Abstract: There is disclosed transport apparatus for transporting flexible sheet-like articles, especially envelopes. The apparatus comprises a transport cylinder, which is mounted on a shaft rotatably journalled in a frame and which comprises two cylindrical body portions. The body portions are each provided with axial suction ducts with outlet openings communicating with the circumferential surfaces of the body portions. The body portions are provided at their mutually remote ends with bores into which project bushes, which are mounted to the frame to be secure against rotation. A suction device is connected in a certain rotational position of the cylinder, through passages which are provided in the bushes and open at the circumferential surfaces of the bushes, with the suction ducts of the cylinder body portions. In another rotational position of the cylinder, the suction ducts of the body portions are ventilated by the bushes. The apparatus is capable of high operating speeds with minimum noise production.

Abstract: The mail sorting machine of the present invention is capable of receiving a supply of envelopes in a magazine from which the individual envelopes are picked off in succession by means of a suction device operating in combination with a pair of conveying belts having a friction surface facing the incoming envelopes. The suction device acts through holes in the conveying belts to draw the lead envelope against the friction surface of the conveying belts for separation of this envelope from the rest of the supply. The separated envelope is then transferred to a read station where a reading device reads a sort code imprinted on the envelope. The envelope is then provided to the storage section of the machine where it is directed to its designated sorting bin. The storage section of the machine is provided with a plurality of diverter mechanisms which are arranged in pairs to form a guideway through which the envelopes are directed.

Abstract: A separating unit for flat sheet material has a rotating separating drum with suction openings on its outer face. The material to be separated is run tangentially between the separating drum and a suction drum. The separating drum has suction holes ahead of the suction openings that initiate the evacuation of air between the sheet and drum by a pulling effect lower than that of the suction openings.

Abstract: A document-feeding apparatus including feed rollers 90, pressure roller 50, a planar tray 16 for receiving a stack of sheet material and having one end portion 94 thereof deformed arcuately away from the main plane of the tray, the arcuate segment 94 being provided with openings 98 through which a sheet separating vacuum may be drawn, and longitudinally extending slots 96 through which the paper-engaging surfaces of the continuously running feed rollers 90 extend, an oscillatory vacuum pumping mechanism 92 for periodically drawing air through the vacuum openings so as to deflect the overlying end portion of the bottom sheet of the stack of material downwardly into engagement with the feed rollers 90 after which the pressure rollers 50 are moved into engagement with the upper surface of the deflected bottom sheet to hold it against the feed rollers 92 as it is driven thereby toward a pair of exit rollers 84 and 86 which thereafter discharge the sheet from the device.

Abstract: Flat material sheets are separated by a separating drum rotating on a supporting plate that pulls the sheets separately one after another off a pile and directs the separated sheets toward a subsequent transporting system. The separating drum comprises a stator with sectorial suction channels extending circumferentially and a rotor with suction openings communicating with the suction channels. The communication between the suction openings and suction channels is made in such a way that the sheet material adjacent to the edge running on the supporting plate is attached to the drum by the action of the vacuum earlier than in other areas. This area may be released later than the other areas.

Abstract: A document feeding apparatus has a deck that is placed at an angle such that the incline of the deck is sufficiently large so as to overcome the friction of documents placed thereupon. The deck has an opening at the bottom thereof through which a vacuum type conveyor extends to engage the bottommost document of the stack of documents to transport the bottommost document generally upwardly. With this feeding of the bottommost document the balance of the documents will remain in position due to the effect of gravity whereas the next-to-bottom sheet will be released from the bottommost sheet since the angle of incline is sufficiently great to overcome the frictional forces acting between these two documents.

Abstract: A batch reading system for automatically reading documents such as tags or tickets having data marked thereon in the form of human readable characters which are also automatically readable by suitable apparatus, the system being capable of feeding documents which are curled, wrinkled, bent, and otherwise deformed or mutilated. The documents are fed from an input hopper by first feed means, which may be a vacuum belt, from which they are fed to a second vacuum belt on whose underside the tags are held and fed past an underlying automatic reading device. The documents which are properly read are each stripped from the overlying vacuum belt by a flipper arm into a discharge chute, while other tickets are fed past the discharge chute to a reject stacker. To accurately laterally position the documents being fed, one of their longitudinal edges is pressed against a reference surface.

Abstract: A semi-circular stack sheet feeding apparatus for supplying an imbricated stack of sheets to a sheet folding machine or the like is disclosed. The sheet feeding device has a delivery and diverting device for transporting the imbricated stack of sheets in a first delivery direction along the underside of a diverting drum, about a portion of the periphery of the drum and, in a second delivery direction, to a sheet removal platform. A removal device associated with the removal platform removes the uppermost sheet from the platform in a direction opposite the second delivery direction. A stop is provided on the removal platform against which the leading edges of the sheets strike and a stack height sensor is provided for sensing the number of sheets stacked on the removal platform. So long as the number of sheets in the stack is below a predetermined value, the stack height sensor maintains the drive of the delivery and diverting device engaged.

Abstract: Apparatus for feeding sheets one by one from the bottom of a stack of sheets comprising first and second spaced supports cooperatively supporting the bottom of a stack of sheets, the first support comprising a rotatable unit and the second support comprising a flat abutment member. The rotatable unit includes a plurality of juxtaposed rollers at least one of which is intermittently rotated to feed the lowermost sheet in the stack to a conveyor. The flat abutment member is adjustably supported for displacement to a selected predetermined stationary position. The rotatable roller is coupled to a suction device so that suction force is applied to the lowermost sheet in the stack in the course of intermittent rotation and the position of the roller with the conveyor belt is such that the suction will be substantially reduced when the sheet has been received by the conveyor belt.

Abstract: Signatures fresh from the printing press are fed in a shingled stream toward and then dropped one by one into a hopper which may feed a gathering chain.The signatures are "broken" (unstuck) by first stacking them edgewise on a horizontal support, shingling them in a constant stream by an unusual form of suction feed, bending the shingled stream and thereafter cascading the stream into the hopper.

Abstract: A document feeder for an electrostatic copier of the type which includes instrumentalities for flash illuminating a document placed by an operator at the illuminating station of the copier. The document feeder includes an evacuatable enclosure having apertured upper and lower walls, and a flexible perforated belt endlessly looped about the enclosure. In addition, the document feeder includes instrumentalities for driving the belt in an endless path of travel including an upper belt run, wherein the belt perforations are disposed in air flow communication with the upper wall apertures, and a lower belt run, wherein the belt perforations are disposed in air flow communication with the lower wall apertures.

Abstract: Apparatus for feeding flat items comprising a rotatable body, a drive member having a drive surface for drivingly contacting the surface of an item, said body and said member defining therebetween a nip, and respective surface portions of the body and the member at the nip being movable only in directions extending askew of one another with a skew angle such that the body surface portion frictionally resists the passage of an item through the nip.

Abstract: Currency dispensing apparatus is disclosed in which vertically stacked bills located in a removable container positioned in the dispenser are fed one-by-one from the top of the stack through an opening in the container ceiling by a proximately located overlying rotary suction head. The head advances the bills to the nip of a pair of superimposed bill transport belts overlying the stack from which point they are then transported by the belts back over the top of the stack to a diverter whereat the bills are either diverted to an underlying reject bin located adjacent the stack or to a delivery chute for manual removal by a customer. A multiple, or overlapped, bill sensor is located along the bill transport path between the suction pickup head and the diverter which, in cooperation with suitable control circuitry responsive to the sensor, controls the diverter for diverting multiple, or overlapped, bills into the underlying reject bin while allowing single bills to be transported to the customer delivery chute.

Abstract: A top-of-stack sheet feeder includes a stack lifting apparatus which provides uniform stack pressure at the feeder as well as stack replenishment without interruption of feeder operation. The stack lifting apparatus includes a comblike feeding platform which incrementally elevates a feed stack to a feed roller which removes successive top sheets. Platform elevation control is responsive to requirement signals generated by a top sheet height sensor. When the stack is depleted to a predetermined reserve, a pair of opposed comblike feeding decks interfit between spaces in the feeding platform and assume the stack elevation function after which the platform descends to a loading station to receive a new stack and lift same to the decks. Upon introduction of the new stack, the decks disengage the reserve and index to a lower dwell station ready to again resume stack lifting when the combined stack reaches the reserve level.

Abstract: A device for transferring exposed microfiches from a cassette to a developing unit in which a stack of microfiches is released from the cassette into a reception chamber within a light proof casing of the device from which chamber microfiches are extracted singly and fed to an ejection opening in the exterior of the casing which is connected to the developer and into which the microfiches are fed from the ejection opening.

Abstract: A pile of sheets arranged vertically next to one another is gently urged against a rigid metal plate that can be reciprocated back and forth very rapidly so as to pull the end sheet off the pile by suction and to return to rest against the pile of sheets before they have followed this reciprocation motion to the same extent as the end sheet. Once the plate pulls rapidly away from the end of the pile, pulling the end sheet with it, this end sheet is engaged by a suction roller and pulled laterally off the pile.

Abstract: A sheet turning machine includes two slidable platforms, one of which is ascending while the other is descending, the upward travel of one of the platforms being synchronized with the downward travel of the other platform. The ascending platform is arranged between two vertical guide columns solidly fastened to a fixed chassis, while the descending platform is guided between two columns solidly fastened to a frame which tilts about the fixed chassis. The ascending platform is arranged under the field of action of a suction pump. A turning bridge is arranged above the descending platform and includes an endless conveyor belt which has a lower or return run part which diverges in a direction perpendicular to the columns guiding the descending platform. At the front of a roller whereat the endless belt returns, there is an air generator capable of maintaining a sheet of paper fixed to the belt while the sheet, travelling with the belt, passes from the upper run to the lower or return run.

Abstract: A high speed, vacuum-controlled sheet-material separating and feeder system is disclosed which handles a wide range of mixed thicknesses and sizes of envelopes and sheets. The vacuum feeding of this system reduces frictional wear on the feed and separating rollers. The sheets are stacked at one end of the system, and are fed to a first of two vacuum-controlled separator mechanisms. The first separator mechanism is adjusted for thicker sheets of the range. Sheets leaving the first separator are then fed to the second of the two separator mechanisms. The second separator is adjusted for thinner sheets of the range. Sheets leaving the second separator are ejected one at a time, in seriatim, where they then can be fed to other sheet handling equipment for processing.

Abstract: In front of a hot horizontal calender roll there is provided a system of suction cups held on arms which can rock about a horizontal pivot parallel to the axis of the roll, to set the suction cups down on an edge portion of a hot calendered sheet. The arms are then rocked back to lift the suction cups and thereby the edge portion of the sheet from the roll. The suction cups thereafter deliver the edge of the lifted-off sheet portion to a system of grippers. The grippers, aided by draw-off roller means rotatable about said pivot, then draw the sheet horizontally away from the calender roll to deposit the sheet on a vertically adjustable table.

Abstract: A sheet material seperator device that moves one sheet of material at a time from a generally flat, overlying stack of sheets of material by making contact with the lower sheet and thereafter breaking at least the forward portion of the first sheet away from the stack as the first sheet is transferred to a new location. The sheet material separator device includes a moveable first sheet contact member with a generally flat contact surface around a vacuum contact opening with a leading edge forward of a rearwardly positioned boundary line breaking portion. The sheet material separator device has a following surface positioned to prevent direct contact between the following surface and with the first sheet during the initial movement of the first sheet away from the stack. The first sheet contact member moves in an arcuate path away from the stack to separate the first sheet from the overlying sheet.

Abstract: A stack of items having an irregular thickness such as folded sheets, booklets, filled envelopes and the like are positioned in a stack receiver with the stack leading edge resting against the pair of support rails. The stack lowermost item is supported adjacent its rear edge by rotatable supports mounted adjacent to a feed cylinder. A depending wiper device is mounted adjacent the leading edge of the stack and has a flexible bottom edge portion that is positioned either abutting or closely adjacent the cylinder surface. The feed cylinder positioned below the stack has a longitudinal protuberance that extends beyond the cylinder surface and is arranged upon rotation of the cylinder to contact the lowermost item of the stack and move this item between the wiper bottom edge and the cylinder to a position where the leading portion of the lowermost item is moved beyond the wiper device.

Abstract: The invention relates to a sheet feeding station for a magazine in which a plurality of individual sheets are located one against another, with a pneumatic pick-up roller rotatably mounted adjacent to the magazine and at that end of the magazine from which the sheets are destined to leave the magazine. The invention is characterized in that the roller is stationary in a precisely defined rest position at the start of a sheet-feeding feeding operation and remains in this rest position until it is sensed that a sheet is held against it by air pressure, the roller then rotating to feed the sheet so held, and continuing to rotate until the sheet-feeding operation has been completed.

Abstract: In the arrangement, a batch or stack of vertically oriented recording media sheets is supported on edge on a horizontal vibrating table which is vibrated by a vibrating conveyor and the sheets are advanced singly, starting with the leading or frontmost sheet, through a separating slot between a pair of endless belts constituting a transporting arrangement. A first rotating suction drum is mounted at the rear end of the vibrating table and is formed with circumferentially spaced suction bores for operative relation with a rotary slide valve to connect the suction bores intermittently to a suction system. A second rotating suction drum is arranged within the range of the separating slot and serves as a separating drum, and a hold-back suction drum is also arranged within the range of the separating slot and serves as a hold-back device, the hold-back suction drum having the same design as the first rotating suction drum.

Abstract: Document transport apparatus in a document reader sorter is provided with a vacuum assisted friction feeder for picking documents one at a time from a document hopper and for advancing the documents at high speed along a document transport guideway to the control of a transport burst roller, the picking of the documents from the hopper by an apertured friction feed belt being assisted and facilitated by a low pressure vacuum directed upon a linearly disposed section thereof adjacent the hopper, and the high speed advancement of the documents into and along the document guideway to the control of the transport burst roller being assisted and facilitated by a high pressure vacuum directed upon a curvilinear section of the apertured belt cooperably disposed relative to the apertured circumference of a drive pulley, said high pressure vacuum being effective to lock the picked documents and particularly the leading edges thereof to the feed belt for an accelerated feeding thereof, said accelerated feeding of the d

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.