Apparatus for feeding and removal of flat items into and from a processing machine

Claim 1

An apparatus for feeding and removing flat items such as paper sheets, cardboard, letter envelopes or paper strips one by one by one into and from a processing machine, such as an addressing machine, said apparatus comprising: table means for carrying a supply stock of flat items; a set of intermittently driven separator rollers arranged above said table means and acting on the top of said supply stock and cooperating with friction retaining means arranged below and beneath the foremost roller of said set of separator rollers for separating said items successively one after the other, said retaining means preventing double-feed of the items during the separation of the items individually from the supply stock; means for driving at least one of said separator rollers, driven transport rollers spaced from the separator rollers in the transport direction of said items; control means for controlling the rotation of said separator rollers so that they are positively driven until the item is gripped by said transport rollers, said control means containing an actuating lever of a switch, said lever extending into the area of the transport rollers, said switch being connected with an electromagnet means so that the driving connection for the driven separator roller is interrupted as soon as an item is gripped by said transport rollers; a machine table containing a processing area for said processing machine; and means for removing said items along said machine table in operational rhythm after processing thereof

Claim 2

An apparatus for feeding and removing flat items such as paper sheets, cardboard, letter envelopes or paper strips one by one by one into and from a processing machine, such as an addressing machine, said apparatus comprising: table means for carrying a supply stock of flat items; a set of intermittently driven separator rollers arranged above said table means and acting on the top of said supply stock and cooperating with friction retaining means arranged below and beneath the foremost roller of said set of separator rollers for separating said items successively one after the other, said retaining means preventing double-feed of the items during the separation of the items individually from the supply stock; means for driving at least one of said separator rollers, driven transport rollers spaced from the separator rollers in the transport direction of said items; control means for controlling the rotation of said separator rollers so that they are positively driven until the item is gripped by said transport rollers, said control means containing an actuating lever of a switch, said lever extending into the area of the transport rollers, said switch being connected with an electromagnet means so that the driving connection for the driven separator roller is interrupted as soon as an item is gripped by said transport rollers; a machine table containing a processing area for said processing machine; and means for removing said items along said machine table in operational rhythm after processing thereof

Claim 8

An apparatus for feeding and removing flat items one by one into and from an addressing machine, said apparatus comprising: table means for receiving flat items to be processed; separator means for delivering one by one said items to a processing area of the addressing said separator means comprising at least one separator roller arranged above said table means coacting with the uppermost of the items on said table means; drive means for driving said at least one separator roller; transport rollers spaced from the separator means in the transport direction of said items: control means for said drive means including a switch having an actuating lever disposed in the path of movement of said transport direction of said items towards said transport rollers, said switch being connected with electromagnetic means in order to interrupt operation of said drive means for said driven at least one separator roller when an item has been gripped by said transport rollers; a substantially horizontal machine table containing a processing area for a workhead of said addressing machine; electromagnetically operated pushing means for moving said items on said machine table in a direction counter to said transport direction in operational rhythm after processing of said items; driven transport means arranged above said machine table forming a clearance space between said machine table and said driven transport means for carrying away said items subsequent to processing thereof; said processing area being arranged between said transport rollers and said pushing means.

Claim 9

An apparatus for feeding and removing flat items one by one into and from an addressing machine, said apparatus comprising: table means for receiving flat items to be processed; separator means for delivering one by one said items to a processing area of the addressing said separator means comprising at least one separator roller arranged above said table means coacting with the uppermost of the items on said table means; drive means for driving said at least one separator roller; transport rollers spaced from the separator means in the transport direction of said items: control means for said drive means including a switch having an actuating lever disposed in the path of movement of said transport direction of said items towards said transport rollers, said switch being connected with electromagnetic means in order to interrupt operation of said drive means for said driven at least one separator roller when an item has been gripped by said transport rollers; a substantially horizontal machine table containing a processing area for a workhead of said addressing machine; electromagnetically operated pushing means for moving said items on said machine table in a direction counter to said transport direction in operational rhythm after processing of said items; driven transport means arranged above said machine table forming a clearance space between said machine table and said driven transport means for carrying away said items subsequent to processing thereof; said processing area being arranged between said transport rollers and said pushing means.