Patent Application
20100264575
The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to systems and methods for document handling and processing technologies. More particularly, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to booklet feeder systems and methods for processing or advancing booklets that can be of varying thicknesses.
Machines for feeding documents seriatim from a stack can be useful in a wide variety of document processing applications, such as printing, separating, collating, folding, scoring, and inserting machines, to name a few. A number of options are available for feeding documents in this manner, including friction rollers, reciprocating friction pusher feeders, grippers, and clamps-type devices, and including top-feeding or bottom-feeding systems. When booklets of multiple pages are to be advanced or fed, however, the thicknesses of the booklets can limit the options available.
In particular, currently-used systems for feeding booklets, such as friction feeders, generally require all of the booklets to be fed to have the same booklet thicknesses (i.e., the same page count and page thicknesses). If the booklets are too thick, they may not fit through the feeder assembly. If the booklets are too thin, they may not be taken up by the feeder assembly. As a result, the required uniformity prevents many choices of customization in the variety of booklets that can be processed in the same stack. Accordingly, current booklet feeders are ill-suited to provide a wide range of options for document processing.
In accordance with this disclosure, systems and methods for advancing booklets from a group of booklets are provided. In one aspect, a booklet feeder is provided having a conveying path for supporting a group of booklets with each booklet comprising a stack of bound sheet articles, and a grip remover is provided and configured for engaging booklets in a seriatim manner in the conveying path. The grip remover can be movable to remove an engaged booklet from the conveying path and advance the removed booklet to an exit path.
In another aspect, the booklet feeder can be provided with a conveying path for supporting a group of booklets having non-uniform booklet thicknesses, at least one vacuum picker assembly configured for engaging booklets in a seriatim manner in the conveying path, and a controller connected to the at least one vacuum picker assembly for controlling the movement of an engaged booklet from the conveying path to the exit path. The conveying path can itself comprise a supply conveyor for advancing the group toward an end of the conveying path. The at least one vacuum picker assembly can be movable to remove an engaged booklet from the conveying path and advance the removed booklet to an exit path.
In yet other aspects, methods for advancing booklets from a group of booklets are provided. The methods can include supporting one or more booklets in a conveying path, engaging one of the booklets in the conveying path using a grip remover, removing the engaged booklet from the conveying path, and advancing the removed booklet to an exit path.
Some of the aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein having been stated hereinabove, and which are achieved in whole or in part by the presently disclosed subject matter, other aspects will become evident as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings as best described hereinbelow.
The features and advantages of the present subject matter will be more readily understood from the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that are given merely by way of explanatory and non-limiting example, and in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred aspects of the present subject matter, one or more examples of which are shown in the figures. Each example is provided to explain the subject matter and not as a limitation. In fact, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used in another embodiment to yield still yet another embodiment. It is intended that the present subject matter covers such modifications and variations.
The present subject matter provides systems and methods for advancing booklets from a group of booklets. As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, references to a “booklet” can be understood to mean, as an example and without limitation, a stack of bound sheet articles or the like. Further, the term “bound” should be understood to mean, as an example and without limitation, anything that suitably holds or maintains a stacked group of sheet articles together. In particular, such systems and methods can be used in document processing systems such as, for example, mail inserting systems, mail sorting systems, and any other suitable sheet processing systems. In one aspect, the present subject matter provides a booklet feeder, generally designated 100, for advancing booklets such as booklet 130 from a group of booklets. Booklet feeder 100 can include a conveying path, generally designated 120, for supporting a group of booklets (only a single booklet 130 is illustrated in
In particular, as is illustrated in
Referring now to
Booklet feeder 100 can further include one or more booklet removers, such as grip removers 215a and 215b that can be contained within feeder assembly 135. These grip removers 215a and 215b can be configured for engaging booklets such as booklet 130 in a seriatim manner in conveying path 120. Further, grip removers 215a and 215b can be movable to remove an engaged booklet 130 from conveying path 120 and advance the removed booklet 130 to an exit path, which is generally designated 230 in the Figures. Grip removers 215a and 215b can be movable to lift the engaged booklet 130 past the advancement barrier (e.g., under flexible hold-back 202 and/or over raised lip 210). For instance, grip removers 215a and 215b can be configured to raise booklet 130 away from the group of booklets and over raised lip 210 (e.g., raise the bottom of booklet 130 about 1.25 inches)
In one aspect, grip removers 215a and 215b can comprise vacuum picker assemblies, which can be carried on pivotable swing arms 220a and 220b, respectively. Suction can be provided by a vacuum generator 224 (e.g., a vacuum pump or pressurized air source), the operation of which can be regulated by a first vacuum control valve 222 and fed from an air preparation system 144 (see
Regardless of the specific design of grip removers 215a and 215b, however, grip removers 215a and 215b can be configured for engaging booklets regardless of the booklet thicknesses. As a result, grip removers 215a and 215b can advance booklets such as booklets 130 having any of a variety of booklet thicknesses (e.g., number of pages from 2 pages to about 100 pages or more) from conveying path 120 to exit path 230. Further, because grip removers 215a and 215b need not be specifically designed for a particular booklet thickness, booklet feeder 100 can be used to advance groups of booklets having non-uniform booklet thicknesses (e.g., varying page counts and varying paper weights within the same stack) without requiring adjustments to booklet feeder 100. For example, as is shown in
As noted above, booklet 130 can then be moved toward exit path 230. This movement can be accomplished by pivoting lever arms 220a and 220b from a first position in which grip removers 215a and 215b are near the end of conveying path 120 to a second position above exit path 230. Specifically, lever arms 220a and 220b in the first position can be oriented at an angle relative to conveying path 120 to match the angle of booklet 130 (e.g., about 45 degrees). The pivoting of lever arms 220a and 220b can be caused by the operation of a swing arm actuator 310 (e.g., an air cylinder), which can be regulated by a second vacuum control valve 223.
Exit path 230 can be an output conveyor, for instance having conveyor sections 232a, 232b, 242a, and 242b, for advancing the removed booklet 130 away from grip removers 215a and 215b. In particular, exit path 230 can comprise a first output conveyor stage composed of first output conveyor sections 232a and 232b and a second output conveyor stage composed of second output conveyor sections 242a and 242b. First output conveyor sections 232a and 232b can be driven by a first drive motor 234 (e.g., a stepper motor) connected through first drive pulleys 236a and 236b. Second conveyor sections 242a and 242b can be independently driven by a second drive motor 244 (e.g., another stepper motor) through second drive pulleys 246a and 246b. In this arrangement, the first output conveyor stage can be adapted for advancing the removed booklet 130 to the second output conveyor stage. In addition, the first output conveyor stage can further include first booklet pusher lugs 225a and 226a associated with first output conveyor sections 232a and 232b, respectively, for assisting the advancement of booklet 130 from the first output conveyor stage to the second output conveyor stage. In addition, first booklet pusher lugs 225a and 226a can be complemented by additional booklet pusher lugs connected to opposite ends of first output conveyor sections 232a and 232b, respectively (see first booklet pusher lug 226b complementary to first booklet pusher lug 226a in
A controller, such as the computer controller generally designated 140 in
With a configuration such as is described above, booklet feeder 100 can operate as shown in
As is shown in
Accordingly, the methods and systems disclosed hereinabove provide the capability to feed booklets with different page counts and different paper weights within the same stack. This capability creates a more flexible system for document processing that can allow for greater levels of personalization and customization and can thus be incorporated into a wide variety of applications.
The present subject matter can be embodied in other forms without departure from the spirit and essential characteristics thereof. The embodiments described therefore are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Although the present subject matter has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the scope of the present subject matter.
