US3595565A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sheet item transport and aligning mechanism
Assignee: Unisys Corp
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Filing: 1969-08-21
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Granted: 1971-07-27
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Expires: 1989-08-21
Abstract
Abstract This invention is directed to sheet item transport mechanisms and particularly to such mechanisms for successively advancing sheet items, such as documents and the like, at high speeds in a given direction and at the same time laterally shifting the items to an edge guide for transport in precise alignment therewith for later attention in the transport path. More specifically, the transport mechanism of this invention employs endless carriers in the form of belts of rounded or circular cross section which engage opposite sides of a document in offset staggered relation to one another and in overlapping relation to the plane of the document with the result that the document is slightly corrugated longitudinally in the direction of its motion. The endless belts are mounted in parallel relation to one another on pulleys located on the outer sides of sideplates forming the transport path and such that the sections of the belts which engage the document project into the space between the sideplates in alternately staggered overlapping relation to one another. For the purpose of precise alignment of the documents in the transport path, the endless belts are inclined to an edge guide so as to drive the documents theretoward as they are advanced along the transport path. Other features of the invention include a provision for laterally separating the sideplates in order to gain access to the space therebetween and also a provision for continuously supporting the document engaging sections of the endless belts in the aforesaid staggered overlapping relation throughout the distance separating the pulleys about which the belts are trained.
Inventors
- 👤 Harry R Bergland
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 08:51
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K13/00; G06K13/02; G06K13/06; G06K13/063
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
231 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of similar endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; means on the other side of the document transport path for engaging the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the two levels of the document engaging sections of said pair of belts and for approximately the length thereof; means for moving said pair of endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means supporting the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts and the document-engaging means so that the document-engaging belt sections straddlingly overlap upon the document-engaging means on the other side of a document in the transport path and causing the latter to deflect the area of the document engaged thereby into the space between the document-engaging belt sections with the result that the document is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement as it is conveyed by the belts along the transport path.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
231 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of similar endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; means on the other side of the document transport path for engaging the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the two levels of the document engaging sections of said pair of belts and for approximately the length thereof; means for moving said pair of endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means supporting the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts and the document-engaging means so that the document-engaging belt sections straddlingly overlap upon the document-engaging means on the other side of a document in the transport path and causing the latter to deflect the area of the document engaged thereby into the space between the document-engaging belt sections with the result that the document is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement as it is conveyed by the belts along the transport path.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The invention defined in claim 1 characterized in that the belts are substantially circular in cross section.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The invention defined in claim 1 characterized in that said document-engaging means is a document-engaging section of another endless belt.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
226 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; a stationary elongated protuberance on the other side of the document transport path so disposed that it engages the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the two levels of the document-engaging sections of said pair of belts, said protuberance extending for approximately the length of said document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts and being composed of material having a relatively low coefficient of friction; means for moving said pair of endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means for supporting the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts so that they overlap upon the elongated protuberance engaging the other side of a document in the transport path with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
226 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; a stationary elongated protuberance on the other side of the document transport path so disposed that it engages the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the two levels of the document-engaging sections of said pair of belts, said protuberance extending for approximately the length of said document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts and being composed of material having a relatively low coefficient of friction; means for moving said pair of endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means for supporting the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts so that they overlap upon the elongated protuberance engaging the other side of a document in the transport path with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
206 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed do that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; a single endless belt positioned on the other side of the document transport path and disposed so that the section thereof adjacent to the path engages the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the levels of the document engaging sections of said pair of belts; means for moving said endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means supporting the document-engaging sections of the endless belts so that the document-engaging section of the single belt overlaps upon the common plane of the document engaging sections of said pair of endless belts with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
206 words
In a document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path and disposed do that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend parallel to one another but on spaced-apart levels for engaging separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; a single endless belt positioned on the other side of the document transport path and disposed so that the section thereof adjacent to the path engages the opposite side of a document in the transport path on a level parallel to and approximately midway between the levels of the document engaging sections of said pair of belts; means for moving said endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof adjacent to the document transport path are advanced in the same direction and at the same speed; and means supporting the document-engaging sections of the endless belts so that the document-engaging section of the single belt overlaps upon the common plane of the document engaging sections of said pair of endless belts with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The invention defined in claim 5 characterized in that the belts are all circular in cross section.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
268 words
In a high-speed document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong and including a side edge aligning guide extending in the direction of the path; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend in spaced parallel relation to one another but at an inclination to the side edge aligning guide and engage separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; an endless belt cooperating with said pair of belts and positioned on the other side of the document transport path so that the section thereof adjacent to the path extends parallel to and at the same inclination as the corresponding sections of said pair of belts and so that the section engages an area of the opposite side of a document in the transport path approximately midway between the areas of the document engaged by said pair of belts; means for moving said endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof move in the same direction and at the same speed thereby to advance a document in the same direction along the transport path and at the same time urge the document into side edge engagement with the aligning guide; and means for supporting the document-engaging sections of the endless belts so that the document-engaging section of the single belt slightly overlaps the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
268 words
In a high-speed document transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying documents therealong and including a side edge aligning guide extending in the direction of the path; a pair of endless belts positioned on one side of the document transport path so that the sections thereof adjacent to the path extend in spaced parallel relation to one another but at an inclination to the side edge aligning guide and engage separated areas of the same side of a document in the transport path; an endless belt cooperating with said pair of belts and positioned on the other side of the document transport path so that the section thereof adjacent to the path extends parallel to and at the same inclination as the corresponding sections of said pair of belts and so that the section engages an area of the opposite side of a document in the transport path approximately midway between the areas of the document engaged by said pair of belts; means for moving said endless belts so that the document-engaging sections thereof move in the same direction and at the same speed thereby to advance a document in the same direction along the transport path and at the same time urge the document into side edge engagement with the aligning guide; and means for supporting the document-engaging sections of the endless belts so that the document-engaging section of the single belt slightly overlaps the document-engaging sections of said pair of endless belts with the result that as a document is transported along the path it is slightly corrugated longitudinally in its direction of movement.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
270 words
In a sheet item transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong and including a side edge aligning guide extending in the direction of the path, an endless belt on each side of the transport path and each such belt mounted upon a pair of pulleys spaced apart along the path, each pair of pulleys disposing a section of its endless belt in the transport path with a rounded portion thereof protruding into the path in offset overlapping relationship to a correspondingly rounded portion of the endless belt on the other side of the transport path with the result that a sheet item in the path is engaged by said belt sections and corrugated thereby longitudinally in the direction of motion along the path, means mounting the pulleys on axes of rotation canted relative to said edge guide for inclining the endless belts theretoward thereby causing the endless belts to advance sheet items along the transport path and toward and into engagement with said side edge aligning guide, means for positively rotating one pulley of a first one of the pairs of pulleys to advance the sheet item engaging section of its respective belt in one direction, and means circumventing the aligning guide and drivingly connecting said positively rotated pulley with one of the pulleys of the second pair of pulleys on the other side of the transport path so that the sheet item engaging section of the belt of the second pair of pulleys is advanced on the same direction and at the same speed as the corresponding section of the first pair of pulleys
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
270 words
In a sheet item transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong and including a side edge aligning guide extending in the direction of the path, an endless belt on each side of the transport path and each such belt mounted upon a pair of pulleys spaced apart along the path, each pair of pulleys disposing a section of its endless belt in the transport path with a rounded portion thereof protruding into the path in offset overlapping relationship to a correspondingly rounded portion of the endless belt on the other side of the transport path with the result that a sheet item in the path is engaged by said belt sections and corrugated thereby longitudinally in the direction of motion along the path, means mounting the pulleys on axes of rotation canted relative to said edge guide for inclining the endless belts theretoward thereby causing the endless belts to advance sheet items along the transport path and toward and into engagement with said side edge aligning guide, means for positively rotating one pulley of a first one of the pairs of pulleys to advance the sheet item engaging section of its respective belt in one direction, and means circumventing the aligning guide and drivingly connecting said positively rotated pulley with one of the pulleys of the second pair of pulleys on the other side of the transport path so that the sheet item engaging section of the belt of the second pair of pulleys is advanced on the same direction and at the same speed as the corresponding section of the first pair of pulleys
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
136 words
In a sheet item transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong, an endless belt on each side of the transport path mounted upon a pair of pulleys spaced apart along the path, each said pair of pulleys protruding a section of its endless belt into the transport path in offset overlapping relationship to the corresponding section of the endless belt on the other side of the transport path with the result that a sheet item in the path is corrugated longitudinally in the direction of motion along the path, and means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys to cyclically move the endless belts so that the sections thereof protruding into the transport path move in the same direction and at the same rate of speed.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
136 words
In a sheet item transport system: means forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong, an endless belt on each side of the transport path mounted upon a pair of pulleys spaced apart along the path, each said pair of pulleys protruding a section of its endless belt into the transport path in offset overlapping relationship to the corresponding section of the endless belt on the other side of the transport path with the result that a sheet item in the path is corrugated longitudinally in the direction of motion along the path, and means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys to cyclically move the endless belts so that the sections thereof protruding into the transport path move in the same direction and at the same rate of speed.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
The invention defined in claim 9 characterized in that a backup support of low friction material is provided over which said protruding section of each endless belt rides.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
The invention defined in claim 10 characterized in that for each such belt section the backup support is provided with a groove in which the section is partially received as it rides therealong.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
198 words
Apparatus for sequentially moving sheet items in a given direction comprising: a pair of opposed, parallel extending, closely spaced apart guide plates forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong in an approximately vertical plane; a pair of pulleys mounted on the outside of one or both of said guide plates having their respective axes of rotation extending in a general vertical direction; an endless belt trained around each of said pairs of pulleys and so that a section of each belt protrudes beyond the inside surface of the guide plate with which it is associated into overlapping relationship with the sheet item engaging section of the other belt with the result that a sheet item in the transport path is longitudinally corrugated in the direction of the transport path; the endless belts associated with each pair of pulleys being vertically spaced apart relative to other endless belts so as to engage different surface areas of a sheet item in the transport path; and means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys so as to drive each said section of the endless belts in said given direction and at the same speed.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
198 words
Apparatus for sequentially moving sheet items in a given direction comprising: a pair of opposed, parallel extending, closely spaced apart guide plates forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong in an approximately vertical plane; a pair of pulleys mounted on the outside of one or both of said guide plates having their respective axes of rotation extending in a general vertical direction; an endless belt trained around each of said pairs of pulleys and so that a section of each belt protrudes beyond the inside surface of the guide plate with which it is associated into overlapping relationship with the sheet item engaging section of the other belt with the result that a sheet item in the transport path is longitudinally corrugated in the direction of the transport path; the endless belts associated with each pair of pulleys being vertically spaced apart relative to other endless belts so as to engage different surface areas of a sheet item in the transport path; and means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys so as to drive each said section of the endless belts in said given direction and at the same speed.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
57 words
The invention defined in claim 12 characterized in that one of the guide plates is mounted for movement away from the other guide plate to increase the space therebetween and sufficiently far enough away to retract the sheet item engaging section of the belt associated therewith from overlapping relationship with the like section of the other belt.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
36 words
The invention defined in claim 12 characterized in that a backup support of low-friction material is provided on one or both of said guide plates over which the item engaging section of each endless belt rides.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
203 words
Apparatus for sequentially moving sheet items in a given direction comprising: a pair of opposed, parallel extending, closely spaced-apart guide plates forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong in an approximately vertical plane; a pair of pulleys mounted on the outside of one or both of said guide plates having their respective axes of rotation extending in a general vertical direction; an endless belt trained around each of said pairs of pulleys and so that a section of each belt protrudes beyond the inside surface of the guide plate with which it is associated for engaging the adjacent side of a sheet item in the transport path; the endless belts associated with each pair of pulleys being vertically spaced apart relative to other endless belts so as to engage different surface areas of a sheet item in the transport path; means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys so as to drive each said section of the endless belts in said given direction and at the same speed, and means providing a backup support of low-friction material on one or both of said guide plates over which the item engaging section of each endless belt rides.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
203 words
Apparatus for sequentially moving sheet items in a given direction comprising: a pair of opposed, parallel extending, closely spaced-apart guide plates forming a transport path for conveying sheet items therealong in an approximately vertical plane; a pair of pulleys mounted on the outside of one or both of said guide plates having their respective axes of rotation extending in a general vertical direction; an endless belt trained around each of said pairs of pulleys and so that a section of each belt protrudes beyond the inside surface of the guide plate with which it is associated for engaging the adjacent side of a sheet item in the transport path; the endless belts associated with each pair of pulleys being vertically spaced apart relative to other endless belts so as to engage different surface areas of a sheet item in the transport path; means for positively rotating at least one pulley of each pair of pulleys so as to drive each said section of the endless belts in said given direction and at the same speed, and means providing a backup support of low-friction material on one or both of said guide plates over which the item engaging section of each endless belt rides.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-07-26 | 1975-01-25 | 1975-07-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-07-26 | 1979-01-25 | 1979-07-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-07-26 | 1983-01-25 | 1983-07-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |