Abstract: Apparatus for precise center registration of a sheet with respect to a fixed reference line such as the center line in a copier. To accomplish this, a sidewall and an associated sensor move in unison relative to the machine center line. With the sheet registered against the sidewall, the sidewall and the sensor which are maintained equidistant from the machine center line move until the sensor senses the edge of the sheet. The motion is then stopped by a signal from the sensor thereby providing precise center line registered sheets.

Abstract: A paper feed device to forward documents to be copied across a document glass utilizing foraminous rollers positioned above the glass at a slight angle to the direction of document movement to move the side of the document into sliding relationship with a reference edge during the forwarding operation. The angle is produced by a curved drive shaft and rollers at opposite ends of the drive shaft are at different angles to the direction of paper movement. The rollers and drive train are rigidly mounted on a plate which is nonrigidly carried in a frame which pivots about a hinge at one end of the document glass. The plate rests on the top surface of front and rear reference edges when the frame is closed to assure accurate positioning of the rollers in relation to the document glass. After completing the forward feeding of a document, it is reversed a slight distance to a registration position for the copying operation.

Abstract: A sheet stacking device includes a plurality of endless belts spaced from one another and rotating at a predetermined speed toward a sheet shipping container mounted at a loading position. A sheet held against the belt by vacuum pulled between the belts moves along a movement path into a wall of the container. The belts continue to rotate to align the sheet relative to the container; afterward plungers move the sheet downward away from the belts onto the backwall of the container to stack same.

Abstract: This invention concerns an improved gluing machine and a continuous method of operation which allows the gluing process to proceed at a rate that equals the feed rate of vacuum rotary document feeders. The machine includes a unique registry and guide system for efficiently moving documents fed initially in an individual manner in a continuous, flowing manner from an initial input feed device to the gluing and registry point with the carrier. The feed system not only allows substantially greater operating speeds but simultaneously overlaps documents while establishing and maintaining correct registration of the documents. The documents are overlapped so that following documents are positioned beneath leading documents. This overlapped condition together with the registry achieved within the feed system assures each individual document arrives in proper registry with areas of glue previously applied at preselected intervals on the carrier sheet.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a convolute paper tube on a winding mandrel, including means for conveying a sheet of paper from a gluing and cutting apparatus longitudinally of the winding mandrel, with an edge of the paper sheet engaged in a longitudinal slot in the mandrel, to a position where the sheet edge is fully engaged with the mandrel suitably for winding. The conveying means includes a belt conveyor for slidable frictional engagement of the paper sheet to convey the paper sheet into winding position while being slidable with respect thereto so that the paper can remain in proper winding position while in continuing contact with the moving conveyor belt. Support wires, guides, trim rolls, and a stop are also provided in the apparatus for controlling the pick up, transport, alignment, and terminal position of the sheet.

Abstract: Sheet alignment and feeding apparatus including a sheet feed table for supporting a sheet to be fed, a side registration edge along one edge of the feed table, a sheet feed roll rotatably mounted in the feed table so that its top surface is in feeding engagement with a sheet to be fed, a cooperating pinch device in contact with the top of the feed roll, the feed roll being canted at an angle to the side registration edge to simultaneously drive a sheet against the registration edge and in a forward direction, and the feed roll having a relatively low coefficient of friction. The effects of contamination on the feed roll are minimized and a more effective and reliable feeding operation is achieved.

Abstract: A document registering and feeding apparatus comprising a flexible registration and feeding member for driving a document into registration engagement with a side registration member and for feeding a document in a direction substantially parallel to the side registration member. The flexible registration and feeding member comprises a flexible rotatable drive shaft and a generally cylindrical deformable scuffer wheel fixed to one end of the drive shaft, the wheel being in pressure contact with the base surface and adjacent to but spaced from the side registration member.

Abstract: The invention relates to automatic sheet feed equipment, particularly for use with microfilm aperture cards that permits ready manual insertion of a sheet into the equipment. The sheets are transported on a plate 12 bearing against a register edge 26 and are moved by engagement in the nip between a drive roll 27c and a counter roll 28c. The counter roll is loosely mounted for vertical movement above the plate 12 and the edge of the plate 12 opposite to the edge 26 is unrestricted so that sheets can easily be inserted in the direction of the arrow A. The rolls preferably have polished surfaces and are each chamfered at least on the side away from the edge 26.

Abstract: A guide which maintains an edge surface of a tape, such as an elongated strip of print stock, in contact with a reference surface formed on a base of the guide as the tape is moved in a predetermined direction and along a predetermined path. Preferably, the guide includes a first roller which is mounted on the base in proximity to the reference surface and which has an axis of rotation which is inclined, in an imaginary plane parallel to the predetermined direction of tape movement, from a normal drawn to the reference surface. A second roller is also mounted on the base in proximity to the reference surface and has its axis of rotation substantially parallel to that of the first roller, with corresponding portions of the peripheral surfaces of the first and second rollers being in proximity to each other to define a nip therebetween for compressing the tape.

Abstract: An improvement in conveyors is disclosed in which the conveyor rollers are mounted in bearing blocks designed to pivot about a vertical axis and, thus, adjust to the angular relationship between the rollers and their supporting frame. The bearing blocks also provide a wear resisting and noise suppressing support for the roller shafts.

Abstract: To align sheets being fed to a printing machine without interruption of smooth flow of sheet feeding, the sheets are aligned while they are being fed from a stack to a set-up or alignment table 19 by imparting thereto a lateral force to direct the moving sheets towards a side or lateral stop. The vectorial lateral force component can be obtained by skewing transport belts 33 laterally, providing a transversely running belt 83 with freely movable engagement balls to press the sheets against the transversely moving belt, or tilting the transport table or conveyor system 17 and imparting vibration thereto so that the sheets will be jogged against a lateral stop 45, arriving properly longitudinally as well as laterally oriented at the set-up or alignment table for subsequent feeding into the printing machine. Preferably, the drive mechanism for the transport conveyor belts includes a variable speed transmission to selectively control overlap of subsequent sheets being fed.

Abstract: The illustrated embodiment shows a film feeder for feeding individual film sheets to automatic developers. The film feeder has a magazine for receiving a stack of the film sheets, an extraction device and a transport device for transferring the individual film sheets extracted from the magazine into the automatic developer. The transport device contains an apparatus for selectively rotating the film sheets by approximately 45.degree. about their surface normal, and may be utilized with automatic developers which normally receive large-format films sheets, to enable the use of such developers with sheets of substantially shorter length dimension (e.g. 100 mm).

Abstract: An elongated array of partially overlapping sheets advances to a printing machine and, prior to entering the same the individual sheets of the array, one after another, are aligned both along their front edges and along one of their lateral edges. This is accomplished by first displacing the respective sheet transversely of the array so that a lateral marginal portion adjacent to the one lateral edge becomes exposed, after or during alignment along the front edge, and by subsequently engaging the exposed lateral marginal portion of the respective sheet and displacing the latter a further distance only transversely of the array into a position in which the one lateral edge is aligned. Subsequently to the alignment along both of the above-mentioned edges, the respective sheet may be partially returned by a given distance prior or during feeding of the sheet into the printing machine.

Abstract: Paper aligning rolls wherein the drive roll is skewed to the direction of travel in order to move paper toward a referencing edge while the backup roll is oppositely skewed to urge the paper away from the referencing edge. By selecting the coefficient of friction of the drive roll to be higher than the coefficient of friction of the backup roll, the paper is moved into the referencing edge with a controlled small resultant force tending to not crumple the paper. This system maintains a high forward drive force while minimizing the force tending to crumple.

Abstract: The method and apparatus for offsetting sheets laterally with respect to their travel in a predetermined direction along a path. The method includes directing the sheets away from the path and through a second curved path aligned in skewed relation to their direction of travel in the original path and then directing the sheets back into the original path. Where some sheets are selectively fed through the second path and others only along the original path, they all can then be collected in a single stack in laterally offset relation to each other. The apparatus for offsetting the sheets includes feeding means for feeding the sheets in the predetermined direction along the original path and guide structure for directing the sheets along the curved path. The guide structure is curved about an axis skewed relative to the direction of travel of the sheets along their original path to effect the offsetting.

Abstract: An original sheet document for electrostatic reproduction is inserted into the mechanism face up, and the mechanism feeds and positions the document onto a glass platen face down. Endless belts are trained over pulleys forming a plurality of parallel runs which are disposed closely above the platen. Idler feed rollers are disposed above the pulleys which feed the document into engagement with a guide member which reverses the direction of movement of the document by 180.degree. and guides the document between the belts and the platen. The belts are oriented at an angle to the edges of the platen and move the document both forwardly and laterally across the platen. Elongated stops are provided at the edges of the platen toward which the document is moved by the belts, and the document aligningly abuts against the stops. The belts are arranged to yield upon said abutment. The stop at the forward edge is movable to allow the belts to move the document off the platen onto a receiving tray.

Abstract: A skew control mechanism for sheet material. Sheet material, such as corrugated paperboard, is slit into strips of various widths and the slit strips are then cut transversely into lengths by a cut-off machine. The cut sections are conveyed by an endless belt conveyor to a stacking mechanism, and to prevent skewing of the cut sections on the conveyor, a skew control mechanism is mounted for movement on the frame of the machine. The skew control mechanism includes a series of carriages located along each side of the machine and the carriages at each side are connected together by links, while transverse shafts are pivoted to carriages at opposide sides of the machine. A plurality of wheels are mounted for floating vertical movement about each shaft and the wheels ride on the upper surfaces of the cut sections.

Abstract: Alignment mechanism for processing documents having a plurality of rotating rollers extending upward from the floor of a horizontal tray which is provided with a longitudinal edge. The axes of the rollers are positioned at approximately 75.degree. angle with respect to the longitudinal edge. A plurality of balls are located above the rollers with one or more balls associated with each roller. The documents pass between the rollers and the balls for moving the documents toward the longitudinal edge and simultaneously toward a read station located adjacent an end of the longitudinal edge. Two pairs of rollers, and upper and lower baffles cooperate to vertically align documents of different thicknesses with respect to the read station.

Abstract: An apparatus for marking a longitudinal edge of a travelling web has a marking (e.g. notching) station, upstream but adjacent to which is located an abutment. Upstream of the abutment is located aguide arrangement which urges the web transversely of the direction of web travel at an angle skew to the longitudinal centerline of the web, so as to exert on the web a force acting skew to the centerline in the forward direction of web travel and towards the edge to be marked. This urges the edge in part against the abutment to assure that the web travels in predetermined orientation through the marking station.

Abstract: A conveyor for separating and aligning glass sheets moving along a sheet movement path includes a plurality of cylindrical rolls skewed relative to the movement path to displace the advancing sheets toward a side of the conveyor. At the side of the conveyor the sheets are aligned by an endless belt rotating through a path parallel to the sheet movement path. Each successive roll in the direction of sheet advancement has increasing peripheral surface rotational speed to separate the advancing sheets.

Abstract: Disclosed is a label or patch overlay dispensing apparatus having a storage reel for carrying a supply tape of adhesive overlays, a feed throat for receiving a document to which an overlay is to be attached and a contact for sensing a document in the feed throat and for causing the advancement of the document to a label attaching position. The device is responsive to the receipt of the document in the overlay attaching position for releasing an overlay or patch for attachment to the document and a pressure bonder for attaching the label is activated when the overlay is removed from the supply roll. As the overlay is attached the document is concurrently ejected from the device.

Abstract: A photocopying machine is provided with a repeat mechanism. After the original material to be copied has left the exposure station a feed mechanism is provided by optionally returning the original material to the exposure station for making of a second copy. Two return mechanism paths are provided for originals of different length.

Abstract: A drumless paper transporter carries a sheet of paper on a relatively narrow hub located near one end of the sheet. A plurality of canted idler rollers that surround the periphery of the hub dynamically adjust the sheet against a reference edge as the hub rotates. A plurality of guards surround the sheet at least in the region between adjacent idler wheels. In a preferred form, a flexible brush located interior to the path of rotation of the sheet has a free edge opposed by a fixed abutment member located exterior to the path to form a converging wall guide that accurately controls the radial position of the sheet. Also, a stripper blade reliably removes the paper from the hub during continuous operations by pivoting an edge interior to the path of rotation to direct the approaching sheet to an exit slot.

Abstract: In a copier, an original document feed moves two originals to be copied simultaneously onto a document glass. The document glass is 11 inches by 17 inches and accommodates two 81/2 by 11 inch documents side-by-side. The dual document feed is loaded sequentially with two originals and registers the two originals side-by-side to right and left corner references at an entry station. The entry station includes aligning rollers whereby the operator need only position the originals close to the correct position. The aligning rollers then corner-register the documents side-by-side. After the originals have been registered side-by-side in the entry station, they are automatically fed forward substantially simultaneously to be registered side-by-side on the document glass. Electronic control circuits are shown whereby the dual document feed apparatus may be controlled to feed either single or dual original documents.

Abstract: Disclosed is an alignment assembly for accurately aligning separate sets of documents being inserted into the assembly from transversely oriented feed paths, the alignment assembly including a pivotally mounted document gate which provides not only guide passageways for documents entering the assembly, but also an alignment edge for accurately positioning and aligning documents within the assembly in document clamps adapted to transport the documents from the alignment assembly to a print station and thereafter to an exit transport assembly. The movement of documents inserted in the alignment assembly is effected by a document aligner assembly comprising cooperating vibratory document transporters and pivotally mounted back-up rollers for simultaneously urging the documents into the clamps and against the alignment edge of the document gate.

Abstract: A plurality of drive rollers, flexibly supported, are positioned along the inside track of a document transport passageway to drive the documents therealong, and a plurality of idler rollers, in opposed relationship to the drive rollers, are positioned along the outside track of the passageway. Each of the drive rollers and the idler rollers is supported from a pivot pin offset from the center of the roller to permit the roller to be canted by reason of gravity and elastic force, and thereby drive the documents in a forwardly and downwardly direction against a fixed edge guide to insure straight and longitudinal travel of the documents at a predetermined level along the passageway.

Abstract: A set separator for offsetting sets of sheets of paper is provided. A first set of paddle wheels is provided which, in one position, directs a sheet of paper forwards towards a stop wall and to one side, and in a second position directs the sheet of paper forwards towards the wall and to the opposite side. A pair of sideposts is spaced apart more than the dimension of the leading edge of the sheet of paper so that only one post is engaged by one side edge of a sheet of paper, when the paddle wheels are in the first position, and only the other post is engaged by the opposite side edge of a sheet of paper when the paddle wheels are in the second position. The sideposts rotate in directions opposite to one another to move the sheet forwards toward the wall. A second pair of paddle wheels, also spaced apart more than the dimension of the leading edge of the sheet of paper so that only one paddle wheel engages the sheet of paper at a time, is located adjacent the stop wall.

Abstract: A conveyor is provided for accepting sheets moving in one direction from a duplicator and conveying them at an angle to the initial direction; e.g., 90.degree.. The conveyor consists of rollers of relatively large diameter arranged with close spacing so that sheets of paper will pass easily from one to the other, and entering sheets will find fairly continuous support whatever their size. The rollers are set at an angle to the desired feed path to provide an effect urging the sheets towards a side alignment stop and the construction is such that the angular roller setting may be readily made during manufacture, to act towards whichever side of the feed path is selected as the one to carry the alignment stop surface.

Abstract: A document reproduction machine, such as an electrostatic copier, has a copy station with a front reference edge for operator convenience. A reproduction station adjacent the copy station reverses the image such that the reference edge is at a rear or remote position from the operator. The duplicate copy is initially referenced to the rear reference edge. An aligner in a transfer station moves the duplicate copy to a front reference edge and into an exit station which may include a collator. In a minimal transport distance, documents of various lengths are automatically handled and aligned by the apparatus.

Abstract: A transport for conveying an article between two positions is provided which is capable of high speed article transfer while maintaining positive article control. The preferred embodiment is intended to operate with relatively thin and small labels finding applications as postal destination designators. The transport includes a plurality of aligned take-away devices which receive a set of articles from the output side of a high speed cutter. Each of the take-away devices includes at least one conveyor for advancing an individual article. The individual take-away devices also exerts positive control on each article during article advancement along the conveyor. The conveyor of each take-away devices is timed so that articles advancing along successive conveyors are automatically staggered with respect to other articles in each set. The speed of the conveyors of each take-away devices is set so that the transport acts as a constant speed device, regardless of the input speed of articles into the transport.

Abstract: A sheet-feeding apparatus for separating and feeding sheets of paper, cardboard, metallic and plastic material and the like individually from a stack of such sheets is described. The apparatus as described is provided with a curved sheet-receiving chute for containing and temporarily storing a stack of sheets. A chamber having an apertured movable wall is provided adjacent the stack of sheets. The movable wall is positioned and freely movable to contact the top sheet of the stack. A low-pressure blower is provided for evacuating air from the chamber and drawing the top sheet into sealing contact with the movable wall about the aperture. Sealing of the aperture creates a partial differential pressure which moves the wall, reducing the volume of the chamber and removing the top sheet from the stack. Means, such as a roller, is also provided within the chamber. The roller extends slightly through the aperture to contact the sheet once the sheet is removed from the stack.

Abstract: A magnetic card transport subsystem for an electronic typewriter comprises a reversible drive roll and a coacting pinch roll which form a nip through which a magnetic card is passed. The drive roll and pinch roll coact to move the card in opposite directions. The pinch roll is so mounted that it can shift from side to side on its axis of rotation. When the pinch roll is out of alignment, such shifting occurs at each reversal in direction of rotation of the pinch roll when transporting the card. A person adjusting the pinch roll position observes this and adjusts the position of the pinch roll until such shifting stops which indicates the roll is in alignment.

Abstract: A paper transporter for use in conjunction with an optical character reader carries a sheet of paper to be read on a rotatable drum driven by a pair of opposed belts located at one end of the drum. One of the belts is canted slightly in order to steer the paper against a peripherally extending reference edge thereby locating the paper longitudinally and stabilizing its spatial orientation. The other belt is oriented in a direction that is substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the drum (not canted) so that it drives the drum and the interposed paper at a highly uniform speed as it passes a scanning device of the optical character reader. Both the steering belt and the drive belt are relatively narrow and grip only an edge portion of the page being scanned so that all of the printed portion of a typical page is exposed to the scanner.

Abstract: Rubber cloth splicing apparatus broadly comprising a forward vibrating conveyor, a butt-splicer, a backward vibrating conveyor, and a take-up conveyor. Each piece of rubber cloth is fed by the forward vibrating conveyor onto the rear table of the butt-splicer and is clamped in position thereon, whereas the precedingly spliced rubber cloth piece is fed backwardly by the backward vibrating conveyor onto the front table of the butt-splicer and is similarly clamped in position thereon. The two rubber cloth pieces are joined end to end without overlap as the rear table is forced into abutting contact with the front table. The take-up conveyor carries the spliced pieces of rubber cloth away from the butt-splicer via the backward vibrating conveyor by indexed movement.