Abstract: A rotary fan bucket type shingling system converts a high speed stream of paper products into a shingled array with the products moving at slower speeds, with the positions of the products defined more accurately than previously attainable with fixed stripping stops. This is achieved by means of movably positioning stripping stops to move into the path of the buckets and engage the paper products about a stripping arc defined by the bucket path with the stop moving at a speed less than that of the papers carried in the buckets. A mechanism is provided for holding the interceptor arm of the movable stripping stops substantially perpendicular to the paper product travel path over the stripping arc. The stripped products are shingled onto a conveyor belt tangentially disposed at the bottom of the bucket path moving at the same speed as that of the stripper stops.

Abstract: Single sheet feed reliability for suction cup mechanisms handling highly permeable paper sheet is improved with a quickly and conveniently attached rigid cup enclosure of an extensible bellows cup. An internal thread is provided in the suction pipe ends for receipt of an externally threaded T-nut shank. The T-nut secures both, the rigid cup enclosure and the extensible bellows.

Abstract: A retard feeder and separator apparatus includes a sensor located at a retard nip downstream from a portion of a feed belt that applies a normal force to a stack of sheets and forwards sheets individually from the stack. The sensor detects the lead edge of a sheet fed from the stack and simultaneously causes relief of the normal force against the stack in order to reduce multifeeds and sheet damage. Alternatively, if the sensor does not sense a sheet within a predetermined time the normal force against the stack will be increased to reduce misfeeding.

Abstract: A sensor element and a counter-element are arranged opposite one another on opposite sides of a stream of printed products or the like. The sensor element is a deflecting feeler element. In order to detect multiple occupied positions and still be able to transport the stream of printed products practically without permanent contact by the sensor element in the absence of multiple occupied positions, the counter-element is intermittently advanced toward the side of the product stream opposite the sensor element at the tempo of the sequential or successive continuously transported printed products. The least distance between the undeflected sensor element and the counter-element in its advanced position corresponds to the thickness of one of the printed products or to an integer multiple thereof. A signal generator is associated with the sensor element and responds to its deflection.

Abstract: A sheet decelerating and stopping apparatus which may be used as a staging apparatus in a sheet-feeding environment. A pivoting member having decelerating and stopping areas thereon is spring biased to an operating position in which the decelerating area on the member cooperates with a decelerating area on on wall of a sheet-feeding track in which the sheet is fed to decelerate the sheet. The stopping area on the member stops a sheet if it is not stopped by the cooperating decelerating areas. An actuator moves the member to an inoperative position to enable a sheet to be released from the apparatus.

Abstract: Friction members, working together as an integral unit, rise up into engagement with the lowermost article in a stack to slightly raise it along the engaged portions thereof above the rest of the device as a forward stroke is commenced, thereby warping the article along its leading edge as such leading edge is at the same time tucked beneath a forwardly located element positioned to permit passage of only the lowermost article during each feed stroke. This combination of actions has the effect of advancing the articles seriatim from the stack into a pair of highspeed nip rollers which grab only the lowermost article and immediately complete its withdrawal. At the instant the nip rollers begin pulling on the article, the raised friction members respond by dropping down to their initial position below the upper surface of the feed device, which thereupon makes its return stroke in preparation for feeding the next article of the stack.

Abstract: A microfiche feeder 10 conveys isolated sheets of microfiche from a stack 30 to a collator 12, sorter, or other processing apparatus. The stack of microfiche is placed in a receiver. A drive wheel 34 contacts the lowest sheet of the stack 30 to increment the sheet forward by suction as the wheel revolves. Spaced separator rolls 44 and 46 adjacent the drive wheel 34 ensure that a single sheet of microfiche is incremented forward to drive rolls 52 and 54, which convey the sheet to other processing apparatus.

Abstract: A gauging system for an envelope inserter provides simplified set up procedures for adjustment of a set of enclosure pick-up station side guides, an envelope stop and coordinated adjustment of both a set of envelope station side guides and sets of stripper fingers. A panel at the face of the inserter includes a slot and a pointer for lengthwise insertion of an enclosure. The operator places a specimen enclosure against an index end of the slot and rotates a knob to frame the enclosure length between the index and the pointer. Rotation of the knob provides simultaneous movement of the pointer and adjustment of the enclosure side guides to correspond with the framed length. A further slot and pointer are provided for envelope widthwise insertion. Rotation of its knob for framing the envelope width simultaneously adjusts the envelope stop. A further slot and pointer are provided for lengthwise envelope insertion.

Abstract: The invention relates to a sorter of the type in which a distributor moves relative to a plurality of bins arranged fixedly along the inlets of bins to thereby distribute sheets into the bins individually, and is constituted by a pair of belts for transporting the sheet received from the copying machine toward the distributor and a tensioner for tensing the belts. Another arrangement of the invention has a device for preventing the movement of the distributor in both forward and reverse direction while the distributor is at a stop. Further another arrangement of the sorter includes structure for successfully guiding the leading edge of the sheet into a pair of rollers provided the distributor.

Abstract: A water conduit for water accumulating in lateral areas of the windshield of a motor vehicle. The conduit includes a main water channel formed by a molding extending at a spacing in front of the windshield and by another residual water channel located farther towards an outside. The main water channel leads without substantial deflection in a transverse direction of the vehicle to a trough or interruption, with the channel extending in the roof approximately in parallel to a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the vehicle. The residual water channel lies within an envelope line of a contour of the motor vehicle and is continued above lateral door cutouts of the motor vehicle to a rear portion of the motor vehicle.

Abstract: An improved alignment/restraint station for interposition in an automatic document feed path is disclosed. A unitary structure including back-up rollers and sawtooth restraint members is positioned downstream of the document separation station and transverse to the direction of feed. Adjacent either end of the unitary structure are dual purpose edge alignment members. The unitary structure is moveable into and out of position in the feed path and includes guide members for leading a document over the edge alignment members.

Abstract: A system for feeding a flat article has a suction chamber; a suction belt for picking up one of a plurality of flat articles which are stacked in a vertically standing state. The suction belt moves along the front surface of the suction chamber. The flat articles are carried over a transport path by the suction belt. At an upstream position in the transport path, the intervals between the flat articles are detected. First and second motors drive the suction belt, varying the rotational motor speeds. A roller along the transport path contacts the transferred flat articles in accordance with the interval which is detected by the detecting member.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for singly removing the bottom one of a sheet from a stack of sheets, and utilizing counter rotating discs or plates which sweep the bottom sheet toward its opposite edges and thus create a flat and smooth bottom surface for contact by suction cups to remove the sheet from the stack. The plates are adjustable relative to the widths of the sheets, to thereby accommodate various widths of sheets. An intermediate or central portion of the lower sheet of the stack is made smooth and flat for contact by a suction cup which can therefore remove the sheets at high speeds.

Abstract: To provide for deflection of copy between two respective paths (8, 16; 9, 17) without using switchable deflection tongues, two cylinders (3, 4) have segmental elements (24, 27) located thereon which are respectively, selectively, positionable on or within the circumference of the cylinders, or projecting therefrom, for example by securing the segmental elements in projected position, or by controllable eccenters (28-35). Copy is fed by a belt transport system between the cylinders and, if the copy meets a projecting segment, the projecting segment will deflect the copy into one of the paths, in accordance with the position of guide tongue structure (36). Alternate feed in the respective path can be obtained by offsetting the projecting segments (25, 27) from each other, for example by 90.degree. (FIG. 3) and feeding copy with equal copy length and copy spaces therebetween to the cylinders, so that the copy will be directed, alternately, to one, or the other of the exit paths.

Abstract: In a rotary collating and/or inserting machine where individual sheets are peeled from the bottom of a plurality of stacks of sheets arranged spaced around a circle on a table and are moved down through one or more radial slots in the table, the separation of the bottom sheet of each stack, preferably at a corner, is initiated by creating changes in air pressure in a cyclically controlled manner at or adjacent to the upper region of at least one slot. This can be accomplished by the provision of suction holes along the length of at least one slot or by changing the contour of the table surface, such as by incorporating a bellows. To aid onward movement of a sheet into a slot after initial separation from the stack, the initial suction effect which either acts directly on the sheet or changes the contour of the table surface is shut off or reversed as the bottom sheet passes down through the slot. Cyclically controlled suction devices are preferably provided at or adjacent to the lower region of each slot.

Abstract: In a document transport apparatus for feeding document sheets over a copier platen with a reversible direction of motion document feeding belt with a normal-force pressure system for applying pressure to an area of the back of the lower belt flight, mounted to engage and be moved by the belt, which pressure is automatically substantially greater for one direction of motion of the belt than the other, the improvement comprising apparatus for applying a preset maximum gravitational force with the pressure system actuated solely by engagement and movement of the pressure system by the lower belt flight in one direction, and further apparatus for counteracting that gravitational force automatically in response to the reversal of direction of the belt flight to greatly reduce the applied pressure in the reversed direction of motion of the belt flight, wherein a disclosed pressure system is an integral arm/roller unit with a variable axis of rotation about a fixed pivot by means of a limited slot connection therewi

Abstract: In an electronic copying apparatus, a bin selecting carriage is movably arranged along a paper sheet convey path which communicates with a sort paper sheet convey path. The paper sheet fed to the paper sheet convey path by the bin selecting carriage is fed to one of the sort bins. As the bin selecting carriage moves, a guide selector which is arranged at the branch between a non-sort paper sheet convey path and the sort paper sheet convey path is operated. A drive mechanism for driving the guide selector for selectively feeding the paper sheets discharged from a paper discharge section to the sort and non-sort paper sheet guide paths is not required. The operation timing of the guide selector may be synchronized with the feed operation timing of the paper sheets into the respective bins of the sort storage section.

Abstract: A sheet diverter system in which a stream of sheets is fed by a pair of tapes to a gripping zone between a pair of separating cylinders. The tapes on opposite sides of the sheet diverge downstream of the gripping zone and wrap around a part of the outer periphery of the adjacent separating cylinder so that they travel at the same velocity as the outer periphery of the cylinder. The sheets advance toward the gripping zone at a velocity controlled by the separating cylinder and successive sheets are presented to the grippers carried by the cylinders so that alternate sheets are carried along different paths to different delivery stations.

Abstract: A rigid airfoil surface and the exposed portion of the bottom sheet of a stack of flexible sheets in a magazine, form opposite passage walls of a venturi flow passage into which a flow of air is directed from a nozzle member. Collapse of the passage wall formed by the flexible bottom sheet is induced by the static suction pressure created at the throat of the venturi passage resulting in deflection of the exposed portion and separation of the bottom sheet from the stack in preparation for withdrawal by a gripper mechanism.

Abstract: An apparatus for changing the direction of motion of rectangular pieces of mail from a path parallel to a long edge of the pieces of mail to a path parallel to the short edge thereof, comprises a first conveying segment having an end section which moves the pieces of mail in a direction parallel to their long edge but displaceable so that the pieces of mail can be moved in addition by another mechanism. At the end of the first conveying segment, a first deflecting device is provided for engaging a leading edge of the pieces of mail and deflecting them for movement into a second direction but, at the same time, holding the pieces of mail so their edges remain parallel throughout the operation. A second conveying segment is provided for receiving the pieces of mail from the first deflecting device and conducting the pieces of mail along the second direction to a second deflecting device.