Claims
- 1. A feeder/separator apparatus for separating and moving sheets from a stack of sheets comprising:an input area for positioning the stack of sheets; a first and second series of rollers for jointly feeding a sheet on the bottom of the stack into an area of the apparatus including a third and fourth series of rollers and a first series of belts; a pre-separation brake adapted to act in a pivoting pattern on the first series of belts only, to thereby cause a first stage separation of the bottom sheet; a separation brake adapted to act in a linear pattern on the fourth series of rollers only, to thereby cause a second stage separation of the bottom sheet, the pre-separation and separation brakes permitting the bottom sheets to be separated from the stack; and a fifth series of rollers and a second series of belts both being adapted to feed the bottom sheets away from the feeder/separator apparatus in a sheet feed path.
- 2. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said sheets are mailpieces.
- 3. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said sheets are envelopes.
- 4. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said apparatus automatically adjusts to envelope thickness.
- 5. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said envelopes are of mixed thickness and sizes.
- 6. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said envelopes are being fed to a postage meter.
- 7. A feeder/separator apparatus for separating and moving sheets from a stack of sheets comprising:an input area for positioning the stack of sheets; a first and second series of rollers for jointly feeding a sheet on the bottom of the stack into an area of the apparatus including a third and fourth series of rollers and a first series of belts; a pre-separation brake adapted to act in a pivoting pattern on the first series of belts only, to thereby cause a first stage separation of the bottom sheet; a separation brake adapted to act in a linear pattern on the fourth series of rollers only, to thereby cause a second stage separation of the bottom sheet, the pre-separation and separation brakes permitting the bottom sheets to be separated from the stack; and a fifth series of rollers and a second series of belts both being adapted to feed the bottom sheets away from the feeder/separator apparatus in a sheet feed path, wherein said feeder/separator apparatus is module for a modular mailing machine.
- 8. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein said apparatus includes a moistener positioned within said apparatus for moistening a glue area on a flap of said envelopes.
- 9. A feeder/separator apparatus for separating and moving sheets from a stack of envelopes, the apparatus being adapted to adjust to envelope thickness comprising:an input area for positioning the stack of envelopes; a first and second, series of rollers for jointly feeding an envelope on the bottom of the stack into an area of the apparatus including a third and fourth series of rollers and a first series of belts; a pre-separation brake adapted to act in a pivoting pattern on the first series of belts only to cause a first stage separation of the bottom envelope; a separation brake adapted to act in a linear pattern only on the fourth series of rollers to cause a second stage separation of the bottom envelope, the pre-separation and separation brakes permitting the bottom envelopes to be separated from the stack; and a fifth series of rollers and a second series of belts both being adapted to feed the bottom envelopes away from the feeder/separator apparatus in an envelope feed path.
- 10. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a plurality of sensors adapted to control the starting and stopping of movement of various sets of said rollers and said belts in direct relation to the arrival or non-arrival of a leading edge of an envelope.
- 11. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a pre-separation sensor adapted to sense the leading edge of an envelope at a starting position in said apparatus.
- 12. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a sensor adapted to determine when there are envelopes in the stack of envelopes to be fed.
- 13. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a sensor adapted to sense long envelopes.
- 14. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a sensor adapted to sense that a leading edge of an envelope being separated traveled through said pre-separation and separation brakes within a predetermined time without a jam and that said envelope being separated is about to be picked up by the fifth series of rollers.
- 15. A feeder/separator apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising an output sensor adapted to sense that the leading edge of the envelope being separated has passed through said apparatus.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority of the following U.S. provisional patent applications:
Serial No. 60/277,841 filed on Mar. 22, 2001,
Serial No. 60/277,873, filed on Mar. 22, 2001,
Serial No. 60/277,931 filed on Mar. 22, 2001, and
Serial No. 60/277,946 filed on Mar. 22, 2001.
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Provisional Applications (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/277841 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
|
60/277873 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
|
60/277931 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
|
60/277946 |
Mar 2001 |
US |