Abstract: A sheet feeder separates a stack of sheet materials one by one for securely feeding individual sheet materials without multiple sheet feeding or failure in feeding a sheet material. The leading edge of a sheet material stacked on a bottom board of a cassette is brought into contact with a sheet feed roller. Near the location at which the leading edge of the sheet material comes in contact with the sheet feed roller, a tilt member is pressed onto the sheet feed roller by the action of a compression spring. A contact area of the tilt member with the sheet feed roller is reduced to prevent the sheet feed roller from rotating together with the sheet material. The topmost sheet material is fed by the rotation of the sheet feed roller in the counter-clockwise direction and supplied beyond the tilt member by friction with the sheet feed roller, whereas the next sheet material is blocked by the tilt member due to less friction between the sheet materials, thereby preventing multiple sheet feeding.

Abstract: The present invention provides a device and method for selectively removing an article from a stream or line of similar articles travelling in a pathway on a transport system such as a conveyor. The invention utilizes a synchronous electric motor which, in response to a signal to reject a specific article in the stream, rotates an article-contacting member or paddle into the path of the stream of articles travelling along the pathway whereby it contacts and smoothly removes that article from the stream. The use of a synchronous motor to effect the rotation of the paddle is very important to the present invention.

Abstract: A sorting system includes trolleys traveling along a path between respective stations for loading and unloading items in a direction transversely of the direction of travel of the trolleys. Each station includes an inductor for generating a variable magnetic induction field which is sensed by a detecting mechanism, such as an antenna, disposed on the trolley. In response to the magnetic induction field being detected, a loading/unloading device on the trolley (e.g., an endless belt) is actuated to load or unload items.

Abstract: A nip mechanism for a substrate transfer system includes: a first nip roller; a second nip roller located substantially vertically above the first nip roller; and a drive motor for driving the first nip roller and the second nip roller to feed a substrate between the first nip roller and the second nip roller when the drive motor is driven in a first direction. The second nip roller creates and maintains a nip with the first nip roller due to a force of gravity without using a spring or other mechanical device while the drive motor is driven in the first direction. The drive motor engages a one-way clutch for engaging a roller separation mechanism to raise and separate the second nip roller from the first nip roller when the drive motor is driven in a second direction. The first and second nip rollers maintain substantial vertical alignment with one another when the drive motor is driven in either direction.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for stacking mailpieces received from a mail-processing machine in consecutive order. There is a receiving conveying section positioned at a greater height than the following stacking conveying section. A stacking ramp extends from the downstream portion of the stacking conveying section. The receiving conveying section has a single continuous belt extending along the receiving conveying section in a first direction and positioned centrally along a second direction of the conveying section. The continuous belts of the stacking conveying section are positioned substantially at equal intervals extending along the first direction of the stacking conveying section and have top surfaces which extend above the stacking conveying section and which contact the mailpieces received from the mail processing machine.

Abstract: The invention relates to a container for a stack of interfolded tissue sheets. The container has a generally planar bottom wall and a top wall and side walls connecting the bottom wall with the top wall. An opening is provided in the top wall for the removal of the tissue-sheets from the container, which opening is wider than the width of the tissue-sheets. The stack of interfolded tissue-sheets is placed in the container with a lowermost tissue-sheet placed on the bottom wall and an uppermost tissue-sheet placed near or in contact with the top wall and adjacent to the opening in the top wall. The opening is provided with a positioning feature having elongated, overlapping projections extending from opposite sides of the opening in order to allow the uppermost tissue-sheet to be dispensed, holding it substantially flat. The invention also relates to a method for producing the positioning feature.

Abstract: The present invention pertains to a slide for a gravity-fed sorting machine. An optimum gravity slide configuration comprises one or more channels, with or without dividing ribs, and a product guide. The product guide has support tabs integral to or otherwise extending from its perimeter. Those tabs allow the product guide to be supported along it perimeter by brackets while retaining certain degrees of freedom regarding its ability to move. Specifically, the tabs rest in notches in the underlying support brackets that allow the product guide to be lifted up, thus permitting a potential obstruction to pass. Additionally, the brackets themselves are adjustably mounted to the sides of the slide. That allows the product guide's height above the channel bottom or dividing ribs to be varied to provide a clearance to best accommodate the particular product being sorted.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatic spacing and diverting of packages on a conveyor system ensures an adequate gap between packages deposited onto a loading conveyor for subsequent inspection. A speed ratio between the loading conveyor and an inspection conveyor, a package detector disposed between the loading conveyor and the inspection conveyor, an interruption device controlling the loading conveyor and a controller to permit a signal from the package detector to command the interrupting device to temporarily halt the loading conveyor are used to ensure proper spacing between packages passed to a scanner. The apparatus may also include a package diverter for diverting a package to another area for further inspection.

Abstract: A device for sorting flat-area piece goods, particularly packets, packages, and letters. This device has a drum cylinder open towards the outside at both faces, and mounted at an angle to rotate on a bearing body on the mantle surface of the cylinder. The cylinder is structured with longitudinal rollers that rotate about their longitudinal axis, arranged at a distance from one another, mounted on annular flanges, whereby the longitudinal rollers are arranged as steps that extend towards the inside. In each instance, the steps are formed of a roller arrangement of longitudinal rollers. According to an alternative particularly preferred embodiment there is a device with longitudinal rollers that can be put into rotation about their longitudinal axes by a drive. This device has longitudinal rollers that can be put into rotation about their longitudinal axes by the drive.

Abstract: A fine-particle classification apparatus includes an aerosol generation section which generates an aerosol containing fine particles in a medium background gas, a fine-particle classification section which classifies the fine particles contained in the aerosol in a sheath gas, and an introduction section, between the aerosol generation section and the fine-particle classification section, which introduces the aerosol generated in the aerosol generation section into the fine-particle classification section. The introduction section uses a carrier gas with an adequately high velocity to introduce the aerosol generated in the aerosol generation section to the classification section using a pressure difference.

Abstract: A bill handling machine in which information of each of storing boxes installed therein is acquired and is reported to the operator includes a unit by which an amount of bills stored in each storing box set to the bill handling machine can be calculated by the storing box. The calculated amount of bills is compared with the number of bills beforehand inputted by the operator to thereby prevent an operation using a wrong number of bills.

Abstract: A method of reblending sand in a classification tank having multiples stations and discharge valves within each station includes the steps of delivering sand to the tank; calibrating the tank to analyze the raw feed material and develop discharge rates, flow multipliers, and a mathematical model of the tank; and inputting a specification or quantity and sieve size distribution for a reblended sand product into a computer for controlling the tank. Then the tank is operated in a production mode and the discharge valves at each station of the tank are adjusted by the computer for percent open time and discharge rate. With one algorithm, the computer identifies which station has the most of a sieve size that is out of specification and diverts material at that station by closing the appropriate discharge valve(s).

Abstract: There is disclosed a sheet handling machine capable of surely verifying whether the number of bills is one or not based on the kind of a bill even when bills different in thickness are inserted, handling the bills of different thickness mixed in, dealing with new bills issued in recent years using various novel feature technologies for bill forgery prevention, and detecting the presence of a foreign object in the bill surface. The kind of each of bills successively fed in is specified by bill checking means for identifying the kind of a bill, and reference thickness information regarding the sheet of a specified kind is read from a reference thickness table recording a bill kind and the thickness information of a bill full surface.

Abstract: There is disclosed a processing apparatus of sheets using an accumulation device of a vaned wheel system including a vaned wheel having a plurality of blades arranged at a predetermined interval in a rotation direction, and rotating, thereby allowing continuously feed sheets to enter between the blades, and guiding the sheets in a predetermined direction, so that the sheets guided by the vaned wheel are laminated/accumulated in an accumulation section, and synchronization is established between a supply timing of paper money by a paper money supply section and a rotation phase of the vaned wheel.

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.

Abstract: A conveyor system and the operation of a conveyor system will convey articles such as baggage at airports. A buffer arrangement is provided for storing and pre-sorting at least a part of the article-flow through the system. A conveyor system for conveying and sorting articles for a number of different destinations may be operated with a much lower number of stations for discharging the articles if the possibility of pre-sorting and temporarily storing the articles exists within the system. In particular, a storage rack can be provided for storing articles and the conveyor system comprising such a storage rack.

Abstract: A dispenser is provided for dispensing objects including for example, container lids for beverages such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, and juice. For example, a coaxial stack of lids is loaded into a housing of the dispenser. Upon actuation of a the dispenser, the bottom-most lid in the stack of lids is delivered to a discharge area by passing the bottom-most lid through a nip point defined between a pair of oppositely rotating indexing shafts. Once the bottom-most lid is delivered to a discharge area, the indexing shafts are brought to rest.

Abstract: A banknote store comprises a rotatable structure such as a drum which has a number of banknote storage regions arranged around its periphery. Each stores a stack of banknotes, the stacks growing inwardly as banknotes are added. The drum can be rotated to bring each storage region into proximity to means for delivering banknotes to and/or retrieving banknotes from the store.

Abstract: Methods of controlling the bulk density, permeability, moisture retention and thermal properties of bulk materials are provided by selectively sizing the bulk material. Preferably, the bulk material is sized into successively smaller particle size fractions, with the largest fraction placed into a confined area. The next smaller size fraction is then added until the largest sized fraction begins to dilate. The next successive smaller size fraction is added until the mixture beams to dilate, with the process being continued until the smallest size fraction is used. Methods of decreasing the density of bulk materials are also provided.

Abstract: In combination a screen, a shaker, a conveyor and carbody device which is attachable to a vehicle of choice, such as an hydraulic excavator, a backhoe, etc., and when installed thereon allows the vehicle to perform as a padding machine.