Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Sorters of the shiEting bin type have been developed
to conserve space by enabling the bins to be closed when not
receiving sheets but open to facilitate entry of sheets.
In my prior patent (United States Patent 4,343,463)
5 there is disclosed a shifting bin sorter which moves the bins,
by means of spiral cams, between positions above and below
the cams during sorting operations. In my prior patent
(United States Patent 4,337,936) a larger number of bins are
moved by spiral cams at the inle t to the bins and a screw
10 shaft at the distal ends of the bins to minimize angle of
the bin trays. In Du Bois and Hamma (United States Ratent
4,397,401) the bins are shifted at their distal ends, to
minimiæe angle by a cam arm raised and lowered beneath the
distal ends of the bins.
These sorters in which the outer or distal ends of
the trays are vertically moved allow the sorter to have a
large number of sheets. The sorter in the Du Bois and
Hamma application also opens the distal ends of the bins
by means of cam tray ends like those disclosed in IJnited
20 States Patent 4,332,377 and the sheets can be removed
endwise from the trays.
The present invention is an imprGVement over the
sorter of Du Bois and Hamma, United States Patent 4,397,401,
in that it provides smooth operation and is extremely simple
25 by comparison but retains the advantage of access to the
sheets~ The present invention employs bin shifting means
in accordance with my United States Patent 4,343,463, movement
of the outer ends of the bins in unison by an underlying
support as in my United States Patent 4,337,936, but with a
30 more simple structure and access to the sorted sets of sheets.
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More particularly, the present invention provides a
support structure engageable beneath the lowermost tray and
suspended on the uppermost tray, whereby the trays can be
successively moved to and from locations above and below
the sheet access inlet location during sorting operations.
This invention possesses manv other advantages and
has other purposes which may be made more clearly apparent
from a consideration of the forms in which it may be
embodied. The preferred form is shown in the drawings
accompanying and forming part of the present application. It
will now be described in detail, for the purpose of
illustrating the general principals of the invention; but
it is to be understood that such detailed description is
not to be taken in a limiting sense.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the sorting
machine applied to a copier, with the trays in an upper
position;
Fig. 2 is a view corresponding with Fig. 1, with
the bins in a lower position;
Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of
Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line ~-~ of
Fig. 3; and
Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail showing the bin
support.
~; As seen in the drawings, a sheet sorter S in
accordance with the invention is adapted to be associated
with an ofEice copier of any well known type having a sheet
transport T adapted to discharge sheets from the copier, as
indicated by the arrown in Figs. 1 and 2.
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The sorter is adapted to se~uentially vertlcally
shift a number of trays 10 from defined positions above the
sheet entry location, and positions below the sheet entry
location, during sheet sorting operations. The bin shifting
means, as herein, shown is essentially -the same as disclosed
in my prior United States Patent 4,343,463. A pair of rotary
bin shifting members 11 are disposed at opposite sides of a
frame structure 12 and engage trunnions 13 which project
laterally from opposite sides of the trays 10 at their inner
ends.
As shown, shifters 11 are spiral cams rotatable
with shafts 14 at opposite sides of the bins and adapted to
be rotated in opposite directions by a reversible electric
mo-tor Ml and timing chains of belts 15 to shift the bins
sequentially and allow sheet entry into the selected bins.
A control system for the motor is shown, for example, in
my prior United States Patent 4,343,463, in Fig. 13
A rn=e~ t~ 7~b~ thl~~r-e~ nce~-
It will be understood that as the trays are shifted,
the trunnions of adjacent trays will be spaced apart by thecams 11 to provide a wide sheet entry, as seen in Fig. 2.
In addition, -the outer or distal ends of the trays are
supported for pivotal movement on nesting cam tray ends 16,
more specifically disclosed in prior United States Patent
4,332,337, to open -the outer ends of the trays and
facilitate entry of sheets, particularly long sheets which
extend beyond the outer ends of the trays.
According to a feature of the present invention,
the means for pivotally supporting the outer ends of the
trays, by supporting the lowermost tray i9 adapted to move
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vertically as the inner ends of the trays move vertically.
This is accomplished by providing a receiver trav 17 which
has suppor-ts 18 at its outer end forming cam tray ends 17a
for the lowermost tray. The receiver is spaced well below
the lowermost tray to receive a large number of sheets when
the apparatus is operated in a non-sort mode. The cam tray
ends and supports 18 are spaced laterally to enable sheets
to pass there between.
At its inner end, the receiver tray is supported
or suspended from the uppermost tray by a pair of ears 19
at opposite sides tray 17 having vertically extended slots
20 into which the trunnions extend, with the ears 19 at the
top of the slot engaging the uppermost trunnion 13. Since
the trunnions seat one on the other and on the shifters 11,
the receiver is lowered and raised as the trays are
sequentially shifted by the cams 11.
In the illustrative form the trunnions are confined
between a spring loaded top stop 21 and a bottom stop 22 in
a cage 23 which moves vertically with the trays, as more
fully illustrated in my United States Patent 4,343,463.
However, since the distance between the stops 21 and 22
equals the height of the cam 11 and 19 of the 20 trunnions
shown, one trunnion will at all times be in the cam slot
lla so that a resilient force is not required to load the
trunnions into the cam shaft.
In the case of some copying machines, the transport
~ T may suffice to carry the sheets into the bins. However,
-~ the sorter shown has an infeed, comprising a driven shaft
30, having resilient feed rolls 31 thereon, driven by a
motor M2 and a pully and belt drive 32. Above the driven
- 4
shaft 30 is a pinch roll shaft 33 having pinch rolls 3g,
whereby sheets are positively driven into the bin trays,
From the foregoing, it will now be apparent that
the invention provides a sorter apparatus which, by virtue
of the fact that the trays move vertically at their inner
ends, are cammed apart at their outer ends, due to the
pivotal movement, and because the trays are o~en at the
outer ends, can receive a large number of sheets per tray
from a fixed sheet inlet, and the sheets can be easily
removed.
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