Edge aligner/holder device

US5054764A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• EMF Corporation · US

Inventors

• Gregory Phillips · Seattle, US
• Douglas Langton · Seattle, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 12, 1989
• Grant date: Oct 8, 1991
• Expiry date: Oct 12, 2009

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B65H31/38
• WIPO field: Handling
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

An edge aligner/holder 10 having an edge aligner 30 with a resilient front end 32 and a tail piece 34 cooperatively interengaged with a reciprocating mechanism 36, and having a holder 20 with at least one rest 23 and one backstop 24, the holder 20 mounted above said front end 32 on said edge aligner 30. The resilient front end 32 of the edge aligner 30 holds a job stack 2 containing sheets which already have been piled in alignment when the edge aligner 30 is in its forward position, while at the same time holding the trailing edge of a next sheet 3, the leading edge of which sheet has already been deposited upon the job stack 2, so that the offset movement of this next sheet 3 may be accomplished without disturbing the alignment and piling of the job stack 2 immediately below it. The edge aligner/holder 10 is then reciprocated to a rearward position to drop the trailing edge of the sheet 3 to allow the sheet 3 to join the job stack 2 while at the same time withdrawing the edge aligner 30 from contact with the job stack 2. The operational cycle is then repeated for each additional next sheet 3 fed onto the job stack 2.