Abstract: An intermediate film storage device for a section of photographic material of limited length comprises feed rolls, exit rolls, intermediate rolls which separate a first buffer from a second buffer, and a guiding device which guides the section of film from the feed rolls to the intermediate rolls. Such an intermediate film storage device serves to equalize different operating speeds of stations for processing photographic material. In so doing, the activity of the processing stations connected in series ahead of the intermediate film storage device should have to be interrupted only for a short time as the intermediate film storage device is being emptied. The intermediate rolls wind the section of film into the first buffer, and rewind it into the second buffer in the opposite direction of motion and at a higher speed, the motion of the section of film in the second buffer being controlled by an arrangement of buffer rolls.

Abstract: Apparatus for the automatic filling of magazines which receive a stack of package forming blanks, the magazine having an essentially vertical shaft and the blanks being extracted from the lower end of the shaft, the apparatus having a conveyor which may be energized in response to the sensing of the top of a stack of blanks located in the magazine. The conveyor, when energized, delivers a further stack into an extension of the magazine where the further stack is temporarily supported on movable support plates before being released to fall onto the stack already in the magazine.

Abstract: A power stacker for collecting delivered articles such as envelopes from a mailing machine is comprised of a support housing having a deck fixably mounted along the housing. A registration wall is fixably mounted to the housing and extending generally perpendicular relative to the deck. A stack wall is slidably mounted to the housing at one end of the deck and has a reclined surface extended generally upwardly from the deck, the stack wall being slidably mounted to the housing such that the stack wall can be horizontally displaced relative to the deck. Support rods are provided for providing article support between the deck and displaced stack wall as well as between the registration and displaced stack wall. Threaded hubs are provided for causing the delivered articles to be collected against the stack wall and assume a generally parallel stacked orientation generally parallel to the reclined surface. A power stack wheel assembly is supported in a cantilevered fashion from the registration wall.

Abstract: A separating jet blast air control assembly utilizes a regulating valve to control the amount of compressed air supplied to separating and fanning blowers of a sheet feeder. A valve disc that dumps excess compressed air is biased against a valve seat by a biasing spring. The force applied by the biasing spring is adjustable in accordance with an output from a controller in response to production speed, sheet characteristics and other variables.

Abstract: Paperboard sheets are fed by a feeder including driven wheels which engage the lowermost sheet of a stack and drive it through the nip rolls of a box-finishing machine is synchronism with the latter. Supporting the sheets is a grate movable between a raised position wherein the wheels are spaced from the sheet and a lowered position wherein the lowermost sheet engages the wheels and is fed thereby to the nip rolls. Below the grate is a vacuum box for holding the sheet on the wheels. Raising and lowering of the grate is effected by a cam which may be adjusted to vary the feed stroke in accordance with the length of the sheets. For driving the wheels there is provided a dual input drive mechanism including a constant velocity input drive and a variable input drive which are resolved at a single output drive to the wheels.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing items in selected configurations and a system and method for controlling the same. More particularly, an apparatus for producing mail pieces and a system and method for controlling it to produce mail pieces in a variety of configurations are disclosed. The apparatus includes a laser printer and folding sealing apparatus controlled by a data processor. The folder sealer apparatus combines sheets printed by the laser printer with pre-printed sheets and envelope forms, which also may be printed by the laser printer or may be windowed envelopes, folds the sheets as necessary and folds and seals the envelope form about the folded sheets to produce a mail piece. A user inputs a configuration for the mail piece which is translated by the data processor into a data structure and transmitted to the controller of the folder sealer apparatus.

Abstract: Registered conveying and feeding of sheets in a box finishing machine by a wheel or endless belt conveyor and positive air pressure provided on the side of the sheet opposite the conveyor to hold the sheet against movement relative to the conveyor. Air flow across the top surface of the sheet is restricted to establish a constant film of pressurized air above the top surface of the blank for securing the blank to the underlying conveyor.

Abstract: A paper conveyor for conveying paper includes a conveyor roll for conveying paper, a drive motor for driving and rotating the conveyor roll, a rotary follower roll for pressing onto the conveyor roll and for holding a paper and a convey direction switch mechanism for switching the conveying direction of the paper. The paper is conveyed in a predetermined direction by the conveyor roll and the rotary follower roll. When the conveying direction of the paper is changed to an opposite direction, the convey direction switch mechanism is adapted to control the follower roll so that the follower roll can be rocked from one direction to another with its axis of rocking coinciding with an axis of the conveyor roll. Therefore, the conveying direction of the paper can be changed very smoothly.

Abstract: A seat belt automatic unlocking device includes a seat belt having an end portion with a fitting, a lock box structure which receives the seat belt end portion, and a locking lever movably mounted on the lock box structure between a locked position and an unlocked position. The locking lever engages and locks the fitting when in the locked position, the locking lever disengaging and unlocking the fitting when in the unlocked position to thereby unlock the seat belt. A mounting structure is mounted on a vehicle on which the seat belt automatic unlocking device is used, and a connection connects the mounting structure to the lock box structure. A releasable device is operably connected between the mounting structure and the locking lever and operable between a release position and a non-release position, the releasable device being operable to move the locking lever to its unlocked position when the releaseable device is moved to its release position.

Abstract: A covering device for a side-lay opening formed in a feed table of a sheet-processing machine and disposed transversely to a sheet-transport direction, wherein a bottom edge of at least one side lay for laterally aligning sheets travelling through the sheet processing machine in the sheet-transport direction dips into the side lay opening to a location below the surface of the feed table, a holder for the side lay being disposed on a guide and being adjustable transversely with respect to the sheet-transport direction, and cover web segments mutually juxtaposed and in alignment with the surface of the table being disposed adjacent the side lay for covering the side-lay opening, includes a spring device for bracing the cover web segments and biasing them in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the feed table, a sliding pad attached to the holder for the side lay, the sliding pad, in vicinity of the side lay, being actuable from above on the cover web segments for pressing the latter against the spring b

Abstract: A compact deflecting device for the conveyance of letters or the like in one of a plurality of selectable directions, is formed by a large number of deflecting components (1-1, --, 1-4) placed at a mutually equal distance along an endless conveyor (15) driven in a main conveyance direction (A). Every component combines a deflecting and conveying function with relatively small space requirement. For this purpose, it comprises not only a downstream-pointing deflecting tongue (4) but also a guide roller (6) which are both mounted on a swivel arm construction (9, 10), which can be swivelled by activating a rotary magnet (2) between two positions. Every component (1-1, --, 1-4) is positioned and dimensioned in a manner such that, when swievelling from one position to the other, the access to a conveyance direction deviating from the main direction is freed or essentially closed off and that, in both positions, the guide roller (6) continues to interact in a conveying manner with the conveyor (15).

Abstract: Two thickness detectors (5) each for outputting an electric signal representing the thickness of a paper sheet (B) passing thereby are arranged side by side in the width direction of a paper sheet conveyance path (3). Parameters such as paper sheet thickness, length, the existence of skew and, if skew exists, the skew angle (.theta.), are calculated based on the output signals from the thickness detectors. This facilitates detection of two or more overlapping bank notes among a wide variety of bank notes having different thicknesses or in case of a bank note having a significantly non-uniform thickness. The correct thickness of a paper sheet is also obtained at all times by using the skew angle and the reference length (W) of the paper sheet. This not only facilitates detection of two overlapping bank notes among a wide variety of bank notes having different thicknesses or in case of a bank note having a significantly non-uniform thickness, but also enables detection to be made very accurately.

Abstract: A two corner container for receiving copy sheets for stacking is positioned within a machine and allows viewing of stacking progress within the machine, as well as, the status of the container outside the machine.

Abstract: A paper feeder includes a rotatable feed roller and a retard roller biasingly urged toward one another, the feed roller being rotatable in a feed direction for feeding a paper sheet between the feed roller and the retard roller. A pivot arm pivotably supports the retard roller, and a motor mounted on the pivot arm is operable to apply a turning torque to the retard roller in a direction opposite to the direction of feed of the feed roller.

Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus for stacking a wide variety of sheets including flimsy sheets has a rotatable disc that receives each sheet in a slot thereof and inverting the sheets. A transport belt is closely adjacent one surface area of the disc and has a portion thereof positioned at an acute angle with respect to a line tangent to the one surface of the disc so that the trail edge of all sheets being inverted by the disc contact the belt and are inverted.

Abstract: A sheet material feeding device includes a first conveying path for feeding sheet material, a second conveying path for feeding the sheet material and which joins the first conveying path, an anchoring unit for anchoring and bending the leading end of the sheet material fed through the first conveying path or the second conveying path, and a guide member provided at the joining point of the first conveying path and the second conveying path for allowing the sheet material fed from an upstream side through the first conveying path to pass the joining point and for preventing the sheet material fed from a downstream side through the first conveying path from entering an upstream side from the joining point. The guide member presses a curved portion of the sheet material formed by the leading end of the sheet material fed through the first conveying path anchored by the anchoring unit in a direction to flatten that portion.

Abstract: The invention relates to a document handling apparatus for use in a copying machine which separates a document from the bottom of a stack of documents on a loading plate to an exposure location, feeds back the document onto the top of the stack after exposure. The document handling apparatus has a separator arm fixed to a rotatable shaft which is driven intermittently by a drive system. The separator arm contacts the top surface of the stack of documents to be fed to the exposure location with the weight of the arm, loads the documents having been returned from the exposure location on the separator arm, moves downwardly with the circulation of the documents until being released from the bottom of the stack of the documents. A partially toothed gear of the drive system is mounted on a rotatable shaft which is geared with the pinion gear to rotate the rotatable arm in its toothed circumferential portion and is free from the pinion gear out of the toothed circumferential portion.

Abstract: A sheet sorting apparatus of the shifting tray type employs a pair of helical coils, each coil being predominantly wound with a number of turns of a first pitch, and containing at least one turn of a second, coarser pitch. The ends of each coil are held by through holes of a center rod that extends along the longitudinal axis of each coil, a coil and center rod thus forming a coil assembly. Each center rod is rotationally supported and has a rotational drive coupling attached at one end; a rotational driver being attached thereto is able to rotate both coil assemblies in the same direction at the same speed. A number of trays are arranged in a vertical stack, each tray capable of supporting a number of sheets and having a tray lift insert attached at each side. The tray lift inserts each have a helical passageway therethrough for accepting at least one revolution of one coil therein.

Abstract: A registration transport and transfer module is located in a retractable drawer having a camshaft actuated by a lever. Rotation of the lever turns the cam which cooperates with a mounting to enable the transfer module to be lowered beneath a photoconductive belt. The drawer may then be pulled away from the machine and the transfer module pivoted about a point so as to expose portions of the copy sheet path for jam clearance.

Abstract: An intermediate paper feeding device for a copier operable in a two-side copy mode. A stop for positioning paper sheets stacked on an intermediate tray guides, in the event of refeed, a paper sheet toward the contacting portion of a separating member pair. A presser member for pressing the top of a paper stack loaded on the intermediate tray is operated in interlocked relation to the stop. The stop and presser member, therefore, share a single drive mechanism. The presser member has a pressing surface which remains in surface-to-surface contact with the top of the paper stack on the tray over substantially the entire area thereof with no regard to the thickness of the paper stack.