Claims
- 1. An apparatus for changing the direction of travel of a flat article along a single path, comprising:
- a deck mounted on a frame, said deck having a first side for receiving an article from a first direction along a single path and a second side for conveying the article in a second direction along said single path which forms an acute angle equal to or less than forty-five degrees (45.degree.) with the first direction;
- means for conveying the article over said deck in said second direction;
- a registration wall fixedly positioned downstream from said second direction conveying means adjacent a third side of said deck, said registration wall extending a third direction along said single path whereby said registration wall is at a right angle to the first direction, wherein said leading edge of the article is driven against said registration wall after the article has been disengaged by said second direction conveying means; and
- means for conveying the article in said third direction after said article is against said registration wall.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second direction conveying means comprise a plurality of roller pairs, each of said roller pairs being positioned in line with said second direction.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second direction is forty-five degrees (45.degree.) from said first direction.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said third direction is ninety degrees (90.degree.) from said first direction.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of said roller pairs includes a spring biased idler roller assembly and a driven roller.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said driven rollers are driven at an adjustable speed by a variable speed motor.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said driven roller speed is less than a speed of said first direction conveying means.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control of said second direction conveying means is independent of the control of an inserter in which the apparatus is configured.
- 9. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein each of said idler rollers is pivotable for disengaging any combination of roller pairs so that when the article is being conveyed by said second direction conveying means, said first and third direction conveying means are not engaging the article.
- 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said registration wall is adjustably positioned to handle various sized articles.
- 11. A method for changing the direction without changing the orientation of motion of flat articles being conveyed along a first direction to a third direction which is at a right angle to the first direction, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) feeding a stream of articles along the first direction by a first drive means;
- b) engaging the leading edge of each of said articles by at least two of a plurality of roller pairs, said roller pairs being configured in at least two parallel rows, each of said roller pairs being angled in a second direction which is equal or less than forth-five degrees (45.degree.) from said first direction;
- c) conveying each of the articles by the rollers pairs across a deck in the second direction;
- d) driving said leading edge of the articles against a registration wall after each of the articles have been disengaged by the roller pairs in the second direction, said registration wall being positioned at a right angle to the first direction and downstream of the roller pairs; and
- e) conveying each of the articles along the registration wall by a third drive means.
- 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of:
- independently controlling and driving the roller pairs from the first and third drive means.
- 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said first direction conveying means is situated at a downstream end of an insert station in an inserter machine and the article being conveyed is an envelope having enclosures inserted therein, and wherein the speed of said second direction conveying means is less than the speed of the first direction conveying means whereby the enclosures in the envelope towards the bottom of the envelope when the envelope is engaged by said second direction conveying means.
- 14. In an inserter, an apparatus for changing the direction of travel of documents without changing the orientation of the documents, the documents including sheets of paper, inserts an envelopes, comprising:
- a deck mounted on a frame, said deck having a first side for receiving a document being fed from a first direction and a second side for conveying the document in a second direction which forms an acute angle equal to or less than forth-five degrees (45.degree.) with the first direction;
- means operatively connected to said deck for conveying the document over said deck in said second direction, said second direction conveying means engaging the leading edge of the document which has been fed to said deck by a means for conveying the document in the first direction, whereby the orientation of the document being conveyed in the first direction is maintained when the document is conveyed in the second direction;
- a registration wall positioned downstream from said second direction conveying means, said registration wall being adjacent a third side of said deck and extending a third direction, wherein said leading edge of the document is driven against said registration wall by momentum after the document is conveyed beyond said second direction driving means; and
- means for conveying the document in said third direction after said article has been driven against said registration wall.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said second direction conveying means comprise a plurality of roller pairs, each of said roller pairs being positioned in line with said second direction.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein each of said roller pairs includes a spring biased idler roller assembly and a driven roller.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said registration wall is adjustably positioned to handle various sized envelopes.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 608,512, filed Nov. 2, 1990, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
60-258041 |
Dec 1985 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
608512 |
Nov 1990 |
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