Abstract: A device for preventing a substrate from jamming in a copier includes a guide member that directs a substrate from a substrate supply tray to a photosensitive member. The guide member is adapted to be vibrated by a vibration generator in order to prevent substrates passing through the guide member from jamming.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for jogging a sheaf of papers to even up the edges in the sheaf or bundle, and includes a resiliently carried bundle compartment (1) together with means (20,21) for vibrating the compartment. The compartment comprises two substantially vertically oriented side walls (3,4), at least one end wall (5), substantially vertically oriented, and at right angles to the side walls (3,4), and a bottom (6) at right angles to said end wall (5), the compartment (1) being adapted to carry the bundle (50) with the chief surfaces thereof substantially in the vertical plane. The bottom (6) of the compartment is provided with a material (7) of high friction, such as foamed plastics, on its upper side. The vibration means (20, 21) is adapted to give the compartment a vertical vibration component as well as a horizontal vibration component which latter intersects the side wall plane of the compartment at an oblique angle.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for aligning paper documents includes a paper jogger having a removable paper tray for receiving a large number of individual paper documents, such as retail store coupons, and adapted to slide onto and to be removably secured to an oscillating platform of the paper jogger for aligning the edges of the paper documents. A removable divider is positioned in the tray to segregate the paper documents in the tray into discrete portions. The tray containing the divider and segregated paper documents is then placed on and secured to the platform for oscillation and resultant paper alignment. After the paper documents are sufficiently aligned, the tray may be removed from the platform for use in storing the aligned paper documents or in conveying the aligned paper documents to subsequent processing stations.

Abstract: A conveyor accumulates collapsed, flexible flat tubes into roughly aligned stacks which are transferred to a collator comprising an inclined tray-like receptacle mounted for multidirectional movement. The receptacle is simultaneously rotated and pivoted from a loading station to a discharge station while being rapidly reciprocated to vibrate the roughly stacked tubes. The combined effects of gravity and vibration urge the tubes to shift relative to each other into engagement with adjacent sidewalls of the tray to align the stack. A pallet mounted for multidirectional movement at the discharge station is automatically indexed to allow the aligned stacks to be deposited at preselected locations on the pallet.

Abstract: A method and a device for automatically arranging individual paper sheets in a set of papers with the edges of said paper sheets in alignment with each other in combination with stapling said set of papers. A set of papers having unaligned edges is positioned on a lower edge of a vibrating table and the papers are joggled so that one edge of the paper sheets in the set of papers become aligned. The set of papers is thereafter urged against a lateral edge of the table while being vibrated, whereby all edges of the paper sheets become evenly aligned. In this final phase a stapler staples the set of papers together.

Abstract: In order to make utmost use of the time and effort of an operator, a duplication system has been devised in which first the duplicator equipment feeds the copy paper along a linear path while producing the copies, the path then turns, and the copy is fed by a direction changing means in a direction substantially normal to the original path into a sheet distributor which has its unloading apertures arranged so as to be convenient to an operator standing at an operator station beside the discharge end of the duplicator device at the operation side thereof. The distributor is of a type such that the unloading openings are exposed to operator access at or slightly above waist level, and is preferably a rotary distributor capable of moving the filled pockets to a fixed unloading position.

Abstract: A document feeding apparatus is provided which includes a hopper for holding a stack of documents edgewise, feed means for serially removing documents from the hopper, and a follower or pressure flag for biasing the stack towards the feed means. Augers are disposed within the hopper adjacent the feed means for advancing the stack thereto, and for aligning or jogging the documents in an intermediate area thereof. The diameter and pitch of the threads of the augers increase from leading ends thereof towards their center sections, and decrease from the center sections towards the trailing ends thereof. The narrow-pitched threads at the leading ends of the augers serve to divide the document stack into packs. The widening pitch of the augers allows the documents to spread apart in the center sections, thereby reducing interdocumental pressure and friction and allowing the documents to be jogged and properly aligned relative to the base and a front edge guide of the hopper.

Abstract: Bundles of paper, or the like, are conveyed along a horizontal table from which they pass onto a downwardly inclined table arranged at the end of the horizontal table. The bundles slide down this inclined table into the hopper where they are collected. A pin is mounted in the vicinity of the downwardly inclined table for reciprocating movement through an aperture in the table. The pin and aperture are arranged so as to lie a certain distance from the path of travel of the center of gravity of the bundles so that when the pin is translated through the aperture to interrupt the path of every second bundle, it causes the bundle to rotate by 90 degrees and thereby form a crosswise laying of the bundles in the collection hopper. The aperture through which the pin extends can be in the form of a hole, or of a slot through which the pin is rotated.

Abstract: An apparatus for aligning the edges of a stack of sheets comprises a base and two plates mounted on the base for movement independently of one another. An oscillatory drive arrangement imparts oscillatory motion to the plates, the amplitude, frequency and orientation of the oscillatory movement being independently adjustable for each of the plates. A stack of sheets the edges of which are to be aligned is arranged on the plates so as to be supported on the plates on their support edges, and the oscillatory motion causes the individual sheets to move in a predetermined direction until the leading edges of the individual sheets reach an abutment preventing further movement of the sheets. A substantial volume of low-pressure air is blown between the individual sheets so as to separate them from one another and facilitate their independent movement toward the abutment. A pair of upright walls extends parallel to the direction of movement of the sheets so as to laterally support the stack.

Abstract: Document handling apparatus for use in connection with a demand type of document feed for supplying documents which are operator-fed in bulk, to a demand type of document separator, including apparatus for fluffing and jogging the documents. The fluffing is obtained by a differential increase in the speed of the transport of documents coupled with the use of document stabilizers which are automatically inserted into and retracted from the document stack while the documents are passing through a jogging station which includes apparatus for jogging the documents in two directions.