Abstract: Envelope opening machine which is relatively small in size and suitable for use on table tops. The machine has a milling cutter and a pair of belts for feeding envelopes from a hopper past the cutter. The belts extend obliquely with respect to the path of the envelopes and tend to hold the envelopes tightly against a guide on one side of the path for precise alignment with the cutter. A removable chaff tray is located at the front of the machine, with a window for viewing the amount of chaff that has been collected. A removable cover overlies the belts and cutter, with hold-down wheels for maintaining the envelopes in contact with the belts and an interlock switch for deactuating the cutter when the cover is removed.

Abstract: Remittance processing apparatus and method in which the leading edges of a pair of documents such as a payment coupon and a check conveyed along a path are engaged with a gate to control passage of the documents along the path. The gate is held in a closed position until the leading edges are aligned with each other and thereafter opened to release the documents. The documents are then engaged by feed rollers rotating at speeds such that one of the two documents is fed ahead of the other to a stacking tray with a stacking belt which engages one side of the documents. The tray is urged toward the belt with a force which remains substantially constant regardless of the number of documents stacked in the tray.

Abstract: Machine for extracting the contents from envelopes for presentation to an operator. The envelopes are stacked at an input station and fed one at a time from the input station to a cutting station. At the cutting station, the envelopes are severed along their edge portions to provide access to the contents. From the cutting station, the envelopes are transported to a separating station, where the contents are separated from the envelopes. The contents from one envelope at a time are conveyed to a pick-up station for presentation to an operator at a work station. When the operator removes the contents of one envelope from the pick-up station, the contents of another envelope are conveyed to that station and presented to the operator. As each envelope leaves the separating station, it is checked to verify that the contents have been removed.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for checking the contents of envelopes and sorting envelopes and other documents according to thickness. The envelopes or other documents are fed along a predetermined path, the thickness of each envelope or document is checked as it travels along the path, and any envelope or document having a thickness greater than a predetermined thickness is diverted from the path.

Abstract: An automated envelope opener receives a stack of unopened envelopes of varying sizes, types and shapes, and feeds these envelopes individually to a cutting station. An edge of each envelope is automatically aligned with a reference surface, whereby each such aligned envelope edge can be cut at the cutting station by a rotating multi-toothed cutter and stationary anvil which are also aligned with the reference surface. In a preferred embodiment, means are additionally provided for shingling and stacking the envelopes after they have been cut open.