Claims
- 1. A process for making a perforation in a sheet moving in a sheet path, comprising:
a. selecting a first punch on a rotatable punch member for perforating the sheet wherein said rotatable member comprises a second punch positioned at an angle relative to the first punch such that when either first or second punches intersect the sheet path, the other punch is rotated to a position that does not intersect the sheet path; b. determining the time at which a selected location on a sheet to be perforated will arrive at a location that intersects the selected punch; c. activating a mechanism that drives the rotatable member the selected punch intersects the sheet path when the sheet location to be punched arrives at the point of intersection between the sheet path and the punch; and d. controlling the deceleration of the rotatable member such that the non-selected punch intersects the sheet path in a space between pitches.
- 2. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the first punch comprises a plurality of punches.
- 3. The perforation process of claim 2, wherein the second punch comprises a plurality of punches.
- 4. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein there is a different number of first punches than the number of second punches.
- 5. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the paper path has a width dimension and wherein the position of the first punch along the width dimension is variable.
- 6. The perforation process of claim 5, wherein the position of the first punch along the width dimension is continuously variable across at least a segment of the width.
- 7. The perforation process of claim 5, wherein the position of the first punch is variable among a plurality of fixedly located positions.
- 8. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the first and second punches are oriented 180° from each other.
- 9. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the rotatable punch member further comprises a third punch.
- 10. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the paper path has a width dimension and wherein the first and second punches are located at the same position along the width dimension.
- 11. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the paper path has a width dimension and wherein the first and second punches are located at different positions along the width dimension.
- 12. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the speed of the drive mechanism is controllable.
- 13. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the deceleration of the drive mechanism is controllable.
- 14. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is an electrical motor controlled by the controller.
- 15. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising receiving each punch with a punch die located on a rotatable punch die member while the punch intersects the sheet path.
- 16. The perforation process of claim 15, wherein the rotatable punch die member comprises at least two punch dies.
- 17. The perforation process of claim 15, further comprising connecting the rotatable member and the rotatable punch die member with a mechanism such that the punch and the punch die rotate at essentially the same speed.
- 18. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein the leading and trailing edges comprise sheet path edges and wherein the perforation process apparatus further comprises a sensor proximate to the sheet path for detecting a sheet path edge in the sheet path.
- 19. The perforation process of claim 18, wherein the controller uses signals from the sheet path detector in an algorithm to control the drive mechanism.
- 20. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising:
a. communicating data between sensors and a controller; b. determining, with the controller, the location of a sheet in the sheet path; and c. using a controller algorithm, such data, and the location of a sheet to determine when to activate the drive mechanism.
- 21. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising:
a. communicating data between sensors and a controller; b. determining, with the controller, the location of a sheet in the sheet path; and c. using a controller algorithm, such data, and the location of a sheet to determine the acceleration of the drive mechanism in order to place the selected punch in the correct location.
- 22. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising:
a. communicating data between sensors and a controller; b. determining, with the controller, the location of a sheet in the sheet path; and c. using a controller algorithm, such data, and the location of a sheet to determine the deceleration of the drive mechanism in order to place the non-selected punch in a space between pitches.
- 23. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising:
a. detecting, with a sensor proximate to the sheet path, the trailing edge of a sheet; and b. conveying such detection data to the controller.
- 24. The perforation process of claim 1, further comprising calculating, with a calculator receiving data from sensors, the velocity of a sheet in the sheet path.
- 25. A marking system having a perforation process for perforating sheets moving in a sheet path having spaces between pitches, comprising:
a. a member rotatable in the direction of the sheet path; b. a first punch attached to the rotatable member and positioned to intersect the sheet path when rotated to a position orthogonal to the sheet path; c. a second punch attached to the rotatable member, said second punch positioned to intersect the sheet path when rotated to a position orthogonal to the sheet path and positioned at an angle relative to the first punch such that when either the first or second punch intersect the sheet path, the other punch is rotated to a position that does not intersect the sheet path; d. a drive mechanism for powering rotation of the rotating member; and e. a controller, cooperating with the drive mechanism, for controlling the rotation of the rotatable member such that when one punch is selected for intersection with a sheet in the sheet path, rotation is timed such that the other punch intersects the sheet path in a space between pitches.
- 26. The marking system of claim 26, wherein the marking system comprises and electrophotographic marking engine.
- 27. The perforation process of claim 1, wherein said hole punch apparatus comprises a subsystem integrated with a marking system.
- 28. The perforation process of claim 26, wherein the marking system comprises an electrophotographic marking engine.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/029,313 filed Dec. 28, 2001 by the same inventors, and claims priority therefrom. This divisional application is being filed in response to a restriction requirement in that prior application and contains re-written and/or additional claims to the restricted subject matter.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10029313 |
Dec 2001 |
US |
Child |
10861733 |
Jun 2004 |
US |