Patent GB-1480026-A (GB)
Title: Envelope opening machines
IPC: B43M7/00
Filed: 1975-05-16
Abstract: 1480026 Envelope opening machine AMERO-MATIC CORP 16 May 1975 [1 July 1974] 20989/75 Heading B8C An envelope opening machine for automatically opening envelopes and exposing the contents thereof comprises a hopper 102, a pair of side edge destruction means 220, Fig. 1, a top edge destruction means 318, means for transferring an envelope from the hopper into alignment with the side edge destruction means 262, 264, 262<SP>1</SP>, 264<SP>1</SP>, Fig. 7, for moving said pair of side edge destruction means 220 into contact with the side edges of the envelope for destroying said side edges, means 202 for transferring the envelope from said pair of side edge destruction means into alignment with said top edge destruction means 318, means 350 for moving said top edge destruction means into contact with the top edge of the envelope for destroying the top edge, a discharge conveyer 416 for discharging envelopes with their contents exposed, and means 434 between the discharge conveyer and the top edge destruction means 318 for moving one panel of the envelope to a position wherein the contents of the envelope are exposed. As shown, the machine comprises an envelope feed section 100, an envelope transport and carbonizing section 200, and an envelope opening section 400, power being transmitted to the various elements through a series of chains 18-22, sprockets 24-34 and pulleys by a continuously operating motor 14. The envelopes in a stack 112 are transferred, one at a time, through end and bottom wall openings 110, 111 of a hopper 102 by a pair of endless feed belts such as 116, each of which is mounted about idler pulleys 118, 120, 122, 124 and continuously driven by a drive pulley 126, a pair of idler pulleys, such as 128, 130, rotatably mounted on a block 132, engaging each feed belt 116 and, by means of a solenoid 134, being adapted to move selectively the feed belts 116 through the hopper openings 110, 111 and into frictional contact with the first envelope in the stack 112, and move it downwards through the adjustable gap between an idler roller 138 and a kick-back roller 140. The latter, due to its direction of rotation and speed relative to a succeeding feed roller 144, kicks back any surplus envelopes fed by the belts 116. The envelope is then transferred, past a pair of adjustably-mounted guide rods such as 146, and into a corresponding slot 208 in a wheel 202 at station A in the section 200, by means of the feed rollers 142, 144 both of which are surfaced with sponge rubber. Each wheel 202, driven by a stepping motor (218), Fig. 3, not shown, comprises a plurality of identical wheels plates each with a hub 204, and a plurality of spokes 206 each with an envelopereceiving slot 208. The wheel 202 is selectively moved, intermittently, through operating stations A-D and, at station B, both side edges of the envelope are destroyed by a pair of carbonizing means such as 220, Fig. 1, which can be moved inwardly to engage both sides of the envelope and then outwardly to a non-operative position, and each of which comprises an electric heating element (274) controlled by a thermistor (279), Figs. 8 and 12, not shown. After the side edges of the envelope are destroyed the wheel 202 is indexed to station C where the top edge of the envelope is destroyed by carbonizing means 318 which is substantially the same as the means 220 and which can be moved toward, and away from, the top edge of the envelope. The wheel 202 is then indexed to station D where the envelope is removed from its slot 208 in the wheel 202, by the frictional engagement of a plurality of transversely-spaced, endless timing conveyers such as 402, and then conveyed by the latter, and a co-operating number of endless conveyers belts 410, towards exit conveyer belts 416, 428. Friction rollers 434, which are located adjacent the upstream ends of the conveyers 416, 428 and which are adjustable by a screw (443), Fig. 10, not shown, in a frame 436 pivotally mounted at 438, engage the top panel 444 of the envelope, Fig. 16, and peel it back to expose the contents 446 of the envelope. A roller 448 presses the opened envelope against the exit conveyer 416 to ensure that the envelope remains open. The machine is controlled by a control circuit (500), Figs. 17, 18, not shown, the circuit including means for inhibiting the feed of the envelopes from the hopper 102 to the wheel 202 when the machine is not working properly and when an envelope counting mechanism indicates to a timer circuit that more than one second has elapsed between successive envelope openings. A modified form of hopper, Fig. 11, not shown, has adjustable side walls (560, 562).