Collator with printer having inclined printing path and displaceable conveyor belts to expose printing surface

摘要

An improved apparatus is used to feed sheet material to a feed station of a collating conveyor. At the feed station of one embodiment of the invention, a first feed drum engages a leading edge portion of the sheet material and feeds the sheet material toward the collating conveyor. A first feed drum feeds the sheets along an arcuate path to a secondary drum. The secondary feed drum feeds the sheet material from another holder to a secondary conveyor. The secondary conveyor is inclined to a horizontal at an angle lesser than the arcuate path. A printer assembly prints indicia on the sheet material. The printer assembly directs ink toward opposite sides of the sheet material along paths which are skewed at an acute angle relative to the vertical so that particles of ink do not fall back onto ink jet nozzles and clog the nozzles. The conveyor belts are movable transversely to the path of movement of the sheet material through the printer assembly to enable printing to occur at various locations on the sheet material. After printing, the sheets are conveyed along a third path segment which slopes downward away from the printer.