Intermediate Tray Patents (Class 271/3.03)
  • Patent number: 7118101
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for inputting and depositing bank notes, whereby checked bank notes are temporarily stored in a stacking device singly or in bundles. To permit secure transport of bank notes from a stacking position to an end cashbox, temporarily stored bank notes are stacked on a deposit surface that is then itself moved to a position associated with the end cashbox, so that bank notes can be deposited in the end cashbox in said position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
    Inventors: Ulrich Frank, Xaver Thum, August Haeusler
  • Patent number: 7080831
    Abstract: A sheet-sorting apparatus has a stacking tray to stack sheets formed with indicia thereupon, a processing tray to receive said sheets in the process leading to said stacking tray, and when necessary, a path to discharge directly to said stacking tray and a path to discharge said sheets to said stacking tray means via said processing tray means the paths being selectable, enabling a leading set of a plurality of sheets to be discharged directly the stacking tray and continuing to stack subsequent sheet sets in said processing tray through which process leading set of sheets and the subsequent set of sheets are sorted on the stacking tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2006
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Sasamoto, Takashi Saito, Yoshihisa Ogasawara, Keiichi Nagasawa, Shigeyuki Sanmiya
  • Patent number: 7055432
    Abstract: An image recorder of an external drum type includes a feed/discharge unit located above a drum and having an upper tray and a lower tray. The upper tray is inclined so that an edge thereof on the front side of an image recorder body is downward or at a lower level. For placing a plate on the upper tray, the plate is fed over the lower edge of the tray onto the tray. The upper tray has a movable suction pad for raising the plate. The image recorder of the external drum type can easily feed a large-size image recording material or plate over an upper edge of the inclined tray onto the tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuma Kan, Ryuuzo Tokimasa
  • Patent number: 7017903
    Abstract: There is provided a sheet conveying apparatus which is capable of easily distinguishing between a sheet bundle containing abnormal sheets, such as multi-fed sheets, and a normal sheet bundle. When it is determined that there is no abnormality in the conveyance of sheets to a processing tray 630, a finisher control section 501 causes a bundle of sheets stacked on the processing tray 630 to be discharged onto a stack tray 700, whereas when it is determined that there is abnormality in the conveyance of sheets to the processing tray 630, the finisher control section 501 causes the bundle of the sheets stacked on the processing tray 630 to be discharged onto a sample tray 701.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2006
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takayuki Fujii, Tsuyoshi Moriyama
  • Patent number: 7011304
    Abstract: A collator for assembling a packet from one or more sheets, includes a sheet collating tray, a retractable sheet stop within said sheet collating tray for stopping and aligning a leading edge of each sheet entering the sheet collating tray, thereby producing an aligned sheet packet, a movable sheet kicker for initiating output of the aligned sheet packet from the sheet collating tray, and sheet packet-grasping packet transfer belts for delivering from the collating tray each of the aligned sheet packets to downstream processing equipment. To optimize operational timing of the collator and for monitoring sheet progress through the collator, a programmed computer is provided that oversees for efficiency and possible errors sheet entry into the sheet collating tray, the presence of one or more sheets within the sheet collating tray, and the aligned sheet packet departure from the sheet collating tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Assignee: DST Output, Inc.
    Inventors: Brett Flickner, Christian Tammi, Robert Kellett
  • Patent number: 6993268
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a sheet feed device comprising a door for supporting one of the rollers of a feed roller pair for feeding a sheet, mounted on the apparatus main body so as to be opened or closed on the one end part side in the roller pair axis direction such that the one roller is pressured against the other roller of the feed roller pair provided in the apparatus main body at the time the door is closed, comprising: an outer door supported rotatably on the apparatus main body on the one side end part side in the feed roller pair axis direction; an inner door for supporting one of the rollers of the feed roller pair, supported rotatably with respect to the outer door on the one side end part side in the one roller axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hisashi Otaka
  • Patent number: 6901312
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6848849
    Abstract: The present invention provides a medium supplying apparatus that enables a user to easily remove medium and prevents medium from slanting or transferring improperly. The medium supplying apparatus comprises a first frame and a second frame that rotates freely with respect to the first frame. The first frame includes a first rotating section that rotates freely, a first fulcrum coupling section constructing a rotating fulcrum and a first lock coupling section. The second frame includes a pressing member, a second fulcrum coupling section constructing the rotating fulcrum by being coupled with the first fulcrum coupling section, and a second lock coupling section coupled selectively with the first lock coupling section. Because the first and second lock coupling sections are coupled selectively by relative movement, the second frame is locked or unlocked with respect to the first frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventor: Naomi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 6796558
    Abstract: In a method for transporting sheets of paper the individual sheets are conveyed successively in a conveying direction to a stop unit and at least one sheet is held at the stop unit to form a set at the stop unit. The stop unit is activated for conveying the set formed at the stop unit when a sheet of a next set to be formed at the stop unit overlaps the set formed at the stop unit. The device for performing the method has a collector with transport elements for transporting sheets along a transport path and a stop unit positioned in the transport path and operated intermittently for forming sets of sheets and further transporting the sets formed thereat. A control device is connected to the stop unit. The collector further has a first sensor device connected to the control device which sends an activation signal to the stop unit when a sheet of a next set to be formed overlaps a set already formed at the stop unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2004
    Assignee: Mathias Bäuerle GmbH
    Inventor: Wilfried Dorer
  • Patent number: 6792861
    Abstract: An image recorder of an external drum type includes a feed/discharge unit located above a drum and having an upper tray and a lower tray. The upper tray is inclined so that an edge thereof on the front side of an image recorder body is downward or at a lower level. For placing a plate on the upper tray, the plate is fed over the lower edge of the tray onto the tray. The upper tray has a movable suction pad for raising the plate. The image recorder of the external drum type can easily feed a large-size image recording material or plate over an upper edge of the inclined tray onto the tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2004
    Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuma Kan, Ryuuzo Tokimasa
  • Patent number: 6789682
    Abstract: A paper processing apparatus feeds papers one by one from the first cassette for storing papers to be delivered to the outside, conveys the fed papers on the first conveyance path to store them in a predetermined temporary storing section, and then delivers the stored papers in a block through a paper delivery aperture to the outside. Also, the paper processing apparatus leads papers having difficulties with delivery after being fed from the first cassette, to the second conveyance path which is a divergent path of the first conveyance path, and stores the led papers in the second cassette. The paper processing apparatus further comprises the third conveyance path for receiving papers coming from the outside and transmitting them to the first conveyance path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Hayato Minamishin, Atsunori Kimura, Hayami Abe
  • Publication number: 20040172158
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Publication date: September 2, 2004
    Applicant: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6767012
    Abstract: A sheet finishing apparatus has a stacking tray for stacking sheets formed with indicia; a processing tray on the stacking tray for receiving sheets; a movable aligning plate on the processing tray that moves traverse to the direction of discharge of the sheets; with a plurality of aligning operations. The first aligning operation has a distance of L1 from the aligning position of the movable aligning plate to the first aligning operation starting position. The last aligning operation is a distance of L2 from the aligning position of the movable aligning plate to the final aligning operation starting position. L1>L2 for the last sheet of a plurality of sheets in a set. A first and second aligning operation are performed on each of a set of sheets. The distance from the aligning position in the second aligning operation to the aligning start position is L1, wherein L1>L2>L3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventor: Shinya Sasamoto
  • Patent number: 6732011
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6722647
    Abstract: A medium transporting apparatus transports a medium along a predetermined transport path. A medium-transporting section is movable between a loading position and an unloading position and has a first transport path. A medium-holding section is movable between the loading position and the unloading position, holds a stack of medium therein, and has a second transport path continuous to the first transport path. A first locking mechanism locks the medium-transporting section to the loading position and unlocks the medium-transporting section from the loading position. A coupling mechanism brings the medium-transporting section and the medium-holding section into coupled engagement with each other and brings the medium-transporting section and the medium-holding section out of coupled engagement with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: Oki Data Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Kato, Norihisa Isaka
  • Patent number: 6714835
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control documents included in the mailpieces to identify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system accesses the mailing control file to identify set-up parameter values for the current mailing job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Publication number: 20040032073
    Abstract: A sheet finishing apparatus has a stacking tray for stacking sheets formed with indicia, a processing tray established in the process to said stacking tray for receiving said sheets, a movable aligning plate established on said processing tray that moves traverse to the direction of discharge of said sheets. The system has a plurality of aligning operations. The first aligning operation has a distance of L1 from the aligning position of the movable aligning plate to the first aligning operation starting position. The last aligning operation a distance of L2 from the aligning position of the movable aligning plate to the final aligning operation starting position. The relationship between these distances is L1>L2 for the last sheet of a plurality of sheets in a set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Publication date: February 19, 2004
    Inventor: Shinya Sasamoto
  • Patent number: 6644657
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a document processing and collating machine having a feeding path leading to at least one document conveying devices having one or more document accumulating bins for receiving a series of documents that are fed downstream in spaced apart collations with documents in shingled relationship. The document accumulator bins have an intermediate conveying and diverting apparatus which is momentarily engaged to cause a leading end of a shingled collation of documents to be diverted into a document accumulating bin where the documents are registered at their common leading end at a nip of a set of downstream conveying rollers that are stopped during the registration process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Wright, Rebecca J. Anderson
  • Patent number: 6644644
    Abstract: A sheet tray for a conveyor belt delivery system wherein sheets fed from a sheet feeder are stacked in the sheet tray and then transported from the sheet tray on the conveyor. The sheet tray as two walls at least one of which is movable to hold different sized sheets in a stack. The sheet feeder has two open ends to allow for the transport of stacks by a conveyor belt. The sheet feeder delivers a specified number of sheets to the stack and then stops delivering sheets. The conveyor has a post to engage and move the stack out of sheets off the base of the walls onto the conveyor belt. A sensor on the sheet tray notified the sheet feeder that the sheet tray is empty and to start feeding sheets to a new stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Multifeeder Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Arild Vedoy
  • Patent number: 6637740
    Abstract: Loader of signatures or sheets with scale-shaped arrangement comprising a retractable plane (10) onto which a small stack (7) of signatures or sheets (3) is deposited, which is unloaded onto the plane (2′) of a feeder (2) after the retractable plane (10) has moved back. The latter is located at a minimum difference in height relative to the horizontal upper part (5′) of a conveyor belt (5) of the signatures or sheets (3) coming from the loader (1) and at a short distance from the plane (2′) of the feeder (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: O.M.G. di Giorgio Pessina e Aldo Perobelli s.n.c.
    Inventors: Giorgio Pessina, Aldo Perobelli
  • Patent number: 6619648
    Abstract: A sheet-sorting apparatus has a stacking tray to stack sheets formed with indicia thereupon, a processing tray to receive said sheets in the process leading to said stacking tray, and when necessary, a path to discharge directly to said stacking tray and a path to discharge said sheets to said stacking tray means via said processing tray means the paths being selectable, enabling a leading set of a plurality of sheets to be discharged directly the stacking tray and continuing to stack subsequent sheet sets in said processing tray through which process leading set of sheets and the subsequent set of sheets are sorted on the stacking tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignee: Nisca Corporation
    Inventors: Shinya Sasamoto, Takashi Saito, Yoshihisa Ogasawara, Keiichi Nagasawa, Shigeyuki Sanmiya
  • Publication number: 20030155700
    Abstract: This invention relates to a document accumulation device comprising an accumulation receptacle provided with a mobile accumulation guide for receiving a bundle of documents to be folded and drive means constituted by a motor roller driven in rotation by motor means and associated with a free counter-roller adapted to pivot about a pivot pin, in order, on the one hand, to drive and align these documents one after the other against the accumulation guide and, on the other hand, thereafter to eject in one go the bundle of documents thus formed by accumulation in said receptacle, this device further comprising displacement means, constituted by an electro-magnet of which the core having two positions of displacement is connected to a piece supporting said free counter-roller, in order to position these drive means, on the one hand, in a first position in which they are subjected to a rathermore weak drive effort to ensure drive and alignment of the documents and, on the other hand, in a second position in which t
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2003
    Publication date: August 21, 2003
    Applicant: NEOPOST INDUSTRIE
    Inventors: Rene Van Den Berg, Herve Duval
  • Patent number: 6575448
    Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus of the present invention comprises: an inserter tray to support insert sheets, an insert sheet supply roller to supply the insert sheets in the direction of a recording medium conveying path from the inserter tray; an insert sheet conveying device extending from the insert sheet supply roller to the recording medium conveying path to convey the insert sheets; a sheet reversing/conveying device provided from the insert sheet supply roller to the recording medium conveying path to reverse both the front and back sides of the insert sheets; and a gate to sort the insert sheets supplied from the insert sheet supply roller to the insert sheet conveying device or the insert sheet reversing/conveying device, and supplies insert sheets on the inserter tray by reversing the front and back sides in the direction of recording media according to a type of finish processing to be applied to recording media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akihito Tokutsu
  • Patent number: 6471429
    Abstract: Sheet processing apparatus including a first tray for stacking sheets received from an image forming apparatus, a discharge unit for discharging the sheets from the first tray in a bundle, a second tray for stacking the sheets discharged from the first tray, a discriminating unit for discriminating an attribute of a sheet to be stacked on the first tray, and a controller for selectively controlling whether or not to discharge sheets by the discharge unit in accordance with a discrimination of the discriminating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshinori Isobe, Katsuhito Kato, Yuzoh Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 6325368
    Abstract: A sheet output device having a stack for storing sheets and a plurality of discharge bins includes a sheet transport device for transporting a discharged sheet from a discharge bin to the stack and an indicator for indicating that the sheet has been transported by the sheet transport device, so that the user can know where the job sheet is to be output. The sheet output device further includes a memory for storing information related to a sheet output for each of the discharge bins, and the indicator indicates information related to the sheet transported by the sheet transport device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Minolta Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Ikeda, Akinori Yoshida, Motomi Takemoto
  • Patent number: 6320674
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus is equipped with a document reading device for reading image data on a document at a reading section; a memory to store the image data therein, the memory capable of storing the image data of plural pages of documents; and an image recording system for recording an image on a recording sheet based on the image data stored in the memory. A recording sheet reversing system receives the recording sheet from the image recording system, wherein the image is recorded on one side of the recording sheet, reverses the recording sheet, and refeeds the reversed recording sheet to the image recording system without stacking the recording sheet, whereby another image is recorded on the other side of the recording sheet by the image recording system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Utami Soma, Atsushi Takahashi, Kazumichi Yamauchi, Ryuji Okutomi, Susumu Kurihara
  • Patent number: 6286830
    Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet material stacking device comprising a sheet material discharging means for discharging a sheet material, a sheet material stacking means on which the sheet materials discharged by the sheet material discharging means are stacked, and an elongation tray extensibly housed within the sheet material stacking means and capable of extending in accordance with a size of the sheet material, and wherein the elongation tray has an inclined surface at an upstream end thereof in a sheet material stacking direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Kitahara, Teruo Komatsu, Yasuyoshi Hayakawa, Tomoyuki Araki
  • Patent number: 6257566
    Abstract: A binding line having increased capacity and increased flexibility to deliver customized or personalized signatures to the gathering conveyor in order to customize or personalizes the content of a book to appeal to targeted demographic groups or individuals. The binding line includes a gathering conveyor, a plurality of packer boxes positioned along the gathering conveyor, each of the packer boxes being adapted to deliver a distinct signature to the conveyor, and a feeder system operatively associated with at least one of the packer boxes. The feeder system includes a feed conveyor and a plurality of feeder boxes, each of the feeder boxes being adapted to deliver a selected signature to the associated packer box. A primary controller is provided for activating a selected set of the packer boxes, thereby delivering a set of signatures to the gathering conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co.
    Inventor: Ronald E. Dooley