Patent ID: 6454255
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
A sheet accumulator comprising:(a) a circular device having an outer perimeter; (b) a backstop perpendicular to the outer perimeter of the circular device, extending outward from the outer perimeter, for stopping sheets of paper each of which enters the sheet accumulator one by one and registers a lead edge against the backstop; (c) revolvable gripper jaws having a first open position and a second closed position, wherein the first open position defines a mouth adjacent to the outer perimeter of the circular device, and wherein the closed position is for seizing the lead edges of all the sheets of paper that have registered against the backstop whenever an additional sheet registers against the backstop, and for then pulling all the sheets of paper along a circular path adjacent to the outer perimeter of the circular device until the gripper jaws return to a home location where the gripper jaws move to the first open position; (d) means for exiting a complete stack of sheets out of the sheet accumulator, after a predetermined number of sheets has been ungripped by the gripper jaws; and (e) means for causing the gripper jaws to revolve and to move between the first open position and the second closed position.