Article turning assembly

Claim 3

The device of claim 1 wherein the pair of entrance rollers comprise upper and lower spherical rollers mounted on respective upper and lower shafts, the upper spherical roller mounted above the lower spherical roller and to one side of a vertical plane passing through the center of the lower spherical roller and perpendicular to the lower shaft causing an article that enters between the upper and lower entrance rollers to begin turning in the direction of the line of tangency between the upper and lower rollers.

Claim 4

The device of claim 1 wherein the means for guiding and maintaining the flexible endless belts wrapped around the entrance and exit rollers comprises a first and second idler roller positioned between the entrance and exit rollers, each idler roller contacting and biasing one of the endless belts to assist in maintaining the belt in proper alignment with and wrapped around the roller which is adjacent to it.

Claim 5

The device of claim 3 wherein the first idler roller is positioned adjacent to one of the exit rollers and the second idler roller is positioned adjacent to one of the entrance rollers.

Claim 6

The device of claim 3 wherein the first and second idler rollers are positioned adjacent to the pair of exit rollers.

Claim 7

The device of claim 2 wherein the pair of exit rollers comprise first and second exit rollers, the first exit roller mounted on a first vertical shaft located on the same side of the vertical plane passing through the center of the lower spherical entrance roller as the upper entrance roller, and the second exit roller mounted on a second vertical shaft located on the side of the vertical plane opposite the first exit roller.

Claim 8

The device of claim 1 wherein the exit rollers are crowned rollers.

Claim 9

The device of claim 2 wherein the upper shaft is mounted on a pivotal linking arm, the center line of the pivotal linking arm forming an acute angle with the horizontal plane when no article is between the upper and lower rollers, and the center line lying in substantially the horizontal plane when an article is between the upper and lower rollers, the belts between the upper and lower rollers remaining in contact with each other when no article is present between them and further allowing the upper shaft to pivot away from the lower shaft to automatically accommodate articles of varying thickness.

Claim 10

The device of claim 2 and further comprising spring bias means for biasing the upper shaft towards the lower shaft.

Claim 11

The device of claim 6 wherein the second vertical shaft on which the second exit roller is mounted has spring means for allowing the second vertical shaft to be displaced from the first vertical shaft to automatically accommodate articles of varying thickness.

Claim 12

The device of claim 1 and further comprising registration guide means at the entrance location for contacting an edge of the articles being fed into the entrance rollers and properly positioning the articles for transport through the device.

Claim 13

An article turning device for transporting flat articles such as envelopes or documents from an entrance location to an exit location while simultaneously turning the articles, the device comprising: an entrance nip defined by an upper entrance roller and a lower entrance roller, the rollers mounted at the entrance location on respective upper and lower shafts, the upper roller mounted above the lower roller and to one side of a vertical plane passing through the center of the lower roller and perpendicular to the lower shaft, causing an article that enters the nip to begin turning in the direction of a line of tangency between the upper and lower rollers; an exit nip defined by a first and a second exit roller, the first exit roller mounted on a first vertical shaft located on one side of the vertical plane passing through the center of the lower entrance roller, and the second exit roller mounted on a second vertical shaft located on the other side of the vertical plane; two flexible endless belts for transporting and turning articles longitudinally between them as the belts move contiguously from the entrance location to the exit location, the flexible endless belts respectively extending from the upper entrance roller to the first exit roller and from the lower entrance roller to the second exit roller; the belts being twisted 90 degrees between the entrance and exit rollers and each having at least one span contiguous to a corresponding span of the other, the spans traveling from the entrance rollers to the exit rollers; means for driving at least one of the rollers so that the contiguous belt spans move together in the same direction from the entrance location to the exit location at the same rate of speed.

Claim 14

An article turning device for transporting flat articles such as envelopes or documents from an entrance location to an exit location while simultaneously turning the articles, the device comprising: an entrance nip defined by an upper entrance roller and a lower entrance roller, the rollers mounted at the entrance location on respective upper and lower shafts, the upper roller mounted above the lower roller and to one side of a vertical plane passing through the center of the lower roller and perpendicular to the lower shaft, causing an article that enters the nip to begin turning in the direction of a line of tangency between the upper and lower rollers; an exit nip defined by a first and a second exit roller, the first exit roller mounted on a first vertical shaft located on one side of the vertical plane passing through the center of the lower entrance roller, and the second exit roller mounted on a second vertical shaft located on the other side of the vertical plane; two flexible endless belts for transporting and turning articles longitudinally between them as the belts move contiguously from the entrance location to the exit location, the flexible endless belts respectively extending from the upper entrance roller to the first exit roller and from the lower entrance roller to the second exit roller; the belts being twisted 90 degrees between the entrance and exit rollers and each having at least one span contiguous to a corresponding span of the other, the spans traveling from the entrance rollers to the exit rollers; means for driving at least one of the rollers so that the contiguous belt spans move together in the same direction from the entrance location to the exit location at the same rate of speed.

Claim 15

The device of claim 12 wherein the entrance and exit rollers are spherical rollers.

Claim 16

The device of claim 12 and further comprising a first idler roller positioned adjacent to the first exit roller and a second idler roller positioned adjacent to the lower entrance roller, each of the idler rollers in contact with one of the endless belts, the idler rollers assisting in maintaining the belt with which it is in contact in proper position around the roller which is adjacent to the idler roller.

Claim 17

The device of claim 12 and further comprising a first idler roller positioned adjacent to the first exit roller and a second idler roller positioned adjacent to the second exit roller, each of the idler rollers in contact with one of the endless belts, the idler rollers assisting in maintaining the belt with which it is in contact in proper position around the exit roller which is adjacent to it.

Claim 18

The device of claim 12 wherein the upper shaft is mounted on a pivotal linking arm, the center line of the pivotal linking arm forming an acute angle with the horizontal plane when no article is in the entrance nip, and the center line lying in substantially the horizontal plane when an article is in the nip thereby maintaining the belts in contact in the entrance nip when no article is present in the entrance nip, and further allowing the upper shaft to pivot away from the lower shaft to automatically accommodate articles of varying thickness.

Claim 19

The device of claim 16 and further comprising spring bias means for biasing the upper shaft towards the lower shaft.

Claim 20

The device of claim 12 wherein the second vertical shaft on which the second exit roller is mounted has spring means for allowing the second vertical shaft to be displaced from the first vertical shaft to automatically accommodate articles of varying thickness.

Claim 21

The device of claim 12 and further comprising registration guide means at the entrance location for contacting an edge of the articles being fed into the entrance nip and properly positioning the articles for transport through the device.

Claim 22

The device of claim 12 wherein the exit rollers are crowned rollers.