Patent ID: 7871215

Claim:
A mailing machine for printing and opening mailpieces, the mailpieces being conveyed along a processing path, comprising: a displacement device having a displacement surface for urging mailpieces against a registration surface, a retractable cutting device coupled to the displacement device for cutting the mailpiece in a direction substantially parallel to the processing path of the mailpiece, means for positioning the cutting device relative to the displacement surface such that in a first operating mode, the cutting device is retracted beneath a plane defined by the displacement surface to facilitate the print operations, and in a second operating mode, the cutting device is extended above the plane defined by the displacement surface to facilitate cutting operations along an edge thereof, and wherein the displacement device includes a displacement ski pivot mounted to a stationary structure of the mailing machine and is rotationally biased to pivot the displacement ski into contact with the underside of the mailpiece, and wherein the cutting device is pivot mounted to the displacement ski and rotated into retracted and/or extended positions relative to the displacement surface.