Universal multi-station document inserter

Abstract: A universal multi-station document inserter has a plural­ ity of feeder stations for feeding documents in response to signals from a central processor. Each feeder station has a unique address. Feeder programs are stored in distributed processors associated with the feeder stations which provide instructions to each feeder station for feeding documents. A supervisory program is stored in a central processor which is capable of providing address and command signals to the distributed processors of the feeder stations. The central processor and the distributed processors are interconnected for the transmission of signals so that upon receipt of the proper address and command signals at the feeder stations, the feeder stations will provide certain document feeding functions under control of the central processor in accord­ ance with instructions programmed into the distributed processors associated therewith.

Description: The present invention relates to document Inserters, and more particularly to multi-station document inserters. Known multi-station document inserters generally employ discrete elements and are manufactured and wired for each specific customer application. Each such document inserter is manufactured as virtually a one of a kind (custom-built) machine with the attendant costs associated therewith. Such apparatus typically require many weeks in design and manufacture, require substantial operator training time to operate, and are difficult and time consuming to service. One example of such a multi-station document inserter is disclosed in United States Letters Patent 3,606,728 issued on September 21, 1971, to Sather et al., and assigned to Bell and Howell Company, Phillipsburg, New Jersey. This U.S. Patent discloses a multi-station document inserter, comprising a plurality of modular feeder stations MC1-6 serially arranged along a transport deck 12 to sequentially feed documents onto said transport deck to form a collated stack of documents. It also discloses a series of AND gates 78 which may be thought to serve the function of address means associated with each of said feeder stations to specify a unique address for each of said feeder stations. The U.S. Patent further discloses a feeder control 94 associated with a feeder station; photocells 26, 27 detecting the presence of a predetermined code 25 on a coded document 22; and a memory circuit 82 and a group of shift registers 84 which exercise a control function, in response to signals from the photocells 26, 27. U.S. Patent No. 3 935 429 of Branecky et al discloses a multi-station document inserter comprising a plurality of modular feeder stations 20, 21, 31, 41 and 56 serially arranged along a transport deck to sequentially feed documents 26 onto said transport deck to form a collated stack of documents; counters 72 and 74 operate to provide instructions to feeder stations for feeding documents, scanner means 82 for detecting the presence of a predetermined code 26 on a coded document 25; and an arrangement including multivibrators 80, 84 is operable to provide command signals to the counter 72 and 74 for controlling the feeding of documents by said feeder stations, said arrangement being interconnected with said scanner means 62 and said counters for activating said counters in response to a signal from said scanner means 62, which signal indicates the presence of a coded document 25 including the predetermined code. In U.S. Patent (US-A)3 606 728 a coded document is scanned only at the first feeder station MC1 to give the information which is used after treatment in a single proceasing arrangement to control other feeder stations. Other feeder stations are not equipped with scanners. In U.S. Patent (US-A)3 935 429, the scanner is associated with only a single feeder station, this scanner operates on all the documents 25. Once again, a single processing arrangement uses the information so obtained and sends instructions controlling the manner of operation of each of the feeder stations. In contrast, in the present invention, each feeder station has its own individual processor and the feeder stations will carry out certain document feeding functions under control of the control processor in accordance with instructions programmed into the distributed processors at the individual feeder stations. The present invention aims to provide a multi-station document inserter of wider utility, that it to say, of virtually universal application. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a universal multi-station document inserter according to claim 1. According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method for operating a Universal multi-station document inserter as specified above, including the step of: sequentially actuating feeder stations and feeding documents from feeder station to feeder station beginning with the first feeder station during a Sequence Start Mode to ensure a complete collation for the initial collation of documents to be fed from the feeder stations. In this specification, by "configuration of the inserter" is meant the manner in which each feeder station of the inserter is set up to operate. The configuration of the inserter is the sum total of the respective configurations of the individual feeder stations included in the inserter. The present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention given with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a multi-station document inserter in accordance with one example of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the layout of the feeder modules and circuits of the multi-station document inserter of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block diagram of the electronic circuits used in the multi-station document inserter; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the feeder interface circuit; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the scanner interface circuit; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the transport interface circuit; Figure 7 a a flow chart of the supervisory program for use in the supervisory control circuit; Figure 8 is a flow chart of the feeder program for use in a high ratio feeder; Figure 9 is a flow chart of the feeder program for use in a high speed feeder; Figure 10 is a flow chart of the feeder program for use in an envelope feeder: Figure 11 is a flow chart of the feeder program for use in a burster-folder; and Figure 12 is a flow chart of the scanner program for use in the scanner interface circuits. Referring to Fig. 1, a document inserter in accordance with the present invention is generally illustrated at 13. The document inserter 13 includes a plurality of serially arranged modules including an envelope feeder station or module 15 and six document feeder station or modules, including five feeder modules designated 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and burster-folder station or module 24. A computer generated forms feeder 26 feeds continuous form control documents 27 having coded marks 28 thereon to the burster-folder 24 for separating and folding. The coded marks 28 on the control documents 27 are sensed by a control scanner 29. Thereafter, the serially arranged feeder stations 22, 20, 18, 16 and 14 sequentially feed the necessary documents onto the transport deck 30 at each station as the control document 27 arrives at the respective section to form a precisely collated stack of documents which is transported to the envelope feeder 15. Preferably, the transport deck 30 includes a ramp feed so that the control document always remains on the top of the stack of advancing documents. Such a transport deck is used in the INSERTAMAX III Mail Inserter available from Pitney Bowes, Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut. However, it should be understood that the transport deck may be of other types, such as that used in the INSERTAMAX II Mail Inserter available from Pitney Bowes. Inc., of Stamford, Connecticut or the transport deck disclosed in United States Letters Patent 3,934,867, issued on January 27, 1976 to Frank A. Oaschger, Jr., and assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc. The collated stack of documents is inserted in an envelope at the envelope station 15. The necessary postage is provided and the envelope is sealed by a postage meter 31, such as Pitney Bowes, Inc. Model 4255 Postage Meter. As desired, the completed envelopes may than be transported to a single or multi-level stacker 32. Details regarding the components of the feeder modules including the arrangement of the clutches, brakes, motors, and encoder therein may be obtained from United States Letters Patent, 3,935,429, issued on January 27, 1978 to George N. Braneky et al., entitled, PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DOCUMENT FEEDING MACHINES FROM INDICIA CONTAINED ON A DOCUMENT FED THEREFROM and assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and from the INSERTAMAX III Mail Inserter previously referenced. The inserter 13 includes a central control display 34 which displays status messages and fault signals in human readable form and further enables the operator to control and change the configuration of the inserter 13 via finger touch switches, as described in more detail in European Published application numbered 102700. Referring to Figure 2, the layout of the feeder modules and circuits of the document inserter 13 is illustrated. This document inserter is designated 40. It is similar to the document inserter shown in Figure 1, but shows the modular arrangement of feeder modules having a varying number of feeder modules between 4 and 12, as desired. A main chassis 42 includes 4 or 6 document feeder stations, excluding the envelope feeder 48. An intermediate module 44 includes 4 document feeder stations and an end module 46 also includes 4 feeder stations. The electronic circuits of the multi-station document inserter 40 are arranged such that the intermediate module 44 may be readily electrically coupled to the main chassis 42 which includes 4 or 6 feeder stations as desired. The end module 48 may also be readily electrically coupled to the intermediate module 44 as desired. Thus, it is apparent from Fig. 2, that the inserter 40 may include 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 document feeder stations, excluding the envelope feeder station 48, in accordance with customer requirements. The feeder stations 1-12 are designated 50-76 beginning with the feeder station 50 closest to the envelope feeder 48 and ending with the most remote feeder station 76, which is the control document feeder station. All the document feeder stations 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 74, and 76 are arranged in line to serially feed documents therefrom to form collated stacks with the coded documents 27 (see Fig. 1) for insertion into envelopes at envelope station 48. After being placed in an envelope and transported to an accessory station, the envelope is imprinted with the proper postage and sealed by a postage meter 78. A second postage meter 80 may be provided and used for a Postage Break if the documents in the envelope exceed a predetermined number indicating additional postage is necessary. Additional accessories such as multi-level power stackers for rejection of incomplete collations and for sorting various completed collation may be provided, e.g., by levels 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, and 94. The feeder stations 48 through 76 are arranged in parallel between a signal bus 96 and a power bus 98 so that each of the feeder stations 48 through 76 has a unique address code in the signal bus 96. Further, the feeder station 76 most remote from the envelope feeder station, 48, which is normally but not necessary a burster/folder, includes a control scanner interface circuit which will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5. Advantageously, any scanning multi-document feeder may be used in this position to feed a control document. The other feeder stations will also typically include a scanner interface circuit to provide additional control. Further, each feeder module 48-76 will include a feeder interface circuit which will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 4. Advantageously, the scanner and feeder interface circuits for each feeder module are physically the same. This is highly advantageous in providing a universal multi-station document inserter with intelligence present at each feeder/scanner module capable of carrying out certain feeding/scanning operations in response to a central control command. Further, as seen in Fig. 2, a supervisory control circuit 100 is electrically coupled to the signal bus 96 and to a transport interface circuit 102. A power supply 104 is coupled to the power bus 98, the supervisory control circuit 100 and to the transport interface circuit 102. The feeder interface circuits and scanner interface circuits in the feeder modules 50-76 are arranged in parallel between the signal bus 96 and the power bus 98. Also coupled to the signal bus 96 and power bus 98 is an accessory interface circuit 106, in response to signals from the supervisory control circuit 100, the accessory interface circuit 105 provides output signals to various accessories such as postage meters 78 and 80, and the multi-level power stackers 82, 84-94. Coupled to the supervisory control circuit 100 is the central control display 34, see also Fig. 1. The supervisory control circuit or central microprocessor 100 includes a single board computer, such as National BLC 20-4 available from National Semiconductor Corporation, or other similar single board computer available from Intel Corporation, and an auxiliary memory board such as National BLC 104 available from National Semiconductor Corporation, or other similar auxiliary memory board. The single board microcomputer and auxiliary memory board include plug in sockets for receiving PROMs. A supervisory program capable of running all the devices of the inserter 40 and performing all defined control functions is stored in the plug-in PROMs, which are plugged into the single board microcomputer and the auxiliary memory board. An additional PROM, herein referred to as a configuration PROM, includes a data table which specifies a particular inserter configuration and the functions to be performed for that configuration by the executable routines in the supervisory program. Suitable PROMs are Type 2716, available from National Semiconductor Corporation. The details of generating a configuration PROM for use in the universal multi-station document inserter of the present invention are found in corresponding European published Application number 98742. By using the foregoing format for the supervisory control circuit or central microprocessor 100, there is no need to change any of the executable programs. Thus, the same supervisory program may be incorporated into the supervisory control circuit 100 of each multi-station document inserter. The configuration PROM contains no executable programs, but only a table of data which specifies the particular routines to be executed to provide the desired functions for a particular document inserter. The tables of data in the configuration PROM are provided from customer responses to a series of questions regarding the inserter configuration and the functions to be performed thereby. During operation, the software of the supervisory program will access the data tables in the configuration PROM to determine which routines of the supervisory program are to be executed. To faciliate understanding of the operation of the software in the central microprocessor 100, as set forth in the flow chart 101 in Fig. 7 and the supervisory program and configuration PROM program the movement of a control document from a burster/folder to the power stacker will be described. However, we well confine our description to a four feeder station document inserter 50, 52, 54 and 56 with envelope feeder 48, see the main chassis in Fig. 2., and with feeder station 68 being a burster/folder, such as in Fig. 1. Further it is assumed that feeder stations 50 and 52 are high speed feeders and feeder station 54 is a standard feeder. During power up of the document inserter 40, the data table in the configuration PROM is copied into the RAM of the central processor 100. The software in the central microprocessor 100 initially ascertains from the RAM what types of document codes to expect and what their values will be. In this respect, the configuration PROM includes a data table subdivided into blocks of data or space allocated therefore for the maximum number of feeder station or module locations. Thus, the blocks of data in the data table will map the feeder module locations to their position along the document transport path. The software of the supervisory program first starts at the beginning of the block of data associated with feeder station 1, and reads through the data block to see what type of feeder is being used and what type of functions it is to perform. It then proceeds to the next data block associated with feeder station 2 and reads through the data block to see what type of feeder is being used and what type of functions it is to perform. The software continues on in this fashion until it reaches a special End of Table Code for the particular inserter configuration. For example, the configuration PROM will include a yes/no flag for each feature, such as selective feeding, match verification, selective metering, etc. Associated with each of these features will be a set of data values corresponding to the information necessary to implement the task. In this case, only the count verification and selective feeding flags are on, and all others are off. The address codes are predetermined. The selective feeding flag will include those data values as well as the data values of the bar codes which control the selective feeding feature. There are four possible values: 1. No Feed. 2. Feed from feeder one only. 3. Feed from feeder two only. 4. Feed from both feeders. At the end of the cycle which moved the control document through the burster/folder 76 the codes on the document will have been read by the scanner interface circuit and made available to the central microprocessor 100. The codes will be stored by the central microprocessor 100 to be used in a later cycle to select the appropriate feeder(s) as described by the code. Along with the selective feeding code is the value of the count of the number of documents to be fed by the selected feeder. During the next inserter cycle, the control document is moved along the transport deck to the next station of the inserter, and the internal document table in the RAM is updated to reflect that the control document is in the next position. The RAM is than checked to see what feeder module is in that position, Since it is a standard feeder 54, the only Command from the supervisory control circuit 100 is feed. The standard feeder 54 then feeds a single document. At the end of this feed cycle, the feeder status is checked for paper jams or other faults. If there are no faults, another cycle begins and the control document is moved to the high speed feeder 52. When the document moves on to the next position, the RAM indicates that it is a high speed feeder 52, and provides its address code. The central microprocessor 100 then checks the document table to see what code was read from the control document feeder scanner and checks it against the code definitions in the RAM. Assuming that the code was only feed feeder one, a feed Command is not issued from the central microprocessor 100 to feeder two 52. Another cycle takes place moving the document to the next high speed feeder 50. The code stored in the central procossor 100 now issues a feed command along with the desired number of documents to be fed from feeder 50. When finished, the central microprocessor 100 issues a Send Count Command to the feeder 50. The feeder 50 will return a count of the documents it has fed to the central microprocessor 100. The central microprocessor 100 will then check this count against the count for the document stored in the document data table. If they match, no action is taken but if there is a fault it will be recorded in the document data table in the RAM. The configuration PROM and RAM also contain fault handling codes which the microprocessor 100 will use to determine what to do with the document. During the next cycle the transport deck moves the stack of collated documents, including the coded document, to the envelope feeder 48 and the stack of collated documents is inserted into an envelope. During the next cycle the transport deck moves the envelope to the postage meter 78 where the necessary postage is applied and the envelope is sealed. During the final cycle the sealed envelope is feed to the stackers 82, 86, 88, 90, 92, or 94. The aforementioend actions occur for the control document at each feeder module every cycle. For example, in a twelve station inserter, references to the RAM, a decision based upon those references, and an update of the document table in the RAM is made for each of the twelve stations every cycle. Specifically, as the supervisory program progresses from feeder station to feeder station, it reads the data table in the RAM, which is a reflection of the configuration PROM, except insofar as the inserter configuration may have been reconfigured by the operator as described more fully below and in the aforementioned European Published Application No: 98742. The supervisory program resident in the central microprocessor 100 describes a maximum inserter configuration. The actual configuration of the inserter 40 is a subset of the maximum configuration. In implementing the supervisory program, the maximum inserter configuration is translated into software routines each of which implements a small portion of the maximum inserter configuration. Interactive communication is maintained between the central microprocessor 100 and the central control display 34 through an RS 232C standard communication line 106. During normal inserter operation, or in response to operator actuation of the central control display 34, the central microprocessor 100 accesses all of the feeder modules or stations, including high ratio document feeders, high speed document feeders, standard document feeders, inserters, burster-folders, folder-feeders, divider page extractors envelope deflectors, envelope markers, and the accessory interface circuit 105 for postage meters and/or single of multi-level stacker. Initially, the central microprocessor 100 communicates with the control scanner interface circuit of the burster-folder 24 to supply the proper dash codes to the scanner interface circuit to program the same in accordance with the program for the scanner interface circuit. Thereafter, the scanner interface circuits associated with the feeder stations or modules scan the documents being fed thereby. Referring to Fig. 3 a block diagram of the interconnection of the interface circuits for the multi-station document inserter 40 is illustrated. The supervisory control circuit or central microprocessor 100 interacts directly with transport interface circuit 102 to activate the transport motor, clutch and brake, as well as receive pulses from the encoder 198 see Fig. 2, for control of the transport deck 30, see Fig. 1. Interactive communication between the supervisory control circuit 100 and the central control display 34 is provided over the standard communication line 106. Advantageously, the central control display 34 may be a finger touch display switch, such as Fluke Model 1780A Info Touch Display. Communication between the supervisory control circuit 100 and the feeder interface circuit 110B (documents) and envelope interface circuit 110A (envelopes) and accessory interface circuit 105 is maintained over the signal bus 96. Additionally, the supervisory control circuit 100 communicates with the scanner interface circuits 160 through the signal bus 96. The scanner-interface circuit 160 also communicates with the feeder interface circuit 110B. The scanner interface circuit 160 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5. Referring to Fig. 4 a universal feeder circuit for use with all the feeder interface circuits 110A and B shown in Fig. 3 is illustrated generally as 110. The flow chart of the program for a high ratio feeder is illustrated in Fig. 8 as 103; the flow chart of the program for a high speed feeder is illustrated in Fig. 9 as 105; the flow chart of the program for the envelope feeder is illustrated in Fig. 10 as 107; and the flow chart of the program for a burster-folder is illustrated in Fig. 11 as 109. The feeder interface circuit 110 is the same for each feeder station 48-76, except that the address code of each feeder station is unique. This is accomplished via a thumbwheel switch 112 which is preset with a unique address code for each feeder station. This unique address code is supplied to a first set of inputs 114 to a comparator 116. The comparator 116 receives address data on a second set of inputs 118 from the central microprocessor 100 over signal bus 96. If there is a coincidence between the unique address and address data, the comparator 116 will provide an output signal to microprocessor 120 and one-shot circuit 123. When the one-shot circuit 123 receives a signal from the comparator 116, the one-shot circuit 123 provides an internal transfer acknowledge timing signal to the central microprocess 100 which indicates that the feeder module has received data therefrom. The output signal from comparator 116 activates the CS (Chip Select) input of the microprocessor 120 which activates the microprocessor 120. The microprocessor 120 also receives inputs on input lines 122 from photocells and/or switches (not shown) and in response thereto transmits output signals to output lines 124 for performing certain functions at the feeder station in accordance with the program stored therein. As seen in Fig. 4, this includes actuation of motors, clutches, brakes, fault lights, and solenoids associated with that feeder station. The microprocessor 120 also transmits a start scan signal 126 to its associated scanner interface circuit which will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5. The microprocessor 120 transmits output data on data lines 128 to the central microprocessor 100 over signal bus 96 to advise the central processor 100 of the functions implemented by the feeder module being accessed and to store the data for the document in the document table in the RAM of the central processor 100. Additionally, the microprocessor 120 also receives its feed function data from the central microprocessor 100 over the same date lines 128. Specifically, the data from the central processor 100 is read and written into the microprocessor 120 over memory write and memory read lines 130 and 132, respectively. As apparent from Figs. 8-11, each different type of feeder will have a different program which is implemented by a resident or distributed processor 120. Advantageously, with such an arrangement there is intelligence present at each feeder module so that the Commands from the supervisory program are essentially a Feed Command with the individual feeder modules being responsive thereto to perform their feeding functions. This facilitates a standard supervisory program format which is usable with individually programmed feeder modules to readily provide a customized inserter without requiring any reprogramming. Referring to Fig. 5, the scanner interface circuit 160 for the optional scanner interface circuit illustrated in Fig. 2 and the scanners for the feeder modules shown in Fig. 1, is illustrated. The flow chart of the program for the scanner interface circuit 160 is illustrated in Fig. 12 as 150. The scanner interface circuit 160 employs a portion of the address code of its associated feeder interface circuit 110 and receives this unique address code over address leads 161 coupled to the thumbwheel switch 112 of its associated feeder interface circuit 110. A comparator 162 receives the remaining address from the central processor 100 over the signal bus 96 comprising a first set of inputs 164 and the address leads 161 comprising a second set of inputs 161 and provides an output signal on lead 166 when there is a coincidence therebetween. The presence of a signal on lead 166 causes a signal to be applied to port CS (Chip Select) which activates the distributed microprocessor 168. Further, the presence of a signal on lead 166 also activates one-shot circuit 189 to provide internal transfer acknowledge signal to the central processor 100 which indicates that the distributed microprocessor 168 has received data from the central processor 100. The central processor 100 transfers data through data leads 170 to program the microprocessor 168. A port expander 172, such as Type B243 available from Intel Corp., is coupled to the microprocessor 168 over leads 174. The input leads 175 of the port expander 172 are coupled to photocells (not shown) for reading the dash codes present on the coded documents. The programmed microprocessor 168 and port expander 172 program a first programmable counter 176 and a second programmable counter 178 in accordance with the data read over data lines 170 from the central processor 100, to provide timing signals to the microprocessor 168 and port expander 172 for reading the dash codes through input leads 175. Output data from the microprocessor 168 is applied over leads 180 to corresponding input ports of the programmable counters 176 and 178. Further, input signals are also provided to the programmable counters 176 and 178 from output ports of the port expander 172 and scanner encoder (not shown) on leads 182 and 184, respectively, to the programmable counters 176 and 178 to monitor how far the coded document has travelled per each preset increment of paper travel. In addition to providing output signals 180 to the programmable counters 176 and 178, the feeder microprocessor 120 (see Fig. 4) provides a start scan signal thereto. The programmable counters 176 and 178 are provided so that different discrete areas on a document may be selectively scanned skipping intermediate areas, as desired. Each programmable counter 176 end 178 includes port groupings, 0, 1, and 2. Port grouping 0 provides information for setting the photocells to begin scanning at a predetermined distance from the edge (top or bottom) of a document. Port grouping 1 provides a predetermined distance for scanning after reaching the point where scanning commences. That is, the port 1 grouping opens up a "window" where the photocells begin scanning for the first dash of the dash code to set up timing for the subsequent dashes. Port grouping 2 specifies a predetermined distance by which the individual dashes of the dash codes on the documents may be separated. For example, the programmable counter 176 may be set to begin counting 4 four inches from the bottom of the document and the programmable counter 178 may be set to begin counting 8 inches from the bottom of the document, thereby scanning separate and discrete areas of the coded documents. The output signals from the programmable counters 176 and 178 and Select signal from port expander 172 are transmitted to a multiplexer 184 which supplies input signals to the microprocessor 168 for selecting the next scanning zone and the next scanning sequence for the microprocessor 188. Encoder signals are provided to the programmable counters 176 and 178. Referring to Fig. 6, the transport interface circuit 102 is illustrated in detail. The transport interface circuit 102 receives input signals from the central processor 100 over leads 204 and converts the signals to high level voltage signals to drive various inserter devices. The transport encoder is interfaced to central processor 100 through line receivers. The transport interface circuit 102 supplies a D.C. voltage to the battery 192, see Fig. 2, which is used to maintain data storage in the RAM of the central processor 100 for a predetermined period should there be a power failure. Encoder channel signals and encoder marker signals are received on leads 194 and 196, respectively, from the transport encoder 198, see Fig. 2. Power is provided to the transport interface circuit 102 from power supply 104. The transport interface circuit 102 includes logic circuitry including LEDs 200 and gates 202. The gates 202 provide override signals to output leads 206 in conjunction with signals received on data leads 204 from the central processor 100. The output leads 206 provides signals to drive the various devices, such as the clutch, motor, and brake of the transport deck and set certain LEDs 200 which provide visual indicators that the appropriate signals have been output. Referring to Fig. 2, the accessory interface circuit 105 receives input signals from the signal bus 96 and power bus 98 and provides output signals to activate various accessories, such as postage meters 78 and 80, a rotatable envelope table, and power stackers 82 through 94. To commence inserter operation, an on/off key switch is activated with the key being removable in the "off" position, The operator then starts the inserter 40 by first selecting a Continuous or One-Cycle switch and then activating a Sequence Start switch on the central control display 34. When its Sequence Start switch is activated, the central processor 100 sends a Command to activate the first feeder module 76. That is, the feeder module 76 most remote from the envelope feeder 48 is activated to feed the required number of documents. The next feeder module 74 in sequence is then activated on Command from the central processor 100 and the documents are fed from this feeder 74. Document feeding continues, sequentially in this fashion from one feeder module to the next to provide a complete collation of documents at the envelope feeder 48. It should be understood that the control document scanner of feeder module 76 is initialized during power up of the inserter as will be described in more detail below. In contrast, when the inserter is to be shut down, the operator activates a Clear Deck switch on the central control display 34 and the same process which occurred with the Sequence Start sequence is repeated, with the exception that the feeder station 78 most remote from the envelope feeder 48 is deactivated after feeding the desired documents and then feeders 74-50 are deactivated sequentially to provide a complete collation of documents at the envelope feeder 48 for insertion therein to insure that a partial collation of documents is not left on the transport deck of the document inserter. Operation of the inserter 40 then ceases, After the Sequence Start cycle is completed, the inserter 40 continues its operation. If the operator chooses, he/she can skip the Sequence Start cycle and activate a Start Transport switch which places the inserter 40 in a non-sequence run mode. With either approach, the scanner interface circuit 160 of the control document feeder 76, the last feeder in Fig, 2, reads the dash code marks on the document and transmits them to the central processor 100. During initialization of the scanner interface circuit 160 by the central processor 100, the scanner interface circuit 160 is programmed with the appropriate scanner timing for reading the codes in accordance therewith. The central processor 100 then transmits the address code and Feed Command to the associated feeder module 76. However, as apparent from the accompanying flow chart 101 in Fig. 7, it should be understood that the Feed Command may include signals other than simply feed, such as among others, feed more than one, the number of documents fed, initialize, and Diagnostic Mode. The feeder module 76 then feeds the required documents in accordance with the feed program stored therein for that particular type of feeder module. When the scanner interface, circuit 160 determines that the last document for that particular collation package has been fed from feeder 76, the scanner interface circuit 160 transmits an End of Collation signal to the feeder interface circuit 110 which ceases document feeding at that station. The document(s) fed from feeder station 76 are then transported along the transport deck to the next feeder station 74. With this process being repeated from station to station so that a properly collated stack of documents arrives at the envelope feeder 48. Advantageously, the transport deck may include an inclined ramp so that the coded control document (address) is fed up a ramp and placed on top of documents from the downstream stations. At each station the previously fed stack of documents is fed up a ramp and placed on top of the documents fed from the adjacent downstream station, so that all the documents arrive at the envelope feeder 48 with the coded control document on top to facilitate stuffing into an envelope with the address showing through the window of the envelope, such an used in the INSERTAMAX III Mail Inserter available from Pitney Bowes, Inc, of Stamford, Connecticut. However, it should be clearly understood that the transport deck may assume other forms such a a chain drive transport deck such as disclosed in INSERTAMAX II Mail Inserter available from Pitney Bowes, Inc, of Stamford, Connecticut, This transport deck does not include ramps, but simply transport the coded control document to the next feeder station. When the control document is registered therewith, the feeder module feeds the required documents on top of the coded control document. The partially complete stack of documents is moved to the next feeder station and the required documents are then fed therefrom. With such a transport deck the coded control document arrives at the envelope feeder module 48 at the bottom of the collated stack of documents. The transport encoder 198 provides pulses representing an increment of document travel along the document transport deck or path. The transport encoder 198 communicates these pulses to the central processor 100 which keeps track of the pulse count. The central processor 100 keeps track of the encoder count and issues a Feed Command to the appropriate feeder module when the appropriate count is reached. This count may be the same for all feeder modules or it may vary, as desired, Any error conditions in the document feed are transmitted from the feeder interface circuit 110 for the particular feeder station to the central processor 100 for display on the central control display 34, describing to the operator the fault location and a description thereof in human readable form. After the document loading at each feeder module is complete, the data representing the document is transmitted to the central processor 100 and stored in the RAM, updating the data table representing that document. Further, as apparent from the supervisory program in the flow chart 101 in Fig. 7, the document inserter 40 includes a Diagnostic Mode for implementation by a service technician. Advantageously, a particular access code known only to the service technician is provided for the Diagnostic Mode. When this code is accessed through the central control display 34, various components of the feeder stations are exercised to determine their operating status. When appropriate, the service technician can modify the state of a particular feeder station to verify a function in order to help him/her determine if a particular malfunction is occurring. For example, during the Diagnostic Mode, the central control display 34 will indicate the state of all the input devices such as switches, photocells, and display switch means and activate the output devices such as motors, clutches, brakes and lights either individually or sequentially. Further, an indicator may be provided to verify that the central processor 100 is communicating properly with various feeder modules or stations. The scanner encoders at the individual feeder modules are also monitored. Advantageously, the central processor 100 and central control display 34 maintain the feeder functions and display the encoder count while a handcrank is actuated. Further, the ability to trace a signal generated by coded dash mark or hole to a designated output device when in the static or handcrank mode is provided. Finally, when in the Diagnostic Mode the central processor 100 and display 34 provide the ability to set or change the feed time of a particular feeder station. Further, the operator may change or reconfigure the supervisory control circuit 100 by activating certain switches of the central control display 34 so that mirror image of the data table in the configuration PROM which is present in the RAM is changed. D.C. battery back up is provided to retain the changed information in the RAM during power failure. The RAM of the central processor 100 also stores the information representing the original data table for recapture should the operator or service technician desire to reset the inserter to its original operating condition. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention without departing therefrom. It will be seen that the machine as particularly described and illustrated herein has the following features:- (a) a universal multi-station document inserter may be readily adapted to a particular customer application without reprogramming; (b) it is a modularly expandable multi-station document inserter; (c) it has an automatic start up and shut down sequence to ensure proper document collation; (d) it has a diagnostic mode of operation for access by a service technician; (e) the multi-station document inserter has a centralized control and display, and which is user friendly and less dependent upon operator skill than known document inserters; (f) a multi-station document inserter is constructed to facilitate servicing, and which permits reconfiguration by the operator; (g) a multi-station document inserter has a central control display which visually displays and describes inserter faults in human readable form; (h) a multi-station document inserter has a configuration and functions which may be readily changed in the field; and (i) a standardized reconfigurable multi-station document inserter is designed to facilitate manufacture.

Claims: A universal multi-station document inserter, comprising: a plurality of modular feeder stations (48-76) serially arranged along a transport deck (30) as a first feeder station followed by a plurality of downstream feeder stations to sequentially feed documents onto said transport deck to form a collated stack of documents; address means (112) associated with each of said feeder stations to specify a unique address for each of said feeder stations; individual distributed processor units (120) associated with each of said feeder stations and being operable to store a feeder program for providing instructions to the associated feeder station for feeding documents; individual scanner means (29) associated with each of said feeder stations for detecting the presence of a predetermined code on a coded document to be transported as a first document along said transport deck past said feeder stations; and a central processor (100) operable to store a supervisory program for providing address and command signals to the distributed processors of the feeder stations; said central processor including a first PROM having executable routines stored therein to operate the devices of the inserter and to perform all desired control functions and configuration and a second PROM having a data table stored therein which specifies a particular inserter configuration and the inserter functions to be performed by the executable routines; said first PROM being programmed with a maximum set of defined inserter configurations and functions and said second PROM being configured to interact with said first PROM to select a subset of the maximum set of defined inserter configurations and functions to operate the document inserter in said particular configuration in accordance with desired customer requirements; said central processor also including a RAM for storing the data present in said second PROM, there being provided switch means for enabling the operator to reconfigure said RAM and display means for displaying the original inserter configuration present in said configuration PROM; and said central processor being interconnected with said scanner means and said distributed processor units for sequentially activating individual distributed processor units in response to signals from the individual scanner means at the first feeder station which signals indicate the presence of the coded document at the first feeder station and include the predetermined code in accordance to which feeding of documents by individual downstream feeder stations is initiated. An inserter according to claim 1, including: bus means for receiving the address signals specifying a unique address for each of said feeder means; a comparator for comparing the signals transmitted by said bus means with the unique address specified by said address means to provide an acknowledge signal when there is a coincidence therebetween. An inserter according to claim 2, including: means for reading data from said central processor in response to said acknowledge signal; and means for updating the data in said central processor means in response to the actions of said feeder means. An inserter according to claim 3, wherein said scanner means, when electrically scanning said coded document also provide end of collation signals to said feeder stations. An inserter according to any one of claims 1-4 including displaying means for displaying the location and a description of any faults present in the inserter in human readable form. An inserter according to any one of claims 1-5 wherein the output signals from the central processor are converted to high level voltage signals for actuating the devices for transporting documents from one feeder station to the next feeder station. A method for operating a universal multi-station document inserter according to any one of claims 1-6 including the step of: sequentially actuating feeder stations and feeding documents from feeder station to feeder station beginning with the first feeder station during a Sequence Start Mode to ensure a complete collation for the initial collation of documents to be fed from the feeder stations. A method according to claim 7, including the step of: additionally sequentially deactivating the feeder stations one by one beginning with the first feeder station during a Sequence Stop Mode to ensure that a partial collation of documents is not left on the transport deck of the document inserter. A method according to claim 8, including the step of: additionally changing the configuration as herein defined of the document inserter by instructions submitted to the central processor by the inserter operator. A method according to claim 9, including the step of: retaining for reference the initial configuration recorded in the central processor prior to any change thereto; and displaying the initial central processor configuration when requested. A method according to any one of claims 7-10, including the step of updating the data table in the central processor after each feeder station has completed its feed sequence to include data as to the status of a coded document.

Inventors: GOMES JOHN M, PIOTROSKI PETER N, GOMES, JOHN M., PIOTROSKI, PETER N.
Applicants: PITNEY BOWES INC, PITNEY BOWES, INC.
Application year: 1983
Main classification: B43M3
IPC codes: B43M3, B07C1