U.S. patent number 3,907,276 [Application Number 05/475,676] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-23 for wobble jogger.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Xerox Corporation. Invention is credited to Dennis P. Gerbasi.
United States Patent |
3,907,276 |
Gerbasi |
September 23, 1975 |
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.
Inventors: |
Gerbasi; Dennis P. (Webster,
NY) |
Assignee: |
Xerox Corporation (Stamford,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
23888625 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/475,676 |
Filed: |
June 3, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/314; 271/251;
271/184 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H
29/22 (20130101); B65H 31/34 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65H
31/34 (20060101); B65H 29/22 (20060101); B65H
029/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;271/80,174,184,221,222,240,251,264,272,273,274 ;198/35,127
;193/37 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Blunk; Evon C.
Assistant Examiner: Saifer; Robert
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.
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.
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