Document input mechanism

Claim 2

Mechanism for feeding documents along an inclined table to a pickup station at one end thereof substantially perpendicular to the incline, said mechanism comprising first feed means engageable with the lower edges of the documents for advancing the documents along the table to the station, second feed means engageable with the upper portion of the documents and cooperabLe with the first feed means for advancing the documents along the table to maintain them substantially perpendicular to the table during the travel of the documents therealong, and means for sensing the advancement of the documents and connected for controlling the driving of the first and second feed means.

Claim 3

Mechanism in accordance with claim 1 wherein the first feed means includes a plurality of belt members running in the direction of travel of the documents, and the second feed means includes a paddle member driven independently of the belt members.

Claim 4

Document-propelling mechanism for advancing documents to a pickup station where each successive document is selected to be transported thereupon, comprising a feed table having a guide member for containing the documents in alignment along one edge, first drive means engageable with the lower portions of the documents for advancement thereof along the table, second drive means engageable with the upper portions of the documents for advancement thereof along the table, and means at said pickup station for sensing the force of advancing the documents by said first and second drive means, said sensing means being actuated by pressure of the documents in their travel along the table for controlling individually the first and second drive means to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the feed table.

Claim 5

Document-propelling mechanism for advancing documents to a pickup station where each successive document is selected to be transported thereupon, comprising a feed table having a guide member for containing the documents in alignment along one edge, first drive means engageable with the lower portions of the documents for advancement thereof along the table, second drive means engageable with the upper portions of the documents for advancement thereof along the table, and means at said pickup station for sensing the force of advancing the documents by said first and second drive means, said sensing means being actuated by pressure of the documents in their travel along the table for controlling individually the first and second drive means to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the feed table.

Claim 6

Mechanism in accordance with claim 3 wherein said first drive means comprises a plurality of belts spaced across the feed table.

Claim 7

Mechanism in accordance with claim 3 wherein the second drive means comprises a paddle exerting pressure on the upper portions of the documents and includes a member swingable therefrom and capable of engagement with and biased to exert pressure on the lower portions of the documents.

Claim 8

A feeding device for advancing a plurality of documents to a station where each successive document is selected to be driven therepast, said device including a sloping feed table carrying said documents, first advancing means positioned to run substantially along the length of said table and engageable with the lower edges of the documents for movement thereof along the table, second advancing means carried on the feeding device and positioned to engage with and advance the upper portions of said documents along the table, said first and second advancing means cooperating to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the table in their travel therealong, and means for sensing the upper and lower portions of the documents for controlling the rate of advancement of said portions by their respective advancing means.

Claim 9

A feeding device for advancing a plurality of documents to a station where each successive document is selected to be driven therepast, said device including a sloping feed table carrying said documents, first advancing means positioned to run substantially along the length of said table and engageable with the lower edges of the documents for movement thereof along the table, second advancing means carried on the feeding device and positioned to engage with and advance the upper portions of said documents along the table, said first and second advancing means cooperating to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the table in their travel therealong, and means for sensing the upper and lower portions of the documents for controlling the rate of advancement of said portions by their respective advancing means.

Claim 10

A feeding device in accordance with claim 6 wherein said first advancing means comprises a plurality of frictioned surfaced belts.

Claim 11

A feeding device in accordance with claim 6 wherein said second advancing means comprises a paddle member mounted for movement along the length of the table.

Claim 12

A feeding device in accordance with claim 8 wherein said paddle member includes a lower portion biasly swingable and capable of engagement to advance the lower portion of said documents.

Claim 13

A feeding device in accordance with claim 6 wherein said sensing means includes a lower and an upper switching device responsive to the advancing force of the documents and connected for individually controlling said first and second advancing means.

Claim 14

In a document sorter having means for selectively picking a single document from a plurality thereof, input mechanism including a sloping feed table carrying said plurality of documents, belt drive means running substantially along the length of the table in the direction of travel of the documents and engageable with the documents for the advancement thereof, paddle drive means movably carried along the length of the table and engageable with the upper portion of the documents and cooperating with the belt drive means for the advancement of the documents along the feed table in a plane substantially perpendicular to the table, the paddle drive means having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being fixed in predetermined attitude in relation to the table during its travel therealong, the lower portion being swingable to permit such cooperation of the belt and paddle drives in advancing the documents, said swingable portion becoming effective at a point short of the selective picking of a document whereat the belt drive means becomes ineffective to maintain the documents in said plane as each document is selected to be sorted, and means for individually controlling the advancement of each of said belt and paddle drive means.

Claim 15

In a document sorter having means for selectively picking a single document from a plurality thereof, input mechanism including a sloping feed table carrying said plurality of documents, belt drive means running substantially along the length of the table in the direction of travel of the documents and engageable with the documents for the advancement thereof, paddle drive means movably carried along the length of the table and engageable with the upper portion of the documents and cooperating with the belt drive means for the advancement of the documents along the feed table in a plane substantially perpendicular to the table, the paddle drive means having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being fixed in predetermined attitude in relation to the table during its travel therealong, the lower portion being swingable to permit such cooperation of the belt and paddle drives in advancing the documents, said swingable portion becoming effective at a point short of the selective picking of a document whereat the belt drive means becomes ineffective to maintain the documents in said plane as each document is selected to be sorted, and means for individually controlling the advancement of each of said belt and paddle drive means.

Claim 16

In a document sorter in accordance with claim 11 wherein the paddle drive means lower portion is pivotally connected to permit swinging in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the documents and is spring biased to align with the plane of the upper portion of the paddle drive means at the point where the lower portion becomes effective to drive the lower portions of the documents.

Claim 17

In a document sorter in accordance with claim 11 wherein the individual controlling means include upper and lower pressure-sensitive arms engageable by upper and lower portions of the documents for actuating the paddle and the belt drive means, respectively.

Claim 18

Input mechanism for feeding documents into a sorting machine having a sloping feed table and means for maintaining said documents on edge during their travel along the table to a pickup station, said means including a guide rail positioned to contain the documents in alignment along one side of the table, first drive means running along the sloping table and engageable with the lower edges of said documents for propelling them along the table in registration with the rail, second drive means supported from the machine in position to be moved along the length of the table and engageable with said documents and cooperable with the first drive means for advancing the documents to the pickup station, means for sensing the attitude of said documents prior to their presentation at the pickup station, and means responsive to the sensing means for driving the first and second drive means whereby said first and second drive means are rate-of-travel controlled individually for maintaining said documents substantially perpendicular to said table.

Claim 19

Input mechanism for feeding documents into a sorting machine having a sloping feed table and means for maintaining said documents on edge during their travel along the table to a pickup station, said means including a guide rail positioned to contain the documents in alignment along one side of the table, first drive means running along the sloping table and engageable with the lower edges of said documents for propelling them along the table in registration with the rail, second drive means supported from the machine in position to be moved along the length of the table and engageable with said documents and cooperable with the first drive means for advancing the documents to the pickup station, means for sensing the attitude of said documents prior to their presentation at the pickup station, and means responsive to the sensing means for driving the first and second drive means whereby said first and second drive means are rate-of-travel controlled individually for maintaining said documents substantially perpendicular to said table.

Claim 20

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 14 wherein said first drive means includes a plurality of resilient belts for advancing the lower portions of the documents along the table.

Claim 21

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 14 wherein said second drive means includes a paddle having an upper portion fixed in planar relation to the traveling documents and a lower portion hinged to the upper portion, the upper portion being positioned to cooperate with said first drive means to maintain the plane of said documents in parallel fashion substantially along the length of the table, and the lower portion becoming effective for driving the lower portions of the documents as they approach the pickup station.

Claim 22

Input mechanism for a document sorter having an inclined feed table carrying a plurality of documents thereon, a pickup station at the upper end of the table to receive the documents in selective manner and to position each selected document for transport past the station, and means for independently advancing the upper and the lower portions of the documents along the table to the pickup station, said means comprising a plurality of frictionally endowed belts running substantially along the length of the table and positioned to engage with the lower edges of the documents to advance them toward the station, a multielement paddle supported from the sorter and movable along the length of the table, said paddle comprising an upper element in fixed plane perpendicular relationship to said table and adapted to engage the upper portion of the docuMents to advance them toward the station, and comprising a lower swingable element, the lower element being free to swing in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the documents, but biased in the direction of document travel to actively advance the lower portion of the documents when they reach a position adjacent the station, the belts being trained so as to become ineffective to advance the lower portion of the documents beyond said position, means for sensing the advancement of the lower and upper portions of the documents for individually controlling the rate of advancement of the belts and the paddle to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the feed table and to provide a parallel arrangement of the documents during their travel up the table to the pickup station, and means on the sorter responsive to the sensing means for driving the belts and the paddle along the table.

Claim 23

Input mechanism for a document sorter having an inclined feed table carrying a plurality of documents thereon, a pickup station at the upper end of the table to receive the documents in selective manner and to position each selected document for transport past the station, and means for independently advancing the upper and the lower portions of the documents along the table to the pickup station, said means comprising a plurality of frictionally endowed belts running substantially along the length of the table and positioned to engage with the lower edges of the documents to advance them toward the station, a multielement paddle supported from the sorter and movable along the length of the table, said paddle comprising an upper element in fixed plane perpendicular relationship to said table and adapted to engage the upper portion of the docuMents to advance them toward the station, and comprising a lower swingable element, the lower element being free to swing in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the documents, but biased in the direction of document travel to actively advance the lower portion of the documents when they reach a position adjacent the station, the belts being trained so as to become ineffective to advance the lower portion of the documents beyond said position, means for sensing the advancement of the lower and upper portions of the documents for individually controlling the rate of advancement of the belts and the paddle to maintain the documents substantially perpendicular to the feed table and to provide a parallel arrangement of the documents during their travel up the table to the pickup station, and means on the sorter responsive to the sensing means for driving the belts and the paddle along the table.

Claim 24

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 17 wherein the lower element of the paddle automatically swings into the plane of the upper element to actively advance the lower portion of the documents as they approach said position adjacent the pickup station.

Claim 25

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 17 wherein said sorter includes a rail supported along one side of the table and rollers riding on the rail and adapted to carry the paddle along the length of the table.

Claim 26

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 17 wherein said sensing means comprises an upper and a lower switch pivotable in response to force exerted by the advancing portions of the documents and connected for individually controlling the belts and the paddle.

Claim 27

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 20 wherein said sensing means comprises individual light sources and light-receiving elements connected for actuating the driving means upon pivoting of the upper and lower switches in response to individual forces exerted by the document portions.

Claim 28

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 21 wherein the light path between each source and its receiver is intermittently shuttered to energize and deenergize the respective driving means for the belts and the paddle as the force exerted by the advancing documents decreases and increases, respectively, in the travel of the documents toward the pickup station.

Claim 29

Input mechanism in accordance with claim 21 wherein the light-receiving elements are photoelectric cells.