Document registration apparatus with skew adjustment

A document registration apparatus for use in a document inserting station or a document queuing station is provided. The apparatus includes a document registration unit having a plurality of laterally-spaced registration stops which pivot about a horizontal axis for stopping motion of a document and registering a particular edge of a document to a particular direction in the apparatus. There is at least one urge roller for moving the registered document away from the apparatus for further processing. The document registration apparatus also includes structure for pivoting the documentation registration unit about a vertical axis for skew adjustment of the registration unit.

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
The present application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 07/906,170, 
filed concurrently herewith; and U.S. application Ser. No. 808,863, filed 
Dec. 17, 1991, each of which co-pending applications is assigned to the 
assignee of the present invention. The specific and entire disclosure each 
of the aforementioned applications is specifically incorporated herein by 
reference for the purpose of further explaining the nature of the present 
invention. 
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a document registration apparatus for use 
in a document processing system, and more particularly, for use in a 
document queuing station. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Various document processing systems, such as in an inserting machine, 
require that a document is aligned relative to a particular station in the 
system prior to being processed at the station. Typically, this is 
accomplished by registering a particular edge of the document in a 
particular direction in the system. For example, documents must be aligned 
before being conveyed to a folding apparatus to achieve a proper fold. 
Also, enclosures which are to be inserted into an envelope should be 
aligned relative to the envelope prior to insertion in order to avoid 
processing difficulties. Furthermore, some documents which are to be 
transported away from a particular queuing station, to another adjacent 
document raceway, should be aligned at the queuing station relative to the 
raceway, in order to facilitate the processing of the documents. 
Devices which register a particular edge of a document to a particular 
direction are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,637,203, 4,078,790 
and 4,925,180, which utilize stops that pivot into position to stop the 
advancement of documents being conveyed in a particular direction. Some 
registration devices, such as stationary side guides, perform the task of 
aligning the document while the document is being conveyed. Other 
registration devices, such as a "queuing" station, perform the dual task 
of aligning the document and stopping the document until the next 
successive station is ready to receive the document for further 
processing. Typically, queuing stations comprise mechanisms which register 
the document by stopping or queuing the document and which are subject to 
frequent mechanical failure because of the complex nature of their 
mechanical design. Document registration devices should be able to 
repeatedly process a great number of documents before repair or 
replacement is necessary. 
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 808,863, filed on Dec. 17, 1991, and 
assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a document registration 
apparatus in the form of a queuing station is disclosed. The apparatus has 
a plurality of registration stops for stopping motion of a document and 
registering a particular edge of a document to a particular direction in 
the apparatus. The registration apparatus also includes at least one urge 
roller for moving the registered document away from the apparatus for 
further processing. The document registration apparatus also includes a 
jam access hinge for providing access to a jammed document. However, the 
apparatus disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 808,863 does not 
include means for adjusting for skew to properly set the alignment. 
A drawback present in some known document registration devices is that it 
can be difficult to adjust the device to the proper alignment. It is well 
known that there is a need to adjust such registration devices for skew. 
Adjusting for skew aligns the registration device so that the document is 
conveyed from the registration device parallel with the center line of the 
paper path. For a stationary device, such as with side guides, this would 
not be a difficult task. However, for other devices, such as a queuing 
station which comprises a plurality of components and performs multiple 
tasks, each of the individual parts must be aligned relative to each other 
in order for the overall apparatus to be properly aligned to a particular 
chosen direction without interfering with the stopping mechanism. 
Furthermore, once the alignment is set at a station, further adjustments 
may become necessary to maintain alignment. In particular, adjustments may 
be needed when the type of documents being processed is changed, or when 
the registration device goes out of alignment causing skewing of the 
documents at the next successive station. When the number of parts in the 
registration device is large, the alignment adjustment can be time 
consuming. 
A document registration apparatus which simultaneously queues and aligns a 
stack of documents can also suffer from drawbacks associated with the 
mechanical design of the apparatus. For example, the design and operation 
of a queuing station may result in undesirable "shingling" of documents 
where the top document in the stack is not directly above the lower 
documents but slightly shifted forward or backward. This can occur, for 
example, when the exit pinch rollers are mounted in such a way that the 
transport system cannot maintain a square alignment when a document stack 
exits the station. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In light of the above, it has been found that a document registration 
apparatus which is not subject to frequent mechanical failure because of 
the nature of its mechanical design can include a skew adjustment 
mechanism to improve its performance. It has been found that a document 
registration apparatus utilizing a plurality of stops can include a skew 
adjustment mechanism which adjusts for skew by pivoting the plane of the 
stops by a turn of a screw. 
It has also been found that for a document registration apparatus suitable 
for a queuing station which provides adjustments for the handling of 
documents of various lengths, that a separate adjustment mechanism for 
skew is compatible with and does not interfere with the adjustment for 
document length. 
Thus the present invention includes a unique feature to adjust the skew of 
the document at a queuing station registration apparatus. The present 
invention provides a document registration apparatus which includes a skew 
adjustment that is easy to handle and which maintains the adjustment once 
set. 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a document 
registration apparatus for use with a conveying means for transporting a 
document along a path from an upstream direction to a downstream direction 
through a document registration position. The document registration 
apparatus includes a document registration unit positioned above the 
document registration position in the document path, a plurality of 
laterally-spaced registration stops at the downstream end of the 
registration unit positioned substantially perpendicularly to the document 
path for both stopping a document at the document registration position 
and for aligning the document relative to the document path when the 
registration stops are lowered adjacent to the document path, and at least 
one urge roller at the upstream end of the registration unit for urging a 
stopped document against the conveying means when the registration stops 
are raised above the document path to move the document from the document 
registration position in the downstream direction. The apparatus also has 
a first pivoting means for pivoting the registration stops about a 
horizontal pivoting axis in the registration unit for selectively lowering 
and raising the registration stops. The document registration apparatus 
further comprises second pivoting means for pivoting the documentation 
registration unit about a vertical axis for skew adjustment of the 
registration unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is part of a document processing system, such as an 
inserting machine, comprising a plurality of stations situated 
successively along a paper path for processing documents conveyed along 
the path. With reference to FIGS. 1-7, a document registration apparatus, 
generally shown as 10, is used in conjunction with a document transport 
system, generally designated 11. As shown in FIG. 3, registration 
apparatus 10 cooperates with transport system 11 in transporting a 
document 12 along a path 13 in an upstream to downstream direction, 
designated as arrow D. There is a document registration position 16 where 
document 12 is stopped in its path by registration unit 10 and is held or 
"queued" until the next successive station in the processing system is 
ready to process document 12. 
The apparatus 10 simultaneously stops and aligns the document 12 conveyed 
by transport system 11. Document registration apparatus 10 aligns document 
12 relative to path 13, or, if desired, some other document raceway in the 
system. Although FIG. 3 shows a single document 12, it is to be understood 
that the present invention is applicable to situations where document 12 
is a stack of documents. 
Document registration apparatus 10 is suitable for use in a queuing station 
or in an inserting station of an inserting machine wherein document 12 
must be stopped and aligned before further processing. Apparatus 10 is 
suitably mounted to the frame (not shown) of the inserting machine. For 
example, apparatus 10 can be pivotally mounted at the upstream end to 
provide easy access for document jams. A more detailed description of such 
an arrangement is provided in U.S. application Ser. No. 808,863, noted 
previously herein. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, apparatus 10 comprises a document 
registration unit 20 pivotally mounted to a top plate 18. Document 
registration unit 20 preferably comprises a one piece document 
registration unit holder 45 to which a one piece frame member 20B is 
attached. Frame member 20B includes four registration stops 21, 22, 23 and 
24 on the downstream end thereof and two urge rollers 25 and 26 on urge 
roller arms 25A-B and 26A-B, respectively, on the upstream end of unit 20. 
Urge rollers 25 and 26 are spaced at lateral positions between the lateral 
positions o registration stops 21 and 22 on the one hand, and the lateral 
positions of registration stops 23 and 24 on the other hand, respectively. 
Frame member 20B pivots vertically around pivot axis 31. A rotary solenoid 
27 is linked to a pivoting arm 14 by a pin 28 which rides in a slot 15 of 
pivoting arm 14. Pin 28 moves along a circular path on each actuation of 
solenoid 27 and reciprocates in slot 15, thereby rocking pivot arm 14. As 
pivot arm 14 rocks, frame member 20B of document registration unit 20 
pivots vertically around pivot axis 31. 
The combination of registration stops 21-24 and urge rollers 25 and 26 are 
used to stop and align document 12 at document registration position 16, 
and then to release it for further processing. The stopped document 12 is 
aligned at this position so that it can subsequently be processed with 
minimal skew relative to path 13 or, if desired, some other document 
raceway as discussed above. For example, if document 12 is an envelope to 
which enclosures will be inserted, then registration stops 21-24 ensure 
that the envelope will be aligned relative to the enclosures. This 
insertion process can take place at document registration position 16 
(where the envelope will be held open by an envelope opening claw) or, if 
desired, at a subsequent location along path 13. Similarly, if document 12 
is an enclosure which will be subsequently inserted into an envelope, then 
registration stops 21-24 ensure that the enclosure will be aligned 
relative to the envelope. Finally, if document 12 is a sheet or stack of 
sheets which will subsequently be folded, then registration stops 21-24 
ensure that the document is aligned so that the folder can make a square 
fold of the document. 
The registration units shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are comprised of different 
lengths with each being suitable for a particular use. For example, the 
longer apparatus in FIG. 2 may be more suitable for use with a sheet 
feeder that can feed sheets of different lengths. The shorter apparatus in 
FIG. 1 may be more suitable at an insertion station or at an enclosure 
feeder where the length of the document being fed is less than full size 
sheets. 
In order to stop document 12 at document registration position 16, 
registration stops 21-24 are urged clockwise to position A (FIG. 3) by 
actuating solenoid 27. In position A, registration stops 21-24 extend into 
document path 13 and preferably project below the plane of transport 
system 11, so as to block document 12 from being transported further 
downstream by transport system 11. In the preferred embodiment, transport 
system 11 includes two transport belts 11A and 11B (FIGS. 1 and 7) which 
move in synchronization. Preferably, transport belts 11A and 11B are each 
approximately 0.5 inch wide. Laterally spaced on each side of each 
transport belt 11A and 11B are registration stops 21, 22 and 23, 24, 
respectively. The projection of stops 21-24 below the plane of transport 
system 11 assures that document 12 cannot slip through. Registration stops 
21-24 are laterally-spaced along document registration unit 20 so that 
when document 12 is stopped at document registration position 16, the 
downstream edge 49 (see FIGS. 3 and 7) of document 12 is aligned with 
respect to document path 13 or, if desired, another path with which it is 
desired to align document 12, for example, one orthogonal to path 13. The 
continued travel of transport system 11 while document 12 is stopped 
assures that document 12 registers completely against stops 21-24. When it 
is time to release document 12, solenoid 27 is actuated to pivot 
registration stops 21-24 to position B (FIG. 3) wherein urge rollers 25 
and 26 urge document 12 against transport belts 11A and 11B, thus 
increasing the frictional force between document 12 and transport system 
Il. The increased frictional force is enough to stop the slippage between 
document 12 and transport system 11 and moves document 12 downstream for 
further processing. 
As document 12 moves in the downstream direction, it encounters exit pinch 
rollers 32 and 33 which are mounted on independent sets of support arms 
34A, 34B and 35A, 35B, corresponding to exit pinch rollers 32 and 33, 
respectively, and which also pivot about pivoting axis 31. Arms 34A, 34B 
and 35A, 35B and thus rollers 32 and 33, are respectively spring biased by 
separate torsion springs (not shown) to urge rollers 32 and 33 against 
transport belts 11A and 11B. Rollers 32 and 33 move away from belts 11A 
and 11B when document 12 is released, but move back into engagement with 
transport system 11 as soon as document 12 is conveyed beyond rollers 32 
and 33. The released document is thus urged against transport system 11 
and driven while the next document is held. The mounting of pinch rollers 
32 and 33 on separate support arms 34A, 34B and 35A, 35B results in 
minimal "shingling" of documents when a stack of documents exit the 
document registration apparatus. This is because rollers 32 and 33 and 
sets of arms 34A, 34B and 35A, 35B can move away from transport system 11 
as required by the thickness of document 12 to allow document 12 to pass, 
Without lifting the remainder of unit 20. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, document registration unit 20 is preferably 
formed from one-piece document registration unit holder 45, to which a one 
piece frame 20B is pivotally attached. Frame 20B comprises stops 21-24 and 
arms 25A-B and 26A-B. Because document registration frame 20B is formed 
from a one-piece member, it is less subject to mechanical failure than 
registration devices formed from multiple interconnected parts. 
Furthermore, because registration stops 21-24 are rigidly and pivotally 
linked to urge rollers 25 and 26, it is not necessary to align 
registration stops 21-24 relative to urge rollers 25 and 26 in order for 
the overall document registration apparatus to be properly aligned. 
Registration stops 21-24 are inherently aligned with urge rollers 25 and 
26 because urge rollers arms 25A, 25B, 26A and 26B are part of the same 
one-piece member as registration stops 21-24. 
Top plate 18, which is suitably mounted to the frame of the inserting 
machine (not shown), supports document registration unit 20 which is 
mounted to the underside of plate 18 (FIGS. 1 and 4). Top plate 18 
includes a longitudinal slot 56 which guides a slide member 60 as it moves 
back and forth on top of plate 18. Slide member 60 comprises a rectangular 
tang 62 molded to its upstream end and a pin clamping section at its 
downstream end (FIG. 6). Tang 62 fits through a close fitting rectangular 
aperture 64 at slot 56 in top plate 18. By inserting tang 62 into aperture 
64 and then sliding slide member 60 to the rear of plate 18, tang 62 is 
trapped under top plate 18, whereby slide member can be positioned on 
plate 18 along slot 56. 
A U-shaped bracket 70 is suitably mounted to the top side of document 
registration unit 20. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention 
each leg 72 and 74 of bracket 70 includes a flange member 76 and 78 which 
is secured to registration unit 20 by screws. Solenoid 27 is fixedly 
mounted to one leg 76 of bracket 70. The top portion of bracket 70 
includes a pin 80 in the middle of the downstream side of bracket 70, and 
a tab 82 in the middle of the upstream side. 
Shaft 90 has a groove 100 at one end and a knurled surface at the other 
end. There is a threaded section 102 adjacent groove 100. Slide 60 
includes a mating thread molded into it to accept threaded section 102 of 
shaft 90. 
Bracket 70 is assembled to top plate 18 in the following manner. Bracket 70 
is lifted up against the underside of plate 18 with pin 80 and tab 82 
protruding through slot 56. Slide 60 includes a slotted clamp member 84 
with a cutout portion 86 for retaining pin 80 and an aperture 94 through 
which tab 82 extends when bracket 70 is assembled to top plate 18. Slide 
60 is positioned over slot 56 with clamp member 84 adjacent pin 80. Slide 
60 is then slid forward causing pin 80 to be locked in place at cutout 86 
of slotted clamp member 84 and tab 82 to be locked in place on groove 100. 
Thus registration unit 20 is slidably mounted to top plate 18. 
The pivotal adjustment about pin 80 is implemented by shaft 90. As best 
shown in FIG. 7, when shaft 90 is rotated clockwise, it is threaded into 
slide 60 causing groove 100 to move towards the rear of the machine. Tab 
82 moves with groove 100 causing the pivotal rotation of the registration 
unit 20 around pin 80 in a clockwise direction. This causes the stops 21, 
22, 23 and 24 and rollers 32 and 33 to rotate accordingly. It will be 
understood that rotating shaft 90 counter-clockwise has the opposite 
effect. 
Slide 60 includes a pointer member 96 which indicates how much skew is 
introduced and the direction of the skew at registration apparatus 10. 
Slide 60 further includes a molded pointer 98 which indicate..s the length 
of insert the registration apparatus 10 has be adjusted to handle. 
Further details regarding the basic document registration apparatus 10 may 
be obtained from the above noted U.S. patent application Ser. No. 808,863. 
Thus it is seen that the present invention provides skew adjustment means 
to a document registration apparatus that has a design that does not 
result in frequent mechanical failure, that has minimum number of 
mechanical parts, that is not difficult to align, that can simultaneously 
align a stack of documents without shingling, and which allows easy access 
to jammed documents. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the 
present invention can be practiced by other than the described 
embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of 
limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims which 
follow.