Abstract: A sheet receiver has sheet feeding belts and coacting feed rollers for transporting sheets of paper to selected vertically spaced trays and a resilient pressure is applied between the feed rollers and the belts to drive the feed rollers due to the compressive force between them for transporting sheets to the respective trays.

Abstract: An in-bin stapling sorter of the type in which the trays are individually and collectively moved vertically relative to a sheet inlet location and opened to provide an enlarged sheet entire space for receiving the sheets, has a jogger which moves the sheets laterally of the sheet infeed direction into edge alignment against an alignment post which is telescopically movable on a fixed support as the trays are collectively moved vertically, but at an angle to the horizontal, the alignment post being disposed substantially normal to the angle of the trays.

Abstract: A sheet receiver has sheet feeding belts and coacting feed rollers for transporting sheets of paper through the feed path to selected vertically spaced trays, and sheet deflecting gates are associated with the feed rollers to deflect sheets from the feed path by deforming the sheets between companion arched surfaces of the feed rollers and the gates forming a arcuate air gap in which the bending of the sheet produces drive friction between the feed rollers and the sheets to carry the sheets into the trays.

Abstract: An in-bin stapling sorter has a stack of trays moved to positions above and below a sheet entry location at which the trays are spaced apart by cams to receive sheets of paper from an office copier or printer. Sets of sheets are stapled in the trays as the trays are moved together past a stapler which is moved into a stapling position from a non-stapling position. An aligning arm is disposed at one side of the set of trays to engage a side edge of the sheets fed into the trays and sets of sheets in the trays during stapling to align the side edges of the sets of sheets for moving the sheets and sets of sheets against a straight surface at the other side of the trays, thereby providing a neat stapled set.

Abstract: Sheet printing and collating apparatus includes a sheet sorter which has a stapler for stapling sets of sheets in the sorter bins. The stapler is actuated by an electric motor to which the applied power is varied depending upon the number of sheets of paper in the sets and therefore, the thickness of the sets to be stapled.Sheets entering the sorter trays are counted and information as to the number of sheets per set is supplied to the microprocessor unit which controls the stapler to supply control signals to a variable power supply to the stapler motor so that the motor power applied to the stapler increases as the number of sheets per set increases.

Abstract: A pivoted bin sorter has a stapler for finishing sets of sheets in the bin trays and a jogger operated by a camming action of the trays as the trays are moved from a position in which sheets are deposited in the trays to a position above the sheet receiving position. The camming action is caused by a cam projection on the jogger which engages a side edge of a slot in the trays as the trays are moved relative to the jogger. The jogger moves the sheets laterally of the direction of sheet movement into the trays against a registration surface opposed to the jogger. The registration edge is a vertical surface provided by a wall of the frame structure at the opposite side of the trays from the jogger. During upward movement of the trays, the stapler is moved to a stapling position and displaces the sets of sheets in trays above the sheet inlet position in the direction of sheet infeed.

Abstract: A moving bin sorter has trays which are sequentially shifted upwardly and downwardly relative to a sheet inlet location by a rotary cam driven by an electric motor which drives the cams in opposite directions. The minimum force applied by the motor and lowest motor speed depends upon the load represented by the trays, the weight of the sheets of paper in the trays and the load balancing effect of a spring employed to assist in the lifting of the trays upwardly to engage the cam. The motor power is adjusted and controlled to reduce the applied motor force and speed dependent upon the load which must be overcome in either the upward or downward movement of the trays, for noise and wear reduction.

Abstract: A random access sorter has a plurality of trays in a vertical stack into which are deposited sheets of printed material from an office printer, facsimile machine or other source of printed sheets. The sorter has a sheet transport and gates at the respective trays to deflect sheets from the transport in a selected tray. Each tray is in the form of a drawer normally locked in a sheet receiving position. A gate closing device closes the selected gate to a sheet deflecting position from a normal position permitting the sheet to pass by the trays. The gate closing actuator device is also an actuator for selectively unlocking the drawers which are normally locked.

Abstract: A sorter has a tray moving cam construction which is an assembly of molded plastic parts including an elongated noncircular shaft and a pair of similar cam parts turned 180.degree., end-to-end and having a hub slidably applicable to the shaft from opposite ends, or over opposite ends of a supporting core shaft, the hubs or the core shaft having an axial opening conforming with the non-circular shaft keying them together for rotation, and complemental cam segments on the hubs combine to provide a complete cam profile when the cam parts are applied to the shaft or core shaft in opposite axial directions from opposite ends of the shaft.

Abstract: A moving bin sorter has a plurality of sheet receiving trays supported for shifting movement to enlarge the space between adjacent trays at a sheet entry location to facilitate the feeding of successive sheets forming a set of sheets into the successive trays. The trays are formed to allow a portion of a stapler to be moved from a non-stapling position to a position for stapling a set of sheets in the successive trays while displacing the previously stapled sets in their respective trays with another portion of the stapler to enable positioning of the stapler in its operative position to staple a set of sheets. The stapler may be mounted for movement relative to the successive trays for applying staples at more than one location in each set.

Abstract: A moving bin sheet sorter has rotatable cams which engage portions of the sorter trays to move the trays at the ends adjacent to a sheet entry location between positions at which those tray ends are closely spaced above and below the sheet entry location and further spaced apart at the sheet entry location for receiving sheets supplied from a copier or printer. The cams are driven by an electric motor which is controlled to operate at a low speed as the trays are initially engaged and disengaged from the cam and a high speed during the major movement of the trays, thereby reducing noise resulting from high speed impact and shock loading of the cams and cooperative portions of the trays, as well as reducing noise resulting from high speed impact of said cooperative portions of the trays in guides for the trays.

Abstract: A moving tray sorter has a set of trays forming sheet receiving bins to which successive sheets are to be supplied from a typical office copier or printer. The trays are mounted in a support at ends remote from the host machine to pivot on horizontal axes and move longitudinally as the ends of the trays into which sheets are supplied are moved vertically past a sheet entry location by a tray shifter which moves the trays sequentially and as a set between locations below a sheet receiving position, upwardly to the sheet receiving position. The ends of the trays adjacent to the host machine are separably supported one on the other and are shifted in unison upon upward and downward movement of the lowermost tray.

Abstract: A device is disposed in the path of paper sheets leaving a printing unit or processor such as an office copier or non-impact printer and has an arcuate concave guide and a roll spaced from the guide to form a sheet path which is curved or arched oppositely to the direction in which the sheet is curled in the processor. The space between the guide and the roller is greater than the thickness of the paper and the paper is bent in the direction opposite to its curl as it passes through the arched space, while the beam strength of the paper and the change in direction of the paper maintain adequate drive friction on the sheet. A selector isolates the de-curler when it is not needed.

Abstract: A device is disposed in the path of paper leaving a printing unit or processor such as an office copier, facsimile or non-impact printer and has an arcuate concave guide and a feed roll which causes the paper to pass between the guide and the feed roll to decurl the paper. The space between the guide and the roller is greater than the thickness of the paper and the paper is bent in the direction opposite to its curl as it passes through the arched space, while the beam strength of the paper and the change in direction of the paper maintain adequate drive friction on the paper. The feed roll is mounted for movement laterally of the direction of paper travel to cause it to be laterally displaced or offset.

Abstract: A large capacity sheet delivery apparatus mounted on a photocopier has an upwardly biased, horizontal stack plate and movable feed rollers, rotated by a drive in the photocopier, that continue to engage the top sheet of the stack as the feed position of the top sheet lowers due to removal of sheets from the stack. A sheet stripping mechanism engages the feed roller assembly and is movable with it. The horizontal plate has linear bearings mounted on its rear edge for sliding on a pair of vertical rods.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for correcting a jam condition in a photocopier, the copier having a transfer station at which a developed image is transferred from a moving photosensitive surface onto a sheet material and a cleaning station having a cleaning blade bearing against the width of the photosensitive surface. The apparatus has energy transmitting and receiving elements which detect the presence of unremoved sheet material on the photosensitive surface between the transfer station and the cleaning station and provides for continued movement of the photosensitive surface until the sheet material strikes the cleaning blade. In this way, a buckle is formed in the sheet material between the cleaning station and the transfer station which facilitates removal of the sheet from the copier.