Patent Publication Number: US-6709178-B2

Title: Adapter for mailpiece preparation assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates exclusively to the processing of mail and concerns more particularly an integrated OA assembly for preparing mailpieces. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,249 already discloses an assembly for preparing mail comprising a computer, a folder-inserter and two printers, one for printing the documents, the other for printing the envelopes. Similarly, International Patent Application WO 97/28972 discloses an entirely integrated and compact unit effecting such a preparation of the mailpieces, from the printing of the documents to their being placed in envelopes. 
     These solutions show that the search for complete integration with a view to producing an OA assembly necessarily involves a precise choice of the type of printer. In effect, printers available on the market at the present time present totally different architectures with, for example, document outlets in single printing mode and in recto-verso mode which are completely different as to their arrangement. 
     Now, the mailing departments of enterprises which are conventionally equipped with franking machines and with integrated document folding and inserting machines, thus often have their own type of printer and they do not necessarily wish to change in order to conform to the set structure imposed by these prior art mail preparation systems. 
     In addition, for a determined position of the document and/or empty envelope inlet of these filling machines, there may correspond a plurality of document and/or empty envelope outlet positions, representative of a determined type of printer. 
     It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks set forth hereinabove by proposing a preferably universal adapter device allowing a folder/inserter to be connected very simply to a printer, whatever its type, in order to produce a particularly compact, autonomous mail preparation assembly well adapted to OA use. A further object of the invention is to effect such adaptation by simple manual adjustments. Yet another object of the invention is to allow the folder/inserter and the printer associated therewith to be rapidly disconnected. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These objects are attained by an adapter device comprising a platform intended to receive a digital printer and capable of receiving a folder/inserter, and an adapter assembly cooperating with the platform to support the digital printer and position it in space (in height, length and width) with respect to the folder/inserter, by causing the inlet of the folder/inserter to correspond to the or each outlet of the digital printer. 
     This specific structure makes it possible to produce, at low cost, a complete mail preparation assembly which integrates an existing folder/inserter and printer. 
     The adapter assembly comprises a chassis capable of sliding longitudinally over slideways of the platform, a deck intended to receive the digital printer and capable of being positioned in height at any one of a plurality of predetermined levels of adjustment within this chassis, and a plurality of fastening devices serving to position and immobilize the digital printer on the deck both in length and in width. 
     The deck preferably rests on support tabs disposed regularly along vertical rules fixed to vertical uprights of the chassis, immobilization of the deck being obtained by fixing means traversing both this deck and the uprights. The fastening means are constituted by brackets fixed in orifices at pre-established positions of the deck. 
     The adapter assembly advantageously slides longitudinally over slideways of the platform and may be immobilized in a plurality of positions of blockage predetermined by locking means. These slideways are preferably of telescopic type with a first rail fast with the chassis which slides in a second rail fast with the platform via a third mobile intermediate rail. 
     The folder/inserter is positioned on the platform via feet which are received in appropriate recentering housings made in this platform. 
     According to a preferred embodiment, the adapter device according to the invention further comprises a complementary structure disposed between the folder/inserter and the digital printer, allowing the documents and/or empty envelopes to be transferred from the printer to the folder/inserter whatever their outlet orientation. This complementary structure comprises, on the one hand, in its lower part, a base that may be removably mounted on the platform and provided with a housing for receiving a bin of documents of recto-verso type from the printer and, on the other hand, in its upper part, a transfer unit for transporting the documents and/or empty envelopes from the printer to the folder/inserter. The transfer unit comprises at least one horizontal type inlet in the form of a funnel, a vertical type inlet likewise in the form of a funnel, and a common outlet. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description given by way of indicative and non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a mail preparation assembly provided with an adapter device according to the invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the adapter device of FIG. 1 in disconnected position. 
     FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the adapter device of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of a mail preparation assembly provided with an adapter device in a more universal embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view in section of part of the adapter device of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of a mail preparation assembly provided with an adapter device in a first variant embodiment, and 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of a mail preparation assembly provided with an adapter device in a second variant embodiment. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 firstly shows a view in perspective of a mail preparation assembly comprising an adapter device according to the invention, employed with a “Kyocera”™ OA printer. 
     This adapter device of evolutive type comprises a platform  10  intended to receive a digital type printer  14  and likewise able to receive a folder/inserter  12 , and an adapter assembly  16  cooperating with this platform in order to support the digital printer and to position it precisely in space with respect to the folder/inserter in order that the respective inlet  120  and outlet  140  of these two OA machines be in register (i.e. placed opposite one another). 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the adapter assembly  16  comprises a chassis  160  capable of sliding longitudinally over slideways  100  of the platform, in order to allow an operator to move the folder/inserter  12  away or nearer by hand. This chassis supports a deck  162  intended to receive the digital printer  14  and capable of being positioned in height at any one of a plurality of predetermined levels of adjustment within this chassis  160 . A plurality of fastening devices  164  serving to position and immobilize the digital printer  14  in length and width, i.e. in the longitudinal and transverse directions, is provided on the deck  162  so as to bring the inlet  120  of the folder/inserter  12  respectively in register with the outlet  140  of the digital printer  14 . In order to ensure a sufficient disengagement of the chassis  160  in translation, the slideways  100  are of telescopic type with a first rail  102  fast with this chassis which slides in a second rail  104  fast with the platform  10  via a third mobile intermediate rail  106 . Locking means (not shown) are provided to immobilize the chassis in a plurality of predetermined positions of blockage. 
     As illustrated in detail in FIG. 3, the levels of adjustment of the deck are arranged to differ by a pitch of about 5 mm, representative of a latitude of vertical fastening procured by a funnel shape usually presented by the document and/or empty envelope inlet  120  of the folder/inserter  12 . To that end, the deck  162  is provided with lugs  170  which are fixed on oblong-shaped openings  174  made in vertical uprights  176 ,  178  of the chassis  160  (by fixing means  172 , for example screws traversing both these openings and these lugs). The oblong shape of the openings makes it possible to adjust the vertical position of the deck with respect to the support tabs  180  on which it rests and which are disposed regularly along vertical rules  182  fixed to each of these uprights. The fastening devices  164  are constituted by brackets, preferably made of plastics material, disposed at pre-established positions (each corresponding to a particilar type of printer) in orifices  166  in the deck  162  and fixed thereto by a conventional clamping system  168  of screw-nut type. 
     The folder-inserter  12  is, on the contrary, positioned solely on the platform  10  via its feet which are received precisely in appropriate recentering housings  108  made in this platform. It will be noted that the platform may receive only the digital printer  14 , the folder/inserter being placed on the floor against the adapter assembly. 
     FIG. 4 shows a view in perspective of a mail preparation assembly provided with a more universal adapter device according to the invention and employed with a “Lexmark”™ OA printer. 
     The platform  10  is in this case surmounted by a complementary structure  20  capable of connecting the majority of the digital printer outlets on the market, for example a “Lexmark”™ digital printer  14 , to the inlet of the folder/inserter  12 . 
     This structure is in the form of a vertical column with a lower part and an upper part and whose dimensions (in particular the width/thickness ratio) are optimalized as a function of the dimensions of the recto-verso modules of these printers, and of the non-horizontal outlet positions that recto-verso printed documents of certain types of printer may occupy. 
     It enables the documents/envelopes to be transferred from the printer  14  to the folder/inserter  12  whatever their outlet orientation, whether these documents come from a printer outlet of which the plane of the conveyance path is substantially horizontal, vertical or inclined between these extreme planes. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 5, the complementary structure  20  comprises in its lower part a base  200  forming body and removably mounted on the platform  10 , this base being provided with a housing  210  capable of receiving a module or recto-verso type document bin  142 , integrated in the printer  14 . In its upper part, it comprises a transfer unit  220  provided with at least one horizontal type inlet  230  in the form of a funnel, with a vertical type inlet  240  likewise in funnel shape, with a single document/empty envelope outlet  250 , and with transfer kinematics  260  for transporting the documents/empty envelopes from this inlet  230  or  240  to the common document/envelope outlet  250 . These kinematics comprise for example a motorized assembly of pinions, belts and rollers defining two conveyance paths which are joined just upstream of the common document/empty envelope outlet  250 . 
     The housing  210  made in the base  200  enables the printer  14  to be located as close as possible to the folder/inserter  12  and to reduce the dimensions of the column  20  as much as possible. Of course, this housing serves no purpose when a recto-verso module is housed directly inside the printer, as in the printer model illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     With a “Kyocera”™ digital printer (shown in fine lines and corresponding to the model of FIG.  1 ), which comprises a recto-verso module at its base, just below a document magazine, the inlet  240  is thus not employed as this printer presents a single outlet  144  for all the single, or recto-verso, documents and the envelopes and whose alignment may be effected on the horizontal inlet  230  of the column  20 . Similarly, with a digital “Hewlett Packard”™ digital printer (illustrated in thick lines) of which the recto-verso module  142  may be received in the housing  210 , the inlet  240  does not need to be employed either, the same outlet  146  being normally allocated to single functional mode and to the recto-verso mode. The funnel shape of the inlet  230  allows an alignment of this outlet to be made simply. On the contrary, for a “Lexmark”™ digital printer (shown in dashed and dotted lines), the vertical funnel shaped inlet  240  will be aligned on the vertical outlet  148  reserved for the recto-verso mode of this type of printer, the normal outlet  144  for its part being aligned on the horizontal funnel-shaped inlet  230  of the column  20 . It will be noted that the inlets  230  and  240  of this column taper sufficiently to increase the latitude of alignment, taking into account different possible architectures of printer. 
     Of course, it is also possible to make specific complementary structures for any type of digital printer and in particular for each particular printer outlet, as illustrated respectively in FIGS. 6 and 7 which show transfer units for outputs of recto-verso modules of “Lexmark”™ and “Hewlett Packard”™ printers. 
     FIG. 6, for example, illustrates a specific transfer unit  22  provided with a single inlet  202  for recto-verso documents emerging vertically from a “Lexmark”™ printer  14 . This unit to some extent takes up the upper part of column  20  illustrated in FIG.  5 . 
     Similarly, FIG. 7 illustrates a specific transfer unit  24  provided with a single inlet  204  for receiving recto-verso documents emerging from a “Hewlett Packard”™ printer  14 . There again, this unit derives from the upper part of column  20  illustrated in FIG.  5 .