Patents Assigned to Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
  • Patent number: 6789377
    Abstract: An envelope filling station at which enclosures are pushed into envelopes. Envelopes are provide to the filling station via an envelope conveyor transverse to the push-in direction. A roller bar positioned above the conveyor is lowered while transporting envelopes and raised while documents are pushed into the stopped envelopes, A stop means, stops the envelopes on the conveyor at an appropriated filling location. Upstream of the conveyor an auxiliary conveying arrangement provides envelopes to the conveyor from a direction perpendicular to the conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek
  • Patent number: 6536184
    Abstract: In an envelope-filling apparatus for mail-processing machines, the adjustment of the push-in depth of enclosures into open envelopes in the operating stroke of a pivot-lever arrangement, which bears a push-in-finger arrangement, is simplified in that said pivot-lever arrangement is designed as a three-lever rectilinear-guidance mechanism, of which the third lever, which serves as the carrier hand for the push-in-finger arrangement, has, at its free end, a slide guide which can be secured and is intended for adjusting the distance between a push-in-finger shaft for the push-in-finger arrangement and the point of articulation of the longer lever of the three-lever rectilinear-guidance means on the carrier hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2003
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek
  • Patent number: 6523326
    Abstract: In an apparatus for handling sheet-like articles, in particular in an envelope-filling station, the smoothness of running is increased, even in the case of high cycle speeds, in that a guide control means is provided so that push-in fingers, which are moved back and forth by an actuating arrangement, can be lowered and raised relative to a base plate both in the operating stroke and in the return stroke, it being the case that provided for the operating stroke is a framework-side guide part and for the return stroke is a diverter-like changeover guide part, which is actuated by the guide contact element itself and ensures in each case smooth transitions to the housing-side guide part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek
  • Patent number: 6461102
    Abstract: A charging apparatus for handling stations for sheet-like, flexible articles, in particular envelopes, particularly for mail-processing machines, the drive in a feed-channel for stacks of articles standing on edge being controlled in dependence on a detector output signal produced by a light barrier, which responds to the formation of a gap and runs transversely to the conveying direction with the gap forming in the region of a transition between the feed channel and a discharge channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Stefan Will
  • Patent number: 6425617
    Abstract: In a gripper mechanism for devices for handling sheet-like or plate-like articles, particularly for mail-processing machines, simple and reliable setting for the handling of light, thin and also heavy, thick articles can be effected by the use of pivotable gripper claws on the gripper hand provided at the end of a pivotable gripper arm, by virtue of the fact that a plane which is oriented approximately perpendicular to the gripper arm longitudinal axis, and in which the contact area between articles to be handled and a pivotable gripper claw also lies, is at such a distance in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the gripper arm from the pivot axis of this pivotable gripper claw that an additional pivoting moment acts on the latter in the closure direction, generated under the effect of tensile forces which seek to remove the articles to be handled from the gripper claws when these are closed, as a result of which articles of widely varying weight and varying thickness are at all times gripped securely.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2002
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek
  • Patent number: 6419223
    Abstract: With regard to an installation designed to handle sheet-like pieces by means of gripper arms (1) provided with gripper clutches (9, 10), a particularly simple and economical structure requiring less components can be obtained by a design according to which the distribution crankshaft gear carries a distributing disk with operating cams (18, 11a, 18a, 113) for enabling oscillatory movements by the gripper arm (1), said disk interacting with the cam follower (17) in an actuating mechanism which is coupled with the swivelling gripper clutch (10) of the clamping device (3) and mounted on the gripper arm (1). The distributing disk has been specially designed for that purpose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek
  • Patent number: 6416100
    Abstract: In a gripper mechanism for devices for handling objects in the form of sheets or plates, simple and easy operability of the gripper claws of pivoting gripper arms into the open position for adjustment purposes, test purposes and the like is achieved in that a manual operating element made of plastic is connected in the gripper claw operating drive between an operating lever which is mounted on the relevant gripper arm such that it can pivot, and a coupling linkage which is connected to one of the gripper claws which can pivot, and this manual operating element can pivot on the operating shaft of the gripper claw operating drive in such a manner that the claw can be caused to open easily while the machine is at rest, without any risk of injuries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek, Rainer Oberheim
  • Patent number: 6375182
    Abstract: A feeding machine for feeding envelopes into a station for further individual handling. A stack of envelopes is held in a downwardly inclined feed channel. The stack of envelopes is transformed into a layered stream by an upward inclined discharge channel including a conveyor unit that carries a stream of envelopes through a gap formed by an imbricator strip and a low friction circulation belt. The layered stream is conveyed to a removal point where a removal device removes individual envelopes for further processing. The conveyance of the layered stream is controlled in such a manner that the removal device can remove individual envelopes at regular time intervals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2002
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Sting, Stephan Will