Mel T Kerstein

58297421, Nov 3, 1998

Jul 17, 1996

8/725079

K. George Rabindran - Morton Grove IL
Michael Wisniewski - Bolingbrook IL
Thomas Faber - Skokie IL
Kenneth Guenther - Park Ridge IL
Joseph Kalika - Niles IL
Mel Kerstein - Lincolnwood IL
John S. O'Callaghan - Willmette IL

Bell & Howell Postal Systems Inc. - Lincolnwood IL

B65H 102

271150

An in-feed magazine apparatus for loading documents includes a magazine feed ramp having one or more document conveyor belts disposed along a bottom surface, the belts being arranged to engage the bottom boundary of the documents. The conveyer belts are configured to effect forward movement of the stack of documents toward a document shingler mechanism along a linear axis defined by forward movement of the conveyer belts. Also included is a backing plate having a lower portion disposed proximal to the conveyor belt, an upper portion disposed vertically upward from the lower portion, and a generally planar face parallel to the plane defined by the face of the documents. An upper and lower sensor sense contact with the front end of the stack of documents while a controller operatively coupled to the upper and the lower sensors determines when the front end of the stack of documents lies in a plane substantially parallel to the face of the backing plate. A jogger mechanism operatively coupled to the controller and the backing plate is configured to reciprocally displace a portion of the stack of documents approaching the backing plate such that the jogger mechanism is energized when the controller determines that the stack of documents is inclined at a forward angle relative to the backing plate where such reciprocal displacement is configured to urge the stack of documents towards a substantially parallel orientation relative to the backing plate.

59346663, Aug 10, 1999

Feb 23, 1998

9/028137

K. George Rabindran - Morton Grove IL
Michael Wisniewski - Bolingbrook IL
Thomas Faber - Skokie IL
Kenneth Guenther - Park Ridge IL
Joseph Kalika - Niles IL
Mel Kerstein - Lincolnwood IL
John S. O'Callaghan - Willmette IL

Bell & Howell Postal Systems Inc. - Lincolnwood IL

B65H 108

271148

An in-feed magazine apparatus for loading documents includes a magazine feed ramp having one or more document conveyor belts disposed along a bottom surface, the belts being arranged to engage the bottom boundary of the documents. The conveyor belts are configured to effect forward movement of the stack of documents toward a document shingler mechanism along a linear axis defined by forward movement of the conveyor belts. Also included is a backing plate having a lower portion disposed proximal to the conveyor belt, an upper portion disposed vertically upward from the lower portion, and a generally planar face parallel to the plane defined by the face of the documents. An upper and lower sensor sense contact with the front end of the stack of documents while a controller operatively coupled to the upper and the lower sensors determines when the front end of the stack of documents lies in a plane substantially parallel to the face of the backing plate. A jogger mechanism operatively coupled to the controller and the backing plate is configured to reciprocally displace a portion of the stack of documents approaching the backing plate such that the jogger mechanism is energized when the controller determines that the stack of documents is inclined at a forward angle relative to the backing plate where such reciprocal displacement is configured to urge the stack of documents towards a substantially parallel orientation relative to the backing plate.

55381405, Jul 23, 1996

Oct 19, 1994

8/326122

Kenneth L. Guenther - Park Ridge IL
Tom Faber - Skokie IL
Joseph Kalika - Niles IL
Mel T. Kerstein - Lincolnwood IL
John S. O'Callaghan - Wilmette IL
K. George Rabindran - Morton Grove IL
Michael A. Wisniewski - Bolingbrook IL

Bell & Howell Company - Skokie IL

B07C 500

209552

A buffered stacking system for selectively diverting horizontally disposed documents from a generally horizontal main conveying path, stacking the documents in a horizontal orientation and dropping the documents into replaceable receiving receptacles is provided. The system has a primary horizontal conveyor belt with a lower horizontal reach defining a horizontal primary conveying path. A plurality of sorting stations are located serially along and below the primary conveying path. Each of the sorting stations has at least one diverter arm disposed along the conveying path. The diverter arms are selectively movable from a generally horizontal position which allows passage of the documents along the conveying path to an inclined position to divert the document into the corresponding sorting station. The diverter arms divert the document in a downwardly inclined direction into a stacking station. The stacking station is formed with a lower drop floor assembly for supporting the diverted documents in a stacked generally inclined orientation and for pivoting open to allow the stacked documents to fall into a replaceable receiving bin located below a drop floor which forms a part of the drop floor assembly.