Patent ID: 8702089
Filing Date: 2014-04-22
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A rotary insert feeder for feeding a plurality of stacked inserts to a collating track of document processing equipment, the rotary insert feeder comprising: a stacker for containing a vertical stack of the plurality of inserts, the stacker comprising vertical side supports and a bottom plate; a plurality of rotary drums positioned below the bottom plate of the stacker; a separator hook positioned above the rotary drums, the separator hook configured to pivot from a first position such that a leading edge of the separator hook is at least partially disposed between a bottommost insert and a second bottommost insert, to a second position away from the bottom plate and the rotary drums; and a plurality of gripper assemblies for removing a bottommost insert from the vertical stack of inserts, the plurality of gripper assemblies operably attached to a side surface of a respective one of the rotary drums, each gripper assembly including: a movable gripper finger and a spring loaded and movable bottom seat, wherein: when the separator hook is in the first position, a leading edge of the bottommost insert is engaged between the gripper seat and the spring loaded bottom seat during a closing operation of each gripper assembly such that the bottommost insert is removed from the vertical stack, and the gripper assemblies are driven synchronously, and each gripper assembly is configured to operate with an independent gripping force based on at least a thickness of the bottommost insert.