Abstract: An envelope feeding apparatus, including a hopper having a support deck and a pair of vertical sides extending upwardly from the support deck, the support deck being oriented at an acute angle with respect to a horizontal plane, a separator roller and a separator stone situated at the lower end of the hopper for feeding envelopes seriatim from the hopper, a center ramp located upstream of the separator roller and the separator stone, the center ramp extending only a small portion of the distance between the vertical sides of the hopper, a center feed roller located above the downstream portion of the center ramp and proximate the separator stone, whereby the lower corners of the envelopes are raised off the support deck when the envelopes are translated along the center ramp and under the feed roller, thereby allowing the envelopes to approach the separator roller and the separator stone unskewed.

Abstract: An improvement in a document feeder in an inserting machine, the inserting machine having a transport deck and being capable of nesting a plurality of sheet materials between the front and back covers of a booklet, and wherein the document feeder includes a demand feed roller. The improvement comprises a vacuum block located downstream of the demand feed roller and above the inserting machine transport deck, wherein one of the covers of a booklet is separated and raised when a booklet is fed out from the document feeder and passes under the vacuum block, thereby allowing other sheet materials assembled on the transport deck upstream of the document feeder to be nested between the front and back covers of the booklet.

Abstract: For use in combination with a machine for feeding a web of paper in a downstream path of travel, there is provided apparatus for folding an unfolded web of paper along its longitudinally-extending weakened fold line. The apparatus comprises: a frame; web drag structure including a drag member which longitudinally extends across the path of travel of the unfolded web for frictional engagement by the web; a lower roller which is rotatably attached to the frame below the level of the drag member so as to extend transverse to the drag member and at an angle of approximately 95.degree.

Abstract: For use in combination with a machine for feeding a web of paper in a downstream path of travel, there is provided apparatus for folding an unfolded web of paper along its longitudinally-extending weakened fold line. The apparatus comprises a frame; a drag member attached to the frame so as to extend in frictional engagement with the unfolded web; a pair of parallel spaced rollers which are attached to the frame below the level of the drag member so as to extend at right angles to the drag member, such that an unfolded web may extend downwardly in its path of travel from said drag member to said upper roller and be folded between them and such that the folded web may threadably extend between the upper and lower rollers; and an output roller attached to the frame so as to extend parallel to said upper and lower rollers, such that the folded web may extend in its path of travel from beneath the lower roller to the output roller and then from beneath the output roller to the machine.

Abstract: A bursting apparatus for separating one or two continuous webs of material along transverse lines of weakening thereon. The material is fed through two pairs of rollers driven by suitable driving apparatus. Magnetic clutch and magnetic brake assemblies halt rotation of one pair of rollers upstream the transverse line of weakening, while the other pair of rollers continues to grip and feed the material. The resultant longitudinal tension along the material promotes rupture at the transverse line of weakening. A breaker roller mounted between the two pairs of rollers has axially mounted spheres to promote discrete points of increased tension along the transverse line of weakening. The bursting operation is repetitive and continuous. Separated sheets are successively transported or stacked after passing through the rollers.

Abstract: This invention relates to a document collating and envelope stuffing apparatus having a continuous conveying mechanism that collects and collates documents from feeding stations and conveys the collated documents to an envelope stuffing station in a continuous manner. The feeding stations have platforms associated therewith where the documents are deposited so as to be picked up by the conveying mechanism and subsequently stuffed into envelopes. Downstream from the stuffing station is another conveying mechanism that conveys the stuffed envelopes to sealing and postage metering devices.

Abstract: A collating, folding and inserting system having a plurality of collating stations arranged in series along a feed path. Documents are collated in seriatim along the feed path, and are then collectively stuffed into an envelope at a stuffing station located downstream of the collating stations. One or more of the collating stations can comprise a combination document folding mechanism and a document feeding mechanism. The folding and feeding combination comprises a folder feed roller for feeding one document at a time into a folding apparatus which discharges a folded document into said feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism comprises a discharging roller which receives the folded document and discharges it to a chain driven gripper operatively movable along the feed path.