Patent Application
20100078879
This invention relates to apparatus for changing the orientation of a sheet material and, more particularly, to a new and useful apparatus for altering the orientation and/or direction of sheet material in mailpiece fabrication systems.
Sheet material/mailpiece handling systems frequently require sheet material, assembled/folded collations or completed mailpieces (hereinafter collectively referred to as “sheet material”) to be turned over to match a specific downstream requirement. For example, mailpiece fabrication equipment typically requires that sheet material be oriented face-up or face down depending upon the orientation of a receiving envelope. This requirement has come under increasing demand as new and old equipment have, over the course of time, been merged. That is, some mailpiece fabrication systems require a face-up orientation while others employ a face-down presentation. Additionally, it may be necessary to change the orientation of a mailpiece to accommodate a specific printing requirement, i.e., printing on a particular side of an envelope.
Various inversion modules have been developed to reorient sheet material for use in sheet handling equipment. One such apparatus is a twist module wherein sheet material is directed linearly along a spiral path typically effected by a series of twisted belts or chords. While such twist modules retain the respective leading and trailing edge position of the sheet material, such modules require a lengthy axial path to change the face-up/face-down orientation of the sheet material. Furthermore, twist modules are less reliable when handling stacked collations inasmuch as the stacked sheets tend to skew as they follow the spiral path.
Another common requirement is for the sheet material to be re-directed at a right angle from an upstream feed path to be processed along another feed path, out-sorted or stacked in a sorting bin. For example, a mailpiece inserter will frequently employ modules for re-directing the feed path to accommodate the configuration of a customer's facility. Additionally, it may be desirable to re-direct completed mailpieces ninety-degrees from the primary feed path to stack or out-sort mailpieces in a bin, tray or container disposed laterally of the primary feed path.
Yet another requirement relates to the registration and conveyance of the sheet material after the sheet material has been handled or in preparation for a subsequent downstream operation. For example, sheet material will may skew during handling, e.g., as the orientation changes, and, as such, correction may be required. Commonly, such correction is effected by urging the sheet material against a shoulder or wall to register the individual sheets, or square the leading and trailing edges of a mailpiece relative to the primary feed path. This is typically achieved by a series of banked rollers arranged so as to define a shallow angle relative to the feed path and the registration wall. The shallow angle functions to impart components of velocity, i.e., to the sheet material, in two directions—a primary velocity component along the feed path and a secondary velocity component toward the registration wall.
While this arrangement is well-suited for sheet material travelling along the primary feed path, i.e., substantially parallel to the primary velocity component produced by the banked rollers, such arrangement is less effective, or entirely ineffective, should the sheet material enter at a more aggressive angle, e.g., ninety-degrees. That is, the orientation of the banked rollers can inhibit the smooth transition of the sheet material to the primary feed path.
Furthermore, inasmuch as the banked rollers drive the sheet material as a function of the friction developed by, or under the weight of, the sheet material, it can be difficult to accelerate the sheet material to the full inserter throughput speed. For example, when sheet material enters the banked rollers, the sheet material may have no initial velocity in the direction of the primary feed path. Consequently, the sheet material must be rapidly accelerated, i.e., from zero velocity to the full inserter throughput speed, to prevent upstream sheet material from interfering or colliding with the downstream material. However, if friction forces between the sheet material and banked rollers are low, the banked rollers will may not develop sufficient traction to adequately accelerate the sheet material.
A need, therefore, an apparatus which reliably and effectively alters the orientation and direction of sheet material in a mailpiece fabrication system.
The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
The invention will be fully understood when reference is made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
An apparatus is provided for altering the spatial orientation and/or direction of sheet material. The apparatus includes an input deck for receiving sheet material along an input feed path, an output deck for forwarding sheet material along an output feed path, and an orbit nip roller assembly disposed adjacent to and aligned with the input and output decks. The orbit nip roller assembly includes a primary and secondary roller defining a roller nip which lies substantially parallel to the input and output feed paths. The secondary roller is adapted to be bi-directionally displaced in an arc about the periphery of the primary roller such that the roller nip orbits the primary roller from a first radial position to a second radial position. In the first radial position, the roller nip is adapted to accept sheet material from the input deck at a substantially right angle relative to the input feed path and, in the second radial position, the roller nip is adapted to dispense sheet material to the output deck at a substantially right angle relative to the output feed path.
An apparatus for handling sheet material is described in the context of a mailpiece fabrication system wherein sheet material is handled and inserted into an envelope or pocket for mailing. It should be appreciated, however, that the apparatus disclosed herein may be employed in any material handling system wherein the orientation of the sheet material is necessary for use in various subsystems/steps of the fabrication process. The embodiments disclosed herein, therefore, are merely illustrative of the inventive teachings and should not be construed as limiting the invention as described in the specification and appended claims.
In
In
In the illustrated embodiment, the input and output conveyance decks 14, 16 are integrated by sidewall structures 24 of a housing 28 such that the decks 14, 16 are substantially parallel, and vertically-spaced or tiered with respect to each other. While the illustrated embodiment depicts the output conveyance deck 16 as being elevated vertically above the input deck 14, it will be appreciated that, with certain structural modifications, the location of the decks 14, 16 could be reversed, i.e., the input deck 14 could be disposed above the output conveyance deck 16.
To accommodate the receipt and alignment of a mailpiece 12, an opening 32 is provided between the decks 14, 16 and an abutment surface 34 is provided at a far end of the input deck 14, i.e., at a location sufficiently inboard of the opening 32, to stop the forward progress of a mailpiece along the input feed path IP. The abutment surface 34, furthermore, is positioned so as to accommodate the full length of the largest mailpiece 12, i.e., the length of the largest mailpiece anticipated to be handled/processed by the apparatus 10. While not shown in the perspective and profile views of
Once the mailpiece 12 has entered the apparatus 10 and comes to rest against the abutment surface 34, an actuation mechanism 40 (see
In
The guide assembly 48 is disposed along the underside of the input deck 14 and includes: (i) a connecting plate 50, (ii) a guide rail 52, (iii) a plurality of guide wheels 54 rotationally mounted to the connecting plate 50 and engaging the guide rail 52, and (iv) a pair of elongate slots 56a, 56b formed through the input deck 14. More specifically, the connecting plate 50 is: (i) coupled to the actuation shaft 44 at one end, (ii) affixed to the pusher bar 46 at the opposite end, and (iii) guided linearly along the guide rail 52. Additionally, the fingers 46F1, 46F2 of the pusher bar 46 extend vertically through the elongate slots 56a, 56b and seat within the slots 47S of the guide 47. Furthermore, the fingers 46F1, 46F2 are aligned, or flush with, the guide abutment surface 47A of the L-shaped guide 47 to allow mailpieces 12 to enter the input deck 14 without contacting the fingers 46F1, 46F2 of the pusher bar 46. The guide wheels 54 are disposed to each side of the guide rail 52 and are operative to guide the connecting plate 50 along the guide rail 52.
Inasmuch as the fingers 46F1, 46F2 of the pusher bar 46 are coupled to the connecting plate 50 by the crossbar 46C, the motion of the actuating shaft 44 and connecting plate 50 is transferred to the fingers 46F1, 46F2 of the pusher bar 46. More specifically, the actuating shaft 44 is displaced by the LVDT actuator 42 and transfers motion to the connecting plate 50, As the connecting plate 50 moves, it is guided along the rail 62 by the guide wheels 54. The motion of the connecting plate 50 is transferred to the crossbar 46C and to the fingers 46F1, 46F2. The fingers 46F1, 46F2, slide and are guided within the elongate slots 56a, 56b of the input deck 14. Further, the fingers 46F1, 46F2, seat within the slots 47S of the guide 47 when the actuation mechanism 40 is in its ready or “home” position, i.e., waiting for the next mailpiece 12 to enter the input deck 14 along the input feed path IP. In the described embodiment, the stroke of the actuation shaft 44 and pusher bar 46 is less than one inch (1″), i.e., sufficient only to urge the mailpiece 12 into the roller nip 22 of the orbit nip roller assembly 20.
In the described embodiment, the location of the entire actuation mechanism 40 may be adjusted toward or away from the orbit nip roller assembly 20 to accommodate variable width mailpieces 12. More specifically, the actuation mechanism 40 is mounted to a base plate 60 which, similar to the connecting plate 50, is mounted to an elongate adjustment rail 62 (see
An isolated perspective view of the roller nip assembly 20 is shown in
In
The scissors link assembly 78 (best seen in
The spring biasing mechanism 84 includes a tension spring 86 which is operative to rotationally bias the second link 82 about the first pivot point P1 toward the first link 80. Moreover, the tension spring 86 is operative to reduce or minimize the angle Ω between the elongate axes 80A, 82A of the first and second links 80, 82.
In operation, the first and second links 80, 82 are operative to expand or close the nip spacing between the primary and secondary rollers 70, 72 to accommodate mailpiece thickness variations. Specifically, the first and second links 80, 82 may pivot about the first pivot point P1 in either direction, i.e., increasing or decreasing the angle Ω between the links 80, 82. As a result, the spacing between the primary and secondary rollers 70, 72 varies to accept mailpieces having variable thickness. Furthermore, the coil spring 86 biases the second link 82 toward the first link 80, thereby minimizing the angle Ω between the links 80, 82. Consequently, the secondary roller 72 is biased toward the primary roller 70 to minimize the roller nip spacing while maintaining a positive clamping force on each mailpiece 12.
The primary roller 70 and carriage assembly 74 are driven by first and second belt drive assemblies, BD1 and BD2, respectively. The first belt drive assembly BD1 includes a first motor 70M (see
The second belt drive assembly BD2 includes a second motor 74M (see
In operation and referring to
In this first operational step, the primary roller 70 drives the mailpiece 12 outwardly away from the outboard edge 14E of the input deck 14. That is, the primary roller 70 displaces the mailpiece 12 such that a leading edge portion 12LE thereof extends beyond the roller nip RN and a trailing edge portion 12TE of the mailpiece is captured within the roller nip RN. In the described embodiment, a U-shaped guide rail 88 (best seen in
In a next operational step, the carriage assembly 74 is driven about the rotational axis 70A of the primary roller 70. Consequently, the secondary roller 72 orbits the rotational axis 70A of the primary roller 70 from the first radial position RP1 (i.e., wherein the secondary roller 72 is positioned at about −90° relative to the input deck 14) to the second radial position RP2 (i.e., wherein the secondary roller 72 is positioned at about +90° relative to the output conveyance deck 16). As such, the mailpiece 12 is rotated approximately one-hundred and eighty degrees (180°) and inverted from a face-down orientation on the input deck 14 to a face-up orientation on the output conveyance deck 16.
Rotation of the orbit nip assembly 20 and inversion of the mailpiece 12 is achieved by controlling the rotary drive motors 70M, 74M associated with the primary roller 70 and carriage assembly 74. In one embodiment, the first belt drive assembly BD1 associated with primary roller 70 is driven while the carriage assembly 74 fixed for rotation with the primary roller 70. The carriage assembly 74, therefore, rotates with the primary roller 70 such that the secondary roller 72 merely follows the primary roller 70 about its periphery.
In another embodiment, the second belt drive assembly BD2 associated with the carriage assembly 74 may be driven to roll the secondary roller 72 over the mailpiece 12 and the periphery of the primary roller 70. As such, depending upon the width dimension of the mailpiece 12, the position of the mailpiece 12 relative to the roller nip RN will change, i.e., causing the roller nip RN to move closer to the leading edge of the mailpiece 12.
In yet another embodiment, it may be desirable to control the position of the mailpiece 12 relative to the roller nip RN such that the orbit nip roller assembly 20 may accelerate the mailpiece 12 toward the registration/conveyance apparatus 100 upon reaching the second radial position RP2. This may be required inasmuch as the output conveyance deck 16 must be sufficiently wide to process/handle mailpieces of varying width, i.e., from relatively small, type ten (10) envelopes to larger flats-type envelopes. Since larger envelopes nearly span the distance between orbit nip roller assembly 20 and the registration/conveyance apparatus 100, there is no requirement for an intermediate roller nip or drive device to convey larger mailpieces across the output conveyance deck 16. With respect to smaller envelopes, the orbit nip roller assembly 20 is operative to slide these mailpieces across the output conveyance deck 16 toward the registration/conveyance apparatus 100. This method of control is advantageous to avoid the cost and complexity associated with an intermediate roller nip or drive device.
To perform this operation successfully, the mailpiece 12 must be positioned within the roller nip RN such that primary and secondary rollers 70, 72 remain engaged with the mailpiece 12 for some minimum period of time. More specifically, the rotary drive motors 70M, 74M of the primary roller 70 and carriage assembly 74 are driven such that the trailing edge 12TE of the mailpiece 12 moves away from the roller nip RN and the leading edge of the mailpiece 12 moves toward the roller nip RN. This may be achieved by controlling the relative motion of the primary roller 70 with respect to the carriage assembly 74, such that the secondary roller 72 rotates over the mailpiece 12 while the primary roller 70 effectively rotates in a direction opposite to the secondary roller 72.
While the orbit nip roller assembly 20 is principally employed to invert mailpieces 12 as they are received/dispensed from the input to output conveyance decks 14, 16, it will be appreciated that the orbit nip roller assembly 20 may be used passively to re-direct a mailpiece 12 at a right angle to another processing module, bin and/or container. That is, should a mailpiece 12 be damaged or, otherwise identified for out-sorting, the orbit nip roller assembly 20 may be used to re-direct the mailpiece 12 from the input feed path IP to another path. In this embodiment, the secondary roller 72 of the orbit nip roller assembly 20 remains at the first radial position relative to the primary roller 70 to accept and pass the mailpiece from the input feed deck 14 to another module, bin and/or container located at a right angle relative to the input feed path IP.
In
The registration/conveyance apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a registration member 104 and a drive mechanism 110. The registration member 104 is integrated with, and disposed adjacent to, the output conveyance deck 16 and projects upwardly from the output conveyance deck 16 to define an abutment surface 106. The abutment surface 106 is operative to align an edge of the mailpiece 12 and guide the mailpiece 12 as it is conveyed along the output feed path OP. The function of the registration member 104 and abutment surface 106 will become evident when discussing the operation of the registration/conveyance apparatus 100.
The drive mechanism 110 is disposed adjacent to the registration member 104 and extends along, i.e., substantially parallel to, the output conveyance deck 16. The drive mechanism 110 further includes at least two rolling elements 112, a continuous flexible belt 116 disposed about the rolling elements 112, and a means 120 for driving the flexible belt 116 around each of the rolling elements 112. In the described embodiment, the flexible belt 116 is disposed about an upstream roller 112U, a downstream roller 112O, several tensioning rollers 112T, and a drive roller 112D. Furthermore, the flexible belt 116 includes a twisted section 124 and an untwisted section 128 (see
The twisted section 124 is effected by twisting a length of belt prior to coupling the end portions of the belt 116 to form a continuous loop. The twisted section 124 is produced by limiting the twists within the belt to the length of belt between the upstream and downstream rollers 112U, 112O. The untwisted section 128 is produced by allowing the remaining flat portion of the belt to extend around and between the tensioning and drive rollers 112T, 112D. In the described embodiment, the twisted belt section 124 includes at least two (2) revolutions of twist to produce four (4) spiral edge segments. Although, to enhance the frictional engagement between the spiral edge segments 124a-124e and the mailpiece 12, the twisted belt section 124 preferably includes at least two and one half (2½) revolutions of twist to produce five (5) spiral edge segments 124a-124e.
In
In the described embodiment, the flexible belt 116 is fabricated from a high friction, low elongation, urethane material. Preferably, the urethane material has strain properties which limit elongation to ten percent (10%) of the original length when a maximum allowable stress is imposed. Such properties serve to mitigate creep within the urethane material, maintaining tension in the belt to prevent the flexible belt 116 from “walking” off the upstream and downstream rollers 112U, 112O. Furthermore, the continuous flexible belt 116 has a width dimension of at least three tenths of one inch (0.30″) to provide lateral stability with respect to the rollers 112U, 112O and to accommodate sheet material of varying thickness. Preferably, the continuous flexible belt 116 has a width dimension of at least four tenths of one inch (0.40″).
To further ensure that the belt 116 is securely retained around each of the rollers 112U, 112O, in
To mitigate the loads on the continuous belt 116 and facilitate conveyance of the mailpiece 12 along the output feed path OP, various friction reducing elements may be introduced in combination with the registration/conveyance apparatus 100. For example, a channel (not shown) may be machined or bored into the conveyance deck 16 to prevent the spiral edge segments 124a-124e from wearing the twist section 124 of the belt 116. Alternatively, a plurality of angled rollers 134 (see
In the broadest sense of the invention, the cone angle α on one side of the center plane CP is greater than the cone angle μ on the other side of the center plane CP. Furthermore, the cone angles α, μ associated with the upstream roller 112U are reversed relative to the cone angles α, μ associated with the downstream roller 112O. Such reversal is due to the direction and severity of the twist as the flexible belt 116 wraps around the upstream and downstream rollers 112U, 112O. That is, the inboard portion of the upstream roller 112U, i.e., opposing the registration member 104, compliments the contour of the twisted belt section 116 as it moves away from the upstream roller 112U. Similarly, the outboard portion of the upstream roller 112U, i.e., disposed distally or away from the registration member 104, compliments the contour of the twisted belt section 116 as it approaches the downstream roller 112O.
In the preferred embodiment, the cone angle a on one side of the center plane CP is within a range of about fifteen (15) degrees to about thirty five (35) degrees and the cone angle μ on the other side of the center plane is within a range of about forty (40) degrees to about sixty (60) degrees.
In operation, mailpieces 12 are accelerated from the orbit nip roller assembly 20, across the output conveyance deck 16, and under the twisted belt section 124 of the registration/conveyance apparatus 100. Inasmuch as the twisted belt section 124 is flexible, mailpieces 12 may enter at a right angle relative to the elongate axis 124A of the twisted belt section 124. Furthermore, the flexibility of the twisted belt section 124 allows mailpieces 12 to enter which vary in thickness. In the embodiment described herein, mailpieces 12 from between about one-tenth inches ( 1/10″) to about three-quarters inches (¾″) in thickness may be placed between the twisted belt section 116 and the support surface 16S of the conveyance deck 16. As the mailpiece 12 moves under the twisted belt section 124, the spiral edge segments 124a-124e frictionally engage a face surface of the mailpiece 12 to urge the mailpiece 12 toward the abutment surface 106 and convey the mailpiece 12 along the output feed path OP. Inasmuch as the spiral edge segments 124a-124e form a shallow angle, i.e., acute angle θ, with respect to the registration member 104, and a steep angle, obtuse angle β, with respect to the output feed path OP, the speed or velocity of the mailpiece 12 is greater along the length, or elongate axis 124A of, the twisted belt section 124 than in a transverse direction, i.e., toward the abutment surface 106.
Heretofore, the description has emphasized the structural components and assemblies of the sheet inversion and registration/conveyance apparatus 10, 100. However, it should be appreciated that the drive assemblies and actuators therefore, e.g., the belt drive assemblies BD1, BD2, 110 and LVDT 40, associated with the primary roller 70, carriage assembly 74, conveyance belt 116, and pusher bar 46, will be synchronized, activated and driven by a controller 140 (see
In summary, several inventive apparatus and methods have been described hereinabove. These include (i) an apparatus for altering the spatial orientation and/or re-directing sheet material (ii) a method for controlling sheet material as it changes orientation, i.e., varying the position of the sheet material relative to the roller nip to facilitate delivery to an output feed path or another module of a sheet handling system, and (iii) a registration/conveyance apparatus to align and convey sheet material along a conveyance deck. While these apparatus and control methods have been described in the context of a single integrated sheet handling device, it should be appreciated that each maybe be used independently or in combination with other sheet handling and/or processing equipment. Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.
Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.
