Abstract: A roller unit for removing copy paper from an electrophotographic copying machine, the unit comprising a drive roller and an idler roller, each having a plurality of longitudinally extending portions where the diameter of every other portion is larger than its adjacent portions, the rollers being disposed adjacent one another so that the larger portions of the drive roller are adjacent the smaller portions of the idler roller, and a plurality of rings disposed about the rollers to establish a substantially uniform clearance not greater than 1.5 mm. therebetween so that if any of the copy paper is ignited within the copying machine, the fire will be extinguished because of the clearance between the rollers, the copy paper being delivered from the copying machine with a predetermined rigidity along its direction of movement because of the disposition of the rollers with respect to one another to thereby lessen the tendency for the copy paper to turn over as it is delivered from the copying machine.

Abstract: A paper feeder comprising a roller-belt feeder unit for feeding sheets of paper or the like one by one from a stack thereof to a utilization device and further comprising an auxiliary belt in contact with the feed roller of the feeder unit on its upper half circumferential surface for pressing the leading edge of the lowermost sheet of paper down to the feed roller. The auxiliary belt is substantially parallel at the area of contact to the main belt comprised by the feeder unit to feed the superposed sheet back to the stack and forms at the area of contact with the lowermost sheet an acute angle smaller than another angle similarly formed by the main belt with the lowermost sheet. The coefficient of friction is the greatest for the roller and smallest for the auxiliary belt. The auxiliary belt may be kept still, passively driven by the roller, or positively driven either in the same or in the reversed sense as the main belt.

Abstract: New paper money crimping apparatus comprises rotatably driven roll pairs through which the money is fed. One roll has a peripheral surface comprising resiliently deformable backup material while the other roll has a peripheral surface having a plurality of stiff embossing projections arranged in a selected pattern. The peripheral surfaces of the rolls are in pressure engagement with each other. Passage of the paper money between the rolls crimps or embosses it so that is becomes fluffed and separated and thereafter may be counted easily and accurately.

Abstract: An automatic document handling system for copying documents in a pre-collated recirculation manner with minimal document handling to provide pre-collated output copy sets. The documents may be loaded manually in a cassette unit removed from a xerographic copier. The cassette unit comprises two document retaining webs commonly wound on two scrolls. The documents are retained on a first web at all times. The second web separates from the first web only in the optical imaging area so as to allow unobstructed exposure of the documents. The second web separates by forming a loop around the scrolls from separating rollers at opposite sides of the imaging area, and winds up on one scroll as it is unwound from the other scroll. Positive document retention is provided by the second web even though the first web is outside wound.

Abstract: The invention consists of an attachment for a sheet material transporting system such as the ejector system of an off-set printing press, wherein the ejector system includes a rotating ejector drum, an idler wheel in frictional engagement with said drum adjacent each end thereof and being supported by a shaft rotatably disposed axially paralled to said drum and being rotatably driven by said idler wheels. Said attachment consists of a frame composed of paralled spaced frame members and an idler wheel rotatably disposed between said frame members at each end thereof. One of said idler wheels is coaxially disposed on said shaft and is rotated thereby. Said frame includes means for attaching said attachment to the off-set press for lateral adjustment to permit the idler wheels to contact the sheet material being ejected adjacent the edge thereof.

Abstract: A sheet carrying apparatus for use in a sheet processing machine characterized by a continuously moving belt for transporting a sheet from a sheet receiving station, a pressing member coacting with the belt to ensure nipping of a leading edge of a sheet between the pressing member and belt as the sheet is received at the sheet receiving station, and a device for shifting the pressure member between an advanced position engaging the leading edge of the sheet in the sheet receiving station and a retracted position which is clear of the leading edge of the sheet as it is received on the belt. Preferably, the pressure member is a roller mounted on an end of a lever which pivots on an axle and the axle is provided with pinion gears at each end which are engaged on spaced rack gears with the shifting device including an actuator such as a pneumatic cylinder engaging one end of the axle and a guide for each end of the axle so that the axle moves in a linear path.

Abstract: Disclosed is document transport apparatus for advancing documents between two locations, for example between the printing and output stations of copying equipment, the transport apparatus including a high friction continuously driven belt cooperating with a stationary strip of low friction material to define a transport guideway path for the documents with document pinch points being defined along spaced locations of the guideway path. The continuous belt is preferably of a cross-sectional size and configuration to transportably engage the documents along a line contact at, or immediately adjacent, the edge thereof.

Abstract: A conveyor apparatus for transporting sheets in a longitudinal direction along a transport path comprises a plurality of guide rollers arranged in axially spaced parallel relation and extending transverse to the direction of sheet transport. An endless belt means is provided having a lower run thereof coacting with the guide rollers to capture a sheet between the lower run of the belt and the guide rollers for advancing the sheet in a transport path. Selected ones of the guide rollers are positively driven and have their axes lying on an arc of slight curvature extending between axes of a first and a last guide roller with the arc curved upwardly towards the transport path. This arrangement provides a slight curvature to the lower run of the belt means to increase the frictional force exerted on the sheets for positive transport of the sheets in the transport path.

Abstract: This invention pertains to the type of apparatus for handling sheets shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,322 and particularly to the take-off conveyor on such apparatus on which the direction of the sheets issued from the sheet making machine is changed toward a stacker.

Abstract: A transport roller is disclosed for advancing elongated strips of flat sheet material such as photographic film, paper and the like in tanks for chemical treatment, in driers and for other purposes which comprises a hollow tubular roller body having shafts extending from its ends, with an improved leakproof and quickly assembled shaft mounting being provided in expanded frictional engagement with the tube.

Abstract: Sheets are fed down an inclined feedboard to a transfer cylinder of a printing press. Adjacent the delivery end of the feedboard there are a plurality of pairs of feed rolls to accelerate the sheets toward the transfer cylinder and a plurality of front guide members to preregister the front edge of the sheet. The pairs of feed rolls each include a driven roll that oscillates through an arc in timed relation with the transfer cylinder. The feed roll drive mechanism includes pairs of flexible members wrapped in opposite directions around and secured to the feed roll drive shaft on which the driven feed rolls are mounted. In one embodiment one of the flexible members is connected to a lever mechanism and the other flexible member is connected to the press housing through a spring member. In another embodiment both flexible members are connected to the lever member with a spring member on the lever member maintaining a tension on both flexible members.

Abstract: The side portions of a sheet are fed equally and in synchronism with its central portion so that when any side portion of a skewed sheet leads the central portion along the path of movement of the sheet said side portion will be held back until the central portion begins its feeding movement thereby eliminating skew in the sheet. The mechanism includes a drive shaft supporting a central drive roller secured thereon and idle rollers spaced to either side of the drive roller, and a driven shaft supporting a series of rollers secured thereto in opposition to the rollers on the drive shaft, the drive roller and its opposing roller being out of contact with one another but capable of contacting a sheet introduced therebetween, the idle rollers contacting their respective opposing rollers.

Abstract: This invention relates to a sheet feeding device for the horizontal guidance of sheets leaving a separating device. The sheets are fed to an operating station, preferably the printing station of an address printing machine. The sheet feeding device comprises two opposed conveyor belts each being kept in tension and driven by guide rollers rotating in opposite direction. The sheets are received between the belts and conveyed by the same past the printing station. Adjusting means is provided to vary the location of the conveyor belts to accommodate various sized sheets.

Abstract: A paper conveying system, particularly adapted for use in conveying paper blanks through an envelope making machine by means of at least two parallel opposed endless strip conveyors which are formed of flexible permanent magnet material with both the north and south magnetic poles positioned on a common surface, the common surfaces of the strips being opposed whereby the strips are attracted to one another and will grip a paper blank therebetween. A magnetic roller is also disclosed.

Abstract: An endless belt is supported in apparatus adjacent a wheel, and at least a portion of the belt wraps around and is in driving communication with the wheel. A head supplied with a source of negative pressure pivots in timed relation with the belt, which is movable on the perimeter of the wheel, and operates to deflect the lowermost product of a stack of flat, flexible sheet-like products to a point adjacent the wheel. When the sheet is in its deflected position adjacent the wheel, the belt is actuated to move and engage the sheet to cause the sheet to be extracted from the stack between the belt and the wheel and to be fed away from the stack. The apparatus automatically adjusts to a wide variation in the thickness of the product being fed.

Abstract: A device for transporting a flexible sheet from one device wherein the sheet is processed at one speed to another device wherein the sheet is processed at another speed. The device comprises two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers disposed on the downstream side of the path of movement of the sheet and adapted to rotate at a rate higher than the rate of rotation of the other pair of rollers disposed on the upstream side thereof. The rotation of the pair of rollers disposed on the downstream side is temporarily initiated to cause the leading end portion of the sheet to be nipped thereby and then held for a time interval, so as to permit the portion of the sheet interposed between the two pairs of rollers to buckle up and form a loop before transporting at the higher rate is begun by reactivation of the downstream pair of rollers.

Abstract: A rotary suction device selectively removes individual paper money or currency bills or banknotes endwise from a stack or bundle thereof and delivers each removed bill endwise to conveyor means which successively, individually transports the bills to a dispensing station. Sensor means detects the presence of multiple bills on the suction rotor during removal from the stack; and, before delivery of any bills in multiple to the conveyor means, the multiple bills are rejected and bypass-discharged directly from the suction rotor to a reject station. A plurality of rotary suction devices may be installed side by side to deliver bills in various denominations, such as 1, 5, 10 and 20 dollar bills.

Abstract: A transport mechanism is disclosed for driving inked paper emerging from the printing station of a duplicating machine into a stacking station, the transport mechanism employing a first pair of beveled drive rollers and a second pair of rounded rollers biased against the beveled drive rollers by gravity which prevents ink buildup upon the second pair of drive rollers where bleed edge inked paper is being transported through the system.

Abstract: A belt type separator contacts a stack to feed a sheet to a retard nip formed between the belt and a retard member. The belt is supported by a first pulley downstream of the stack and a second pulley adjacent the stack which is pivotable relative to the first pulley. Frictional resistance encountered by the belt at the nip will cause the normal force with which the belt bears against the stack to increase. Oppositely skewed rolls are used to tension sheets fed to a sheet aligning abutment. When the separator is positioned below the stack, a pivotable lever may be used to hold the stack against the separator. The pressing effect of the lever may be overridden upon an increase of the force with which the separator engages the stack.

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: A transport mechanism for sheets of X-ray film includes a pair of cooperating rollers, at least one of which is hollow, between which the top sheet of a stack of sheets in a loading cartridge is transported to a location within the associated X-ray machine, where it is exposed. The attachment of the sheet of film to the hollow roller is aided by reducing the air pressure therein, providing suction to the film through a slot or slots in the periphery of the hollow cylinder. The drive assembly for the rollers includes various switches and relays, actuated automatically by cams or manually, for controlling the transport of the film into the X-ray machine and for delivering the exposed film to a developing machine.

Abstract: A recirculator feeds document sheets in order from a supply stack to the viewing window of a copier and back to the supply stack for as many times as desired to make a number of collated copies of a multi-page document. The recirculator is arranged above the copier window and has a sheet circulation path that is generally triangular. The supply stack is inclined along one side of the triangle, a second side of the triangle extends from the bottom of the supply stack across the copier window, and the third side extends from the copier window back up to the top of the supply stack. The device removes sheets successively from the bottom of the supply stack and advances them forward in order across the copier window and back up to the top of the supply stack.

Abstract: A recirculator feeds document sheets in order from a supply stack to the viewing window of a copier and back to the supply stack for as many times as desired to make a number of collated copies of a multi-page document. The recirculator is arranged above the copier window and has a sheet circulation path that is generally triangular. The supply stack is inclined along one side of the triangle, a second side of the triangle extends from the bottom of the supply stack across the copier window, and the third side extends from the copier window back up to the top of the supply stack. The device removes sheets successively from the bottom of the supply stack and advances them forward in order across the copier window and back up to the top of the supply stack.