Appeal 2007-2637
Application 10/741,269
system as inputs. Then, a plurality of different modules or
workstations in the inserter system work cooperatively to
process the sheets until a finished mail piece is produced. The
exact configuration of each inserter system depends upon the
needs of each particular customer or installation.
As seen in Fig. 1, a typical inserter system prepares mail
pieces by gathering collations 13 of documents on a
conveyor 15. Above the conveyor 15, feeders 1 feed documents
onto the conveyor to form the collations 13. Feeders 1
hold a stack 10 of inserts. The stack 10 is supported by a
guide 11 and a feeding mechanism 12. Further details of an
exemplary feeder 1 are provided in copending U.S. Patent
Application 10/004242 filed Oct. 25, 2001, titled
REMOVABLE SHEET FEEDER WITH JAM CLEARANCE
FOR USE IN AN ENVELOPE INSERTING MACHINE,
assigned to the assignee of the present application, which is
hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The collations 13 are then transported on the conveyor 15
to an insertion station 16 where they are automatically stuffed
into envelopes. After being stuffed with the collations 13, the
envelopes are removed from the insertion station 16 for further
processing. Such further processing may include automated
closing and sealing the envelope flap, weighing the envelope,
applying postage to the envelope, and finally sorting and
stacking the envelopes.
A prior art method of preparing folded scented inserts is
depicted in Fig. 2. Parallel folds 22, at opposite sides of the
insert 20, are formed to enclose the scented portions 23. The
entire insert 20 is also typically folded in half along fold 21,
parallel to the folds 22 for the scented portion. After the
insert 20 is folded in half, the portion near fold 21 has a
thickness of two times the sheet thickness. However, at the
opposite side of insert 20, having the folded scented
portions 23, the total thickness of the insert is four times the
sheet thickness.
The consequences of one side of the insert 20 being twice
as thick as the other are depicted in stack 24 of Fig. 2. When
inserts 20 are stacked, the stacking will be uneven, and the side
of the stack having the scented portions will tend to be higher.
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