Wobble jogger

Abstract

A sheet jogging apparatus for facilitating the feeding of sheets into a tray device or the like. The sheet jogging apparatus includes a thin flexible round disc member mounted to a shaft in such a manner that the plane of the disc member is skewed to the shaft rotation. When spun on its axis the disc is a wobbling effect. Upon contacting a sheet of paper the main direction of the paper is altered by pushing the paper in a direction perpendicular to its feed direction. After one half of a revolution of the disc the material buckles in the other direction giving the paper a component directly opposite to the first half revolution. As a result the sheet is fed in a zig-zag path enabling the center to be registered between side guides of a paper tray.

Description

This application relates to a sheet jogging device for facilitating the feeding of sheets into a tray as is used in the field of electrostatic copying or the like.

In the handling of cut sheets of paper, as for example, transporting them into a tray or collating pages of a book in a stack, it is important that all the sheets be properly aligned in the sheet path. Normally, the mechanism for aligning sheets into a tray or stack operates on the side or bottom of the sheet rather than registration of the center of the sheet. Frequently, this side or bottom registration is a problem when feeding the sheets into a tray or the like. The sheet handling device of the instant invention is a simple inexpensive single axis mechanism which drives the sheet past it and moves it slightly back and forth perpendicular to the main feed path of the sheet.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide for the registering of cut sheets along the center of the sheet path;

It is a further object of the invention to improve the handling of cut sheets;

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensive device for feeding sheets into a tray with side guides.

These and other objects and added advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the following detailed description which refers to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the improved sheet jogging apparatus;

FIG. 2 is an end view; and

FIGS. 3 through 5 are plan views of the sheet jogging apparatus showing its operation.

FIG. 1 shows sheet jogging apparatus 10 which includes a shaft 12 on which is mounted a hub 14 on which is mounted a thin elastic disc 16. As best shown in FIG. 2, disc 16 is mounted skewed to the shaft rotation. By this structure when the disc is spun on its axis it gives a wobbling effect when observed from the side; however, it appears to be a spinning disc when observed from the end of the shaft. The angle of skew ranges from about 1.degree. to about 10.degree.. Disc 16 may be made from any suitable material. Preferred materials are rubber, urethane, plastic or any combinations thereof.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 5 a sheet of paper S is contacted by the disc and jogged in a zig-zag path while maintaining its centerline registration. Upon interfering with the paper in its forward direction or the direction of the arrows in FIGS. 3 through 5 due to the interference of the disc with the paper the disc buckles under pressure causing sheets to be pushed in a direction perpendicular to its main feed as most clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. After one half revolution of the disc the sheet S is moved or pushed in a direction to the left as seen in FIG. 4 and upon the next half revolution the sheet S is pushed to the right as shown in FIG. 5. As a result the sheet S is moved in a zig-zag path which facilitates sheet handling as, for example, centering the sheet between side guides of a tray or the like.

By the above described invention a single revolving component creates a zig-zag direction to a sheet of paper enabling the paper to seek direction from side guides as it enters the tray or the like. It will be appreciated that this device is inexpensive and yet highly reliable making it desirable for paper handling technology.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet jogging apparatus comprising:

a shaft member having its axis extending at right angles to a sheet path,

a thin disc member mounted on said shaft inclined at an angle from about 1.degree. to about 10.degree. to a plane perpendicular to said axis so that the plane of the disc is skewed to the rotation of said shaft whereupon sheets fed along the sheet path and contacted by said disc causes the sheets to be pushed in a direction at an angle between the sheet path and a direction perpendicular to the sheet path for one half revolution of the disc and to be pushed in an opposite direction during the next half revolution of the disc.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said disc member is made of an elastic material.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the material of said disc member is selected from the group of rubber, urethane, and plastic or combinations thereof.