Feed belt positioning assembly

Abstract

An adjustment mechanism for use on a friction sheet feeding machine to permit selective lateral repositioning of one feed belt on the machine relative to at least one other feed belt on the machine.

1 . A friction sheet feeding machine for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, comprising:
 (a) a plurality of laterally spaced feed belts for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, and   (b) an adjustment mechanism for permitting selective lateral repositioning of at least one of the feed belts relative to at least one other feed belt.   
   
   
       2 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 1  wherein the machine further includes a position-control carriage in operable association with each feed belt for controlling lateral positioning of the associated feed belt, and the adjustment mechanism effects lateral repositioning of a given feed belt by laterally repositioning the position-control carriage associated with the given feed belt. 
   
   
       3 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 1  wherein (i) the machine defines a right side and a left side, (ii) the machine includes at least three feed belts so as to define an outside feed belt on each side of the machine and at least one intermediate feed belt between the outside feed belts, and (iii) the adjustment mechanism is effective for laterally repositioning at least the outside feed belts. 
   
   
       4 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 2  wherein (i) the machine defines a right side and a left side, (ii) the machine includes at least three feed belts so as to define an outside feed belt on each side of the machine and at least one intermediate feed belt between the outside feed belts, and (iii) the adjustment mechanism is effective for laterally repositioning at least the outside feed belts. 
   
   
       5 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 3  wherein the outside feed belts are independently repositionable. 
   
   
       6 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 4  wherein the outside feed belts are independently repositionable. 
   
   
       7 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 1  wherein the machine defines a right side and a left side and further includes (i) panels on the right and left sides of the machine preventing side access to the feed belts, and (ii) at least one interface device located on the outside of a panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism. 
   
   
       8 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 2  wherein the machine defines a right side and a left side and further includes (i) panels on the right and left sides of the machine preventing side access to the feed belts and position-control carriages, and (ii) at least one interface device located on the outside of a panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism. 
   
   
       9 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 7  wherein the interface device is a manually rotatable knob. 
   
   
       10 . The friction sheet feeding machine of  claim 6  wherein the machine defines a right side and a left side and further includes (i) panels on the right and left sides of the machine preventing side access to the feed belts and position-control carriages, and (ii) a first interface device located on the outside of the right side panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism to laterally reposition the outside feed belt on the right side, and (iii) a second interface device located on the outside of the left side panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism to laterally reposition the outside feed belt on the left side. 
   
   
       11 . A method of laterally repositioning at least one feed belt on a friction sheet feeding machine having a feed belt system for adjusting the effective width of the feed belt system, comprising the steps of:
 (a) obtaining a friction sheet feeding machine for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, comprising: (i) a feed belt system including a plurality of laterally spaced feed belts for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, and (ii) an adjustment mechanism for permitting selective lateral repositioning of at least one of the feed belts relative to at least one other feed belt, and   (b) actuating the adjustment mechanism to laterally reposition at least one of the feed belts relative to at least one other feed belt.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the adjustment mechanism is actuated while the feed belts are being driven in the longitudinal direction. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the machine further includes a position-control carriage in operable association with each feed belt for controlling lateral positioning of the associated feed belt, and the adjustment mechanism effects lateral repositioning of a given feed belt by laterally repositioning the position-control carriage associated with the given feed belt. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein (i) the machine defines a right side and a left side, (ii) the machine includes at least three feed belts so as to define an outside feed belt on each side of the machine and at least one intermediate feed belt between the outside feed belts, and (iii) the adjustment mechanism is effective for laterally repositioning at least the outside feed belts. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the machine defines a right side and a left side and further includes (i) panels on the right and left sides of the machine preventing side access to the feed belts, and (ii) at least one interface device located on the outside of a panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism. 
   
   
       16 . A method of laterally repositioning at least one feed belt on a friction sheet feeding machine having a feed belt system for adjusting the effective width of the feed belt system, comprising the steps of:
 (a) obtaining a friction sheet feeding machine for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, comprising: (i) a feed belt system including a plurality of laterally spaced feed belts for feeding individual sheets from a stack of sheets in a longitudinal direction, and (ii) an adjustment mechanism for permitting selective lateral repositioning of at least one of the feed belts relative to at least one other feed belt,   (b) loading a stack of sheets onto the machine,   (c) operating the machine to feed individual sheets from the stack of sheets loaded onto the machine, and   (d) actuating the adjustment mechanism to laterally reposition at least one of the feed belts relative to at least one other feed belt while the machine is operating.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the machine further includes a position-control carriage in operable association with each feed belt for controlling lateral positioning of the associated feed belt, and the adjustment mechanism effects lateral repositioning of a given feed belt by laterally repositioning the position-control carriage associated with the given feed belt. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16  wherein (i) the machine defines a right side and a left side, (ii) the machine includes at least three feed belts so as to define an outside feed belt on each side of the machine and at least one intermediate feed belt between the outside feed belts, and (iii) the adjustment mechanism is effective for laterally repositioning at least the outside feed belts. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the machine defines a right side and a left side and further includes (i) panels on the right and left sides of the machine preventing side access to the feed belts, and (ii) at least one interface device located on the outside of a panel for effecting actuation of the adjustment mechanism.