Method and apparatus for feeding and printing documents

Claim 2

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; printing means along said path for printing indicia on said documents, said printing means being disposed downstream of said aligning means; and means for actuating said printing means in response to actuation of said aligning means.

Claim 3

A document feeding device as defined in claim 1, in which said printing means includes first and second printing mechanisms, and including means for actuating said first printing mechanism in response to actuation of said aligning means and means for actuating said second printing mechanism in response to actuation of said first printing mechanism.

Claim 4

A document feeding device as defined in claim 2, further including endless belt means defining said path; common drive means for continuously driving said endless belt means, said common drive means being connectible to said feeding means, said aligning means and said printing mechanisms for intermittently driving said feeding means, said aligning means, and said printing mechanisms.

Claim 5

A document feeding device as defined in claim 2, further including endless belt means defining said path, means defining an apertured vacuum chamber adjacent said endless belt means, and means for producing a vacuum in said chamber to maintain said documents in contact with said endless belt means.

Claim 6

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said control means including document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document along said feed path and means for effecting actuation of said aligning means a selected time period thereafter; and second document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document at a selected position downstream of said aligning means and for preventing actuation of said aligning means while a document is at said selected position.

Claim 7

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said control means including document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document along said feed path and means for effecting actuation of said aligning means a selected time period thereafter; and second document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document at a selected position downstream of said aligning means and for preventing actuation of said aligning means while a document is at said selected position.

Claim 8

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path, for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path, control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said feeding control means including document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document along said feed path, means for effecting actuation of said aligning means a selected time period thereafter, and means responsive to actuation of said aligning means for actuating said feed means to feed a subsequent document to said path.

Claim 9

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path, for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path, control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said feeding control means including document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document along said feed path, means for effecting actuation of said aligning means a selected time period thereafter, and means responsive to actuation of said aligning means for actuating said feed means to feed a subsequent document to said path.

Claim 10

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; said document moving means including a plurality of continuously moving first belts and a plurality of continuously moving second belts together defining said feed path and located respectively above and below said feed path for gripping said documents therebetween and for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to alllow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; and first and second printing means disposed along said feed path, said first printing means being located between said source and said document aligning means and said second printing means being located downstream of said document aligning means.

Claim 11

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; said document moving means including a plurality of continuously moving first belts and a plurality of continuously moving second belts together defining said feed path and located respectively above and below said feed path for gripping said documents therebetween and for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to alllow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; and first and second printing means disposed along said feed path, said first printing means being located between said source and said document aligning means and said second printing means being located downstream of said document aligning means.

Claim 12

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path, said document moving means including a plurality of continuously moving first belts and a plurality of continuously moving second belts together defining said feed path and located respectively above and below said feed path for gripping said documents therebetween and for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said control means including first document sensing means for sensing a document fed to said feed path and for effecting actuation of said document aligning means in response thereto, and switch means responsive to actuation of said document aligning means for effecting actuation of said feed means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path.

Claim 13

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path, said document moving means including a plurality of continuously moving first belts and a plurality of continuously moving second belts together defining said feed path and located respectively above and below said feed path for gripping said documents therebetween and for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; said control means including first document sensing means for sensing a document fed to said feed path and for effecting actuation of said document aligning means in response thereto, and switch means responsive to actuation of said document aligning means for effecting actuation of said feed means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path.

Claim 14

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; printing means disposed along said feed path, said printing means including a first printing mechanism located between said feeding means and said document aligning means; said document moving means including a first set of belts cooperating with said first printing mechanism to define a first portion of said feed path, and second and third sets of belts above and below said feed path defining the remainder of said feed path; and means responsive to said control means for actuating said printing means.

Claim 15

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; printing means disposed along said feed path, said printing means including a first printing mechanism located between said feeding means and said document aligning means; said document moving means including a first set of belts cooperating with said first printing mechanism to define a first portion of said feed path, and second and third sets of belts above and below said feed path defining the remainder of said feed path; and means responsive to said control means for actuating said printing means.

Claim 16

A document feeding device as defined in claim 9, in which said printing means includes second printing mechanism located downstream of said document alinging means and said control means includes first and second switch means between said feeding means and said gate means for respectively actuating said gate means and said first printing mechanism and third switch means actuated by said aligning means for actuating said feeding means and said second printing mechanism.

Claim 17

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; printing means disposed along said feed path, and means responsive to said control means for actuating said printing means; said printing means including first and second printing mechanisms located at spaced locations along said feed path downstream of said aligning means; said control means including first switch means between said feeding means and said aligning means for actuating said aligning means, second switch means actuated by said aligning means for actuating said feeding means, third switch means actuated by said aligning means for actuating said first printing mechanism and fourth switch means actuated by said first printing mechanism for actuating said second printing mechanism.

Claim 18

A document feeding device comprising selectively actuated feeding means adapted to sequentially deliver documents from a source to a feed path; continuously operating means for moving said documents along said feed path; aligning means along said feed path for temporarily interrupting the movement of each of said documents along said feed path and for aligning each of said documents relative to said feed path; control means responsive to the presence of documents in said feed path for effecting actuation of said aligning means to allow said continuously operating document moving means to move each of said aligned documents further along said feed path and for effecting actuation of said feeding means to feed a subsequent document to said feed path; printing means disposed along said feed path, and means responsive to said control means for actuating said printing means; said printing means including first and second printing mechanisms located at spaced locations along said feed path downstream of said aligning means; said control means including first switch means between said feeding means and said aligning means for actuating said aligning means, second switch means actuated by said aligning means for actuating said feeding means, third switch means actuated by said aligning means for actuating said first printing mechanism and fourth switch means actuated by said first printing mechanism for actuating said second printing mechanism.

Claim 19

Apparatus for automatically feeding documents sequentially along a path and aligning the leading edges normal to the path, comprising continuously driven document moving means defining said path; feeding means for sequentially removing documents from a stack and depositing the documents on said document moving means; gate means adjacent said moving means for engaging the leading edge of each document to interrupt the movement of the document along said path to position the leading edge normal to said path; control means cooperating with said path for sensing for sensing the position of a document along said path; first means responsive to said control means for moving said gate means to allow the interrupted document to continue movement along the path; and second means responsive to said control means and said gate means for actuating said feeding means to remove a further document from the stack and feed the document to said moving means.

Claim 20

Apparatus for automatically feeding documents sequentially along a path and aligning the leading edges normal to the path, comprising continuously driven document moving means defining said path; feeding means for sequentially removing documents from a stack and depositing the documents on said document moving means; gate means adjacent said moving means for engaging the leading edge of each document to interrupt the movement of the document along said path to position the leading edge normal to said path; control means cooperating with said path for sensing for sensing the position of a document along said path; first means responsive to said control means for moving said gate means to allow the interrupted document to continue movement along the path; and second means responsive to said control means and said gate means for actuating said feeding means to remove a further document from the stack and feed the document to said moving means.

Claim 21

Apparatus as defined in claim 12, further including common drive means including a motor connected to said moving means for continuously driving said moving means and in which said first means includes solenoid means for operating said gate means and said second means includes clutch means between said motor and said feed means.

Claim 22

Apparatus as defined in claim 13, in which said control means includes switch means along said path for sensing the presence of a document along said path between said feeding means and said gate means, said switch means actuating time delay means cooperating with said solenoid means, said time delay means effecting actuation of said solenoid means and said clutch means a selected period after actuation of said time delay means.

Claim 23

Apparatus as defined in claim 14, further including second switch means along said path downstream of said gate means, said second switch means cooperating with said time delay means to prevent actuation of said gate means until a document has reached a predetermined position with respect to said path.

Claim 26

The method as defined in claim 16, including the further step of sensing the presence of documents in the stack and rendering the feeding mechanism inoperative when no documents are present in the stack.