US3550933A - Document feeding apparatus - Google Patents
Document feeding apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3550933A US3550933A US787081A US3550933DA US3550933A US 3550933 A US3550933 A US 3550933A US 787081 A US787081 A US 787081A US 3550933D A US3550933D A US 3550933DA US 3550933 A US3550933 A US 3550933A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- ball
- roller
- document
- feeding
- periphery
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H9/00—Registering, e.g. orientating, articles; Devices therefor
- B65H9/16—Inclined tape, roller, or like article-forwarding side registers
- B65H9/166—Roller
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H5/00—Feeding articles separated from piles; Feeding articles to machines
- B65H5/36—Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation
- B65H5/38—Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation immovable in operation
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06K13/00—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism
- G06K13/02—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism the record carrier having longitudinal dimension comparable with transverse dimension, e.g. punched card
- G06K13/06—Guiding cards; Checking correct operation of card-conveying mechanisms
- G06K13/063—Aligning cards
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2404/00—Parts for transporting or guiding the handled material
- B65H2404/60—Other elements in face contact with handled material
- B65H2404/69—Other means designated for special purpose
- B65H2404/696—Ball, sphere
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
- B65H2701/19—Specific article or web
- B65H2701/1912—Banknotes, bills and cheques or the like
Definitions
- the present invention relates to-document feeding apparatus. 1
- FIG. is a side elevation partly in section of a document feeding and aligning apparatus
- F IG. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
- the feeding and aligning apparatus which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is suitable for incorporation in, for example, apparatus in which documents, such as checks, are fed from a stack to a reading station.
- the documents bear information which may be read by an optical, or a magnetic, character reading system.
- the documents are delivered one at atime from a document stack (not shown) on to a continuously running conveyor belt I, which is carried by pulleys 2.
- the document is supported and carried along by the conveyor belt in a substantially horizontal plane.
- the leading edge of the document is moved forward until it reaches a constantly rotating feed roller 4.
- a guide tube 5 is mounted in a plate 6 so that a steel ball 7 is located by the tube to rest on the periphery of the roller 4.
- the ball 7 is a loose fit in the tube 5, so that the' ball is free to move in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the roller at the point of contact with the ball.
- the end of the tube 5 which is remote from the roller opens into an air space formed by a cover 8, which is clamped to the upper surface of the plate 6.
- a tube 9, which'passes through the cover 8 is connected to an air pump (not shown). The air pump produces an increased air pressure in the air space above the plate 6.
- the ball must exert a certain minimum force towards the roller to ensure that the frictional force between roller and the document is sufficient to produce the requisite feeding action.
- the force exerted by the ball is the sum of that due to the weight of the ball and that due to the differential air pressure acting on the ball. It was found that in one practical example, using a steel ball of five-eighths inch diameter, a differential air pressure of about 2 p.s.i. was sufficient for the satisfactory feeding of punched card stock of approximately 0.007- inch thickness.
- the application of air pressure has an additional advantage.
- the loose fit of the ball in the tube 5 allows sufficient airflow to provide an air bearing forithe ball, so thatit is free to rotate on any axis with a very low fitictional restraint.
- the roller 4 is at an acute angle to the main direction of document feeding as indicated by arrow 10.
- the ball 7 rotates about an axis parallel to the axis of the roller 4, in the absence of a document. It is preferred that the trailing edge of a document should still be gripped by a pressure roll 14 and a feed roll 15, when the leading edge of thatdocument reaches the roller 4, in order to obtain positive feeding of the document.
- the document is fed in the direction of the arrow 10, so long as the feed on the trailing edge is effective.
- the ball 7 is driven by the document to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the direction of the arrow 10, and the roller 4 slips.
- the roller 4 feeds the document forward in the direction of the arrow and also sideways towards an aligning surface formed by the inner wall of a slot 11 in the plate 6.
- the axis of rotation of the ball shifts to a position approximately parallel to the axis of the roller 4.
- Other means than the pressure roll 14 and feed roll 15 described above may be used to obtain positive feeding of the document.
- a driven vacuum roll may be used.
- the document encounters further angled rollers 4ad, cooperating with balls 7a-d, as it is moved along the feed path.
- the rollers 4 impart a sideways component to the feeding of the document until one side edge of the document is pushed into contact with the aligning surface of the slot 11. Thereafter, the rollers slip on the document so that it again moves only in the direction of the arrow l0.
- the leading edge of the aligned document is picked up by a further roller 12, cooperating with a ball 13, to feed the document on to a data sensing device, for example.
- the axis of the roller 12 is perpendicular to the direction of the arrow 10.
- rollers used in the embodiment described above. It will be appreciated that the rollers would normally be arranged along the center line of the document if alignment was not required, and that two, or more, rollers, each-cooperating with a ball, may be positioned at spaced intervals across the width of the document.
- Apparatus for feeding documents including a rotatable feeding roller, a ball, a guide for said ball to allow contact between said ball and the periphery of said roller and to allow movement of the ball freely in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of said roller at the point of contact and means for applying fluid under pressure to urge said ball towards said roller.
- Apparatus according to claim '1 including an alignment surface aligned in the direction of feed of documents and in which the rotatable feeding roller has an axis extending at an angle to the alignment surface such that the rotatable feeding roller imparts to the document movement having a component in the direction of feeding and a component directed toward the alignment surface.
- the guide includes a tube of circular cross section, the axis of which is aligned with a radius of the rotatable feeding roller and the ball is freely movable in the tube.
- Apparatus according to claim 1 including a plurality of rotatable feeding rollers, a base plate having a plurality of cylindrical holes therethrough aligned one with each rotatable feeding roller respectively, a ball in each holein contact with the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and freely'movable in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the said roller, a cover for the base plate having an inlet for fluid under pressure, said cover coacting with said base plate to form a common fluid chamber communicating with the end of each of the cylindrical holes remote from the rollers so as to permit the application of fluid under pressure to the balls to urge each of said balls towards the periphery of the roller associated therewith.
- Apparatus according to claim 2 including means for conveying and supporting documents in a plane extending through the point of contact of the ball and the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and tangentially to the surface of said roller ⁇ 6.
- the means for conveying and supporting documents includes feed means positioned ahead of the rotatable feeding roller by a distance less than the length of a document to be fed so that the trailing edge of a document is positively fed until therleading edge of 5 directed toward the alignment surface, a base plate having a plurality of cylindrical holes thereth'rough aligned one with each rotatable feeding roller respectively, a ball in each hole in contact with the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and freely movable in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the said roller, a cover for the base plate having an inlet for fluid under pressure, said cover coacting with said base plate to form a common fluid chai'nbercommunicating with the end of each of
Description
Unite States atent [72] Inventor Eric Wilson Letchworth, England [21] Appl. No. 7 787,081 [22] Filed Dec. 26, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 29, 1970 [73} Assignee International Computers Limited London, England a British company [32] Priority Jan. 12, 1968 [33] Great Britain [31] No. 1773/68 [54] DOCUMENT FEEDING APPARATUS 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.
[52] US. Cl. 271/52 [51] Int. Cl B65h 9/10 [50] Field ofSearch 271/52, 49, 48, 59, 58
[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,708,157 4/1929 Spiess 271/52 3,248,106 4/1966 Fry 271/52 Primary Examiner- Evon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-J. Wegbreit Att0rney-- Hane & Baxley ABSTRACT: Apparatus for feeding and aligning documents is described including a rotatable feeding roller, a ball in contact with the periphery of the roller and supported in a guide so as to move freely in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the roller at the point of contact. The fluid under pressure is applied to the guide remote from the roller to urge the ball into contact with the roller. The roller axis may be angled to the direction of feed in order to align documents with an aligning surface.
DOCUMENT FEEDING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to-document feeding apparatus. 1
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. is a side elevation partly in section of a document feeding and aligning apparatus, and
F IG. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The feeding and aligning apparatus which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is suitable for incorporation in, for example, apparatus in which documents, such as checks, are fed from a stack to a reading station. The documents bear information which may be read by an optical, or a magnetic, character reading system.
The documents are delivered one at atime from a document stack (not shown) on to a continuously running conveyor belt I, which is carried by pulleys 2. The document is supported and carried along by the conveyor belt in a substantially horizontal plane. Thus, the leading edge of the document is moved forward until it reaches a constantly rotating feed roller 4. v
A guide tube 5 is mounted in a plate 6 so that a steel ball 7 is located by the tube to rest on the periphery of the roller 4. The ball 7 is a loose fit in the tube 5, so that the' ball is free to move in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the roller at the point of contact with the ball. The end of the tube 5 which is remote from the roller opens into an air space formed by a cover 8, which is clamped to the upper surface of the plate 6. A tube 9, which'passes through the cover 8 is connected to an air pump (not shown). The air pump produces an increased air pressure in the air space above the plate 6.
The ball must exert a certain minimum force towards the roller to ensure that the frictional force between roller and the document is sufficient to produce the requisite feeding action. The force exerted by the ball is the sum of that due to the weight of the ball and that due to the differential air pressure acting on the ball. It was found that in one practical example, using a steel ball of five-eighths inch diameter, a differential air pressure of about 2 p.s.i. was sufficient for the satisfactory feeding of punched card stock of approximately 0.007- inch thickness.
When paper of approximately 0.004- thickness was fed in the above practical example it was found that the differential air pressure could be reduced to about 0.5 p.s.i. while retaining satisfactory operation.
It was found that the weight, and consequently the size and inertia, of the ball had to be increased considerably to achieve feeding when the ball was not subjected to a differential air pressure. The impact of the leading'edge of the document against the ball causes it to rise up the tube 5 and the required force is not-exerted on the document until the ball has settled down again. Fora given force exerted by the ball, the use of a small ball with differential air pressure reduced the settling time for the ball by a factor of about 30 as compared with the larger ball which is necessary without air pressure.
The application of air pressure has an additional advantage. The loose fit of the ball in the tube 5 allows sufficient airflow to provide an air bearing forithe ball, so thatit is free to rotate on any axis with a very low fitictional restraint.
The roller 4 is at an acute angle to the main direction of document feeding as indicated by arrow 10. The ball 7 rotates about an axis parallel to the axis of the roller 4, in the absence of a document. It is preferred that the trailing edge of a document should still be gripped by a pressure roll 14 and a feed roll 15, when the leading edge of thatdocument reaches the roller 4, in order to obtain positive feeding of the document. The document is fed in the direction of the arrow 10, so long as the feed on the trailing edge is effective. The ball 7 is driven by the document to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the direction of the arrow 10, and the roller 4 slips. A soon as the trailing edge is released, the roller 4 feeds the document forward in the direction of the arrow and also sideways towards an aligning surface formed by the inner wall of a slot 11 in the plate 6. The axis of rotation of the ball shifts to a position approximately parallel to the axis of the roller 4. Other means than the pressure roll 14 and feed roll 15 described above may be used to obtain positive feeding of the document. For example, a driven vacuum roll may be used.
The document encounters further angled rollers 4ad, cooperating with balls 7a-d, as it is moved along the feed path. The rollers 4 impart a sideways component to the feeding of the document until one side edge of the document is pushed into contact with the aligning surface of the slot 11. Thereafter, the rollers slip on the document so that it again moves only in the direction of the arrow l0. The leading edge of the aligned document is picked up by a further roller 12, cooperating with a ball 13, to feed the document on to a data sensing device, for example. The axis of the roller 12 is perpendicular to the direction of the arrow 10.
The embodiment described above uses a series of rollers arranged adjacent to one edgeof the document. It will be appreciated that the rollers would normally be arranged along the center line of the document if alignment was not required, and that two, or more, rollers, each-cooperating with a ball, may be positioned at spaced intervals across the width of the document.
lclaim:
1. Apparatus for feeding documents including a rotatable feeding roller, a ball, a guide for said ball to allow contact between said ball and the periphery of said roller and to allow movement of the ball freely in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of said roller at the point of contact and means for applying fluid under pressure to urge said ball towards said roller.
2. Apparatus according to claim '1 including an alignment surface aligned in the direction of feed of documents and in which the rotatable feeding roller has an axis extending at an angle to the alignment surface such that the rotatable feeding roller imparts to the document movement having a component in the direction of feeding and a component directed toward the alignment surface.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the guide includes a tube of circular cross section, the axis of which is aligned with a radius of the rotatable feeding roller and the ball is freely movable in the tube. v
4. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a plurality of rotatable feeding rollers, a base plate having a plurality of cylindrical holes therethrough aligned one with each rotatable feeding roller respectively, a ball in each holein contact with the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and freely'movable in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the said roller, a cover for the base plate having an inlet for fluid under pressure, said cover coacting with said base plate to form a common fluid chamber communicating with the end of each of the cylindrical holes remote from the rollers so as to permit the application of fluid under pressure to the balls to urge each of said balls towards the periphery of the roller associated therewith.
5. Apparatus according to claim 2 including means for conveying and supporting documents in a plane extending through the point of contact of the ball and the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and tangentially to the surface of said roller} 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the means for conveying and supporting documents includes feed means positioned ahead of the rotatable feeding roller by a distance less than the length of a document to be fed so that the trailing edge of a document is positively fed until therleading edge of 5 directed toward the alignment surface, a base plate having a plurality of cylindrical holes thereth'rough aligned one with each rotatable feeding roller respectively, a ball in each hole in contact with the periphery of the associated rotatable feeding roller and freely movable in a direction perpendicular to the periphery of the said roller, a cover for the base plate having an inlet for fluid under pressure, said cover coacting with said base plate to form a common fluid chai'nbercommunicating with the end of each of the cylindrical holes remote from the rollers so as to permit the; application of fluid under pressure to the balls to urge each of said balls towards the periphery of the roller associated therewith.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0773/68A GB1206531A (en) | 1968-01-12 | 1968-01-12 | Improvements in or relating to document feeding apparatus |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3550933A true US3550933A (en) | 1970-12-29 |
Family
ID=9727736
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US787081A Expired - Lifetime US3550933A (en) | 1968-01-12 | 1968-12-26 | Document feeding apparatus |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3550933A (en) |
GB (1) | GB1206531A (en) |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3825950A (en) * | 1971-11-24 | 1974-07-23 | Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho Kk | Magnetic card reader-recorder |
US4104105A (en) * | 1976-10-28 | 1978-08-01 | Burroughs Corporation | Automatic overlay attaching apparatus |
FR2387695A1 (en) * | 1977-04-18 | 1978-11-17 | Recognition Equipment Inc | ALIGNMENT MECHANISM FOR DOCUMENT PROCESSING |
US4411418A (en) * | 1982-02-12 | 1983-10-25 | Xerox Corporation | Document corner registration |
US4440389A (en) * | 1982-03-08 | 1984-04-03 | The Mead Corporation | Sheet registration device |
US4836119A (en) * | 1988-03-21 | 1989-06-06 | The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. | Sperical ball positioning apparatus for seamed limp material article assembly system |
US5564544A (en) * | 1994-04-19 | 1996-10-15 | Kabushiki Kaisha Ace Denken | Bank note conveying apparatus |
US20040226858A1 (en) * | 2003-05-12 | 2004-11-18 | Jin-Chul Jhung | Display package |
US20090160125A1 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2009-06-25 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4744554A (en) * | 1986-10-10 | 1988-05-17 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Deskewing device for mailing machine |
CA2074023A1 (en) * | 1991-07-19 | 1993-01-20 | Shahzad H. Malick | Method and apparatus for aligning while changing direction of flat articles |
-
1968
- 1968-01-12 GB GB0773/68A patent/GB1206531A/en not_active Expired
- 1968-12-26 US US787081A patent/US3550933A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3825950A (en) * | 1971-11-24 | 1974-07-23 | Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho Kk | Magnetic card reader-recorder |
US4104105A (en) * | 1976-10-28 | 1978-08-01 | Burroughs Corporation | Automatic overlay attaching apparatus |
FR2387695A1 (en) * | 1977-04-18 | 1978-11-17 | Recognition Equipment Inc | ALIGNMENT MECHANISM FOR DOCUMENT PROCESSING |
US4411418A (en) * | 1982-02-12 | 1983-10-25 | Xerox Corporation | Document corner registration |
US4440389A (en) * | 1982-03-08 | 1984-04-03 | The Mead Corporation | Sheet registration device |
US4836119A (en) * | 1988-03-21 | 1989-06-06 | The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. | Sperical ball positioning apparatus for seamed limp material article assembly system |
US5564544A (en) * | 1994-04-19 | 1996-10-15 | Kabushiki Kaisha Ace Denken | Bank note conveying apparatus |
US20040226858A1 (en) * | 2003-05-12 | 2004-11-18 | Jin-Chul Jhung | Display package |
US20090160125A1 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2009-06-25 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same |
US7900914B2 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2011-03-08 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus having skew conveyance mechanism with sheet deforming unit and image forming apparatus including the same |
US20110115150A1 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2011-05-19 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same |
EP2072434A3 (en) * | 2007-12-19 | 2012-05-09 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same |
US8205879B2 (en) | 2007-12-19 | 2012-06-26 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Sheet conveyance apparatus having skew conveyance mechanism with sheet deforming unit and image forming apparatus including the same |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB1206531A (en) | 1970-09-23 |
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