Electric envelope opener for high handling capacity - uses cylindrical or burning cutters to cut along one edge and two sides of envelopes stored in magazine

摘要

Envelopes to be opened are placed manually in a magazine comprising an inclined plane to raise them to a slowly rotating cylinder. The cylinder is rotated by a stepper motor to project the letters onto a cutting block (17) where they lay in a horizontal position. A slot allows a circular cutting saw or burning type cutter to make an incision. The envelope is held in position by suction from within the block by use of a tube. The envelope is then conveyed to a table where it slides under a metallic tongue. A photocell controls operation of pulley wheels above the envelope to project it to cutting blocks at right angles to the first block. Two parallel cuts are made to join up with the first cut to allow the contents to be extracted.