WO1995005991A1

WO1995005991A1 - Collator

Info

Publication number: WO1995005991A1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/001823
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Oliver Iddon
Original assignee: Printed Forms Equipment Limited
Priority date: 1993-08-20
Filing date: 1994-08-18
Publication date: 1995-03-02
Also published as: GB9317324D0

Abstract

A collator of the 'under or over' type comprises a collating station (2) and an infeed conveyor (1). Stop means (5) for the sheets to be collated is movable between two positions, in one of which the trailing edges of the sheets are downstream of the end of the collating station such that incoming sheets will overlie them, and in the other of which the trailing edges are upstream of the end of the collating station and above the adjacent end of the conveyor means such that incoming sheets will underlie them.

Description

COLLATOR DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to collators of the "under or over" or "standard and reverse" kind.

Such collators are capable of operation in either a first mode, in which sheets are fed to a collating station so as to overlie the or each sheet already at the station, or a second mode, in which sheets are fed to the station so as to underlie the or each sheet already there.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a collator of this kind comprising an infeed conveyor means for the sheets to be collated, the conveyor means being located directly upstream of the upstream end of the collating station and being inclined at an obtuse angle to the plane in which sheets are received at the collating station, and stop means at the collating station engageable by the leading edges of the sheets, the stop means being adjustable between a first position in which the trailing edges of the sheets are located at or downstream of the upstream end of the station and a second position in which the trailing edges are located upstream of the upstream end and above the adjacent end of the conveyor means.

The first position of the stop means thus corresponds to the first mode of operation because each incoming sheet will be moved over the upstream end of the collating station before falling, or being guided, to overlie any sheet already there. The second position corresponds to the second mode because the leading edges of the incoming sheets will be fed into the collating station underneath the trailing end portions of the sheet or sheets already at the station.

Preferably, means is provided to restrain sheet movement upwardly away from at least the conveyor means. Such means conveniently comprises a pressure roller or pressure wheels overlying the conveyor means and movable along it to a position at the downstream end of the conveyor means in the second mode of operation of the collator from a position upstream of this in the first operating mode .

The collated stacks of sheet s accumulated at the collating station can be moved therefrom, as for insertion into envelopes , af ter f olding if appropriate , by any convenient means .

The invention is further described below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 & 2 are schematic side views of an under or over collator in accordance with the invention, shown in different operational modes .

The collator illustrated comprises a machine frame supporting an infeed section 1 and a receiving section 2 , together with drive arrangements for operating the infeed and receiving section mechanisms in appropriate co¬ ordination. The nature and characteristics of the frame and drive arrangements will be evident from the following description and will accordingly not be further described.

Sheets to be collated will be received at the infeed section 1 in succession from a singulating feeder , laser printer, or other source of such sheets . The collator of the invention effects under or over collation of these sheets , as may be required, into a stack at the receiving section 2 . The assembled stacks are removed in turn from the receiving section , to be fed to downstream equipment at which the stacks may for example be inserted into respective envelopes , after folding if appropriate . The equipment both upstream and down s tream o f the il lu s trated c o l l ator c an be conventional and is therefore neither illustrated nor further described.

The receiving section 1 of the illustrated under or over collator is constituted by a generally horizontal support plate 4 . Stops 5 engageable by the leading ends of sheets arriving on the support plate 4 limit the movement of the sheets in the feed direction. The stops 5 extend downwardly from a carriage 6 located above the support plate 4 but could instead extend upwardly through slots extending in the feed direction through the support plate from a carriage below it. The stops 5 are mounted by the carriage 6 for upward movement on the carriage to a position in which they are above the top of a stack of collated sheets assembled on the support plate, to allow the stack to be removed from the collating section.

The carriage 6 is mounted on rails 7 and it and the stops 5 can be selectively moved in the feed direction between the end positions shown in Figures 1 & 2 respectively.

The stops 5 are selectively movable between these end positions according to whether under or over collation is required. The end positions are themselves preferably selectively adjustable in order to accommodate sheets having different dimensions in the feed direction.

The infeed section of the collator comprises a conveyor means, conveniently in the form of a plurality of transversely spaced conveyor belts 8. The belts 8 are entrained over upstream and downstream pulleys 9 & 10 of which one is continuously driven by suitable drive means (not shown) during the assembly of a stack of collated sheets on the support plate 4. The upper reaches of the belts 8, on which the sheets are carried, are inclined upwardly in the feed direction and end at a level spaced above the level of the support plate 4. To restrain the sheets against undesired movement upwardly, and to ensure reliable feeding by the conveyor means, laterally spaced wheels or rollers 11 overlie the belts at their upper or downstream ends and engage the upper surfaces of the sheets or the conveyor belts when no sheet is present. The rollers 11 are not driven, and can be moved between a position at the downstream end of the conveyor means as shown in Figure 1 or at a position somewhat upstream of this end as shown in Figure 2.

In the position of Figure 1, the collator is in the standard or over collating condition. The stops 5 are at their downstream end position so as to stop the sheets fed onto the support plate 4 by the conveyor means of the infeed section with their upstream ends resting on the support plate at a position spaced from its upstream end. As shown in Figure 1, the first sheet A has come to rest in this position on the support plate 4 and the leading edge of the second sheet B has been carried just beyond the roller 11 and the belts 8. Because of the inclination of the upper reaches of the conveyor belts 8 and the position of the pulleys 10, this leading edge extends above the trailing edge of sheet A and sheet B is consequently deposited on top of it. The next sheet moved forward by the infeed section will be deposited similarly on top of sheet B.

If it is desired to effect reverse or under collation, the stops 5 and the rollers 11 are moved to their upstream positions as shown in Figure 2. Because of the new positions of the stops 5, the first sheet A to arrive on the support plate 4 is stopped with its trailing end portion still on the belts 8, where these are entrained around the pulleys 10. Because the belts 8 at the pulleys 10 are positioned above the level of the support plate 4, the trailing edge of sheet A is spaced above the upper reach of the belt. Consequently, the next following sheet B is fed between the belts 8 and the trailing end portion of sheet A and moves to an end position against the stops 5 beneath sheet A.

Removal of each stack of collated sheets from the collating section 2 of the illustrated collator can be effected by any convenient means. For example, drive abutments can be mounted on a movable frame located below the support plate 4, the abutments being raised to extend above the support plate through slots provided therein, and then moved along with the frame to carry the collated stack to the downstream equipment.

The invention can of course be embodied in ways other than as specifically described and shown.

Claims

1. A collator capable of operation in either a first mode or a second mode, comprising an infeed conveyor means for the sheets to be collated, the conveyor means being located directly upstream of the upstream end of the collating station and being inclined at an obtuse angle to the plane in which sheets are received at the collating station, and stop means at the collating station engageable by the leading edges of the sheets, the stop means being adjustable between a first position corresponding to the first mode in which the trailing edges of the sheets are located at or downstream of the upstream end of the station, and a second position corresponding to the second mode in which the trailing edges of the sheets are located upstream of the upstream end of the station and above the adjacent end of the conveyor means.

2. A collator as claimed in claim 1, including restraining means for restraining sheet movement upwardly away from at least the conveyor means.

3. A collator as claimed in claim 2, in which the restraining means comprises a pressure roller or pressure wheels overlying the conveyor means and movable along the conveyor means between a first position at or adjacent the downstream end of the conveyor means, corresponding to the first mode of operation of the collator, and a second position upstream of the first position, corresponding to the second operating mode.