Sheet aligning apparatus
US5971390A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 26, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65H2701/1912
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Each sheet of a stack of media is aligned with a fixed alignment surface prior to being fed towards a process station of a printer by a single pick roll. During the first portion of its cycle of operation, the sheet advancing force of the pick roll, which is offset from the axis or centerline of the sheet, exerts a torque on at least the uppermost sheet of the stack to have one of its sides engage the alignment surface if it is skewed. When the one side of the sheet is not engaging the alignment surface when the pick roll is initially energized, the uppermost sheet's leading edge engages a resilient projection of an insert of a rib, which is offset from the axis of the sheet but farther from the alignment surface than the pick roll. The skewed sheet pivots about the projection, which is formed of a high coefficient of friction material, extending beyond the surface of the rib. During the remainder of its energization, the pick roll advances the sheet towards the process station of the printer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.