A Mechanical Transmission For a Mail Stacker Unit With a Clutch Brake and Elliptical Gearing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016281827-A1
Application number	US-201514889357-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 20, 2015
Priority date	Sep 9, 2014
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A mail stacker unit in a postal sorting machine includes a stacking actuator ( 22 ) driven in stop-start rotation for the purpose of stacking mailpieces on edge in a storage receptacle. The actuator is coupled in rotation to a clutch brake ( 34 ) driven at constant speed, and elliptical gearing ( 30, 31 ) is also provided between the clutch brake and said stacking actuator.

First claim

1 . A mechanical transmission assembly for transmitting rotary motion in stop-start manner to an actuator, said mechanical transmission assembly comprising elliptical gearing coupled between said actuator and a clutch brake that has an inlet shaft driven in rotation at constant speed, wherein the elliptical gearing comprises an elliptical pinion and a polygasteroid gearwheel having a profile complementary to the profile of the pinion, and wherein the clutch has an outlet axis that passes through a focus of the elliptical pinion, and the actuator has an inlet axis that passes through a centre of the gearwheel.

2 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet and inlet axes on the pinion and on the gearwheel of the elliptical gearing and a point of mutual contact between the pinion and the gearwheel are in alignment.

3 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to any preceding claim 1 , further comprising a position sensor for sensing an angular position of the gearwheel or of the pinion.

4 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said position sensor is an optical sensor.

5 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said position sensor is a magnetic sensor.

6 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said position sensor is a capacitive sensor.

7 . A mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the pinion and the gearwheel are made of a plastics material.

8 . A stacker unit comprising a stacking actuator for stacking flat articles on edge in a storage receptacle, and a mechanical transmission assembly according to claim 1 for transmitting rotary motion in stop-start manner to the stacking actuator.

9 . A postal sorting machine, comprising sorting outlets, each of which has a stacker unit according to claim 8 .

Assignees

• Solystic

Inventors

• Beaugrand Wilfrid

Classifications

• B65H29/40

  Members rotated about an axis perpendicular to direction of article movement, e.g. star-wheels formed by S-shaped members · CPC title

• B65H2403/725

  Brakes · CPC title

• B65H2301/321

  Standing on edge · CPC title

• B65H2513/51

  Sequence of process · CPC title

• F16H35/02 Primary

  for conveying rotary motion with cyclically varying velocity ratio · CPC title