High speed duplicator with copy sheet prepackaged shipping and loading carton

A disposable carton is disclosed which is adapted to hold a stack of copy sheets equivalent to a plurality of reams for a printing machine. The carton is constructed of portions which are sequentially removed to expose the stack and permit the operator to carry the stack to a sheet supply platform without disrupting the stack. A remaining portion of the carton which serves to permit the operator to place the stack upon the platform is adapted to be slideably removed from under the stack thus effecting the loading of the stack in the printing machine preparatory to the sheet feed operation.

This invention relates to a high productivity reproduction system, or 
copying machine, having copy sheet supply arrangements involving very 
large quantities of copy sheets for use in such system. 
With the advent of higher speed and more sophisticated copy producing 
machines, printing presses, and the like, considerations as to how the 
mass of copy sheet supply can best and most effectively be handled has 
assumed increasing importance. For high productivity copiers or 
duplicators, copy sheet supply apparatus utilize supply trays which are 
adapted to hold three to five and even more reams of copy sheets. This 
type of copy sheet supply requires the operator to load the paper supply 
tray with a plurality of prepackaged reams of copy sheets, one ream at a 
time, thereby necessitating repeatedly shutting down the duplicator for a 
considerable length of time so as to permit the breaking open of the 
prepackaged reams and loading of the sheet supply tray with the 
individually handled reams of sheets. This entailed unpackaging individual 
reams and placing each ream on the elevator platform for the sheet supply 
using caution that each ream of sheets is correctly placed on an earlier 
placed ream. Building up a supply tray holding five or more reams involved 
time which required machine shutdown and consequently loss of productivity 
as well as requiring many manipulative steps by the operator to 
accomplish. 
A bulk package of copy sheets is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,487 and 
is adapted to be placed on the delivery platform of a copier. However, the 
disclosed carton does not lend itself to be dismantled while on a copier 
platform which is deeply recessed into the copier. The disclosed carton 
merely provides the operator with many reams of paper which is placed on 
the platform, and evidently left there for the dispensing of sheets. The 
package in such operative position cannot be used in printing machines 
having a bottom sheet feeder or a top feeder working in conjunction with 
an upwardly movable elevator. In the latter use, the package would become 
crushed between the elevator platform and the internal structure of the 
machine, thereby potentially damaging the machine, and in any event 
causing sheet jamming. 
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to permit the loading 
of a very high speed printing machine such as a copier or duplicator with 
a supply of copy sheets quickly and easily and to eliminate copier 
shutdown for this purpose. 
The present invention includes a copy sheet container adapted for shipping 
and dispensing and capable of being loaded during assembly and 
manufacturing with sheets of paper equivalent to a plurality of reams of 
copy sheets. The container may be applied directly to the sheet supply for 
a printing machine or as being placed upon the platform of the sheet 
feeding apparatus for the machine. Means are provided so that the portions 
of the container which were placed on the platform with the stack can be 
removed so that the stack and the sheet feeding apparatus are cleared of 
these portions during operation.

For a general understanding of a reproduction machine with which the 
present invention may be incorporated, reference is made to FIG. 1 wherein 
components of a typical electrostatic printing system are illustrated. The 
printing system is preferably of the xerographic type as one including a 
xerographic processor 11, and a document handling apparatus 12. 
Preferably, the processor 11 is the same as the processor in the 
commercial embodiment of the Xerox duplicators, models 9400.RTM. and 
9500.RTM. which utilize flash, full frame exposure, for very high speed 
production. Similarly, the document handling apparatus 12 is the same as 
those used in the same machines. It will be understood that most any other 
type of xerographic processor and multiple exposure document handling 
apparatus may be utilized. Operating in conjunction with the processor 11 
and apparatus 12 is a finishing station 13 and thereby forms the 
reproduction system shown in FIG. 1. It is understood that any other type 
of printing machine may incorporate or use the present invention. 
The system comprising the processor 11 and the document handling apparatus 
12 is under control of a programmer P which permits an operator various 
options: to turn the entire system ON or OFF; to program the reproduction 
system for a desired number of reproductions to be made of each original 
document sheet or set; to select whether simplex or duplex copies are to 
be made; to select a desired output arrangement, that is, sets mode or 
stacks mode, stapled or unstapled; to select one of a plurality of paper 
trays; to condition the machine for the type of document, that is, whether 
one sided or two sided, to select a copy size reduction mode, and other 
desirable functions. The programmer P also includes a controller which 
provides all operational timing and synchronization between the processor 
11 and all of its xerographic processing functions, and system control 
functions, the automatic events to be described hereinafter. The 
controller may include any suitable microprocessor having a CPU and the 
appropriate machine clock, but preferably the processor is one similar to 
the Intel 8080 microprocessor manufactured by the Intel Corporation, Santa 
Clara, California, and having sufficient ROM's and RAM's for all the 
necessary functions in the reproduction system. 
The copier/duplicator system shown in FIG. 1 is representative of systems 
which are capable of producing 120 and more image impressions per minute. 
For simplex or one sided copying, this can result in producing 120 copies 
per minute or more. In order to accomplish fairly long reproduction runs, 
the main copy sheet supply subsystem for the system, the main copy sheet 
holding tray is adapted to hold five reams of sheets. At 500 sheets per 
ream, five reams totals out to involve 2500 sheets. At a production rate 
of 120 copies per minute, it can be estimated that five reams will last 
approximately 21 minutes before needing reloading. For a long run, it can 
be envisioned that an operator will spend considerable time reloading the 
main sheet supply tray. 
Reloading five reams requires that the copying system be shut down, that 
each ream must be broken open and the sheets accurately positioned on the 
tray bottom for the sheet supply tray, which is usually an elevator 
platform. Generally, these platforms are only inches from the floor and 
are deeply recessed into the copier housing thus necessitating many cycles 
of up and down bending and leaning of the operator's body to accomplish a 
little over 21 minutes of copier use before another cycle of reloading 
will be required. The present invention is directed to a sheet holding 
container such as a carton which is particularly suited to be momentarily 
applied to the sheet supply tray of a copier and be provided with 
removable sections and a bottom plate upon a relatively large number of 
copy sheets were previously inserted during manufacturing of the copy 
sheets so that upon removal of the sections and the bottom plate, the 
pre-loaded copy sheets will be exposed upon the supply tray in proper 
orientation and in a neat stack. It is envisioned in the copier system 
disclosed herein that 2500 sheets are contained in the carton which 
together with the sheets were packaged by a copy sheet paper manufacturer 
as a unitary container of paper much the same as a packaged ream is 
manufactured. 
The sheet holding carton in the present invention may be loaded while the 
copier is running with the use of an auxiliary sheet supply while 2500 
copy sheets can be quickly added. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the copier/duplicator system 11, 12 and 13 is 
typically provided with a copy sheet supply station 15 at one end of the 
system. This station may include a main sheet supply 16 having an elevator 
platform 17 which serves as the support or holding tray for five or more 
reams of copy sheets, and an auxiliary tray 18 which may contain one ream. 
In the conventional manner, as shown in FIG. 2, the main sheet supply 
includes the elevator platform 17 upon which five or more reams of copy 
sheets are placed. 
The loaded or prepackaged sheet supply carton of the present invention is 
shown in FIG. 2 and denoted generally by the reference numeral 20. The 
carton comprises a box or receptacle 21 into which sheets of copy paper 
are loaded during manufacturing, and as previously stated, the particular 
illustrated embodiment is adapted to contain 2500 sheets, equivalent to 
five reams of paper. Upon the box or receptacle 21, a base or top cover 22 
is slideably secured as in the manner for the commercial carton which 
contains ten individually prepackaged reams of paper. 
As shown in FIG. 8, the blank for the box or receptacle 21 comprises a 
bottom panel 24, front and rear panels 25, 26, respectively, which hinges 
or folds upwardly along fold lines 27, 28 and end panels 29, 30 hinged or 
folded upwardly along fold lines 31, 32. The front panel 25 is formed with 
outer flaps 33, 34 which fold inwardly along fold lines 35, 36, 
respectively when the panel 25 has been folded upwardly. Similarly, the 
rear panel 26 is provided with flaps 37, 38 foldable inwardly along fold 
lines 39, 40, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, during assembly of the box 
or receptacle 21, the flaps 33, 37 are folded inwardly so that their outer 
edges abut and are suitably glued to the adjacent inner surface of the 
side panel 30. Similarly, the flaps 34, 38 are folded inwardly so that 
their outer edges abut and are glued to the adjacent inner surface of the 
side panel 29. The front panel 25 is formed with small rectangular-shaped 
slots 42 spaced from each other nearly the entire width of the panel. 
These slots are formed in the top edge of the panel 25 for a purpose to be 
described hereinafter. 
The cover 22 for the carton 20 is formed from a blank shown in FIG. 9 and 
comprises two sections 43, 44 joined together along a perforated line 45. 
The sections are separatable by the application of an operator's thumbnail 
as shown in FIG. 3 when the carton is to be used and conditioned for 
application to the copier sheet supply platform. Instead of a perforated 
line 45, a removable tear strip may be utilized to permit separation of 
the sections 43, 44. 
The cover section 44 comprises a top panel 46 having one edge 47 formed 
along the perforation line 45 after the operator has separated the 
sections and removed the section 43 leaving the section 44 still upon the 
base receptacle 21. The edge 47 is shaped to provide a tapered extension 
of the panel 46 for a substantial area across the opened end of the 
receptacle 21 to support the sheets within the carton and prevent the same 
from drooping over the edge 47 of the panel, as will be described below. 
At the opposite side of the section 46 from the edge 47, an end panel 48 is 
folded down along a fold line 49 and held in this position by a pair of 
end flaps 50 suitably glued to downwardly extending side panels 51. As 
shown in FIG. 4, the end panel 48 is formed with a section 52 intermediate 
the ends thereof and being detachably held in the plane of the panel along 
a line of perforations 53. Upon application by an operator thumbnail, the 
section 52 may be detached from its supported relationship with the end 
panel and be pivoted along the fold line 49 and into the plane of the top 
panel 46 for a purpose to be described below. To facilitate handling of 
the section 52 to its folded position, the panel 48 is formed with a 
cutout 54 to permit the operator to insert a thumbnail and grip the 
adjacent edge of the section and to pivot the same as aforesaid. Two 
spaced out holes 55 are formed side-by-side in the section 52 for 
permitting insertion of operator fingers therein. In the position of the 
parts shown in FIG. 4, the section 52 serves as a handle. 
The end panel 48 of the cover section 44 is also formed with square-shaped 
tabs 57, each of which is held within the support of a panel along a 
three-sided perforated line 58 and a fold line 59. The tabs 57 are 
positioned so as to be opposite the slots 42 formed in end panel 25 of the 
bar receptacle 21 when the cover 44 is applied to the receptacle as during 
shipping and storage of the carton. 
The remaining structure for the carton 20 takes the form of a three-sided 
insert or wrap section 60 comprising a back panel 61 and two side panels 
62, 63 supported thereon and pivotally related thereto along fold lines 
64, 65 respectively. Near the lower edge of the insert or section 60, as 
seen in FIG. 6, a pair of square-shaped, spaced cutouts 66 are formed 
adjacent the fold lines 64, 65. The slots 66 are positioned, when the 
carton is fully assembled, to be in alignment with the slots 42 formed in 
the base receptacle 21 and the tabs 57 formed in the section 44 of the top 
cover. 
Further structural relationships will be discussed below during the 
description of handling and use of the carton. When fully assembled and 
preloaded with copy sheets, the carton assumes the following construction. 
The insert or section 60 is wrapped around and in direct contact with 
nearly three sides of the stack S. The stack and section 60 are encircled 
by the box or receptacle 21 being in direct sliding contact with the outer 
surface of the section. The cover 22, in turn, fits over the open end of 
the receptacle. In this position of the parts, the panel 25 is placed 
between the wrap section 60 and the panel 48 of the cover section 44 and 
the slots 42, the cutouts 66 and the tabs 57 are in alignment. 
FIG. 2 illustrates the carton 20 as it is handled during shipping and 
storage. When a need occurs for copy sheets in the processor 11, the 
operator places the carton on a suitable support such as a table top still 
in the orientation of FIG. 2. The section 43 of the top cover 22 is 
removed after complete perforation at the line 45, thus exposing the copy 
sheet stack S in the carton as shown in FIG. 3. The carton is then 
inverted on the table top to the orientation shown in FIG. 4. The handle 
52 is pivoted to be in the plane of the panel 46 as shown and the tabs 57 
are perforated and pushed inwardly by the use of fingers at the paper 
packaging assembly line. The pushing in of the tabs 57 drives them through 
the slots 42 in the receptacle 21, and into the cutouts 66 in the section 
60. Next, the base receptacle 21 is lifted upwardly from between the wrap 
section 61 and the cover section 44, as shown in FIG. 5. This removal of 
the base receptacle from its frictional relationship with the section 60 
and the cover panel 48 is possible by the insertion of the tabs 57 within 
the cutouts 66 formed in the section 60. As the receptacle is lifted, the 
tabs 57 are cleared because of the open-ended slots 42 while the tabs 57 
maintain the section 60 fixed under the weight of the stack S resting upon 
the panel 46 of the cover section 48. 
With the receptacle 21 removed, the operator manually lifts the cover 
section 44 of the base 22 with the stack S thereon and the wrap section 60 
in place, as shown in FIG. 5, onto the platform 17 of the sheet feeding 
apparatus 15. 
After the cover section 44 has been placed upon the platform 17, the 
operator places a hand against the panel 61 to immobilize the stack S 
while in coordinated action slowly pulls the stack support section 44 from 
under the stack S, using the handle 52 with two fingers inserted in holes 
55. This coordinated action results in the remaining portions of the 
carton as shown in FIG. 6. As the section 44 is being pulled, the stack 
support panel 46 slides between the platform and the bottom sheet of the 
stack and the tabs 57 are withdrawn from the cutouts 66. After the cover 
section has been removed, the insert section 60 is removed leaving the 
stack S upon the platform 17 ready for use by the sheet feeding apparatus. 
Other forms of a handle may be utilized in place of the handle 52 for 
pulling the stack support panel 46 out from under the stack S. For 
example, a cord or rope attached at its ends to the corners of the section 
44 may be used, or other forms made from the carton material. In any 
event, it is important that the pulling device be in the same plane as the 
panel 46 so that this panel, rather than the section 44, is being pulled. 
With the relatively large weight of the stack resting on the panel 46, a 
pulling force on any other part of the section not in the plane of the 
stack support panel may deform and collapse the other structure of the 
carton and place the stack in some disarray. 
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present invention 
provides a quick and easy means for loading large quantities of copy 
sheets into a sheet feeding apparatus of a printing machine. Particularly 
significant is the provision of collapsible structural components of a 
carton which permits this loading in a feeding apparatus which is deeply 
recessed in the copier structure thus making it difficult to load even at 
the conventional rate of one ream at a time. The carton has been devised 
to be easily and quickly loaded with copy sheets at the manufacturer's 
plant and to be easily and quickly disassembled by the operator during 
loading. 
While the invention has been described to the structure disclosed, it is 
not confined to the details set forth, but is intended to cover such 
modifications or changes as may come within the scope of the following 
claims.