Abstract: A device with a collecting station collects copy sheets which can be provided with a Z-fold in a folding station. The folding station is situated in a transport path for unfolded copy sheets which leads to the collecting station. The folding station is formed by a first pair of folding rollers, the folding nip of which is situated in the transport path, and a second pair of folding rollers, the folding nip of which is situated in a folding path branching off from the transport path. The direction of rotation of the folding rollers is reversible.

Abstract: Apparatus is described for handling sheets, such as bank notes or other value sheets. An inserted note is transported to an intermediate position in which the note can either be rejected or encashed without affecting notes already stored on a temporary storage drum, or the note can be stored on the temporary storage drum from the intermediate position. The intermediate position may be in an output path of the apparatus and the note reversed on to the drum, the intermediate position may be a partially stored position of the note on the drum, from which the note can be discharged without discharging any additional notes already stored on the drum. A selectable transmission coupling is used to rotate the drum from a common drive source in one direction for storing successive notes as a bundle, and in a reverse direction of discharging the bundle.

Abstract: A miniature duplex sheet feeding device for an image forming apparatus is disclosed. A duplex unit is positioned above an ordinary sheet feed tray loaded with a stack of sheets. The duplex unit has an intermediate tray for stacking sheets each carrying an image on one side thereof, and a bottom plate movable back and forth in an intended direction of sheet refeed. The sheet feed tray and duplex unit share a single sheet pay-out means. The bottom plate includes separators for retaining the leading edge of the sheet stack and allowing the stack to be bodily shifted to a preselected refeed position.

Abstract: A corrugator dry end includes a sheet saving diverter positioned immediately downstream of a rotary shear and a conventional scrap diverter. Useable sheets may be cut to selected useable lengths, diverted and stacked without damage, and without slowing the corrugator line. The useable sheet diverter includes a vacuum diverting conveyor and vacuum shingler which deliver sheets into an adjustable stacking bin.

Abstract: A plural function sheet interconnect module for serially connecting plural multiple bins printed sheets job separating units, such as mailbox modules, with the output of a printer for feeding printed sheets jobs into selected bins. The printer also has a alternate variably occurring output of purge sheets designated for purging, which purge sheets are variably intermixed with the printed sheets jobs. The interconnect module has a sheet bypass transport for feeding the sheets on from one mailbox unit on to another. The interconnect module also has an integral purge tray for collecting the purge sheets and providing for their removal. The interconnect module further has a selectable shared sheet gating system for gating the printed sheets jobs into the sheet bypass transport and gating the purge sheets into the integral purge tray. The integral purge tray underlies the sheet bypass transport and is pivotably openable for the removal of purge sheets therefrom.

Abstract: In order to set the sheet guidance devices of a folder simply and quickly for the production of once or twice cross-folded products and to guide the products reliably and carefully, a tongue and a tongue bar are arranged in the runout gap of the folding blade cylinder and gripper/folding knife cylinder. To produce twice cross-folded products, the tongue can be moved out of the runout gap, after which a guidance device with a somewhat arc-shaped contour is directed to the runout gap.

Abstract: A diverter mechanism for signatures in a folding apparatus is provided including a set of high-speed tapes (3) for conveying signatures in a conveying plane (1) toward delivery stations (12, 13). Rotating diverting elements (7.1, 7.2) are integrated into the path of the high speed tapes (3). Each of the diverting elements (7.1, 7.2) has at least two rotatably mounted guiding surfaces (10) that alter the diverting direction of signatures upon rotation of the diverting elements (7.1, 7.2).

Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet post-treatment apparatus comprising a sheet bundle convey unit including at least one sheet receiving tray unit capable of accommodating a sheet, a convey unit for conveying the sheet on the sheet receiving tray unit, and a sheet stacking tray for receiving the sheet and for stacking the sheets thereon. Apparatus includes a hold member capable of shifting between a first position where the hold member is overlapped with a stacking surface of the sheet stacking tray above the stacking surface, and a second position where the hold member is retracted from the stacking surface. When the sheet is conveyed to the stacking surface, the hold member supports a rear end portion of the sheet at the first position, and the hold member is shifted to the second position at a predetermined timing to drop a rear end portion of the sheet, thereby stacking the sheets.

Abstract: An apparatus for use in feeding sheet material assemblages includes rollers which define a nip through which the sheet material assemblages are moved. Nip adjustment mechanisms are operable to adjust the width and configuration of the nip. When sheet material assemblages which are relatively thick at one end portion are to be fed through the nip, the nip adjustment mechanisms are operated so that the thick portion of the sheet material assemblage is fed through a wide portion of the nip. A gate assembly is provided to direct the sheet material assemblages toward either a reject tray or a trimmer mechanism. The size of the nip can be changed without varying the setting of the gate assembly. Similarly, the setting of the gate assembly can be changed without varying the size of the nip. When the size of the nip is varied, the reject tray is moved with rollers which define one side of the nip.

Abstract: An apparatus for diverting paper along at least two paper paths in photocopiers, the apparatus comprises a paper diverter for diverting paper from one path to another path. A magnet is attached to and moves the paper diverter which movement, in turn, permits the paper to be directed from one path to another paper path. Means for creating a magnetic field interacts with the magnet for permitting the magnet to move in response to the magnetic field for enabling the magnet to move the paper diverter for ultimately permitting paper re-direction.

Abstract: A paper path switching mechanism including a plurality of feeding rollers which feed a page when the page is pressed against the feeding rollers by guide members of a switching guide. The switching guide has long guide members which press the paper against the feeding rollers and short guide members positioned near the edges of the page. The short guide members guide the page without imparting too much resistance at the edges of the page in order to reduce the frequency of paper jams. The longer guide members are tapered in width at portions near the periphery of the feeding rollers in order to reduce the size of the contact area of the page to the long guide members which reduces resistance on the page and consequently reduces paper jams. After the page passes between the switching guide and feeding rollers, its direction of travel is reversed and the page again contacts the switching guide but moves along a different edge of the guide members and along a different paper path in order to invert pages.

Abstract: The present invention provides for a two tier gate device that is adapted to be removably secured to an existing mail sorting machine. The two tier gate device of the present invention includes a first gate and a second gate. The first gate is secured to the conventional mail sorting machine while the second tier is attached to the first tier so that the front end of the second gate is co-planar with the first tier while the second end of the second tier is off-set with the first tier. By providing for this design and configuration, the two tier gate device of the present invention will prevent flats, large letters, magazines, catalogs, or other various documents from turning sideways, rolling up, and to eventually jam the machine, while still enabling the pusher finer on the conventional machine to pass the gate device without interference.

Abstract: A cash vault (1) has vault control unit (7) to be operated alternately by two tellers (4a, 4b), with only a single banknote disbursement (11) and input unit (39). The disbursement opening of banknote disbursement unit (11) is closeable by a two-part cover (13a, 13b) with only that opening part which is adjacent to the pertinent teller (4a, 4b) being cleared at the time for currency disbursement. In this way, allocation of the amount of money made available to one of the two bank employees takes place without problems. The second bank employee cannot take the banknote bundle made available to the first bank employee even inadvertently. For path selection of banknotes from banknote input unit (39) to a banknote repository (35) or to banknote disbursement unit (11) or from the banknote repository to the banknote disbursement unit (11), a bar-shaped path selection element rotatable about its longitudinal axis is used. The path selection element is traversed by at least one longitudinal slot.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to an apparatus, such as a folder apparatus of a web-fed printing press, having a printed product delivery with two fan wheel arrangements overlapping each other. An exemplary embodiment includes a mechanism for continuously conveying flat products. The mechanism has devices attached thereto in a timed arrangement for positioning each flat product to be delivered, in its entirety, off a centerline of the fan wheel arrangements prior to the entry of the flat product into a pocket of the fan wheel arrangements.

Abstract: Device for removing copies diverted from a conveyed stream thereof in a rotary cross cutter or delivery in a sheet-fed rotary printing press includes a device for decelerating the copies which are transported at an incoming conveying speed, the decelerating device being disposed so as to act upon both sides of the copies which are to be decelerated, a device for defining a copy-transport plane, a copy guide forming a diverter disposed down-line from the decelerating device and above the device for defining a copy-transport plane, and respective structures defining two conveying planes disposed down-line from the copy guide, at least one of the conveying plane-defining structures including a pneumatically acted-upon conveying device.

Abstract: A double-side image forming apparatus forms an image on one side of a sheet in a laser printer section, reverses the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet with respect to the transporting direction in a turnaround section, turns over the sheet by moving the sheet through an upper or lower reversing transport path, and transports the sheet to the laser printer section again. A sheet guiding device guides the sheet output from the turnaround section to one of the upper and lower reversing transport paths. When the sheet is again transported to the laser printer section, an image is formed on the other side of the sheets. This configuration simplifies the structure of the apparatus and reduces the size thereof compared to a configuration in which only one reversing transport path capable of holding the same number of sheets therein is formed.

Abstract: A sheet receiving sorting device or mailbox has a sheet infeed including a short, pivoted distributor to direct sheets from the infeed, selectively or in sequence, to the input ends of an array of sheet guides extending at angles radiating from the center of the infeed outwardly to the inlet ends of a vertical stack of trays. At the sheet infeed ends of the trays are drive rolls for carrying the sheets into the trays depending upon the positioning of the distributor with respect to the array of sheet guides. The frame structure enables removal of the guides for sheet jam removal.

Abstract: A document accumulator capable of tool-less adjustment to accommodate a plurality of paper sizes includes first and second shafts laterally oriented across a paper path through the accumulator, first and second multi-grooved pulleys affixed to the first and second shafts, respectively, and at least one endless belt extending between the shafts, the endless belt engaging a first groove of the first multi-grooved pulley and a first groove of the second multi-grooved pulley. The belt is translatable without the use of tools into a second groove of the first multi-grooved pulley and a second groove of the second multi-grooved pulley for making a paper-size adjustment.

Abstract: The sheet discharge apparatus includes a first sheet discharge path for discharging a sheet and a second sheet discharge path for discharging the sheet. The apparatus further includes a sheet stacking tray on which the sheets discharged through the second sheet discharge path and which is pivotally mounted on a body of the apparatus, a reverse rotation guide rotatably supported by the sheet stacking tray and forming a part of the first sheet discharge path, and a holder for holding the reverse rotation guide in a position where the reverse rotation guide forms a part of the first sheet discharge path in a condition that the sheet stacking tray is closed with respect to the body of the apparatus and for releasing the reverse rotation guide to permit the reverse rotation guide to thereby retard to a retard position where the reverse rotation guide is retarded from a stacking surface of the sheet stacking tray not to prevent the sheet from being directed in the sheet stacking tray.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for detecting sheet misfeed from a tray having at least two sheets whose thickness differs from each other. The thickness of each sheet is detected as it enters into the tray and that value is placed in memory. The thickness of each sheet is detected as it leaves the tray and that value of each sheet is compared to the thickness value in memory for the same sheet when it entered into the tray. If the values match, then only one sheet has been fed from the tray. If the thickness value of the sheet as it leaves the tray is more that the thickness value in memory, then that indicates that more than one sheet has left the tray and a signal is produced which results in the sheet feed system being shut down to enable an operator to correct the situation.

Abstract: Single sheets A are drawn in the usual way from a first stack 8 of single sheets and conveyed on a first recording carrier conveying path 1. At its end there is a switch 10 which alternately feeds the single sheets A to a second and a third recording carrier conveying path 2, 3. In the second recording carrier conveying path 2 which is in the form of a loop, the single sheets A are shifted sideways by the width of one single sheet. A sideways shifted single sheet A1 and a single sheet A2 which has not been shifted sideways simultaneously reach a fourth recording carrier conveying path 4 on which they are conveyed in pairs to a printing unit D which spans the fourth recording carrier conveying path 4 and conveyed out of it again. Subsequently, one single sheet A1 per pair of single sheets is shifted back by the width of one single sheet in a fifth recording carrier conveying path 5 which is also designed as a loop while the other single sheet A2 is conveyed onwards linearly.

Abstract: For temporarily storing sheets, envelopes and the like, the objects are received one by one in a buffer apparatus and delivered one by one from that apparatus. For each object, a code associated with that object is determined, which code is stored in accordance with the order of receipt of the objects. Each object that is discharged is scanned and the scanning result is compared with a code that on the basis of order information is supposed to be associated with that object. If a particular minimum extent of agreement between the compared data is found, a normal operating status is adhered to. If less than the particular extent of agreement between the compared data is found, an error message status is selected. There is also described a buffer apparatus for temporarily storing the objects. Different objects can indiscriminately be processed in an irregular order and checked for separation.

Abstract: A document conveying device for conveying a document in a reciprocating motion, and a document reading device for reading the image of the document by illuminating it from one edge thereof. The document is turned over and conveyed back and forth to an illuminating position and a position below a document table. A document receiving section for receiving and storing the document after it has been read the desired number of times is provided intermediate the document table and the illuminating position of the document reading device. This allows, in a reciprocation system, a document to be laid on the table face up and allows the next document to be laid on the table beforehand.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a sheet is carried by a sheet carrier to form an image, and the sheet, on which the image has been formed, is again supplied to the sheet carrier by a re-supply unit to again form an image on the sheet.An object of the present invention is to improve a sheet conveying apparatus to enable a sheet again supplied by a re-supply unit to be easily carried by a sheet carrier.To achieve the object, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a curl forming unit for curling a sheet, which is being again supplied by the re-supply unit, in a direction in which the sheet can easily be carried by the sheet carrier.

Abstract: A desktop page printer, such as suitable for printing MICR images, includes a slitter for cutting page-size prints into check-size documents as the page prints are emitted from the printing machine. The slitter can be bypassed by the installation of a side output tray which causes the paper path to be diverted from the slitter.

Abstract: Imaging apparatus for duplex printing on a substrate having first and second sides and a leading edge and a trailing edge, the imaging apparatus including a first member having an image support surface adapted to sequentially support first and second images thereon, a second member adapted to support the substrate such that one side of the substrate engages the image support surface, leading edge first, at a transfer region and transfer apparatus for transferring the first image from the image support surface to the first side of the substrate at the transfer region while at least partially fixing the image thereto. The imaging apparatus also includes a waiting station adjacent the second member for receiving the substrate after transfer of the first image thereto and prior to the transfer of the second image thereto and an output station for receiving the substrate after completion of image transfer thereto.

Abstract: A printing machine having a sheet path for moving sheets, a buffer tray assembly for receiving and holding sheets of various sizes and orientation without skewing such sheets. The buffer tray assembly includes a sheet feeding unit, mounted adjacent to and upstream of a sheet holding unit thereof, relative to sheet movement, for feeding, seriatim and without skewing, sheets of various sizes and orientations from the path into the sheet holding unit. The sheet feeding unit includes a sheet driving roller. The sheet driving roller has a plurality of operative positions that are spaced laterally along the sheet cross-path dimension of the sheet path, and that correspond respectively to the midpoints of cross-path dimensions of the various size sheets being fed into the sheet holding unit for feeding and stacking sheets without sheet skew.

Abstract: A document sorting section for sorting flat documents wherein a plurality of primary document conveying paths are interposed between rows of opposing document stacking elements and document diverters are positioned in the primary paths. Each of the primary conveying paths are in conveying communication with separate diverters and corresponding sorting paths, such as angularly disposed sorting paths, wherein each of the sorting paths is in conveying communication with either of the primary conveying paths, but not both. A primary pivotal diverter, located upstream from the first and second primary conveying paths, diverts documents from the main transport path to either of the primary conveying paths.

Abstract: An intermediate sheet storage device which comprises: controlling and checking apparatus (19) and signalling device (18) provided for the control of at least two groups of belt conveyors which embody a predetermined path provided for being followed by a sheet (4) during its handling. Particularly, the sheet (4) is forced to take a curvilinear shape along the path, the same shape taken by the groups of belt conveyors. Moreover, the storage device comprises a first diverting element (16) and a second diverting element (17), each of these is arranged to take a first position that allows the sheet (4) to follow a predetermined path as far as a dwell position (15) and a second position that diverts the sheet from its path and sends the sheet or stack of sheets to a collecting cassette (6) or to an outlet slot (7) for returning it to the user.

Abstract: A buffered stacking system for selectively diverting horizontally disposed documents from a generally horizontal main conveying path, stacking the documents in a horizontal orientation and dropping the documents into replaceable receiving receptacles is provided. The system has a primary horizontal conveyor belt with a lower horizontal reach defining a horizontal primary conveying path. A plurality of sorting stations are located serially along and below the primary conveying path. Each of the sorting stations has at least one diverter arm disposed along the conveying path. The diverter arms are selectively movable from a generally horizontal position which allows passage of the documents along the conveying path to an inclined position to divert the document into the corresponding sorting station. The diverter arms divert the document in a downwardly inclined direction into a stacking station.

Abstract: Apparatus for conveying, accommodating and paying out bank notes, includes shaft-mounted guide rollers for feeding bank notes from a stacking space to a pay-out tray, shaft-mounted vane wheels with eccentric ends mounted between adjacent guide rollers, a spring-biased shutter at an inlet/outlet of the pay-out tray, a lid covering a stacking space and including a finger application notch, the lid being opened and closed by one touch operation when a spring is brought to a dead point, a conveying path communicating with a bank note insertion opening and including a pair of bank note guide bars having a substantially S-shaped sectional profile, large and small monetary amount stacking spaces provided above and below the guide bars, respectively, such that bank notes are fed to either stacking space with forward or reverse rotation of the guide bars, a stationary roller provided with an adjacent ratchet wheel, and step rotated by an operating member with an end pawl thereof engaged with a ratchet wheel tooth to d

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a pneumatic picker for picking the top sheet from a stack of sheets, and a flipper for inverting upside-down sheets. The picker has a row of suction cups, supplied with vacuum through hoses, for picking up the top sheet. The lip of each suction cup is inclined to the top surface of the stack at a fixed angle. If the angle is properly chosen, exactly one sheet will be picked up as the picker is moved onto and away from the stack. The inclined suction cups are for permeable materials such as cloth. The picked sheet may be inverted by a twisted-belt flipper if needed. The flipper has four rollers with axes in a rectangular configuration, and two twisted belts. Each belt is wrapped around a pair of rollers on opposite corners of the rectangle, and the belts run closely in between the far pairs. A sheet will be flipped as it travels through, held between the two belts. To select which sheets are to be flipped, a photocell and gate work to direct sheets into or around the flipper.

Abstract: A conveyor apparatus for conveying paper sheets having a plurality of conveyor path units which are connected to form a continuous conveyor path. Each unit includes a housing having both longitudinal ends opened, a sheet conveyor, provided in the housing, for conveying the paper sheets while holding the paper sheets between endless belts and a connecting structure provided on both longitudinal ends to enable each unit to be connected in series with other units. The conveyor is disposed near both longitudinal ends to make a distance between an adjacent conveyor, when the units are connected, small.

Abstract: An automatic two-sided recording apparatus having an image forming station to form an image on a recording sheet and a sheet feeder to feed the recording sheets onto the station, includes an intermediate stacker having an inlet through which a recording sheet whose one side has been subjected to recording is stacked thereon by a switchback member provided adjacent to the inlet. The inlet is used also an outlet through which the recording sheet is fed out for recording on the other side thereof by the switchback member through a conveyor. The apparatus further includes a controller that switches between a stackless mode in which the switchback member feeds in the recording sheets the stacker and feeds out onto the station without stacking in the stacker, and a stack mode in which the switchback member feeds in and feeds out from the stacker onto the station after stacking in the stacker.

Abstract: A system for transporting mixed documents having a loading conveyor for transporting documents to a document prefeeder. The document prefeeder transports documents from the loading conveyor on an angled conveyor to a stack feeder that accumulates a shallow stack of documents. A single document feed removes single documents from a shallow stack on the stack feeder and transports the single documents to a main conveyor. A camera on the main conveyor reads each document such as mail, and prints information concerning the document, such as a bar code, on each document. The documents are moved by the main conveyor to an output conveyor for sorting and accumulation.

Abstract: The thickness of a first sheet fed from each tray of the multi-tray sheet feeder is detected by a first sensor and a thickness value is placed in memory for that tray. Each sheet subsequently fed from the same tray is detected by the same sensor and the thickness value sensed is placed in memory and compared with the thickness value in memory for that tray. When a tray is reloaded, the thickness value in memory for the sheets previously loaded in the tray is erased and the first sheet fed from the reloaded tray is sensed and a thickness value for that sheet is placed in memory for the reloaded tray. After the thickness value of a sheet is sensed by the first sensor, the sheets enter into the intermediate tray. The thickness value of a sheet is detected by an outlet sensor as it leaves the intermediate sheet tray and that value is compared to the thickness value in memory which was detected for the same sheet by the first sensor.

Abstract: A feeding device 2 is arranged upstream of a distributing device 20 and comprises a sheet duct, and a pair of clamping rollers 10, 12 arranged at the outlet end 8 of the latter. The distributing device comprises an individual path 80" for each of a multiplicity of delivery points 70". Each path is delimited by flexible bands 56. On the side directed against the feeding device each of the bands is connected to a compartment-forming member 58 of a receiving compartment 82 and on the opposite side to a deflecting member 84. The receiving compartments form a unit 22, which may be swivelled relative to the feeding device. Transport rolls 64, which are disposed along the bands, are common to all pathes and are movable transversely to the path direction.

Abstract: Device for removing inspection or specimen copies at rotary cross cutters or deliveries in sheet-fed presses which, at a cutting station, cut a continuously supplied web of material into individual copies subsequently conveyable substantially free of contact and partly mutually overlapping in a given conveying direction in a copy-transport plane to a decelerating station disposed downline from the cutting station, includes at least one swivel cam assigned to the copy-transport plane, the swivel cam being activatable for penetrating the copy-transport plane so as to change the conveying direction of the copies.

Abstract: A device as described for unstacking thin, flat articles, particularly flexible articles, and especially tortillas, from a stack of the same, which includes means for repetitively picking up the topmost tortilla in a stack and conveying it to a moving belt where it is deposited individually and separately and moved to a further processing operation. The pick up means includes a rotating cylinder having holes in its surface through which suction acts on the tortillas, to temporarily hold them to the cylinder, and belts around and rotating with the cylinder which transfer the tortillas from the cylinder to the moving conveyor.

Abstract: A high speed sheet feeder for directing sheets to a host utilization device having a stack feed elevator platform accessed by a drawer provides a feed ramp for supporting a stack of sheets. Sheets in the stack are deshingled by a feeder singulator and driven, typically, downwardly to a feed tray extending remote from the singulator. The feed tray receives sheets in a space that enables formation of a second smaller stack of sheets. The tray further includes an opening adjacent the second stack that enables sheets to be slid from the top of the second stack. The tray is positioned and constructed so that it can enter and be removed from a port in the drawer of the utilization device. The feed tray's positioning relative to the port allows sheets in the second stack to be placed adjacent a utilization device singulator in the drawer so that sheets can be removed by the utilization device singulator for processing thereby.

Abstract: A timer starts when a first sensor detecting "close" of a switching cover and a second sensor detecting "open" of the switching cover are both OFF at the start of a read out operation. When one of said first and second sensors is turned on before the timer expires, an error is not displayed and the flow proceeds to a subsequent process. When first and second sensors are still OFF when the timer expires, an error is displayed indicating that the switching cover is in a defective open state.

Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus is arranged such that in the non-staple mode, the leading edges of the sheets transported from the transport rollers are directed so as to be sandwiched between the upper and lower discharge rollers by a movable sheet guide in a non-staple mode position and the sheets are discharged onto a stacking tray through the upper and lower discharge rollers. In the staple mode, the leading edges of the sheets is directed to a discharge opening formed between the upper discharge roller and the movable sheet guide by the movable sheet guide in the staple mode position so as to be dropped onto the staple tray. After being processed by the stapler, the sheets are pushed by a pushing member through the discharge opening onto the stacking tray.

Abstract: A diverter for paper and cardboard sheets has upper and lower guide elements between the incoming conveyor and two outgoing conveyors including an acute angle with one another, constructed so that the upper and lower guide elements are pivoted respectively about horizontal axes above and below the travel path and links are pivotally connected to these guide elements spaced from their pivot axes so that a four-point linkage of the guide elements is provided. The upper guide element is driven by a pivot drive and entrains the lower guide element via the links.

Abstract: A sheet stacking apparatus has a shutter mechanism, having a shutter, for controlling the stacking and dropping operations of sheets to be stacked in a stacking safe. When a sensor detects that the sheets to be stacked on the shutter have been stacked to reached a predetermined height, the shutter is moved downward to reserve a space in the vicinity of a sheet loading port, and is opened to cause the sheets to drop onto the lower portion of the stacking safe. Then, the shutter is moved upward to the home position to stack the sheets thereon. When these shutter downward and upward movements are repeatedly performed, stacking can be performed stably, and the sheets discharged from the lower bottom of the stacking safe can be collected in the upper portion of the stacking safe through a communication path outside the stacking safe, thereby continuously performing a series of sheets loading and discharge operations.

Abstract: A document conveying apparatus of the circulation type has a first document discharge port disposed above the surface of the document-placing plate on the upstream side thereof and a second document discharge port disposed above the surface of the document-placing plate but below the first document discharge port on the downstream side of the first document discharge port. A first document transfer mechanism and a second document transfer mechanism are disposed in relation to the first document discharge port and the second document discharge port, respectively. On a downstream region of the second document discharge port is disposed a turn plate which is selectively pivoted between an ascended position and a descended position.

Abstract: A sorting apparatus for use with a processor for media sheets. The processor has a top discharge and a service opening adjoining the discharge. The sorting apparatus has a body mounted on the processing apparatus. The body pivots about an axis of rotation, between closed and open positions. In the closed position, the body blocks access to the service opening. In the open position, the body is displaced from the service opening. The body has an upper surface substantially radial to the axis of rotation. A partition member is mounted on the body. The partition member has a unitary array of parallel partitions extending outward from the body. The partitions define bins for the media sheets. The partition member is movable independent of the body, between an operative position, in which the partitions define a zone of obstruction extending outward from the upper surface of the body; and a displaced position, in which the partitions are at least substantially removed from the zone.

Abstract: A paper strip conveying and stacking apparatus including a receiving unit for receiving loaded paper strips and for discharging them, a conveying unit for conveying the paper strips discharged from said receiving unit and a stacking unit for sorting and stacking the conveyed paper strips is characterized in that said conveying unit includes a main conveying unit having a normal passage through which paper strips pass with given sides facing upwards and reach one end side of said stacking unit and a subsidiary conveying unit having a reversing passage for passing the paper strips introduced from said normal passage around the outer periphery of said stacking unit and for conveying them to the other end side of said stacking unit after reversing the upward facing sides of the paper strips, a device for detecting the faces of the paper strip being provided at a position along the length of said normal passage, and a passage switching mechanism for introducing the paper strips passing through the normal passage t

Abstract: A method and apparatus for accumulating two different size documents to form a collation, comprises a first accumulator pocket having first structure for individually transporting, stacking and registering at least one smaller one and one larger one of the documents to form a first collation of the smaller and larger documents. A second accumulator pocket is superposed over the first accumulator pocket, the second accumulator pocket having second structure for individually transporting, stacking and registering at least one smaller one and one larger one of the documents to form a second collation of the smaller and larger documents. Diverting structure is situated upstream of the first and second pockets for diverting the smaller and larger documents to one of the first and second accumulator pockets.

Abstract: A sorting apparatus includes a plurality of bin trays arranged in a direction with clearances between adjacent ones to accommodate sheet materials; a plurality of sheet introducing devices disposed at a plurality of positions along the direction; a first sheet holder, movable in the direction, for receiving the sheet materials from the sheet introducing device and holding the sheet materials; second sheet holder, movable in the direction, for receiving sheet from the first sheet holder and for discharging the sheet material to the bin trays; a deflector for deflecting the sheet material to one of the sheet holder; wherein the first sheet holder selects one of the sheet introducing device from which the first sheet holder receive the sheet material.

Abstract: A low cost, compact inverter for inverting sheets uses the existing paper path to invert a sheet. A sheet is inverted by being deflected into a channel formed between a turnaround roller and a baffle. The sheet is driven by the turnaround roller back into the original paper path in a direction opposite to the incoming direction of the sheet.