The present subject matter relates generally to accumulator apparatuses and methods for accumulating sheets and/or articles. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to an improved non-marking accumulator apparatus and method for reducing or eliminating unintended marking of sheets or articles caused by conventional accumulator apparatuses and conveyance devices.
Various accumulator apparatuses and methods have been employed in the past for accumulating sheet material or articles such as paper sheets, documents, and the like into stacks for subsequent advancement. Such accumulator apparatuses and methods have particular use in high-speed mail processing where preparation and processing of mailable articles (e.g., bills, account statements) often requires a plurality of sheets and/or articles to be assembled into a packet for further handling which can include, for example, folding, inserting, and collating.
Examples of conventional accumulator apparatuses are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,200 to Manzke; U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,689 to Moser et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,006 to Semanick et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,354 to Semanick, each of these patents being commonly assigned herewith and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These references disclose an accumulator apparatus utilizing driven endless elastic belts that feed sheets therebetween along a sheet-feeding path. Ramps are provided to deflect sheets out of the sheet-feeding path and accumulate the sheets in an accumulator located between the ramps and a stop.
Consider U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,689 to Moser et al., as an example.
At the accumulator apparatus 10 entrance, sheets and/or articles advance into the accumulator apparatus between the upper belts UB and lower belts LB, where entry roller guide means 40 are provided and comprise a plurality of upper guide rollers 42 fixedly attached in a spaced-apart relationship to rotatable shaft 44 and a plurality of lower guide rollers 46 fixedly attached in a spaced-apart relationship to rotatable shaft 48. The upper belt means UB and lower belt means LB respectively extend around upper guide rollers 42 and lower guide rollers 46, as shown in
Accumulator apparatus 10 comprises ramp means 80 for deflecting sheets or articles processed between upper belt means UB and lower belt means LB from the horizontal feeding plane. Ramp means 80 can include a plurality of ramp members, such as side ramp members 82 and intermediate ramp members 82A which comprise deflecting surfaces 86 and slots 88 defined therein for extension therethrough of lower reaches 20 of upper belt UB.
Front rollers 100 and rear rollers 110 are spaced about respective shafts 84A, 84C of ramp means 80 to respectively engage the upper reaches 22 of lower belts LB and to align the feeding direction of sheets or articles through accumulator apparatus 10. Upper reaches 22 of lower belts LB extend over and engage front rollers 100 and extend from such above-engaging position with front rollers 100 downwardly and away from lower reaches 20 of upper belts UB where upper reaches 22 of lower belts LB extend engagingly below and past the bottom sides of rear rollers 110. Downstream from rear rollers 110, accumulator apparatus 10 includes a plurality of lower rollers 120 rotatably attached to a shaft, and lower belts LB extend around lower rollers 120 so as to reverse direction back toward lower guide rollers 46, as shown in
Sheets or articles advancing through accumulator apparatus 10 between upper belts UB and lower belts LB will contact and be deflected by ramp members 82 and 82A out of the horizontal feeding plane and over upper edges 96. Lower reaches 20 of upper belts UB can also be diverted upwardly by ramp members 82. Downstream of upper edges 96, a deflected sheet article is urged back toward the horizontal feeding plane by resilient action of lower reaches 20 of upper belts UB due to their tension and/or diversion. Progressive feeding of sheets or articles in the horizontal feeding plane where the sheets or articles are deflected by ramp members 82 and 82A causes over-accumulation of sheets or articles in a stack or accumulation location past upper edges 96 of ramp members 82 and 82A. To support accumulated sheets or articles S, accumulator apparatus 10 comprises support means such as a plurality of spaced-apart supports 98 extending from ramp members 82A and supports 140. The leading edges of sheets or articles accumulated in stack S are positioned against and stopped by stop means 150. Upper stop rollers 152 and lower stop rollers 156 are output rollers adapted for selectively gripping, stopping, and advancing sheets or articles S.
As illustrated in the exemplary patents identified above, accumulators conventionally employ endless upper belts and lower belts for seriatim feeding of sheets or articles therebetween. A problem with accumulator apparatuses and methods employing such endless upper belts and lower belts, however, is that the upper and lower belts can cause smudging of ink or toner or can pick-up residual print material (e.g., ink or toner) from various sheets or other sources and convey the residual print material to other sheets. As shown in
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in the art for an accumulator apparatus and method which reduces or eliminates inadvertent marking on the conveyed sheets or articles.
It is desired to provide an accumulator apparatus that reduces or eliminates inadvertent marking on the conveyed sheet(s) or article(s). It is particularly desired to reduce or eliminate inadvertent marking on the conveyed sheets or articles caused by transference of residual print material from the endless upper and lower belts conventionally used to convey articles through the accumulator apparatus to the conveyed articles.
In accord with the present concepts disclosed herein, there is provided an accumulator apparatus for accumulating sheet(s) or article(s) that does not use polycords to convey sheet(s) or article(s) through the accumulator to the accumulator apparatus outlet. Instead, an actuator pusher plate is provided to facilitate movement of the sheet(s) or article(s) toward the accumulator apparatus output rollers.
In one aspect, there is provided a ramp for an accumulator apparatus for accumulating sheets or articles, the ramp comprising an actuator having a movable member and a pusher plate connected to the movable member, the pusher plate being disposed adjacent a rear end of the ramp. The actuator is configured to move the pusher plate away from the rear end of the ramp in a direction toward a sheet accumulation portion of the accumulator apparatus.
In another aspect, an accumulator apparatus for accumulating sheets or articles is provided, the accumulator apparatus comprising a sheet accumulator portion for accumulating sheets or articles, a ramp disposed upstream of the sheet accumulator portion relative to a flow direction of the sheets or articles, an actuator and a pusher plate connected to the actuator. The actuator is configured to move the pusher plate away from the ramp in a direction toward a sheet accumulation portion of the accumulator apparatus.
In still another aspect, a method for controlling sheets or articles in an accumulator apparatus is provided and comprises the steps of transporting at least one sheet article into an accumulator apparatus accumulator, moving a pusher plate toward and against the at least one sheet article provided in the accumulator apparatus accumulator, using the pusher plate to push the at least one sheet article into a pair of opposing transport rollers disposed at an outlet of the sheet accumulator portion.
Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description of preferred aspects taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. As will be realized, the disclosed concepts are capable of other and different embodiments, and its details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, the drawings, disclosed aspects, and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
Features and advantages of disclosed examples herein will be apparent from the following illustrations in which like referenced characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the disclosed examples.
An accumulator apparatus 200 in accord with the present concepts is disclosed and shown by way of example in
Whereas the aforementioned background art devices utilize an upper belt means and a lower belt means to convey sheets or articles therebetween over the entire length of the accumulator apparatus, the presently disclosed accumulator apparatus 200 utilizes a drive system comprising a single belt 205, in combination with various pulleys, rollers and guide members, to convey one or more sheet(s) or article(s) only up to and over the ramp(s) 250. Pusher plate 300, operatively associated with an actuator 260, then conveys the sheet(s) or article(s) collected within accumulator 400 to output rollers 500 at an appropriate time, in accord with control signals from the computer program and/or control systems controlling conveyance of the sheet(s) or article(s).
The drive system of the accumulator apparatus 200 comprises a plurality of spaced-apart belts 205, such as shown in top view of
The entry end of accumulator apparatus 200 comprises an entry guide member to facilitate entry of sheets and articles into the accumulator apparatus. In one aspect, the entry guide means comprises an overhead paper guide 244 and front and rear guide rollers 246, 247. It is preferred, but not required, to place at least one of the front and rear guide rollers 246, 247 in opposition to a pulley 249, 243 so as to pinch the incoming sheets and articles therebetween and thereby positively control of the sheet or article conveyance. The shafts about which the front and rear guide rollers 246, 247 are disposed may be translatably fixed or may by selectively translatable toward or away from the belt 205 and opposing pulleys 249, 243 so as to provide a variable bias against the belt means. The front and rear guide rollers 246, 247 may be configured to rotate about a fixed shaft, or may be fixed to a shaft which is passively rotated about or within distal bearings or which may be actively driven. For example, front and rear guide rollers 246, 247 can be rotatably attached to a non-rotatable shaft such that when a sheet article is positioned between these guide rollers and the moving belt 205 which moves to advance the sheet or article, the guide rollers idle without being forcibly drive. The preferred configuration of front and rear guide rollers 246, 247 are positioned on the center of pulleys 249, 243 with belt 205 positioned therebetween. The sheets are preferably controlled via a left and right hand paper side guide (not shown).
Downstream from the entry end of the accumulator apparatus 200, a ramp 250 is disposed to deflect inbound sheets and articles from the horizontal feeding plane. Ramp means 250 may comprise a single ramp or a plurality of ramps. As shown in
As best shown in
Referring to
In an embodiment wherein the pusher plate 300 and actuator 260 are integrated with the ramp 250, the rear end of ramp edge 252 may be optionally cantilevered past the rear surface of the ramp 250 rear end to form a ledge about 0.158 inches. This optional ledge forms a seat against which the upper end of the pusher plate 300 may slide as it moves toward and away from the rear surface of the ramp 250. Further, the ramp may be advantageously adapted to facilitate movement of the actuator 260 driving member (e.g., shaft) to thereby move the pusher plate relative to the stationary ramp. For example, if the actuator 260 comprises a reciprocating or linearly translating shaft, the bottom portion of ramp 250 may comprise a through hole to accommodate such shaft. The shaft is then connected via conventional mechanical connection means (e.g., mechanical fastener, weld, etc.) to the pusher plate 300 on an opposite side of the through hole. The pusher plate 300 is optionally L-shaped, comprising a horizontal member extending along a bottom portion of ramp 250 so as to slide along an underside of the ramp over at least a portion of the initial and terminal portions of the pusher plate movement. One or more horizontal members may also be alternatively or additionally arranged on the sides of ramp 250.
Actuator 260 may generally comprise a pneumatic actuator, hydraulic actuator, solenoid actuator, roller screw actuator, electromechanical actuator, mechanical actuator, linear actuator, rotary actuator, motor-operated actuator, or any other conventional actuation means by which the pusher plate 300 may be moved from a first position to a second position using the movable member of the actuator to effect a corresponding movement of a sheet, an article, or a plurality of sheets and/or articles toward an output of the accumulator. For example, in various aspects, actuator 260 may only generate a positive driving force in one direction (“driving stroke”), and the return stroke may be accomplished using a biasing element, such as a spring, or the converse may be arranged. In the illustrated embodiment, actuator 260 comprises a Bimba Manufacturing Co. actuator (P/N D-68152A-0.5) having a stroke of 0.50″. The stroke length for the depicted actuator 260, or any other actuating means, may be adapted to suit the particular accumulator 200 configuration and output device.
Actuator 260 does not have to be integrated with a ramp 250 in the manner shown in
As shown in the embodiment illustrated in
Sheets and/or articles advancing through accumulator apparatus 200 between the belt 205 and the guide members 244 and guide rollers 246, 247 or the like, will contact and be deflected by the ramp(s) 250 out of the horizontal feeding plane. The belt 205 can also be diverted upwardly by the lateral ramp members 250, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Downstream of the ramp(s) 250, a deflected sheet or article is urged back toward the horizontal feeding plane by a deflection means, such as an overhead mechanical paper guide or other conventional contact or non-contact (e.g., air impingement) guide means. Progressive seriatim feeding of sheets or articles in the horizontal feeding plane past the ramp(s) 250 provides an accumulation of such sheets or articles in a stack in the accumulator 400.
To support sheets and/or articles accumulated in the accumulator 400, accumulator apparatus 200 comprises support 410. In one embodiment, support 410 comprises a plurality of spaced-apart supports. As shown in
To summarize, a sheet enters the accumulator apparatus 200 between overhead paper guide 244 and front pulley 242. The belts 205, which are spaced laterally along the accumulator apparatus 200, frictionally engage the entering sheet and pull the sheet toward and under guide rollers 246, 247 and over pulleys 249, 243 prior to encountering the ramps 250, also spaced laterally along the accumulator apparatus. The ramps 250 deflect the sheet out of the horizontal feeding plane as additional overhead guide members deflect the leading edge of the conveyed sheet downwardly into the accumulator 400, where sheets are temporarily stored before being advanced to the accumulator apparatus output. The control system will, at the appropriate time, issue a control signal instructing the actuator 260 to move the pusher plate 300 toward the accumulator apparatus 200 outlet sufficiently to advance the accumulated sheet or sheets (e.g., a billing statement for a customer) out of the accumulator apparatus. In the illustrated example, output rollers 510, 520 are provided to engage and convey the accumulated sheets from the accumulator. Once the accumulator 400 is emptied and the pusher plate 300 moved to a position out of the flow path of the incoming sheets, the accumulator apparatus 200 is again ready for another cycle.
While the present disclosure sets forth a description of a practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The disclosed concepts are readily capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the concepts disclosed herein. The appended figures and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.