And Means To Move Members Cyclicly Against Sheet Edges (e.g., Jogger) Patents (Class 271/221)
  • Patent number: 5890713
    Abstract: A device for forming a sheet pile in a delivery of a sheet-fed printing press includes jogging plates for jogging edges of the sheet. The jogging plates are disposed perpendicularly to a lateral surface of the sheet pile and are drivable so as to move in a stationary sheet guide and to a sheet stop, respectively. The jogging plates are elastically suspended, without any other guide elements, in at least one of the stationary sheet guides and the sheet stop. An oscillation exciter is connected to each of the jogging plates for respectively oscillating and vibrating the jogging plates independently of a cycle of the delivery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1999
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmashinen AG
    Inventors: Wolfram Hofmann, Rainer Klenk, Michael Szeidl
  • Patent number: 5749571
    Abstract: Device suitable for removing test sheets from sheet-fed printing presses includes leading-edge stops for a downwardly directed sheet stream, the stops being pivotable by a stop lever, and catch arms articulatedly connected to catch levers, the catch arms being adjustable by a tilt lever from outside the sheet stream into a catch position therewithin, as well as a spring engaging with the stop lever, the leading-edge stops being pivotable against the action of the spring out of a stop position and into a release position after the catch arms have reached the catch position thereof. This follow-up control is realized by a linearly adjustable adjusting member with a cam and a sliding block which is maintained in continuous engagement in a slot or coulisse formed in the tilt lever, while the cam is maintained in alternating operating connection with the stop lever and a spring leg of the spring which is formed as a leg spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Peter Heiler
  • Patent number: 5722650
    Abstract: This invention has as its object to provide a sorter apparatus which allows to easily identify bundles of sheets in units of jobs. After the end of each job operation, if a bundle of sheets of the preceding job remain on the sorter, a message for removing sheets is displayed, and the control waits until the sheets are removed. When no bundle of sheets of the preceding job remain or when the bundle of sheets of the preceding job are removed, a bundle of sheets of the current job are pushed and shifted, and execution of the next job is permitted. With this control, a step can be formed between bundles of sheets in units of jobs, and the bundles of sheets in units of jobs can be easily sorted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 3, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahito Yamamoto, Yasuyuki Aiko, Satoshi Kuroyanagi, Mitsuhiko Sato, Yoshihito Osari
  • Patent number: 5713566
    Abstract: A moving bin 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 entry space for receiving the sheets, has trays displaced in a manner which controls and allows them to move parallel to each other at all times. Alignment and registration units have steel rule type members oppositely extensible into the enlarged sheet entry space with pads on the ends thereof conforming in shape to the enlarged sheet entry space for aligning the edges of various sizes of sheets and moving sets of sheets laterally of the trays to a stapler and returning the stapled sets towards the center of the trays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 3, 1998
    Assignee: Gradco (Japan) Ltd.
    Inventors: Peter M. Coombs, Klaus Thogersen
  • Patent number: 5690030
    Abstract: A combination of a printing press and a chainless delivery system therefor includes adjustable sheet stops disposed in a horizontal plane, the delivery system being subdivided into a part proximate to the press and a part distal to the press, one of the sheet stops being a rear sheet stop fixedly connected to the distal part of the press, the distal part being adjustable horizontally, together with the rear sheet stop, in a direction towards and away from the printing press.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1997
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Martin Greive
  • Patent number: 5657977
    Abstract: A sheet post processing apparatus includes at least one sheet accommodating device for accommodating sheets; a sheet discharging device for discharging sheets to the sheet accommodating device; a transfer device for transferring a set of sheets on the sheet accommodating device to a sheet take-out position; and a manual control device for operating the transfer device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuhito Kato, Yoshifumi Takehara
  • Patent number: 5634634
    Abstract: A device for transporting material, in the form of discrete sheets, seriatim to a stack of discrete sheets, and subsequently seriatim away from such stack. The discrete sheet material transport device comprises a support for a stack of discrete sheets. The stack support includes a first stop for a first marginal edge of a discrete sheet, and opposed second and third stops for opposed marginal edges of a discrete sheet perpendicular to the first marginal edge of such discrete sheet. Discrete sheets are delivered seriatim to the vicinity of the stack support and are urged in a first direction into engagement with the first stop to form a stack of discrete sheets on the stack support. The discrete sheets are subsequently urged seriatim in a direction opposite the first direction to remove discrete sheets seriatim from the stack on the stack support. The second and third stops are located to accurately position the stack of discrete sheets on the stack support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 3, 1997
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Michael T. Dobbertin, James D. Shifley, Robert A. Zimny
  • Patent number: 5620178
    Abstract: A sheet post treatment apparatus implementing exact and reliable sheet alignment without the need for a separate driving source for the sheet aligning bar. The apparatus includes a rotation center shaft attached to a slot liner of a side plate; a wheel fixed into the rotation center shaft and formed with a spiral groove; an eccentric cam rotating attached to the rotation center shaft; an aligning rod and a rotation lever one end of the rotation lever being connected to the eccentric cam and the other end thereof being passed through said the plate, displaced to the extent of eccentricity level of the eccentric cam; and a restoration spring, one end thereof being fixed at the side plate and the other end thereof being hung up on one side of the rotation lever. Alternate embodiments include driving the rotation lever through a bevel arrangement, and providing a moving pin on the eccentric to drive the rotation lever.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 15, 1997
    Assignee: Sindo Richo Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yeon K. Jung
  • Patent number: 5613673
    Abstract: A downstacker for paperboard sheets includes a sheet speed reducing shingler positioned in the stacking station and forming a shingling nip with the top sheet of the continuously descending stack. The shingling nip is positioned to engage and nip the next following sheet simultaneously with engagement of the stacking station backstop by the preceding sheet, thereby obviating sheet marking by an overrunning nip roll. A false backstop is periodically interposed to define a stack separation level and create an offset in the stack which engages the end of a separating fork as the continuously forming stack descends to facilitate insertion of the fork supporting into the stack. The fork provides interim support for the upper stack portion which continues to form while the lower stack portion is rapidly discharged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 25, 1997
    Assignee: Marquip, Inc.
    Inventors: Shayne A. Roberts, Carl R. Marschke
  • Patent number: 5590871
    Abstract: A recording sheet finisher in use with an image forming apparatus such as a copier. The recording sheet finisher includes a stacker for stacking recording sheets, an aligning member for aligning the bundle of the recording sheets on the stacker, a counter for counting a number of the recording sheets bundled on the stacker, and a controller for controlling the aligning member so that the aligning member aligns the bundle of recording sheets after a first predetermined time period after the last one of the recording sheets is conveyed onto the other ones when the number of recording sheets bundled on the stacker is 25 or more, and aligns the bundle after a second predetermined time period when the number is not less than 25.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 7, 1997
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Hirohiko Okabe, Masaaki Sekiguchi, Shigemi Yukizane, Toshitaka Matsumoto, Minoru Kawano
  • Patent number: 5570875
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a sheet post treatment apparatus aligning, within certain limits, discharged sheets received in said bin tray and drastically reduces the driving load of the motor, operating space and manufacturing costs through keeping the length of the aligning rod as short as possible for transferring sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1996
    Assignee: Sindo Richo Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yeon K. Jung
  • Patent number: 5556251
    Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus includes at least one tray for stacking discharged sheets; a stacker, disposed adjacent to the tray, for receiving a set of sheets from the tray; a controller operable in one of a first mode in which the set of sheets is transferred to the stacker and a second mode in which the set of sheets remains on the tray; and a retractor for retracting the stacker by relative movement between the tray and the stacker when the second mode is selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 17, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masakazu Hiroi, Yoshifumi Takehara
  • Patent number: 5544583
    Abstract: A delivery interrupt mechanism for a printing machine includes a support frame having a stationary guide defining a guide path. A flexible finger is slidably supported by the guide for movement along a curved portion of the guide path while substantially conforming in shape to the curved portion between a retracted position and an extended position in which the finger extends from the frame to support leading edges of printed sheets in a printing machine. The finger is connected to a rotatable input shaft mounted on the frame so that the finger is moved along the curved portion of the guide path between its retracted and extended positions when the input shaft is rotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1996
    Assignee: A.B. Dick Company
    Inventor: Ronald A. Banike
  • Patent number: 5524873
    Abstract: A finisher for finishing sheets for use in a copier, printer or similar image forming apparatus having a sorter for sorting sheets on a plurality of bins, and further having a stapler or a punching device. A bin moving member is provided for moving the plurality of bins to predetermined positions in which the bin moving member moves the bins to a positioning relationship such that an interval A between a first bin for accepting the discharged sheets from a discharging member and a third bin located at a position immediately over the first bin, an interval B between the first bin and a second bin located at a position immediately under the first bin, and an interval D between the third bin located at a position immediately over the first bin and a fifth bin located at a position immediately over the third bin are broader than an interval E between other adjacent regular bins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: Ricoh Elemex Corporation
    Inventors: Masatoshi Hosoi, Tetsuji Watanbe, Yuichi Fujii, Yuji Ueno, Nobuyoshi Seki, Mitsuru Ichikawa
  • Patent number: 5516092
    Abstract: A sheet-jogging device in a delivery of a printing press with a press frame formed of side parts and having drives and a switching element therefor, a sheet-jogging device having at least one sheet-jogger reciprocatingly mounted in one of the side parts of the press frame so as to be adjustable to different sheet formats, and being tiltably supported, together with a bushing, in a lifting direction of a sheet pile so as to act on the switching element, includes a device for supporting the bushing in the one side part so that the supporting device is movable on all sides with respect to the direction of motion of the sheet-jogger, and a device for resiliently pretensioning the bushing into a given position of operation in which it counteracts deviating movements for moving the bushing out of the given position of operation, the switching element being provided for different drives and being actuatable by the deviating movements in different directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Gerhard Pollich
  • Patent number: 5513839
    Abstract: In an output system for handling the printed sheets sequentially outputted by a reproduction apparatus, including at least one output stacking tray, and at least one exit rollers sheet ejection system for ejecting the printed sheets into said output stacking tray, and further including an intermediate compiler tray with an edge tamping system including a tamper drive, a selectable mechanical interconnection system between the tamper drive and the exit roller sheet ejection system selectably laterally offsets the exit rollers sheet ejection system with the tamper drive upon lateral movement beyond a preset lateral position, into a non-stacking position, for selected printed sheets, so that these selected printed sheets may be stacked partially laterally offset from other sheets in a stack in the output stacking tray. The edge tamping system and the exit roller sheet ejection system may both be mounted on a movable compiling and finishing module to move in linear parallel paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Frederick A. Green
  • Patent number: 5499811
    Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus includes bin trays for stacking sheets; sheet discharger for discharging sheets to the bin trays; an aligner for aligning the sheets received by the bin trays by urging them; a controller for controlling the aligner: wherein the controller moves the aligner to a first position for a first alignment and to a second position for a second alignment to provide offset between succeeding sets of sheets received by the bin trays.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenichi Hayashi, Kimiaki Hayakawa, Yoshifumi Takehara
  • Patent number: 5484255
    Abstract: A collating machine for stacking sheets of paper fed seriatim thereto from a singulating feeder comprises a deck including a stacking area and a plurality of upper, endless, elastic belts, each of the belts moving around a pair of upstream and downstream pulleys suspended above the deck. A plurality of ramp guide blocks are adjustably secured to the deck between the pairs of pulleys, wherein a lower reach of each of the belts is lower than the highest section of the ramp guide blocks. There is structure for stopping each of the sheets at a downstream end of the stacking area which is a section of the deck between the stopping structure and the ramp guide block. Feeding structure is situated upstream from the pulleys for feeding each of the sheets over the ramp guide blocks toward the stacking area until a trail edge of the sheet moves from control of the feeding structure, wherein the belts convey the sheet to the stopping structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1996
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventor: Kenneth W. Lowell
  • Patent number: 5452887
    Abstract: A sorter for sorting sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus, comprising a sorter frame; a plurality of bins disposed in the vertical direction, for making stacks of the discharged sheets; a bin frame incorporating the bins and having an opening on a front side adapting the sorter for a stack-removal operation; a processing mechanism provided on the image-forming-apparatus side of the bins, for processing the stacks; a first driving mechanism for driving a bin at a bin-processing position opposite the processing mechanism to slide toward the processing mechanism for feeding the image-forming-apparatus side end of said stack to the processing mechanism; a single unit slide guide for guiding a bin at the bin processing position toward the processing mechanism; a second driving mechanism including a pair of rods disposed vertically on the front and back sides of the sorter frame, the rods move the bins and the bin frame vertically and support the bins from either side at a position inward from an image
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1995
    Assignee: Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Okumura, Takeshi Aoki, Toru Himegi, Noriaki Okamoto
  • Patent number: 5429475
    Abstract: A jogger for straightening material in tiers. The material rests against at least two lateral baffles associated with adjacent sides of a stack-supporting surface. The stack-supporting surface can vibrate. A gantry travels back and forth in the same plane as the stack-supporting surface. The stack-supporting surface can be tilted out of the horizontal toward the two lateral baffles. A top-covering plate (21) is mounted in the gantry (16) and parallels the stack-supporting surface (3). The stack (40) is accommodated between the top-covering plate and the stack-supporting surface. Mechanisms (22) accommodated in the gantry lower the top-covering plate onto and raise it off the stack-supporting surface. Blowers (30 & 31) for forcing wind between the tiers are accommodated in at least one (25) of the lateral baffles (25, 26, & 27). At least one side-covering plate (33 or 34) closes off the space between the stack-supporting surface and the top-covering plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 4, 1995
    Inventor: Wolfgang Mohr
  • Patent number: 5423656
    Abstract: Device for jogging a pile of sheets includes a pushrod extending in a direction towards a sheet pile, the pushrod having a thrust plate disposed on an end thereof pointing in the direction towards the sheet pile, a device for holding the pushrod, the holding device being displaceable in a jogging direction, a drive connectible to the holding device for imparting a jogging movement thereto in the jogging direction, the pushrod being mounted so as to be displaceable in the direction towards the sheet pile for adjusting the position of the thrust plate relative to the holding device, an adjusting device for adjusting the pushrod in position for effecting a format adjustment, the pushrod being variable in length, a device for varying the length of the pushrod, and a device for fixing the pushrod at and for releasing the pushrod from a respective length thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1993
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1995
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Filsinger, Roland Hirth
  • Patent number: 5393042
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1995
    Assignee: Gradco (Japan) Ltd.
    Inventors: Peter M. Coombs, James R. Seay
  • Patent number: 5382016
    Abstract: A sheet sorter with includes a bin unit including a plurality of bins for accommodating sorted sheets, sheet stacker for accommodating non-sorted sheets, sheet switcher for selectively guiding the sheets to the plural bins or to the sheet stacker, stapler for stapling the sheets accommodated in the bins, for each of the bins, and controller for controlling the sheet switcher to direct the sheet to the bins in response to instructions for sorting and stapling the sheets, to direct the sheet to the sheet stacker in response to instructions for accommodating the sheets without sorting, and to direct the sheets to the bin unit in response to instructions for stapling the sheets without sorting. The apparatus further includes a reciprocating aligning member which is driven to an alignment position during movement of the bins and is again driven to the alignment position to complete the aligning operation after completion of the movement of the bins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Kobayashi, Koichi Murakami, Masakazu Hiroi, Naho Wakao
  • Patent number: 5374051
    Abstract: A relief device for the tamping mechanism of an offset sheet set stacker. A sheet set stacker is provided having a plurality of retractable tamping mechanisms for alternately offsetting sheet sets within the stacker. Each tamping mechanism is provided with a spring biased follower arm which locks the tamping mechanism in an operative position. A relief device in the form of an oblong pivot mount allows the tamping mechanism to not only pivotally retract from an operative position but to also shift a slight amount transversely to the paper path process direction. This slight shift prevents a binding of the tamper against the just compiled sheet stack and minimizes the occurrence of sheet stack disturbance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1994
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Vernon W. Ulrich, Carl B. Lewis
  • Patent number: 5374050
    Abstract: A jogger having a jogger plate is floatingly supported by a four-bar linkage swingably mounted upon a support post. The four-bar linkage is a parallelogram-type linkage which enables the jogger plate to maintain its orientation in space regardless of any swinging movement experienced by the parallelogram linkage. An adjustable weight is provided to control the force exerted upon a signature stack during operation. The jogger plate is adjustable to provide proper positioning of the plate relative to the stack being jogged into alignment. Sensors control the operation of the jogger assembly responsive to the presence of a stack to be jogged and responsive to the movement of the jogging assembly to a given position displaced from the nominal operating position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1994
    Assignee: Prim Hall Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventor: John E. Prim
  • Patent number: 5368288
    Abstract: Sheets of cardboard continuously fed in a shingled stream are stacked upon a progressively lowered speed form until the desired stack height is reached, whereupon a vertically-fixed horizontal movable bar grate is inserted between the oncoming sheets and the finished stack, concurrently with vibration of the stop board against which the leading edges of the sheets impact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1994
    Assignee: Jagenberg Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Helmut Philipp, Wilfried Kurth
  • Patent number: 5350164
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1994
    Assignee: Gradco (Japan) Ltd.
    Inventor: Peter M. Coombs
  • Patent number: 5344131
    Abstract: A sorter of the moving bin type has a set of horizontally extended trays moved vertically between positions above and below a sheet entry location by cams which provide an enlarged entry space. A stapler is moved between a non-stapling position and a stapling position. The cams also enlarge the space between trays at the stapling position to permit a tray to be received in the throat of the stapler between stapler anvil and body.A sheet aligning jogger has opposed jogging bars extending vertically at opposite sides of the trays and simultaneously moveable towards and away from one another to engage opposite sides of the sheets in the trays to align the side edges of the sets of sheets in a neat stack. The jogging bars are also rotated in opposite directions to apply a force to the sheets urging the trailing edge of the sheets opposite to the direction of feed into the trays against an alignment surface on the tray normal to the side edges for aligning the trailing edges of the sheets in the set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1994
    Assignee: Gradco (Japan) Ltd.
    Inventor: Frederick J. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 5259609
    Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for stacking, from above, thin, flat articles such as blanks of cardboard or like material, of variable shapes and formats, these blanks being supplied, upstream, on a conveyor and being successively deposited on one another on the upper laying plane of a stacking-jolting table. This apparatus is characterized in that the laying plane of the stacking-jolting table is constituted, on the one hand, by a large continuous principal surface, and, on the other hand, by an auxiliary bearing surface located at the upstream end of the table, and a device is provided for vertically displacing the auxiliary bearing surface with respect to the principal surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 9, 1993
    Assignee: Komori-Chambon
    Inventors: Thierry Brame, Christian Galateau
  • Patent number: 5253860
    Abstract: A finisher connectable to an image forming apparatus for surely discharging sheets to bin trays thereof without regard to the sheet size while preventing the sheets from dropping from the bin rays or from being inaccurately positioned on the bin trays. The finisher has a discharge roller for sequentially discharging sheets driven out of the image forming apparatus to the bin trays. The rotation speed of the discharge roller is controlled on the basis of size information representative of the size of sheets to be transferred from the image forming apparatus to the finisher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1993
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Hirose, Takashi Fujii, Fumitaka Hyodou
  • Patent number: 5217215
    Abstract: A sorter incorporating a stapler is an apparatus for sorting and stapling sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus. This sorter includes a plurality of vertically movable bins for storing the supplied sheets, a bin drive unit for conveying the bins, a stapler for stapling the sheets stored in the bins, a pair of lateral guides, and a lateral guide drive unit for moving the lateral guides. The lateral guides are movable in the width direction of the sheets in the bins and abut on both sides of stacks of the sheets to arrange them into widthwise adjustment, and then to move them into the stapling position of the stapler.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1993
    Assignee: Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yousuke Ohata, Yukio Hashimoto, Hidekazu Sakagami, Toshinori Nishimura, Tsuyoshi Nagao
  • Patent number: 5188353
    Abstract: A disk stacker is provided having a tamping mechanism located over a sheet receiving platform for tamping side edges of the sheets as they fall to a top of the stack. First and second vertical side registration walls are provided and positioned above a different one of two side edges of the sheet receiving platform and are spaced apart so that a sheet can be received therebetween. A first tamper is located adjacent the first side registration wall and is movable through an aperture therein between an active position wherein the first tamper extends through the aperture and is located between the first and second side registration walls to tamp incoming sheets against the second side registation wall, and an inactive position wherein the first tamper is retracted behind the first side registration wall out of an area between the first and second side registration walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1993
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Bruce Parks
  • Patent number: 5178506
    Abstract: Automatic service apparatus for fast printers (10) including a store (12) containing reams of papers to be printed, a mechanical arm (16), equipped with pliers (24), movable among a plurality of boxes (14) for drawing reams from the store (12), unpacking and aligning sheets from the ream, depositing one of the reams into a sheet feeding seat of a printer (10), drawing groups of sheets from the output of the printer (10) and transferring the groups to an after-treatment station (60). The pliers can be provided with a static device for aligning the reams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1991
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1993
    Assignee: Industria Grafica Maschi, S.r.l.
    Inventor: Luciano Meschi
  • Patent number: 5099292
    Abstract: A finisher for use with a copier, laser printer or similar image forming apparatus and having a function of sorting or stacking sheets sequentially driven out of the apparatus and a function of stapling each stack of such sheets. A plurality of bins are sequentially moved to a position where the bins face the sheet outlet of the apparatus one at a time. A particular pair of the bins define a sheet inlet for receiving the sheets coming out of the sheet outlet one at a time. The sheets are distributed to the bins via the inlet to be stacked on the bins. A sheet stack is pulled out of each bin by a sheet stack moving device, bound at a staple position by a stapler, and then returned to the bin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1992
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Akira Hirose
  • Patent number: 5090673
    Abstract: This invention relates to a sheet post treatment apparatus having receive means for receiving sheets, align means provided with a reference member providing a reference for aligning the sheets and a moving member movable relative to the reference member to align the sheets, and control means for controlling the aligning means to cause the moving member to wait at a different position in conformity with sheet size information before the discharge of the sheets in a case where the sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus are discharged so that the centers thereof may coincide with one another irrespective of the sizes of the sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1992
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha & Canon Aptex, Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Kitahara, Kenji Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 5083761
    Abstract: A sheet storing apparatus wherein sheets ejected from a copying machine one after another are stacked in order, and the sheets are supplied to the copying machine again. The apparatus comprises a sheet storing unit wherein sheets are stored, a transporter for transporting sheets to the storing unit, a regulator for preventing sheets supported by a sheet support surface of the storing unit from moving back toward the entrance thereof, a pressure member for pressing each sheet transported to the unit against the support surface and a refeeder for feeding out the stored sheets one by one. Each time a sheet is transported to the unit, the pressure member presses the sheet, whereby the end of the sheet passes through the regulator to be put between the support surface and the regulator. Also, in feeding sheets out of the unit, the pressure member presses the sheet stack against the refeeder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1989
    Date of Patent: January 28, 1992
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Johdai, Keichi Kinoshita, Toshio Matsui, Takeshi Yoshikai, Tadashi Maruyama, Kazuhito Ozawa, Hiroki Yamashita
  • Patent number: 5080342
    Abstract: A finisher having a stapler for stapling paper sheets sequentially discharged onto a two-sided copy tray of a copier, facsimile machine, printer or similar equipment or onto a bin of a sorter. A paper positioning device included in the finisher has a bin fence and a positioning member. The bin fence is provided on each bin and extends along one side edge of the bin. A positioning member is reciprocatingly movable from a standby position thereof toward the bin fence and back to the standby position. During such a reciprocating motion, the positioning member is repetitively brought into and out of contact with a stack of paper sheets to thereby position the stack. The moving speed of the positioning member is variable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1992
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Goro Mori, Masatoshi Hosoi, Yoshihide Sugiyama, Yuji Ueno
  • Patent number: 5072920
    Abstract: A finisher for an image forming apparatus for stapling or otherwise finishing paper sheets which are sequentially driven out of an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer. The finisher is capable of stapling a stack of paper sheets at any desired position or positions of the sack. A pair of reference fences and a pair of jogger fences are provided on a paper receiver for positioning paper sheets in an intended direction of paper transport and a direction perpendicular thereto, respectively. The reference fences and the jogger fences are reciprocatingly movable in a predetermined direction independently of each other, and each is movable in a symmetrical relation. The jogger fences move independently of a stapler, while the reference fences move along with the stapler by being connected to latter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1990
    Date of Patent: December 17, 1991
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunori Kubota, Hideo Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 5054764
    Abstract: An edge aligner/holder 10 having an edge aligner 30 with a resilient front end 32 and a tail piece 34 cooperatively interengaged with a reciprocating mechanism 36, and having a holder 20 with at least one rest 23 and one backstop 24, the holder 20 mounted above said front end 32 on said edge aligner 30. The resilient front end 32 of the edge aligner 30 holds a job stack 2 containing sheets which already have been piled in alignment when the edge aligner 30 is in its forward position, while at the same time holding the trailing edge of a next sheet 3, the leading edge of which sheet has already been deposited upon the job stack 2, so that the offset movement of this next sheet 3 may be accomplished without disturbing the alignment and piling of the job stack 2 immediately below it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: EMF Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory Phillips, Douglas Langton
  • Patent number: 5054766
    Abstract: A paper positioning device having a paper positioning member which is pivotable in abutment against one edge of a paper sheet loaded on a receptacle for moving the paper sheet to a positioning position for thereby positioning the paper sheet. By a simple mechanism and control, the movement of the paper positioning member is slowed down at the positioning position and accelerated until the positioning member reachines it. The paper positioning member performs a pivoting movement twice while a drive shaft associated therewith performs a reciprocating movement once. The device is, therefore, no only durable but also positions paper sheets efficiently and positively without damaging the paper sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyoshi Seki, Nobuyuki Morii, Takashi Komada, Masatoshi Hosoi, Yoshihide Sugiyama, Atuhisa Hujiwara, Masashi Shimada, Tsutomu Ichinose, Yuji Ueno, Goro Mori, Toshiyuki Kikuchi, Masahiro Minato, Shin Umeda, Hirobumi Yoshino
  • Patent number: 5022640
    Abstract: A self-contained duplex/simplex feeder module adapted to be used for both top and bottom sheet feeding for simplex and duplex copying includes a pair of feed-in rolls with one of the rolls serving as a feed-out roll when top sheet feeding is required. A static eliminator is also included to enhance the feeding of sheets for duplexing as is a false bottom used for top sheet feeding and normal force device for bottom sheet feeding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1991
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Robert L. Greco, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5014977
    Abstract: An integral sheet stopping, stacking and lateral registration system, in which sequential incoming sheets are fed into a tray and stopped at an edge registration position and also repositioned laterally by lateral sheet repositioning scuffers engaging an edge of the sheets at the edge registration position, with improved protection against sheet edge distortion or damage provided by movable partial sheet stopping surfaces partially shielding the incoming sheet lead edge from full impact with the lateral scuffers but without interfering with the subsequent lateral movement of the sheets by the lateral scuffers. The incoming sheets are fed in and stacked under a stack-floating curved input guide baffle and floating frictional input flapper scuffers feeding and holding an incoming sheet downstream against the lateral scuffers for improved lateral registration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1991
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth P. Moore, Brian R. Ford, Stephen B. Williams
  • Patent number: 5013021
    Abstract: A paper container has a finisher unit which comprises transporting rollers to transport copying papers ejected from a copying machine to a tray, a paddle wheel to transport a copying paper to a reference member for alignment immediately after a trailing edge of the copying paper leaves the transporting rollers, and a stapler to staple the copying papers aligned on the tray. The paper container also has a stack unit to stack the stapled papers. The stack unit is permanently secured onto the image forming device, or an distance between the stack unit and the finisher unit is arbitrarily adjusted, while the finisher unit is attached to the image forming device and detached if so required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1991
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Johdai, Keichi Kinoshita, Toshio Matsui
  • Patent number: 5000088
    Abstract: A document imprinting device for imprinting on documents such as checks comprises a frame, a document feeding mechanism mounted on the frame for sequentially feeding documents, a conveying mechanism for conveying a document from the document feeding mechanism along a document conveyance path, an imprinting mechanism for imprinting the documents conveyed along the document conveyance path, and a sensing mechanism positioned along the document conveyance path for sensing the position of the documents and for triggering the imprinting mechanism such that the document is imprinted at a desired location on the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 19, 1991
    Assignee: Technitrol, Inc.
    Inventor: N. Allen Cargill
  • Patent number: 4973038
    Abstract: A signature supply apparatus moves signatures in an on-edge orientation to a signature feed apparatus which feeds the signatures one at a time. The signature supply apparatus includes a generally horizontal main section which supports a large number of signatures in an on-edge orientation with major side surfaces of the signatures upright. A hopper section is disposed at a higher level than the main section and supports on-edge signatures with the major side surfaces of the signatures upright and with a forwardmost signature positioned to be engaged by the signature feed apparatus. An inclined ramp section extends forwardly and upwardly from the main section to the hopper section. The ramp section supports the signatures on-edge in a thick shingled stream with major side surfaces of the signatures inclined forwardly and upwardly. The main, ramp and hopper sections of the improved signature supply apparatus support a continuous stream of on-edge signatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1990
    Assignee: AM International Incorporated
    Inventors: Richard D. Curley, Edward L. Kempisty
  • Patent number: 4949952
    Abstract: The apparatus is the justifying station of an automatic bookbinding machine which stages collection of the sheets of the book, justifies the side and end edges of the sheets, feeds male and female plastic bookbinding strips one at a time from cassettes, assembles the sheets and strips and then binds the book. In the sheet justifying apparatus the sheets are deposited on an originally horizontal movable jaw. The latter is then raised toward a stationary jaw until the sheets are loosely clamped. Thereupon the jaws with sheets therebetween are pivotted to vertical position. A first side guide is caused to reciprocate rapidly against one side edge of the stack of shets, justifying the opposite edge against a stationary guide on the opposite side edge. Simultaneously, a front edge of the stack, justifying the rear edge against a stationary base plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 21, 1990
    Assignee: VeloBind, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Hotkowski, Frank A. Todaro
  • Patent number: 4919414
    Abstract: A shingle handling and squaring device (18) is disposed between a sheet shingler (5) and stacker (9) and mounted above a stack infeed conveyor (19). The device includes a pair of side carriages (23,24), each of which carries a pair of freely rotatable longitudinally in-line tamping rollers or wheels (29-32), the peripheries of which are adapted to engage an edge of the traveling sheet material (6). The wheels are mounted for rotation about generally vertical but slightly inclined axes (48) and have tapered peripheries (51) so that the wheels nevertheless present truly vertical faces to the sheet material. The wheels are counterbalanced (56). In addition, when the stacker infeed nip roll (17) is raised by the entry of shingled sheets, a device (57-60) is provided to release the nip roll from the sheets to prevent binding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: April 24, 1990
    Assignee: Marquip, Inc.
    Inventors: Carl R. Marschke, Richard H. Thomas, William D. Wendorf
  • Patent number: 4902194
    Abstract: Apparatus for collecting tickets cut from ticket stock, and for stacking these tickets in a horizontal array. Tickets are collected and oriented to stacking position by a vacuum transport belt assembly, and uniformly aligned by a horizontal stacker. The transport assembly is mounted on a housing which includes a vacuum drum to maintain ticket engagement with the transport belts, as the belts traverse a path having a horizontal to vertical orientation about the top and front of the housing. The stacker is mounted perpendicular to the front base of the housing and incorporates a stacking surface of rollers extending the length of, and parallel to the base of a side plate. The rollers are driven in a direction which, advantageously, positions tickets which may be of varying length against the side plate. Stacker infeed disks are mounted on the transport terminus roller in a unitary arrangement which both releases tickets from the transport and feeds tickets to the stacker, to improve processing efficiency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Assignee: Dennison Manufacturing Company
    Inventor: Donald A. Lane
  • Patent number: 4890825
    Abstract: The present invention comprises a paper sheet stacking and jogging apparatus for the semi-continuous stacking and jogging of individually fed sheets of paper from devices such as printing or duplicating machinery. A conveyor, comprising a pair of powered forward pinch rollers and a pair of powered rearward pinch rollers each having a plurality of driving tires, conveys the sheets within the apparatus. A beam strengthener, comprising two pairs of crowned and recessed tires, which are not driving tires, give the sheets beam strength as they are deposited to prevent jamming of the apparatus. A high-capacity, self-leveling tray assembly and elevating elevator receives the deposited sheets. A jogger selectively jogs the sheets which are deposited into the tray assembly into physically separated, distinct, aligned job stacks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1990
    Assignee: EMF Corporation
    Inventors: Walter A. (Sunny) McCormick, Douglas W. Langton, Wilbur J. Kellum, III, Thomas C. Saunders, Gregory Phillips
  • Patent number: 4867436
    Abstract: A sheet aligning arrangement adapted to accommodate a plurality of sheets fed into it for aligning, and to feed out the aligned sheets one sheet by one sheet. The arrangement includes a feed roller, a first aligning member movable between a first position defining a sheet aligning reference position and a second position parallel to the first position and defining a sheet transport reference position, a second aligning member located in a position confronting the first aligning member, and pivotable in a direction intersecting at right angles with a sheet transport direction, and a displacing device for displacing the first aligning member to the first position during the alignment to effect aligning together with the second aligning member, and also for displacing the first aligning member to the second position during the re-feeding of the sheets by the feed roller, while pivoting the second aligning member to align the sheets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1989
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Hanada, Yasuo Nakamura, Kazuyuki Fukui