arm means 35 which can oscillate with respect to the frame channel members 12, whereas the roller or platen 34 is a positively-driven member which is supported in the frame member 32. The platen 33 may be biased downwardly by spring means (not shown) or, depending upon the material used for the body of the platen, may be firmly biased downwardly by its own weight into contact with the lower platen 34. The embodiment shown has the lateral spacing between a plane passing through the

rollers

33 and 34 fixed with respect to the plate member 10. It should be noted, however, that the frame and

arm members

32 and 35 may be made adjustable by slider slot means (not shown) or the like so that the described spacing may be increased or decreased, as desired. The platen 34 may be driven by means of the same actuator 27 (28) as is used for the drum members 24 and shaft 23. Belt means 38 or the like may be provided for this purpose. The platens may be made from hard rubber-like material or from metal covered with rubber padding. They are so dimensioned and related to the radii of the driving pulleys 37 and 39 that the linear velocity of the envelopes passing through the ejector and flattening sections is slightly greater than the velocity of the envelopes passing between the plate member and the drum members 24.

OPERATION With reference to the accompanying drawings, the operation of the instant apparatus will now be described. A plurality of envelopes, the flaps of which are to be opened, are placed in the storage section between the chute member 5 and plate member 10 as previously described. The chute member 5 is adjusted rearwardly or forwardly, depending upon the size of the envelopes to be opened and the finger members and 21 are adjusted laterally to fit the particular flaps being serviced. It should be noted that the storage section shown could be quite large. That is, the member 5 could extend upwardly beyond the dimension shown in the drawings to hold hundreds or even thousands of envelopes. Alternatively, the bin or storage section could be continuously fed with a supply of envelopes from a conveyor belt or like apparatus (not shown). The envelopes, when dropped into the storage section, assume the configuration shown in FIG. 3. This is due to the aforementioned effects of the skidder bar members 15, the member S, and the holding bands 29. Upon -otation of the shaft 23 and drum members 24, the gripper segments 25 rotate in the direction indicated towards a point which is directly beneath the plate member 10. The resilient projections 26 engage the bottom surface of the lowermost envelope and, due to friction and adhesion forces, the lowermost envelope is forced between plate member 10 and the drum members 24.

As shown in FIG. 4, when a given envelope is part way through the apparatus, the

finger members

19, 20 and 21, which may be made adjustable upwardly as desired, engage the flap portion 50 of the envelope, and pull it open as the other portion of the envelope passes between the plate member 10 and the drum members 24. Approximately concurrently with the opening phase, the spring rollers 30 engage the envelope and direct it downwardly and forwardly towards the platform bar member 31 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. The force applied by the spring rollers 30 is in opposition to the natural resiliency of the envelopes which tends to bias them upwardly. The platform bar member 31 catches and supports the flaps and keeps the envelopes open during their travel toward the ejection section. In the ejection section, the envelopes are engaged between the

platens

33 and 34 and squeezed and flattened therebetween with considerable force. Then the envelopes are projected into a holding bin or insertion component of the overall system, described hereinbefore.

Thus, the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described. It must be understood that this primary embodiment is capable of variation and modification and is not limited to the precise details set forth. For instance, instead of the mechanical feeder and ejection mechanisms described, a pneumatic system could be used wherein each envelope is vacuumed through the apparatus within variable volume channels or the like. It should also be noted that the in stant apparatus, while primarily intended as an envelope opening device, has general utility and may be used to unfold sheets of paper, cloth or the like, which sheets have not been preformed into envelope configurations. This invention includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A multi-component apparatus for opening envelope flaps comprising, in series; variable-capacity envelope storage means mounted upon frame means, envelope flap opening member means for engaging said flaps which means is disposed immediately adjacent to said variable capacity envelope storage means, envelope feeder means disposed immediately adjacent to said envelope flap opening member means and having inlet and outlet means, said envelope feeder means being adapted to convey envelopes individually from said variable capacity envelpe storage means and said envelope flap opening member means to said outlet means of said feeder means, platform bar member means disposed upon said frame means immediately adjacent to said outlet means for operatively supporting envelopes which have been conveyed from said outlet means of said envelope feeder means, drive means for actuating said envelope feeder means, said drive means being mounted upon said frame means, envelope flattening and ejector means mounted upon said frame means for receiving processed envelopes which have been conveyed from said variable capacity envelope storage means to said envelope flap opening member means through said envelope feeder means inlet and outlet means and past said platform bar member means, said envelope flattening and ejector means being operative to apply flattening force to said envelopes which force tends to prohibit the reclosure of opened envelopes, drive means for said flattening and ejector means mounted upon said frame means, said flattening and ejector means further operative to positively convey processed envelopes in an orderly fashion from said apparatus to a place of utilization.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said variable capacity envelope storage means includes a chute member which is adjustably attached to a table portion of said frame means and wherein said chute member is normally inclined with respect to a vertical plane passing through said apparatus.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said envelope flap opening member means include a curved member which is adjustably attached to said frame means.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said curved member is fabricated from material having substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration and which is formed into a J-shaped element.

5. The invention of claim 3 wherein said flap opening member means include three spaced-apart curved members.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said envelope feeder means include drum member means mounted for rotation upon a portion of said frame means and wherein said drive means for said envelope feeder means rotatably actuates said drum member means.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said drum member means include gripper segment means fabricated from material which is semi-adhesive with respect to said envelopes which gripper segment means frictionally engage a portion of each of said envelopes to convey each said envelope from said feeder means inlet means to said feeder means outlet means.

8. The invention of claiml wherein said platfo'rm bar member means include a rigid member having a smooth surface thereupon for engaging said envelopes, said rigid member extending transversely completely across said apparatus adjacent to said outlet means of said feeder means in the path of envelopes emitted from said outlet means and spring-biased roller means disposed between said outlet means and said rigid member for engaging and directing said emitted envelopes.

9. The invention of claim 1 wherein said envelope flattening and ejector means include a pair of platen members disposed for rotation upon said frame means and wherein one of said platen members is actuated by said drive means for said envelope feeder means and wherein said platen members are normally urged toward rotative engagement with one another by biasing means.

10. A multi-component apparatus for unfolding folded sheet material comprising; frame means having a base portion and having other portions attached to said base portion, sheet material feeder means mounted upon said other portions of said frame means, said sheet material feeder means including drum member means mounted for rotation upon said other portions of said frame means, said drum member means having sheet material gripping means attached thereto, sheet material unfolding member means for unfolding folded portions of said sheet material, said sheet material unfolding member means being disposed upon said other portions of said frame means adjacent to said sheet material feeder means, said sheet material feeder means being operative to convey said sheet material movably past said sheet material unfolding member means, drive means for said sheet material feeder means.

11. The invention of claim 10 further comprising sheet material storage means mounted upon said other portions of said frame means for storing said sheet material prior to admission thereof to said sheet material feeder means and said sheet material unfolding member means for conveying and unfolding said sheet material, respectively.

12. The invention of claim 10 further comprising sheet material ejector means mounted upon said other portions of said frame means which ejector means operate to convey said sheet material away from said sheet material feeder means and said sheet material unfolding member means subsequent to the unfolding thereof and drive means for said sheet material ejector means.

13. The invention of claim 12 wherein said sheet material ejector means operates to forcibly flatten said sheet material in an unfolded condition and wherein platform means are provided between said sheet material ejector means and said sheet material feeder means.

14. The invention of claim 10 wherein said sheet material feeder means further include plate means disposed upon said other portions of said frame means adjacent to said drum member means such that sheet material conveyed by said sheet material feeder means passes between said plate means and said drum member means.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said sheet material feeder means include sheet material holding band means mounted upon said plate means for releasably retaining sheet material prior to passage of said sheet material through said unfolding apparatus and skidder member means also mounted upon said plate means for selective engagement with said sheet material.

16. The invention of claim 10 wherein said sheet material unfolding member means include a curved fingerlike member disposed upon said other portions of said frame means and engaging a folded portion of said sheet material.

17. The invention of claim 16 wherein said curved finger-like member has a substantially straight portion and an arcuate portion which portions cooperate to form a substantially J-shaped member.

18. The invention of claim 10 wherein said sheet material gripping means include a segment member made of resilient material which extends arcuately around a portion of the periphery of said rotatable drum member means, said segment member having a plurality of sheet material engaging projections thereupon.

19. The invention of claim 15 wherein said plate means are adjustably mounted with respect to said drum member means such that the spacing therebetween can be readily varied and wherein said skidder member means and sheet material holding band means are adjustably mounted upon said plate means.

l 1 I! t t

Claims

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein said platform bar member means include a rigid member having a smooth surface thereupon for engaging said envelopes, said rigid member extending transversely completely across said apparatus adjacent to said outlet means of said feeder means in the path of envelopes emitted from said outlet means and spring-biased roller means disposed between said outlet means and said rigid member for engaging and directing said emitted envelopes.

16. The invention of claim 10 wherein said sheet material unfolding member means include a curved finger-like member disposed upon said other portions of said frame means and engaging a folded portion of said sheet material.