Claims
- 1. A system for transporting envelopes in an envelope insertion device having an envelope feeder to release envelopes, at least one enclosure feeder to release enclosure documents, and an envelope staging area where released enclosure documents are inserted into the released envelopes, said system comprising a first envelope bin with a first transport mechanism and a second envelope bin with a second transport mechanism for alternately receiving one envelope at a time from the envelope feeder, whereby the first and second transport mechanisms are controlled to decelerate a first envelope in one of the envelope bins while a preceding envelope in the other envelope bin is transported to the envelope staging area by the other transport mechanism.
- 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a first supply path and a second supply path located between the envelope bins and the envelope feeder, wherein the first envelope bin is connected to a first envelope supply path and the second envelope bin is connected to a second envelope supply path, said system further comprising a gate which alternately opens and closes the first and the second supply paths so that the envelopes released from the envelope feeder are alternately fed into the envelope bins through the respective envelope supply paths.
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the envelopes have a width and the envelope bins have a width and wherein the width of each envelope bin is adjustable according to the width of the envelopes.
- 4. The system of claim 3, further comprising an adjustment device to simultaneously adjust the width of the first and the second envelope bins.
- 5. The system of claim 1, wherein each envelope bin has an entrance end to receive an envelope along an entering direction and an opposing end, and each envelope bin further includes a catch mechanism located at the entrance end to prevent an envelope which has entered the envelope bin from moving out of the entrance end in a direction opposite the entering direction; and a stop mechanism located at the opposing end to prevent an entered envelope from exiting the envelope bin through the opposing end further along the entering direction, wherein the catch mechanism and the stop mechanism are separated by a distance.
- 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the envelopes have a width and the envelope bin has a width defined by the separation distance between the catch mechanism and the stop mechanism, said system further including an adjustment device to adjust the separation distance between the stop mechanism and the catch mechanism according to the width of the envelopes.
- 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the adjustment device comprises:a first adjustment shaft; a first pinion engaged with the first adjustment shaft for rotation; a first rack for mounting the catch mechanism of the first envelope bin, wherein the first rack is engaged with the first pinion for movement in a first direction responsive to the rotation of the first pinion; and a second rack for mounting the stop mechanism of the first envelope bin, wherein the second rack is engaged with the first pinion for movement in a second direction responsive to the rotation of the first pinion, wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction, whereby the catch mechanism and the stop mechanism of the first bin are caused to move in opposite directions relative to the first pinion when the first adjustment shaft is turned.
- 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the adjustment device further comprises:a second adjustment shaft; a second pinion engaged with the second adjustment shaft for rotation; a third rack for mounting the catch mechanism of the second envelope bin, wherein the third rack is engaged with the second pinion for movement in a third direction responsive to the rotation of the second pinion; and a fourth rack for mounting the stop mechanism of the second envelope bin, wherein the fourth rack is engaged with the second pinion for movement in a fourth direction responsive to the rotation of the second pinion, wherein the fourth direction is opposite to the third direction, whereby the catch mechanism and the stop mechanism of the second bin are caused to move in opposite directions relative to the second pinion when the second adjustment shaft is turned.
- 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the first pinion is engaged to the first adjustment shaft with a worm gear and a worm wheel, wherein the worm gear is mechanically coupled to the first adjustment shaft for rotation and the worm wheel is fixedly mounted on the first pinion, and wherein the worm gear is in direct contact with the worm wheel for causing the worm wheel to turn when the worm gear is turned.
- 10. The system of claim 5, wherein the stop mechanism is operable at a first position to prevent an entered envelope from exiting the envelope bin along the entering direction; and a second position to allow the entered envelope to be removed from the envelope bin further along the entering direction, if so desired.
- 11. The system of claim 7, wherein the first adjustment shaft has a turn knob fixedly mounted thereon, said turn knob being used to turn the first shaft in order to adjust the distance between the stop mechanism and the catch mechanism.
- 12. A method of improving the throughput of an envelope insertion device having an envelope feeder to release envelopes, at least one enclosure feeder to release enclosure documents, and an envelope staging area where the released enclosure documents are inserted into the released envelopes, said method comprising the steps of (a)alternately feeding the released envelopes into one of two envelope supply paths located between the envelope feeder and the envelope staging area, (b) allowing the envelope released into one envelope path to slow down while waiting for the further step of (c) transporting a preceding envelope released into the other envelope path to the envelope staging area.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/471,755 filed on Dec. 23, 1999, entitled “Dual Bin Envelope Supply Device and Method,” now issued as Pat. No. 6,290,226.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/471755 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/924662 |
|
US |