Patent ID: 8495853

Claim:
An inserting apparatus for inserting postal items into envelopes, comprising: an envelope feeding path for feeding envelopes; a rotor arranged downstream of the envelope feeding path and rotatable about an axis transverse to the envelope feeding path, the rotor comprising at least two envelope flap catcher members each having a free edge facing the envelope feeding path when in a position aligned with a downstream end of the envelope feeding path, the flap catcher members enter between a flap and a body of an envelope fed along the envelope feeding path, the flap being hinged to the body of the envelope along a trailing edge of the envelope body, and which engage the flap and to hold the flap while the rotor is rotated so as to turn the flap to an opened position; an envelope support adjacent to the rotor, the envelope support holding an envelope of which the opened flap is held by one of the flap catcher members of the rotor in an inserting position; and an insert feeding path which feeds postal items into an envelope in the inserting position, wherein the flap catcher members of the rotor are positioned relative to each other and to the envelope feeding path and to the envelope support, and catch a flap of a next envelope while holding a flap of an envelope in the inserting position.