Feeler Control Patents (Class 271/31)
  • Patent number: 4945390
    Abstract: An image-forming apparatus comprises a machine body and a paper discharge unit removably attached to the machine body. The machine body defines a face-down discharge tray on top. The paper discharge unit includes a face-up discharge tray and a discharge roller pair. A switch lever is provided in the machine body for selecting between a state in which recording paper is turned over for discharge onto the face-down discharge tray, and a second state in which the recording paper is discharged face up onto the face-up discharge tray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 31, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirofumi Hasegawa, Hiroaki Kojima, Yasuhiro Matsuura, Naoto Ohmori, Yukio Yamada
  • Patent number: 4942535
    Abstract: A material processing system comprising a plurality of material processing stations, and means for transporting articles to be processed serially through the processing stations in a given order; the improvement wherein each of the processing stations comprises a data and control processing system, and further comprising a communication path interconnecting each the data and control processing system with the data and control processing system of the next preceding and next succeeding material processing station in the given order; each data and control processing system comprising means for controlling material processing at the respective station, means for signaling the data and control processing system of the next previous station that the respective station is ready to receive material to be processed therefrom, and means for directing data to the data control and processing system of the next succeeding station concerning material processing steps that have been taken in the respective station on mater
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 17, 1990
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Francisco
  • Patent number: 4940219
    Abstract: An apparatus for forming a stack of flat objects such as letters on a support is disclosed. A conveyor moves flat objects to the support. A stacking apparatus moves the flat objects onto the support into abutment against a jogging wall of the support. The conveyor and stacking apparatus are supported on a table which is movable relative to the support and stack. The stacking apparatus extends between the conveyor and jogging wall and includes an end having an axis about which the stacking apparatus is pivoted so as to be displaceable towards and away from the end of the stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 10, 1990
    Assignee: Bertin & Cie
    Inventor: Jean-Pierre Volat
  • Patent number: 4940221
    Abstract: A suction-type sheet-separating device for a feeder of a printing press has suction-type grippers for lifting off an uppermost sheet from a pile of sheets and for transferring the lifted-off sheet to a transporting device for conveying the lifted-off sheet in a sheet travel direction towards a printing unit of the printing press. The suction-type grippers are disposed above the pile of sheets in the vicinity of the trailing edge of each sheet and when suction air is applied thereto, they initially grip the uppermost sheet and then execute a prestroke to a first height. The device includes a lifting gear drive and a horizontal carrying shaft parallel to the trailing edge of the sheet and carrying the suction-type grippers, the suction-type grippers being aligned with respect to the carrying shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 10, 1990
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventors: Arno Wirz, Detlev Krause
  • Patent number: 4934683
    Abstract: An automatic original conveying apparatus in which originals loaded on an original stacking unit are conveyed to a predetermined position one by one. Abnormal stacking of the original on the original stacking unit is detected, and continuation of operation is prohibited in response to the detection of such abnormal stacking of the originals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Nippon Seimitsu Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Noriyoshi Ueda, Takeshi Honjo, Toshiaki Murayama, Masaru Shinoda
  • Patent number: 4934681
    Abstract: A copier with a coordinated hybrid or non-sequential postcollation sorter operation is disclosed in a hybrid copying system comprising a document feeder with a document bypass loop for copying documents in desired non-linear page sequences for improved copying efficiency for duplex copying with a trayless copy sheet duplexing loop buffer path duplexing system circulating copy sheets from and back to the image transfer station of the copier to eliminate intermediate copy sheet stacking and refeeding between first and second side copying, and outputting the duplexed copy sheets therefrom in an unconventional non-directly sequential page order which is nevertheless properly collated by unconventional non-sequential sorter bin loading sequences.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Maurice F. Holmes, George J. Roller
  • Patent number: 4934682
    Abstract: A magazine for conveying cartons to a metering wheel. The magazine has a stack conveyor holding the bulk of the cartons in the magazine and a feed conveyor downstream from the stack conveyor. The two conveyors are separated by an upper inclined stop and lower ramp that keeps the cartons on the stack conveyor from applying pressure to the cartons on the feed conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: R. A. Jones & Co. Inc.
    Inventors: Wesley J. Rece, Joseph D. Greenwell, William A. Huening, Eric W. Scarpa
  • Patent number: 4930763
    Abstract: A paper feeding apparatus is provided wherein a paper supply shelf with a stack of paper sheets, from which the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is picked up, is guided for vertical movement and urged upwardly by the resilient force of a spring, and the upward movement of the paper supply shelf is limited by the engagement of the uppermost sheet of the stack with a stopper. The shelf is intermittently pushed down for a predetermined constant stroke by a click and ratchet arrangement. The picking up operation of the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is interlocked with the intermittently pushing down operation of the paper supply shelf, so that when the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is picked up, the paper supply shelf is synchronously lowered for a constant stroke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1990
    Assignee: Horizon International, Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Horii, Koji Oishi
  • Patent number: 4928942
    Abstract: The device for feeding flattened boxes comprises a magazine arranged at the output of a feeder, such as a folding-pasting machine and provided with advancement means adapted to collect boxes, which exit in a line horizontally superimposed in a sequential manner from the feeder, and to accumulate them in stacks. The device then transfers the boxes into a vertically flattened position, at a zone which cooperates with a packaging machine extractor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 29, 1990
    Assignee: Azionaria Costruzioni Macchine Automatiche A.C.M.A. S.p.A.
    Inventors: Franco Aiuola, Herbert Rueff
  • Patent number: 4928151
    Abstract: An apparatus for automatically and circulatively feeding originals comprises an original feed-out section for sequentially feeding out the originals stacked therein from an original placed at a lowermost position, each image to be copied of the stacked original being kept facing downwardly, and an original reversing section provided with a reversing roller for reversing the direction of movement of the original exposed at an original exposure section. In the case of both-side copy, the exposed original is guided through a first reversing path in the direction of the original feed-out section by means of clockwise rotation of the reversing roller, and in the case of single-side copy, the exposed original is guided through a second reversing path in the direction of the original feed-out section by means of counterclockwise rotation of the reversing roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 22, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shiro Saeki
  • Patent number: 4925176
    Abstract: A system and method of automatic signature printing for a copier, in which a job set of plural conventional non-signature document sheets in a normal collated page order are reordered into a signature printing page order, placed into the document loading tray of a recirculating document handler (RDH), and presented to the imaging station of the copier by the RDH, for producing plural image signature copy sheets from the copier suitable for folding and assembling into signature set booklets of proper page order; wherein the job set is initially as one stack in an automatic job loading system but with a specified approximately one-half of the document sheets being loaded in a face up orientation, and the others being loaded in a face down orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 15, 1990
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas Acquaviva
  • Patent number: 4923190
    Abstract: An original paper turning over and conveying out apparatus which comprises: an original paper processing portion for processing an original paper; an original paper stacking portion for stacking original papers; a first conveyor route; a discharge roller disposed at an outlet of the first conveyor route; a second conveyor route; a fixed pressing member; and a movable pressing member. The first conveyor route interconnects the processing portion and the stacking portion and able to convey the original paper in a forward direction from the processing portion to the stacking portion and vice versa in a backward direction. The second conveyor route diverges from the first conveyor route so that the original paper conveyed backward through the first conveyor route is guided to the second conveyor route and conveyed to the stacking portion. The original paper is discharged into the stacking portion in a state of being turned over through the discharge roller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 8, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Akira Hirose
  • Patent number: 4921236
    Abstract: A recycling automatic document feeder usable with an electronic copier and others includes a reversing section for feeding a document to a glass platen of the copier while turning it over. The document feeder adapts itself to a single-face and a double-face copy mode as well as to a document through type and an optical scan type exposing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 1, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sirou Saeki, Sunao Ikeda, Hirohisa Otsuka, Nobuyuki Yanagawa
  • Patent number: 4918489
    Abstract: A method of supplying recording sheets from a plurality of paper supplying units to a reference position within a main body of an image forming apparatus which forms an image on each of the sheets supplied successively from the paper supplying units via corresponding transport paths having different lengths comprises the steps of receiving from the units data related to the lengths of the transport paths between the units and the reference position, calculating from the received data a time when a supply of a second sheet is to start from a second unit which is designated relative to a time when a first sheet supplied from a first unit which is designated reaches the reference position when it is assumed that the length of the corresponding transport path from the first paper supplying unit is zero, and driving the first and second units with timings based on the calculated times, so that a recording speed of the image forming apparatus is maintained constant regardless of the length of the transport path use
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 17, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Osamu Inage, Takahiro Yagishita
  • Patent number: 4916493
    Abstract: In a reproduction apparatus outputting copy sheets via exit rollers and stacking the outputted copy sheets adjacent the exit rollers in a stacking tray, and which exit rollers are reversible in their direction of rotation to feed selected copy sheets imaged on one side back into the reproduction apparatus in a return path to be reimaged, an actuatable gate system prevents the previously outputted and stacking copy sheets from being recaptured by the reversed rotation exit rollers, by interposing a guide or baffle between the stacking copy sheets and the exit rollers to prevent accidental re-acquisition of copy sheets by the reversed rollers automatically in response to the reversal in direction of rotation of the exit rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1990
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Gerald M. DeVito
  • Patent number: 4912501
    Abstract: An automatic original circulating and feeding apparatus apparatus comprises an original feeding base for receiving a plurality of originals thereon, which are piled up with image faces thereof turned downwardly, an original separating and feeding device for successively separating the piled up originals on the original feeding base one by one from a lowermost original and feeding them one by one in an order separated, a reversible and speed-changeable belt conveyor device disposed in an exposure part for exposing each of the originals fed, and a sensor disposed at a position separated by at least the largest original length from the original separating and feeding mechanism, for selectively setting a scanning copy mode or a sheet through copy mode and for controlling a position of the original for a copy mode selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Saeki, Sunao Ikeda
  • Patent number: 4911421
    Abstract: Each interfaced loader and metering hopper combination of a newspaper assembling system includes improvements for producing ridges in the newspapers at various stages where separation of the newspapers from one another is required. The ridges stiffen the newspaper and reduce the area of contact and thereby the friction between them. At the receiving region of the loader, an arrangement of parallel side and central conveyors, wherein the central one is at a higher level than the side conveyors, produces ridges when the newspapers in a stack are fanned back into a stream. A pair of superimposed center conveyors and inclined laterally located arms produce ridges in the newspapers as they are discharged one at a time from a discharge region of the loader into a receiving zone in the hopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 27, 1990
    Assignee: Stepper, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles N. Hannon
  • Patent number: 4908673
    Abstract: When paper where an image has been formed is stored in a paper refeed tray in a duplex or composite copy mode, two first regulator plates, between which the paper exists, move toward the paper to regulates a dimension of the paper in a direction perpendicular to a paper feeding direction. Each of the two first regulator plates has a detection member for detecting contact with paper. When the detection members of the two regulator plates provide detection outputs, the movement of the two regulator plates is stopped. Meanwhile, a passing time of the paper fed to the paper refeed tray is measured at a predetermined position. Based on the result of the measurement, a position of a second regulator plate for regulating the paper stored in the paper refeed tray in the paper feeding direction is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideo Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 4908674
    Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a paper delivery section for guiding paper to a space between a photoreceptor and a transferring corona discharger, the paper being guided as turned over after having passed between a pair of arcuate reversing guides. A portion of the paper delivery section is formed as a unit which can be integrally pulled out from the body of the apparatus. The apparatus further includes guide lifting and lowering means adapted to retreat downward the inner reversing guide out of the pair of reversing guides in association with a unit pulling operation, and adapted to lift up the inner reversing guide in association with a unit insertion operation. Accordingly, when the unit is inserted in and pulled out from the apparatus body, the guide lifting and lowering means vertically moves the inner reversing guide, thus preventing the inner reversing guide from coming into collision with the photoreceptor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 13, 1990
    Assignee: Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiko Fukano, Mitsutoshi Takemoto
  • Patent number: 4905052
    Abstract: An apparatus which compensates for the velocity mismatch between adjacent sheet transports. A plate, interposed between the sheet transports, supports the sheet until the leading edge thereof advances from the first sheet transport to the second sheet transport. When the leading edge of the sheet is received by the second sheet transport, the plate pivots away from the sheet to a location remote therefrom. Since the first sheet transport advances the sheet at a greater velocity than the second sheet transport, the sheet forms a buckle to compensate for the velocity mismatch between sheet transports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: James R. Cassano, Richard M. Dastin, Scott C. Durland, Arthur J. Sobon
  • Patent number: 4905053
    Abstract: In order to execute the duplex copying operation, a sheet re-feeding apparatus transports sheets having an image formed with an image-forming apparatus one by one into a cassette through a transporting means, and then re-feeds the sheets one by one from the cassette into the same image forming apparatus. The transporting means catches a sheet with rollers and allows the sheet to be widthwise curved, whereby the sheet is transported into the cassette. A plurality of cassettes is prepared in accordance with sheet sizes and is detachable from a main body of the sheet re-feeding apparatus. Inside the cassette are disposed a projection to stack and store a sheet in a condition where the sheet is widthwise curved, stoppers separated by a space approximately equal to the width of a sheet, pressing means for pressing both side portions of a sheet, means for regulating the leading edge of a sheet, a flexible member for catching the leading edge of a sheet together with a stacking surface, and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hirokazu Matsuo, Hiroyasu Nagato
  • Patent number: 4905044
    Abstract: A document conveying apparatus having a document conveying path, a plurality of document conveying units, and a plurality of document detecting units, the conveying and detecting units being disposed along the conveying path. The apparatus includes an inserting unit having a unit which detects, when the document detecting units are operating in a predetermined sequence while a document is being conveyed, an abnormality of the document according to the states of the respective document detecting units at a predetermine timing and a unit to stop the operation of the abnormality detecting unit. The document is conveyed from the inserting unit via an exposed unit to an ejecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroaki Hamano
  • Patent number: 4902193
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for the cyclic rearrangement of a pile of rectangular or square pictures, with a first and a second frame part (12, 14), which can be moved back and forth parallel to the principal plane of the pile of pictures held by them, with a separator bar (20), arranged in the second frame part (14), which defines a separating through-gap for a picture and a return through-gap for the picture, with a retaining element in the first frame part (12) for retaining a picture taken from one end of the pile and guided through a separating through-gap, and with a guide element for shifting the retained picture transversely to the pile and returning it through the return through-gap to the other end of the pile, and with a viewing window (35) in one of the frame parts (12), wherein the two frame parts (12, 14) are coupled by way of a free-wheel-type device which, when the two frame parts (12, 14) are in the end position where they are pulled completely apart, frees the return movement and, in t
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Assignee: Licinvest AG
    Inventor: Peter Ackeret
  • Patent number: 4903085
    Abstract: An automatic original circulating and feeding apparatus comprises an original feeding base for receiving a plurality of originals thereon, which are piled-up with image-faces thereof downwardly, an original separating and feeding device for separating and feeding piled-up originals one by one, a belt conveyor device disposed in an exposure portion for exposing each of the originals, a turning over and conveyor device disposed at downstream of the belt conveyor device in the carrying direction, a discharging and carrying device disposed to connect the turning over and conveyor device with the original feeding base, and a switchback turning over and conveyor device disposed along an original passage provided in the discharging and carrying device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sunao Ikeda, Shiro Saeki
  • Patent number: 4893804
    Abstract: An apparatus applicable to a sheet article processing system for temporarily accumulating sheet articles which come in arbitrarily one by one or in a bunch and sending them out one by one at predetermined intervals. The apparatus includes a drive mechanism capable of starting and stopping the movement of a suction belt instantaneously, a sensor responsive to the leading edge of a sheet article which has been nipped by a downstream transport path, and a sensor responsive to the presence/absence of an interval between successive sheet articles which occurs between the downstream transport path and a reverse belt. Other sensors are provided for determining an interval between successive articles. A pick-up roller pair is driven at a controllable speed in matching relation to the interval between successive articles determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 16, 1990
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Tsutomu Sasage, Masahiko Noguchi, Hiroyuki Nagatani, Toshiharu Kubota
  • Patent number: 4893152
    Abstract: A copying apparatus includes a sorter which has a plurality of bins, a binding unit for binding the sheets taken-out from each of the bins, a first path for transporting the sheets ejected from a copying machine to the sorter, a second path for transporting the sheets to the binding unit. Sheets are conducted to the first path when a sorting mode is selected, but to the second path regardless of the selection of the sorting mode when the input number of copy sets is 1. Further, the copying apparatus includes a first roller and a second roller for taking-out the sheets from the bins, wherein, the second roller is moved down to pinch the sheets on the bin in cooperation with the first roller when the bin reaches the sheet take-out position, and then the sheets on the bin are taken-out to the binding unit by the rotation of the rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1990
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kasha
    Inventors: Kuniaki Ishiguro, Takuma Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 4890824
    Abstract: A circulation-type bill receiving and dispensing machine reuses received bills for dispensing. It has a bill receiving and dispensing port and operating section at both sides of the machine. The bill receiving and dispensing machine includes separate bill discriminating sections each of which is arranged on each received-bill transferring route of the bill receiving and dispensing ports of the two sides for the exclusive use of that port. Thus the bill receiving and dispensing machine of the present invention can be operated at the same time from both sides. Accordingly, a customer can deposit bills at any time even if the machine is being operated in the bill receiving mode by the teller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1990
    Assignee: Laurel Bank Machines Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinya Uchida, Akira Hirata, Eiichi Yoshikawa
  • Patent number: 4889240
    Abstract: A circulation-type bill deposit and dispensing apparatus, is provided with a shift mechanism which moves the bills to a predetermined position to the left or right side with respect to their feed direction so as to eliminate dispersion of bills in the lateral direction. Thus errors in discrimination of truth or falsehood or in discrimination of denominations and feed jams are prevented. An inverse shifting mechanism is also provided for moving bills to the opposite side from the initial shift (with respect to the feed direction) by a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1988
    Date of Patent: December 26, 1989
    Assignee: International Business Machines
    Inventors: Koichi Sato, Tsutomu Sawa
  • Patent number: 4884110
    Abstract: In a copying machine, a sheet conveyance mechanism which allows an image to be copied on both sides of a sheet of paper. The sheet conveyance mechanism includes an intermediate tray in which the sheet is copied on one side thereof by an image copy section, a friction roller capable of effecting reversible rotation and a double feed preventing roller. In operation, a sheet of paper is conveyed by the friction roller into the intermediate tray in which an image is copied onto one side of the sheet, the sheet is then removed by the friction roller, rotating in the reverse direction and transported back to the intermediate tray in which an image is copied on the second side of the sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1989
    Assignee: Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd
    Inventors: Yasuo Tsurubuchi, Shogo Kato
  • Patent number: 4883183
    Abstract: Re-dispensable bills, such as less skewed bills and successive bills, among these rejected bills which are normal but rendered undiscriminatable while being dispensed from the storage boxes to the clerk-side bill slot are temporarily stacked, in the customer-side bill slot, and the bills are stored from the customer-side bill slot into the storage boxes when desired bills stacked in the clerk-side bill slot are completely dispensed. Re-dispensably bills, such as less skewed bills and successive bills, among those rejected bills which are normal but rendered undiscriminatable while being dispensed from the storage boxes to the customer-side bill slot are temporarily stacked in the clerk-side bill slot, and the bills are stored from the clerk-side bill slot into the storage boxes when desired bills stacked in the customer-side bill slot are completely dispensed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1989
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Haruo Kimura, Takeo Ishidate, Masao Goto
  • Patent number: 4881729
    Abstract: An improved dual mode document handler for a copier, in which documents may be either loaded into a document stacking tray overlying the copier imaging station platen and recirculatively fed thereto for pre-collation (RDH) copying, or, alternatively, fed into a semi-automatic document handling (SADH) path slot adjacent thereto on top of the document handler, conveniently face up and feeding downwardly therein for gravity assistance in loading documents into the slot. This SADH input path non-interferingly crosses over (intersects) the document restacking return path to the tray of RDH path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Robert L. Culligan, George J. Roller
  • Patent number: 4877231
    Abstract: A device which can feed originals from a holder via a feed path to an exposure window using a cooperating pair of rollers and a conveyor device, the direction of movement of which can be reversed to allow returning of the originals via a discharge path to the holder. The pair of rollers is provided with a drive mechanism and a coupling belt which, during conveyance of an original to the exposure window, convey the original to and on the window in cooperation with the conveyor device and which stop the pair of rollers or reverse the direction of movement of the rollers during the conveyance of an original from the exposure window to the discharge path in order to inhibit feeding of the new original on one hand, and to position the new original on the other hand. There is a fixed time relation between the times at which the states of the movement of the pair of rollers and the conveyor device change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 31, 1989
    Assignee: OCE-Nederland B.V.
    Inventors: Gerardus M. H. M. Jacobs, Johannes H. A. Dinnissen
  • Patent number: 4869486
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for feeding carton blanks to a side seam gluer. The blanks are removed from the discharge end of a conveyor by a friction belt so as to shingle the blanks. The shingled blanks are delivered to a feed hopper in such a way that the feed hopper maintains a constant height of carton blanks. The blanks are fed, one at a time, from the feed hopper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: R. A. Jones & Co. Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. Scarpa, Richard J. Speed
  • Patent number: 4869488
    Abstract: This invention relates to an automatic sheet-feeder for feeding a sheet from the bottom of a stack of sheets placed on a sheet tray and for circularly returning the sheet to the top of the stack. The sheet tray comprises a movable tray and a stationary tray, and the movable tray can move upward or downward in accordance with the size of the sheet, and further the movable tray comprises an intermediate sheet-feed to transport the sheet, whereby the edges of the pile of sheets are aligned in order to prevent erroneous sheet-feeding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Assignee: Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Fumiyuki Hirota, Tadashi Miwa, Yasushi Yamada
  • Patent number: 4869487
    Abstract: A method for feeding a blocked sheet unit for continuously taking out a blocked sheet unit from a sheet unit forming section and feeding the blocked sheet unit to a subsequent step, the method for feeding a blocked sheet unit comprises a first step of taking out a generally half length of the blocked sheet unit from the sheet unit forming section. A subsequent stop includes forming a state where a lower surface of a front portion of a blocked sheet unit subsequently fed is partially superposed on an upper surface of a rear portion of a blocked sheet unit precedingly fed. The preceding blocked sheet unit and subsequent blocked sheet unit are clamped at the superposed portion together and simultaneously taking out the generally half length of the blocked sheet units. The final steps include subsequently separating the preceding blocked sheet unit from the subsequent blocked sheet unit one after another and feeding thereof to the subsequent step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1989
    Inventor: Tadao Uno
  • Patent number: 4866472
    Abstract: A transport apparatus for successively transporting a plurality of sheet media having different lengths from a first processing station to a second processing station. The apparatus comprises, as main components thereof, a tray disposed between the first and second processing stations for accommodating the media as stacked one upon another, a first transport device for receiving the media from the first processing station and transporting the media to the tray, a second transport device for acting on leading ends of the media stored on the tray and successively picking up the media to transport the media to the second processing station, and a roller disposed above the tray for contacting a top surface of the media stored on the tray. The roller is rotatable to align the leading ends of the media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukiyoshi Yamakoshi, Hiroyuki Makiyama
  • Patent number: 4864368
    Abstract: A sheet container employed in duplex or composite copying can be drawn out of the body of the copying machine. The sheet container comprises a regulating plate for aligning the copy papers contained therein. The regulating plate has a home position and can be set at a position corresponding to the size of the copy paper. When the sheet container is drawn out of the copying machine due to a jamming or the like and thereafter attached again to the body, the regulating plate is once returned to the home position and thereafter set at a position corresponding to the size of the copy paper for the re-starting of the copying operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1989
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideo Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 4863038
    Abstract: A bill receiving and dispensing machine in which a bill containing mechanism is mounted on the back of a front door of the machine body for improving handling of bills contained within the machine body. The bill receiving and dispensing machine enables easy exposure of the bill containing components merely by opening a front door for carrying out inspection, additional charging of bills, and maintenance of the main components of the machine. According to the bill receiving and dispensing machine of the present invention, the received bills are transferred to the discriminating route and a part of the bills discriminated as "genuine" are held in the circulating-bill pooling section as bills for dispensation and the other genuine bills are transferred above the received-bill box mounted on the front door and then directly dropped into the box through the top opening thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1989
    Assignee: Laurel Bank Machines Co., LTD.
    Inventors: Eiichi Yoshikawa, Eisaku Sano
  • Patent number: 4861012
    Abstract: A paper feeder for an image forming apparatus, which includes an intermediate tray for temporarily accommodating a paper having an image already formed on at least one side thereof, a paper feeding roller for feeding out the paper stored in the intermediate tray, a first support for supporting the paper feeding roller in such a manner as to be moved between a paper feeding position at which the paper feeding roller is allowed to contact the paper and a retracting position at which the paper feeding roller is separated from the paper. An oblique travel preventing roller is also provided, disposed parallel to the axis of the paper feeding roller and adapted to prevent the paper from being advanced obliquely.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 29, 1989
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tadafumi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 4860057
    Abstract: An automatic original circulating and feeding apparatus apparatus comprises an original feeding base for receiving a plurality of originals thereon, which are piled up with image faces thereof turned downwardly, an original separating and feeding device for successively separating the piled up originals on the original feeding basee one by one from a lowermost original and feeding them one by one in an order separated, a reversible and speed-changeable belt conveyor device disposed in an exposure part for exposing each of the orignals fed, and a sensor disposed at a position separated by at least the largest original length from the original separating and feeding mechanism, for selectively setting a scanning copy mode or a sheet through copy mode and for controlling a position of the original for a copy mode selected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1989
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiro Saeki, Sunao Ikeda
  • Patent number: 4854452
    Abstract: A bill receiving and dispensing machine of "specific type of bill circulation-type" which can reuse, as bills for dispensation, only one specific type of bills among all types of received bills. According to the machine of the present invention, only one type of bills among all types of received bills is circulated through a circulating-bill pooling section for reuse as bills for dispensation and the dispensation bills other than the circulating bills are held in a dispensation bill container and the received bills and the dispensation bills are held in three limited sections, i.e. a circulating-bill pooling section, a received-bill container and a dispensation bill container. This makes it possible to eliminate the special bill pooling sections and the bill feeding-out mechanisms which are used in the conventional machines and therefore to simplify the mechanism and to reduce the noise during the operation thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 8, 1989
    Assignee: Laurel Bank Machines Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinya Uchida, Akira Hirata, Hideyuki Ebihara, Eiichi Yoshikawa, Eisaku Sano, Kazuhiro Uehara
  • Patent number: 4854247
    Abstract: A lock type sealed security device or unit for clamping bills accumulated in vending machine validating or other paper currency accumulating devices. The device is locked onto the accumulating device in a position which allows the currency to be accumulated therein. When the currency is desired to be removed, the device is moved into a clamping position and operated to securely clamp the sheaf of paper currency therein. The security device can be unlocked from the validating device only when the currency is clamped and an unclamped sealed security device can be mounted in its place on the validating device. The security device with the currency clamped therein then is removed to a collection area, where the device is unsealed and the currency is unclamped and removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 8, 1989
    Assignee: Glenview Security Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Sciortino, Wendel Schmidt
  • Patent number: 4851876
    Abstract: When forming an image on both sides of set number of sheets of paper, excess paper which remains in an intermediate tray caused by an overlapped feeding of the paper is guided into a bin which has not been in use for the image forming of the above set number of sheet. Further, when some sheets of the paper discharged from the intermediate tray are transferred in an overlapped condition and the paper in the intermediate tray becomes insufficient, the image forming operation corresponding to the insufficient number of sheet of the paper is discontinued, and the sorting operation for the next original starts from a sort bin skipping over some sort bins which should have received the uncopied paper because of overlapped feeding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1989
    Assignee: Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Haruo Yamamoto, Masamitsu Yamane, Shusaku Ogawa
  • Patent number: 4851885
    Abstract: A control mechanism of an automatic document feeder for an electrophotographic copying machine is provided with a plurality of document discharge trays and a selecting device to select one of the document discharge trays to receive a document which has been processed and discharged. The control mechanism generally selects a specified one of the document discharge trays when documents are set on a supply tray and transported sequentially by the feeder. Only while the first of these documents is being transported from the supply tray into a processing position, however, the control mechanism selects a tray other than the specified one such that a document which may have been left inadvertently in the feeder by the previous user does not become mixed with the documents which are discharged subsequently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1989
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kurosaki
  • Patent number: 4849786
    Abstract: In an image forming apparatus provided with both-side copying and overcopying functions, a copied paper is fed into a paper stacking unit before being fed again. In the conventional paper stacking unit, since the unit is disposed horizontally, there exists a problem in that paper is not well aligned, thus resulting in paper jamming, double paper feeding, etc. To overcome this problem, the paper stacking unit is disposed with an inclination angle paper feed-out side up. For further improving paper feed reliability, the stacking unit includes a paper lifting device, a paper side alignment device, and a paper curl correcting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1989
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Reiji Murakami
  • Patent number: 4849788
    Abstract: In a dual mode copying system, where in one mode, document sheets are fed to the platen of a copier with a document feeder overlying the platen to be registered and copied, and where, in a second mode the document feeder is liftable away from the platen and the copier provides for alternative manual document sheet placement in a registration position on the platen defined by a registration edge guide projectng above the upper surface of the platen, adjacent one edge of the platen; dual mode document edge registration and edge guide means automatically repositionable between first and second positions at two different levels above the upper surface of the platen, moving into the first position automatically in response to the lifting of the document feeder away from the platen to project a vertical document registration edge obstructing surface above the upper surface of the platen adjacent the platen, but which, in the second position is automatically pushed below that surface by movement of the document feed
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1989
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Jay M. Prebola
  • Patent number: 4849796
    Abstract: A copy storing tray for storing copy paper sheets, including a paper detection device, a pair of side regulating plates for regulating the lateral position of the copy paper sheets, at least one of which is movably provided so as to be displaced in a lateral direction, and an actuator device for displacing at least one of the side regulating plates. As each of the copy paper sheets is supplied to the copy storing tray, one of the side regulating plates is displaced in the lateral direction by the actuator device so as to displace each of the copy paper sheets to a predetermined position such that each of the copy paper sheets is not detected by the paper detection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1989
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Susumu Murakami
  • Patent number: 4846456
    Abstract: The invention relates to a recirculating feeding apparatus for moving an original from a tray through an exposure position to the tray. The apparatus comprises a transparent member movable through the exposure position, a recirculating path, a driving assembly, and a retracting assembly for retracting a portion of the recirculating path from the transparent member. In the recirculating path, a sheet original is fed from a tray to the exposure position of the transparent member and to the tray. For a thick original, the driving assembly moves the transparent member across the exposure position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: July 11, 1989
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Sakai
  • Patent number: 4834362
    Abstract: A circulating-bill pressing-down apparatus used for a bill receiving and dispensing machine having a circulating-bill pressing-down means for pressing down accumulated bills from the top thereof to provide to a roller sufficient frictional force for feeding out the bills. According to the present invention, the bill pressing-down plate is projected only when the amount of the accumulated bills becomes less than a predetermined level. This makes it possible to reduce the vertical displacement of the bill pressing-down plate as compared with the bill pressing-down member of the prior art in which it always presses down the accumulated bills and therefore it also makes it possible to reduce the size of the mechanism for vertically driving the bill pressing-down plate as well as the overall size of the bill receiving and dispensing machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1989
    Assignee: Laurel Bank Machines Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Uehara
  • Patent number: 4834360
    Abstract: An automatic document job batching system for a copier with a recirculating document handler (RDH), with a document stacking tray into which a set of document sheets is loaded for recirculative precollation copying, and a separate (SADH) document loading entrance provided for semiautomatic non-precollation copying, utilizing a document gate for selectably directing documents to this tray or to be ejected from the RDH. All document jobs to be copied may be preloaded, and left unattended, for automatic sequential loading and copying, in a common stack, face down, as a batched plurality of intermixed documents and document set jobs interleaved with job slip sheets, in a job loading input adjacent the RDH which sequentially top feeds the documents into the SADH document entrance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1989
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas Acquaviva