Abstract: The present invention relates to a separation mechanism for separating and feeding paper sheet. The respective convex portions and concave portions of the conveying roller and the separating roller are opposed to each other in a state of different-steps so as not to be brought into contact with each other. The conveying roller is rotated in the normal direction which is the same as that of feeding the paper sheet and the separating roller is rotated in the reverse direction to that of feeding the paper sheet. The separation mechanism for the fed paper sheet for separating sheet by sheet a plurality of manuscript document sheets piled on the document sheet tray is formed such that the diameter of the separating roller is made smaller than that of the conveying roller and the frictional coefficient of the separating roller is also made smaller than that of the conveying roller.

Abstract: An apparatus for separating a mixed granular material into granules of different specific gravities or ranges of specific gravity using a powered air flow is described. A divider plate is located below the air flow path within the apparatus to separate the two material flows from each other. The divider plate can be rotated about an axis and can also be translated or displaced within the apparatus in order to precisely define the separation point between the material flows. Hoppers are used to collect and discharge the separated granular materials, and a conveyor belt is provided within the apparatus to transport one of the separated granular materials to the corresponding hopper. The conveyor belt reduces clogging of the separated granular material and also allows a greater degree of separation to be maintained between the hoppers, thereby allowing standard conveyors to be placed beneath the hopper discharge openings.

Abstract: An in-feed magazine apparatus for loading documents includes a magazine feed ramp having one or more document conveyor belts disposed along a bottom surface, the belts being arranged to engage the bottom boundary of the documents. The conveyor belts are configured to effect forward movement of the stack of documents toward a document shingler mechanism along a linear axis defined by forward movement of the conveyor belts. Also included is a backing plate having a lower portion disposed proximal to the conveyor belt, an upper portion disposed vertically upward from the lower portion, and a generally planar face parallel to the plane defined by the face of the documents. An upper and lower sensor sense contact with the front end of the stack of documents while a controller operatively coupled to the upper and the lower sensors determines when the front end of the stack of documents lies in a plane substantially parallel to the face of the backing plate.

Abstract: To produce a desired sheet orientation between upstream and downstream positions of a sheet path along which sheets travel successively in a predetermined sheet travel direction, each sheet is driven uniformly along the path with an intermediate phase in which the sheet is driven differentially to rotate the sheet without changing its velocity component in the sheet travel direction. If the sheet has a skew or an offset error, the amount of rotation and its starting point are adjusted appropriately to compensate for both.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for the rapid switchover between different height modules in an automatic module testing and handling machine. The multi-chip module (MCM) handling apparatus comprises a bottom rail and a guide rail which has an upwardly extending wall and an outwardly extending flange which form a channel. This channel provides a passageway through which a MCM of a first thickness can pass laterally such that the first MCM is in contact with the top surface which positions contact nodes provided on the first MCM at a predetermined vertical position with respect to the top surface. This handling apparatus further comprises a removable justifying plate (RJP) which is removably attached within the first channel, thereby forming a second channel. This second channel provides a passage way through which a MCM of a second thickness, which is less than the first thickness of the first MCM, can pass laterally.

Abstract: A conveyer belt includes a conveying face which is divided into at least two areas one of which has a larger coefficient of friction than the other. Alternatively, the conveying face includes an area in which a coefficient of friction thereof varies from a large value to a small value from one side to the other side along a direction transverse to the belt. A transfer device is provided for discharging sheet material on to the conveying face of the conveyer belt in the direction transverse to the belt. The conveyer belt is disposed in such a manner that the area of the conveying face on the side of the transfer device has a larger coefficient of friction than the area on the other side.

Abstract: A sheet feeder for feeding a sheet from a sheet stacker. The sheet feeder includes: a main body of the sheet stacker for holding plural stacked sheets; a movable bottom plate, provided on the bottom portion of the main body and supported bivotally on an axis, for supporting the plural stacked sheets; a lifting lever for lifting the movable bottom plate; and plural pickup rollers, aligned on an axis in a direction perpendicular to a sheet feeding direction, for having a pressure contact with a sheet of the plural stacked sheets on the movable bottom plate, and for feeding the sheet from the main body in the sheet feeding direction. In the sheet feeder, a protruded portion is formed either on the movable bottom plate or on the lifting lever so that a contact portion where the movable bottom plate comes in contact with the lifting lever is of a point contact, and the contact portion is provided at the center of the closest two of the pickup rollers in the direction of their axis.

Abstract: A cargo delivery vehicle is described having storage for multiple tiers, or levels, of cargo. The delivery vehicle includes two or more interior elevating platforms, at least one on either side of a center structural wall running parallel to the side walls. Substantially continuous side access doors provide total exterior access to the lowermost tier of cargo. Cargo stored at the upper tier may be positioned by an elevating means at the level of the lower tier for either rear loading or side retrieval purposes. The center structural wall supports a transverse roof truss system that carries suspended outboard loads inward to the center wall. This non-traditional framing system greatly reduces the structural requirements of the side walls and floor, thereby permitting largely open framing for multiple side access ports as well as a minimized floor thickness to permit easier access from the pavement.

Abstract: A paper-reversing device includes: a driving roller that rotates in one direction; a plurality of driven rollers that are installed around the driving roller while being kept in contact with the driving roller, and that revolve around the driving roller while rotating on their respective axes following the rotation of the driving roller. There is a paper-sending roller that rotates without contacting the driving roller; a roller supporting plate for supporting the driving roller and the driven rollers; a paper-feeding guide section; a paper-reversing guide section; and a solenoid. Paper, which has been fed to the paper-feeding guide section, is sent to the paper-reversing guide section by being sandwiched between the driving roller and one of the driven rollers. Thereafter, the driven roller is separated from the driving roller and is pressed against the paper-sending roller by the revolution.

Abstract: The barrier wall device for paper sheets flying thereto with one edge posing as a front edge as discharged from a printing portion of a copying or printing machine to collide thereagainst is constructed to have a barrier wall plate elastically supported from a frame body by an elastic tensile support device extending perpendicularly to the direction of fly coming of the paper sheets, so that the barrier wall plate is biased in parallelism by expanding and inclining the tensile support device. The paper sheet receptacle is desirably adaptable to a high speed copying or printing machine so that paper sheet collision noise is lowered, with paper sheets received to form a well trued stack.

Abstract: A device for selectively extracting samples from a folding unit is provided. The device includes a signature transport system for transporting signatures to a deceleration device. The deceleration device has a plurality of rotating arms with gripping elements assigned thereto for seizing signatures emerging-from the transport system. Portions of the signature transport system or selectively actuable gripping elements either deliver sample signatures to a delivery system or deviate sample signatures into an alternate transport path.

Abstract: A hopper and feeder assembly for feeding newspapers to be collated or assembled for delivery is provided which includes a reciprocating feeder device employing roller clutch and bearing wheel assemblies. The roller clutch and bearing wheel assemblies lock during frictional engagement with the lowermost newspaper in the stack during a forward feed stroke to push the newspaper forward to nip rollers. The narrow feeder device permits a sharp ridge to be formed as the nip rollers snap down to bend the lowermost newspaper in the stack over the wheel assemblies. The roller clutch and bearing wheel assemblies are mounted on a rail to provide a narrow newspaper engagement surface and corresponding narrow ridge formed in the newspaper.

Abstract: A suction device for handling light, flat and bendable articles has a suction line and a sucker at an end of the suction line. The sucker has a suction lip made of an elastically deformable material for individually contacting and lifting articles. A lip-deforming bending template having a deforming edge defining a concave shape is displaceable relative to the suction lip so that the suction lip is deformed by contact with the deforming edge to conform to the concave shape. A second bending template can be laterally spaced from the suction lip and have a bending edge for contacting an article lifted by the suction lip, the lip being displaceable relative to the bending edge.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a sheet handling apparatus having a hopper drum (1) for receiving individual signatures (23) from a feed tray, the hopper drum being equipped with at least one set of signature seizing grippers (16). A hopper drum surface element (13) revolves counter to a direction of rotation (7) of the hopper drum (1) upon reversal of direction (33) of the signatures (23). A seizing element (26) is assigned to the direction reversal position (38) of the signatures (23).

Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet supplying apparatus which has a sheet supporting unit for supporting a sheet, a first abutment member for regulating a tip end of the sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit, a displaceable second abutment member for regulating the tip end of the sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit, and a sheet supply for feeding out the sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit An angle between a surface of the sheet supported by the sheet supporting unit and a sheet abutment surface of the second abutment member is smaller than an angle between the surface of the sheet and a sheet abutment surface of the first abutment member.

Abstract: A cut sheet feeding device having a function of detecting a skew of the sheet to be fed is incorporated in an image reader, a printing apparatus, etc. The cut sheet feeding device is capable of surely detecting the skew of a document without an operator visually monitoring the same. The cut sheet feeding device has size sensors corresponding to standard sheet sizes, respectively, for detecting the size of a document that is being fed along a feeding path. The detected document size is compared with a set document size stored in advance. If the detected document size is greater than the set document size, it is determined that there is an abnormality in feeding the document. The cut sheet feeding device also has a document passage detector for detecting the passage of the document. The outputs of the document passage sensor and size sensor are compared with each other, to calculate a skew of the document that is being fed. This skew is used to determine whether or not the document is being fed normally.

Abstract: A document feeder includes: a document detecting device arranged on the top of the copier body, for detecting a document inserted from the outside; a feed roller arranged adjacent to the document detecting device, on the top of the copier body, for feeding an inserted document into a space between the original table and the original cover, in response to the detection of a document by the document detecting device; and an original cover lifting device arranged on the top of the copier body, for lifting the original cover to create a gap between the original table and the original cover, in response to the detection of a document by the document detecting device. Alternatively, the feed roller further has a rotary cam on its shaft, so that the cam rotates to lift the original cover up as the feed roller rotates in the document feeding direction.

Abstract: A blade for use in an apparatus for urging sheets against registration edges in a sheet compiler is provided. The blade includes a body having a contact surface for contact with the sheets and a locating feature. The locating feature is connected to the body for locating the blade to the apparatus. The locating feature includes a prevention feature for preventing the blade from being inserted into the apparatus in a first orientation and to permit the blade to be inserted into the apparatus in a second orientation, opposed to the first orientation, so that the blade is properly installed into the apparatus.

Abstract: A document accumulator comprising for high-speed document assembly includes first and second pulleys, a first outer belt extending between the first and second pulleys for contacting and transporting a document, a second outer belt extending between the first and second pulleys, and extending generally parallel to and horizontally displaced from the first outer belt, for contacting and transporting a document, and an inner belt generally parallel to and horizontally displaced from both the first and second outer belts such that it lies between the first and second outer belts. A first side guide has a first vertical surface adjacent to a horizontal reach of the first outer belt, and a second side guide has a second vertical surface adjacent to a horizontal reach of the second outer belt. A belt-dampening table having a horizontal surface adjacent to a horizontal reach of the inner belt is provided for dampening oscillations of the inner belts which occur at high speeds.

Abstract: Sheet handling apparatus, and more particularly a cash dispenser unit, has a number of cassettes (1,2) which hold currency notes. Pick mechanisms (3,4) are associated with each cassette and function to transfer notes from the cassettes to conveyor belts for passage to an outlet point. There are two successive conveyor belt systems. The first belt is driven by an induction motor (7) which also provides power for the pick mechanisms. The second belt system (9,19) is driven by a stepper motor (12). The stepper motor is required to operate under two different control regimes. In one it is synchronized to the speed of the induction motor (7) and for this purpose the induction motor (7) has an optical timing disc 27 mounted on its shaft (21) which cooperates with an optical sensor (28) to generate a pulse train to drive the stepper motor (12) through a selector (25) and driver circuit (23). For the other control regime a pulse generator (26) supplies pulses through the selector (25) to the stepper motor (12).