System to Measure Thickness of an Object

A system that measures a thickness of an object includes a conveyor to convey the object and an engagement member movable in response to the thickness of the object. The system further includes a lever connected to the engagement member, the lever movable with the movement of the engagement member, and a measurement device to measure the thickness of the object based on a measured position of the lever.

BACKGROUND

In paper handling systems, it is often necessary or desirable to detect the sheet quantity of paper products to determine whether the correct number of sheets of paper are being handled or transported. For example, one particular system that is useful to detect the thickness of paper and sheet products is on envelope inserting machines that insert product such as advertisements, promotional materials, booklets, billing statements, or other material into host-product, such as envelopes, magazines, or newspapers.

In many cases, the insert product has intrinsic value, such as a credit card, a driver's license, and/or a promotional or discount coupon. In such a case, it is important that the envelope inserting machine insert only one such insert into the host-product. Further, even in cases where the insert product does not have much intrinsic value, it is important to insert only one of such product to each subscriber. For example, the insert product may have information particular to and/or confidential to each subscriber. If multiple insert products are inserted into a single host product, then subscribers will be sent insert products that have information for and of another subscriber.

Envelope inserting machines and other paper-handling systems have used sheet quantity detectors to detect the sheet quantity of the inserts or other paper. The individual inserts may be single sheet or multiple sheets. If more than the desired thickness (or number of inserts) is detected, corrective action usually needs to be taken to remove the excess. This increases the chance for human error in an insert operation that has deadlines in getting the fully-inserted product to its ultimate destination, such as a subscriber's home or newsstand.

Attempts to detect sheet quantity of inserts have included contact sensors, radiation sources and detectors, fiber optic light sensors, Hall sensor devices, and measuring the capacitance of the document. However, those attempts have met varying degrees of success, and some of them are affected by the temperature and humidity of the environment, as well as other process variables. As such, increasing the efficiency and reliability for these detectors remains a priority to avoid delays when operating envelope inserting machines and other paper-handling systems. Calibrating these legacy devices can also be complicated, time consuming, or problematic.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. In addition, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a central axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the central axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to the central axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the central axis. The use of “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” and variations of these terms is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.

Accordingly, disclosed is a system and assembly for measuring a thickness of an object, such as a sheet product that may be conveyed along a conveyor. A sheet product may refer to a product including one or more sheets, such as sheets of paper, plastic, and/or other material. For example, a sheet product may refer to a sheet including an attachment thereto, such as a sheet of paper including a plastic card attached thereto, in which the sheet may or may not be inserted into another sheet product, such as inserted within an envelope. As such, the present disclosure contemplates multiple arrangements and configurations of a sheet product. For example, a sheet product may include one or more sheets, attachments, and/or materials, in which a system and/or assembly in accordance with the present disclosure may be used to measure a thickness of the sheet product. Further, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, though the present disclosure specifically mentions a sheet product as an example of an object that may have a thickness measured, other objects may be used and have a thickness measured without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

As such, a system and assembly for measuring a thickness of an object may include a conveyor to convey the object and a lever movable in response to the thickness of the object. The lever may include an engagement member to engage an object as it passes the engagement member, the lever being movable with the movement of the engagement member. Further, a measurement device may be included to measure the thickness of the object. In particular, the measurement device may be used to measure movement of the lever, such as when engaged and when not engaged with the object, in which the measurement device may be able to measure the thickness of the object based on a measured movement of the lever.

Referring now toFIGS. 1A,1B, and1C, multiple schematic views of a system100to measure a thickness of an object102in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. In particular,FIG. 1Ashows a view of the system100when an object is not present for measurement,FIG. 1Bshows a view of the system100when an object102B is present to measure a thickness thereof, andFIG. 1Cshows a view of the system100when an object102C is present to measure a thickness thereof. As shown, the objects102B and102C may be sheet products in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In addition to other elements and components, the system100, as shown, may include a conveyor110, an engagement member120, a lever130, and a measurement device140. The conveyor110may be used to convey an object102into and out of engagement with the engagement member120. As such, as an object102travels on the conveyor110and may be engaged and contacted by the engagement member120, causing the engagement member120to move in response to the thickness of the object102. When engaged with the engagement member120, the object102may be positioned between the engagement member120and the conveyor110, such as shown inFIGS. 1B and 1C. Otherwise, when no object is present, the engagement member120may return to a position against the conveyor110, such as shown inFIG. 1A.

The lever130may be connected to the engagement member120, in which the lever130may move in accordance with the movement of the engagement member120. For example, as shown, the lever130may be rotatably connected to an axis132, in which the lever130may rotate about the axis132in response to the movement of the engagement member120.

The measurement device140may be used to measure the movement of the lever130and/or the engagement member120. As such, the thickness of the object102may be measured based upon the measured movement or position of the lever130and/or the engagement member120. For example, a comparison of the measured position of the lever130and/or the engagement member120when no object is present within the system100and the engagement member120is not in contact or engaged with an object, such as shown inFIG. 1A, with the measured position of the lever130and/or the engagement member120when an object102is present within the system100and the engagement member120is in contact or engaged with the object102, such as shown inFIGS. 1B and 1C, may result in an output from the measurement device140that corresponds to and is based upon the thickness of the object102.

As shown, the lever130may rotatably connected to the axis132to move and rotate about the axis132in response to the movement of the engagement member120. As such, the axis132may be used to define an engagement side134A and a free side134B for the lever130. In such an embodiment, the engagement member120may be connected to the engagement side134A of the lever130. Further, the measurement device140may be operably coupled to the free side134B of the lever130, in which the measurement device140may be used to measure the movement of the free side134B of the lever130when measuring and determining a thickness of an object within the system100.

As shown inFIGS. 1A,1B, and1C, the engagement member120may be connected to an end of the lever130, such as the end of the lever130on the engagement side134A, and the measurement device140may be operably to another end of the lever130, such as the end of the lever130on the free side134B. However, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not so limited, as the engagement member and the measurement device may be connected and/or operably coupled to any location of the lever, such as by having the engagement member and the measurement device connected and/or operably coupled to the same side and/or same end of the lever without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown inFIG. 1A, when no object is present within the system100, the engagement member120may be positioned against the conveyor110, and as shown inFIGS. 1B and 1C, when an object102is present within the system100, the object102may be positioned between the engagement member120and the conveyor110. Accordingly, in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the engagement member120may be biased towards the conveyor110. This configuration may facilitate having the engagement member120contact and engage the object102when present within the system100, or having the engagement member120contact and engage the conveyor110when no object is present within the system100.

As such, a biasing mechanism may be used to bias the engagement member120towards the conveyor. For example, in one or more embodiments, a biasing mechanism, such as a spring or other biasing mechanism known in the art, may be positioned about the axis132of the lever130to bias the lever130, thereby biasing the engagement member120connected to the lever130towards the conveyor110. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, however, that other configurations and arrangement may be used to bias the engagement member towards the conveyor, such as by having a biasing mechanism coupled between the conveyor and the engagement member and/or lever to bias (e.g., “pull”) the engagement member towards the conveyor.

As shown inFIGS. 1A,1B, and1C, the engagement member120may include a roller, such as by having the roller rotatably connected to the lever130. As such, as the object102enters into engagement with the engagement member120, the roller may physically contact and engage the object102, in which the roller may rotate about an axis that rotatably connects the roller to the lever130. This connection between the roller and the lever130may facilitate the movement of the object102along the conveyor110when entering into the system100and contacting and engaging the roller. However, those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not so limited, as the engagement member in accordance with the present disclosure may be any type of engagement member know in the art that may contact and engage an object, which may or may not be rotatably connected to the lever within the system, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a lever used within a system of the present disclosure may include one or more arms. For example, as shown inFIGS. 1A,1B, and1C, the lever130may include a single arm, such as by having the arm rotatably connected to the axis132with the engagement member130connected thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art, however, will appreciate that the lever130may include more than one arm, such as by having a first arm connected to the axis132, with a second arm and/or a third arm connected to one or both ends of the first arm. In such an embodiment, the engagement member120and the measurement device140may be connected and/or operably coupled to the first arm, second arm, or third arm without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a measurement device used within a system of the present disclosure may include any measurement device known in the art. For example, the measurement device may include a mechanical, electrical, optical, and/or any other type of measurement device known in the art, in which the measurement device may be used to measure the movement and/or rotation of the lever and/or the engagement member as the lever and/or engagement member moves in response to the thickness of an object.

As discussed above, a system in accordance with the present disclosure may be used to measure a thickness of an object, such as the thickness of a sheet product. For example, in paper handling systems or other similar systems, it may be necessary or desirable to detect a thickness of an object, such as the thickness or sheet quantity within a sheet product to determine whether the correct number of sheets is included within the sheet product. As such, a system and/or assembly of the present disclosure may be used within such an embodiment.

In one or more embodiments, a system in accordance with the present disclosure may be used to not only measure a thickness of an object, but the system may also be used to determine if the object has too small or too large of a thickness for the purpose of the object. For example, if a sheet product has too many sheets or too few of sheets, when the system measures the thickness of the sheet product, the system may compare the measured thickness of the sheet product with a predetermined quantity and/or with the thickness of other sheet products that have been measured. If the thickness is greater or less than a given quantity or range, such as by comparing the measured thickness of the object with a certain tolerance (e.g., within 5% of a desired thickness), the system may be used to alert that the sheet product or object is too large or too small. This condition may allow the system to be stopped, in which the sheet product or object may be inspected to determine if the sheet product or object needs to be altered (e.g., add or remove particular sheets) for the desired purpose.

For example, in one or more embodiments, when the object102B having a desired thickness is received into the system100and is measured, such as shown inFIG. 1B, the system100may allow the object102B to be received into the system100on the conveyor110and then out through the system100using the conveyor110. However, when the object102C having an undesired thickness, such as being too thick or too thin, is received into the system100and is measured, such as shown inFIG. 1C, the system100may allow the object102C to be received into the system100on the conveyor100, but the system100may send an alert to prevent the object102C from continuing to pass through the system100without being independently checked or verified.

As such, in one or more embodiments, a system in accordance with the present disclosure may include a programmable logic controller and/or an amplifier. For example, as shown inFIG. 1A, the measurement device140, such as a fiber optic unit, may be included with and/or connected to an amplifier172and/or a programmable logic controller170. The programmable logic controller170may be used to receive an output from the measurement device, in which the programmable logic controller may use the output from the measurement device to determine a thickness of an object based upon the measurements taken using the measurement device. Further, the amplifier172may be used to amplify a signal from the measurement device, such as by using an optical amplifier to amplify an optical signal. As such, a programmable logic controller and/or an amplifier may be used in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate measuring a thickness of an object. In particular, a programmable logic controller and/or an amplifier may be used when sending, receiving, and/or controlling signals from multiple devices and components, such as signals produced, sent, received, and/or controlled by a measurement device in accordance with the present disclosure.

For example, the programmable logic controller may be used to determine the thickness of the object based upon the difference of the positions measured of the lever and/or the engagement member using the measurement device. The programmable logic controller may be used to determine if an object is too thick and/or too thin when measured for thickness, such as described above. Further, the system may be self-calibrating, such as by having the programmable logic controller automatically calibrate the system based upon an initial output from the measurement device received by the programmable logic controller when the system is originally activated or turned on. For example, in one or more embodiments, a calibration controller may be used to initiate a calibration process, such as when the engagement member is in a non-engaged position. After the calibration process has then been initiated and/or completed, movement of the engagement member away from the non-engaged position may be measured to correspond to a thickness of an object engaged by the engagement member.

Furthermore, the system may be used to have only certain intervals or “gates” when measuring the thickness of an object, and then ignoring the measurements provided by the system otherwise. For example, a programmable logic controller may be used to only receive and/or read an output from the measurement device when an object has been received into the system, thereby enabling the system to ignore other information that may be irrelevant and/or otherwise confuse the system.

Referring still toFIGS. 1A,1B, and1C, and as discussed above, the measurement device140may be used to measure the movement of the lever130and/or the engagement member120. In an embodiment in which the measurement device140is measuring the movement of the lever130, such as when the lever130moves with the engagement member120in response to the thickness of an object102, the measurement device140may be distanced further from the axis132of the lever130than the engagement member120. For example, the measurement device140may measure the free side134B of the lever130, in which the measurement device140may be further from the axis132of the lever130than the engagement member120on either the measurement side134B and/or the engagement side134A. By having the measurement device140further from the axis132than the engagement member120, this arrangement or configuration enables the measured movement of the lever130to be amplified when the engagement member120moves in response to the thickness of an object102. For example, in an embodiment in which the measurement device140is three times further from the axis132than the engagement member120, the measured movement of the lever130may be three times movement of the engagement member120when moving in response to the thickness of an object102. Such an arrangement or configuration may enable a system in accordance with the present disclosure to increase in accuracy when measuring a thickness of an object.

Referring now toFIG. 2, a perspective view of a system200for measuring a thickness of an object in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As with the above, the system200may include a conveyor210that may convey the object and an engagement member220that may move in response to the thickness of the object. Further, the system200may further include a lever230that may be connected to and movable with the engagement member220, such as rotatable about an axis232, and may include a measurement device240that may measure the thickness of the object based on a measured movement of the lever230.

Further, as shown, a measurement device support250may be used to mount the measurement device240for measuring the movement or position of the lever230and/or the engagement member220. The measurement device support250may include one or more arms or brackets, such as to fix the measurement device240in a relative position within the system200. As shown inFIG. 2, the measurement device support250may be connected between the measurement device240and the lever230, such as the axis232of the lever230.

Further, a deflection member260may be connected between the measurement device240and the lever230and/or the engagement member220, such as by having the deflection member260connected between the measurement device240and the measurement device support250. The deflection member260may be used to have the measurement device240deflect with respect to the measurement device support250, the lever230, and/or the engagement member220. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, the deflection member260may include a screw that may be selectively rotated to deflect an arm of the deflection member260with respect to the other portions of the deflection member260, thereby deflecting the measurement device240connected to the deflection member260. As such, by including the deflection member260, the measurement device240may be selectively deflected to have the measurement device240in a desired position for measuring the lever230and/or the engagement member220.

As discussed above, in accordance with one or more embodiments, a fiber optic unit may be used as a measurement device240. In use, the fiber optic unit may emit therefrom and receive therein a light source, such as a focused beam of light from a light-emitting diode (“LED”). In such an embodiment, the amount of light received within the fiber optic unit may be used to measure the distance of the movement of the lever, such as when measuring the thickness of the object102received within the system100. In such an embodiment, the measurement device240may include a lens242and/or a lens kit with a fiber optic cable244operably coupled and connected to the lens242. As such, a modulated light source may be emitted through the lens242and received back through the lens242and into the cable244. In particular, in one embodiment, the light source may be sent out of an outer portion of the cable244, with an inner portion of the cable244then receiving the light source.