Patent ID: 6877739
Filing Date: 2005-04-12
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A stacking machine for stacking a plurality of mailpieces into a stack, said stacking machine comprising: a stacking deck having a mailpiece input device having a driving mechanism for releasing each of the mailpieces at a driving speed into the stacking deck from the first side toward the second side; and a segmented roller having a curved surface section and a cutoff section forming a first edge and a second edge, the first edge adjacent to the first side of the stacking deck and the second edge adjacent to the second side of the stacking deck when the cutoff section is facing the stack, wherein the segmented roller has a home position and is adapted to rotate in a motion cycle in a rotational direction to further move the released mailpiece toward the second side, and wherein when the segmented roller is located in the home position, the second edge is positioned closer than the first edge to the downstream end in order to prevent the mailpieces in the second end of the stack from moving backward toward the upstream end, and each motion cycle comprises a first start-and-stop motion segment and a second start-and-stop motion segment, wherein in the first start-and-stop motion segment, the segmented roller is caused to rotate in the rotational direction from the home position to a temporary position such that the second edge is moved away from the second end of the stack and both the first and second edges are disengaged from the second end of the stack, thereby forming a channel between the cutoff section and the second end of the stack to allow said each mailpiece to enter into the channel, and in the second start-and-stop motion segment, the segmented roller is caused to further rotate in the rotational direction away from the temporary position to the home position so as to allow the curved surface section to drive the entered mailpiece into the second end of the stack.