US1878590A - Gathering and inserting machine - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 20, 1932. F. MCCARTHY GATHERING AND INSERTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 m T N E m l.

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A, A fTO/WEY Sept. 20, 1932. F. MGCARTHY GATHERING AND INSERTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1928 8 SheetsSheet 4 IN [IE/VI O)? A TTOANEY Q as 8 X E Q 9 Mm mop mo on P GATHERING AND INSERTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17. 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 M 44 BY Z ATTORNEY F. M CARTHY Sept. 20, 1932.

GATHERING AND INSERTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 %z44a N VE TOR Sept. 20, 1932. F. MCCARTHY GATHERING'AND INSERTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 17, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 l s.Q J

Sept. 20, 1932. F. MCCARTHY GATHERING AND INSERTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 17, 1928 11v 151v? R ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLORENCE MCCARTHY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, IBY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO MCCARTHY BUSINESS MACHINES CO., INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE GATHERING AND msnmmo macnnm Application filed October 17, 1928. Serial No. 313,007.

.to 116,786, filed June 18, 1926', by means of which any number of enclosuresfrom any number of enclosure magazines can be collected and inserted into one envelope.

One of the objects of the invention is, in such a machine, to provide reliable and conveniently adjustable means for accurately evening and positioning the collections of enclosures, irrespective of size before they are inserted into the envelopes.

Another object is, in a machine in which the envelopes are moved endwise to an ap'- proximate loading position, to provide means i for accurately positioning the envelopes by a shifting movement.

Another object is to clear the surface on which the enclosures are gathered for insertion into envelopes, this part'of the invention involvin features of construction and operation of gathering instrumentalities disposed below the surface.

Another object is, in a machine in which the flaps are opened by moving them trans versely to themselves relatively to a flap opener, to provide a simple and efficient means for opening the flaps farther on endwise movement of the envelopes to a loading position, the second instrumentality being of a nature which will not injure the flaps and which at the same time requires but little of the length of the machine.

. These and other objects, features and combinations will become apparent as the speci fication proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 53 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6-6 of Flg. 3;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the part of the machine includin the enclosure magazines and the gatherer, t e gathering surface, and also the upper delivery rollers of the magazines and the strippers with the frame section carrying these parts being removed, in order to show parts eneath;

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 88 of Fig. 1, illustrating a device which will be termed a jogger, an actuatip g cam being partly broken away in this View;

Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the parts in different position;

Fig. 10 is an elevation looking at right angles to Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an elevation of an envelope positioner, a link connected therewith being broken away; and

Fig. 12 is a similar view showing the parts in different position.

The machine has a suitable table-like frame 2 supported on legs 3, the frame having preferably a generally flat top or deck 4, on which the envelopes and the enclosures lie flat and substantially horizontal while each envelope is moved to and from the loading position and While it is at rest at the loading position and while the enclosures are being gathered and inserted in the envelope.

A series of enclosure magazines 5 are disposed side by side behind one portion of the deck which constitutes a stationary gathering surface 6. For simplicity of illustration only two enclosure magazines are shown in the drawing. As in my prior application aforesaid, however, the machine is adapted to operate with any number of enclosure magazines, from two up, arranged in continuation of a series represented by the two magazines illustrated, the 'gatherer being appropriately extended in accordance with the number of magazines. This part of the machine may be of sectional construction to permit of sections being added.

As in my prior application, the enclosure magazines 5 are designed to hold the enclosures with their longer dimensions parallel with each other in the several magazines, and to deliver the enclosures to the gather-er endwise, that is to say in the direction of their length. The enclosures may be letter sheets, usually folded four times into oblon form, or they may be bills, blotters, cards, or any kindred form of sheet material. The enclosure magazines are made adjustable so as to take enclosures of any length or width. The enclosures when .delivered onto the gathering surface 6 are moved by the gathering instrumentalities in a direction transverse to the length of the enclosures and at right angles to the direction in which they were delivered from the ma azines. By further movement in the same irection with the gathering movement, the collected enclosures are inserted into the envelopes.

The envelopes are held in an envelope magazine 7, which is preferably located at one end of the series of enclosure magazines and which faces away from thesemagazines and in a direction at right angles to the directions in which the enclosure magazines face. By the directions in which the magazines face is meant the directions in which the enclosures and envelopes are delivered therefrom.

The envelopes lie in the envelope magazine with their flaps upward and their flap edges at the rear of this magazine, and the successive envelopes are delivered or withdrawn from the envelope magazine in a direction transverse to their length, the advantage of delivering the envelopes in this manner being that it makes possible a sure opening of the flaps. Each envelope, after having been delivered in this manner and having had its flap opened or raised, is moved endwise to a loading position opposite the end of the gatherer. Here it pauses, with its flap beneatha vertically movable loading platform, while the enclosure or collection of enclosures is inserted into it, and then it is carried onward in an endwise direction and eventually delivered from the machine.

The delivery of the envelopes from the envelope magazine in a direction transverse to themselves and transverse to the length of the flaps is advantageous for sure opening of the flaps, and is thereforemuch preferred, but this is not necessarily essential. The endwise movement of the envelopes to the loading position, and preferably also the movement of the loaded envelopes away from the loading position, is at right angles to the direction of movement in which the enclosures are gathered and then inserted into the envelopes.

The foregoing general outline includes some of the general resemblances between the present machine and that of my prior application.

I shall now proceed with a detailed description of the present machine without troubling to point out allthe matters of similarity and dissimilarity since they can be easily ascertained by comparison. I would point out that, while the present machine is more particularly an improvement in certain respects on my former machine, the features of novelty are not necessarily restricted to that general form of machine but may be susceptible of other applications.

The envelope magazine is preferably of a kind in which the envelopes are held in a vertical or inclined stack, and in which the envelopes are delivered from the bottom of the stack. However, other ty )es of magazine and feed may be employed. n the preferred form, this magazine has two rearwardly inclined rear corner members 8 and 9, of angular cross-section, for retaining and guiding the rear corners of the stack. Adjustability of these members forward and rearward to suit different Widths of envelopes, and relative adjustability laterally to suit different lengths of envelopes, need not be particularly illustrated nor described, since similar matters are shown in my copending application, Serial No. 116,786. Furthermore, the present form of the envelope magazine and instrumentalities associated therewith are shown in a separate application, filed October 23, 1928, Serial No. 314,492.

At the front of the envelope magazine there is a stripper or strippers 10, past which the. individual envelopes are drawn, these strippers being mounted on a cross-bar 11. In front of the strippers there is an opener blade 12, which is encountered by the flap of each envelope as it is withdrawn and which causes the flap to be opened or raised. The

envelopes are successively fed or started from the envelope magazine by a feed roller 13 having a projecting friction segment 14 of rubber or equivalent material. The stack of envelopes rests at the rear on feet 15 at the lower ends of slides 16 lying in the rear corner members 8 and 9, said slides being capable of being raised and lowered by screws 17. The envelope stack may also rest upon the smooth part of the surface of the feed roller 13, and when in the revolution of this roller the bottommost envelope is encountered by the feed segment 14, the bottom envelope is projected from the magazine beneath the strippers 10 which hold back the superincumbent envelopes.

The forward edge of the envelope thus advanced is seized by a reciprocatory gripper 18 pivoted at 19 on a carriage, which includes two standards 20 rising through slots in the deck of the machine from horizontal slides 21 guided in guideways 22. The said slides have fixed to their under sides racks 23, which are meshed by pinions 24' on a rotary shaft 25. Rotation of this shaft in one direction and then in another causes the gripper 18 to advance to the forward edge of an envelope projected from the envelope magazine and then to retreat, drawing the en.- velope with it, until the envelope is entirely out of the envelope magazine. In this movement the flap of the. envelope is brought into engagement with the flap opener blade 12, and by this encounter is moved to a partly or entirely open position. The pivoted gripper 1S cooperates with a fixed under jaw 26 formed on a cross-piece 27 carried by the standards of the reciprocatory gripper carriage. A spring 28 acts upon the movable jaw 18 to open it away from the fixed aw 26.

The movable jaw 18 is closed upon the fixed jaw and the interposed forward portion of an envelope in time to withdraw the partially projected envelope from the magazine, and is subsequently released after the envelope has been withdrawn to the desired distance, by means which will now be described. A rockable shaft 29 is mounted in the upper ends of the standards 20, and carries locking pieces 30 having notches 31. These notches cooperate with spring fingers 32 rising from the movable jaw 18. On one end of the shaft 29 there is an arm 33 carrying a roller 34 and on the opposite end of the same shaft there is an arm 35 provided with a roller 36. \Vhen the gripper carriage approaches or has reached the forward limit of its movement, the roller 34 of the arm 33 is struck by a projection 37 on a slide 38, which is actuated at this time. This turns the locking pieces 30 so as to force the jaw 18 downward upon the forward portion of the envelope lying on the under aw 26, and the movable jaw is resiliently locked in thisposition by the engagement of the upper ends of the spring fingers 32 with the notches 31. The gripper carriage is then moved rearward, drawing the envelope with it. At or about the extreme of its rearward movement, the roller of the arm 35 encounters a fixed part 39, which causes the shaft 29 to be turned so as to disengage the locking pieces 30 from the spring fingers 32, the gripper jaw 18 being thereupon opened by'the spring 28.

The fixed part 39 is integral with a channel guide 39 extending along the deck of the machine to guide and position the rear or bottom edge of the envelopes in theirmovement to .and from the loading position and while at rest in that position.

The envelopes are carried endwise along the guide 39 from the position in which they are left by the gri 'iper 18 to the loading position opposite a loading platform 40, and when loaded are moved away from this position by a reeiprocatory gripper mechanism, which will now be described. A long slide bar 41 is guided in fixed guides 42 parallel with the envelope guide 39, the guides 42 being beneath the deck of the machine.

Above the slide 41 the deck is slotted, as shown at 43. The particular gripper mechanism carried by the slide 41 and the means by which its grippers are opened and closed is similar to that disclosed in my aforesaid prior application, to which reference may be had for fuller understanding. The slide 41 carries two longitudinally spaced brackets 44 and 45, extending upward to the slot 43 and carrying normally closed gripper devices 46 and 47, which are momentarily opened shortly before the limit of movement in each direction of the slide 41 and then caused to close again at or about the time when the slide. reverses its movement. While it is unnecessary to go into details, it may be stated that the gripper 46 is opened and permitted to close by a rounded protuberance 48 on a slide 250 which is slidable on the slide 41, while the gripper 47 is similarly controlled by a protuberance 49 on the second slide 250, the slide 250 with the protuberances 48 and 49 being automatically shifted relatively to the slide 41 by reason of stationary limit stops 251 and 252 (Figs. 2, 3, and 5), which are encountered by the laterally projecting arms of a piece 253 fixed to the slide 250. In my prior application, the protuberances were on separate secondary slides, and there were two sets of limit stops, one for each secondary slide. The difference in respect to this feature in the present machine is therefore one of simplification. The details of the grippers 46 and 47 are not shown, all of these matters being made abundantly clear in my prior application.

The mechanism is such that when an en velope has been fully withdrawn from the envelope magazine and is left momentarily at rest, the slide 41 moves toward the end of this envelope and the gripper device 46 is momentarily opened and then immediately closed upon the end of the envelope, whereupon the slide 41 reverses its movement and drags the envelope endwise to a position opposite the end of the loading platform. At thistime the grip-per 46 is again momentarily opened to release the envelope, after which the slide 41 continues its movement for a short distance in order to enable the gripper 46 to clear the end of the envelope, whereupon the gripper is closed and the slide reverses its movement, carrying thegripper back under the stationary envelope preparatory to seizing and bringing another envelope to the loading position. At the same time the gripper 47 is caused to seize the forward end of an envelope which had been loaded at the loading station, to withdraw it endwise from the loading station, to release the loaded envelope preparatory to engaging and withdrawing the next loaded envelope.

As in my prior application, the flap opening blade 12, while a substantially stationary.

' through a slotted arm 50 connected'with the projection 37 of the striker slide 38, this arm cooperating with a pin 51 on' an arm 52 fixed to the pivot shaft 53 of the blade 12. In this way the flap opener blade is raised at the proper time, to be thereafter lowered and yieldingly pressed against the back of the envelope by a spring 54. The shaft 53 on which the opener blade 12 is hung is mounted in brackets 55 on the fixed frame.

As the envelope is moved endwise away from the position to which it was withdrawn by the gripper 18, its flap is'turned back somewhat farther by encountering a yielding pendent member 56, which is freely hung on an extension of the shaft and which has an inclined edge as shown in Fig. 1. The fiap' then passes beneath the loading platform 40, which is raised at the moment. When the envelope reaches and is left at the loading station, the loading platform is lowered back to the plane of the general deck of the ma chine and remains in this position while the enclosures are being introduced into the waiting envelope. Then the platform is raised while the loaded envelope is being carried away from the loading position.

The loading platform is pivotally supported on hinge centers 57, one of which connects an arm 58 on one rear lateral portion of the platform with a bracket 59 of the fixed deck, while the other connects'the forward end of the gauge-flange 72 with its continuation 72 on the platform.

Each of the enclosure magazines has rear angular corner members 60 and 61, which may be understood as being adjustable forward and rearward toward and from the front of the magazine and also relatively adjustable transversely toward and from each other. These matters are fully illustrated in my prior application and Serial No. 116,786, in another application, Serial No. 313,006, filed October 17, 1928, and do not require special illustration here. As in the case of the envelope magazine, the members 60 and 61 carry slides 62 having supporting feet 63 or roller 65, by the smooth surface of a feed roller 66, and by a ledge 67 at the front of the magazine. Each of the feed rollers 66 has a projecting friction segment 68 occupying a limited portion of its periphery as in. the case of the feed roller 13 of the envelope magazine. A stri per device 69 at the front of each of the enc osure magazines serves to separate the enclosures and to hold back all but the bottommost enclosure, which is advanced by the segment 68 of the feed roller into the grip of two forwarding rollers 76 and 71. These rollers operate at high speed so as to throw the enclosures to the far side of the gathering surface 6 against a stop guide 72. The roller 70 is a driven roller and the roller 71 is an idle roller pressed by springs 73.

The feed rollers 66 are operated by a shaft 74 passing axially through them and having arms 75 which cooperate with pins 76 on the rollers. In this way a one-way acting driv ing connection is provided between the shaft 74 and the feed rollers 66, so that when the enclosures advanced from the magazines are seized and forwarded at higher speed by the rollers O and 71, the feed rollers, that is to say their friction segments 68, are free to be snatched forward andto descend out of the way so as to avoid interfering with the forwarding movement of the enclosures and also to avoid placing strain on the sheet material. Other arms 77 on the shaft 74 limit the extent to which the feeding devices are moved freely in this manner. A similar plan may be, and preferably is, employed in connection with the operation of the feed device of the envelope magazine.

The gathering surface or table 6 is provided with longitudinal slots ,78 running parallel with the fronts of the enclosure magazines 5. A pair of slides 79 are mounted in guides 80 below the surface 6 to reciprocate in directions parallel with the slots 78. On these slides are posts 81 which are connected by a cross bar 82, the slides being also connected by a cross rod 83 so that the whole constitutes a reciprocatory carriage. At longitudinally spaced points the slides bear vertically slotted carriers 84. In these carriers the ends of transverse gatherer bars 85 are carried and guided for horizontal movement with the recip'. :atory carriage, also for movement up and down relatively to the carriage. The said bars have gatherer fingers 86, which are adapted to be projected upward through the slots 78 and to be withare spaced apart at a distance corresponding generally to the distance between the centers of two magazines. When enclosures are delivered from the enclosure magazines onto the gathering surface 6, the gatherer fingers 86 are in their rearward positions, that is to say their positions farthest away from the loading station so that the fingers are in rear of the enclosures on the table in front of the respective magazines. The gatherer carriage is then advanced and the fingers are raised so as to push the enclosures along the surface 6, thus bringing the enclosure or enclosures which were in front of any one magazine in front of the next magazine nearer the loading position, and advancing the collection of enclosures which was in front of the first magazine, nearest the loading position onto the loading platform.

The vertically movable bars 85 have roll ers 88 (Fig. 6) which ride on longitudinally extending bars 89, these bars being carried by parallel pivoted arms 90 so that the bars may be raised and lowered. For this purg; pose the shaft 91 to which one pair of these arms is secured is provided with an arm 92,

which is connected with the operating mechanism of the machine in a manner which will be described hereinafter, to cause the fingers 39 86 to rise and fall at the proper times.

The successive collections of enclosures are moved into the envelopes by pendent pusher fingers 93 on a rock-shaft 94, these fingers forming a sort of rake supported to operate over the surface 6 and its hinged continuation afforded by the platform 40. The said rock-shaft is journa-led in a bracket 95 (Figs. 1 and 3), which rises through an opening in the deck from the forward portion of one of the slides 79 of the gatherer carriage. An arm 96 is fixed to one end of said rock-shaft, and pivotally connected with this arm is a link 97, pivoted in turn to an arm 98, which last is pivoted at 99 on the lower portion of the'bracket 95.

A spring 100 acting on the arm 98 urges these parts in a direction to lower the inserting fingers into close proximity to the underlying surface, though preferably not in actual contact with it. A stud 101 placed on the bracket in position to contact with a rearward extension of the arm 98 serves as a stop to limit the movement of these fingers toward the surface 4, 40.

A piece 102 is also pivoted on the pin 99 to turn with respect to the arm 98, and a stud 103 on this piece is adapted to contact with the said arm so as to raise the inserting pusher fingers 93 upward and rearward when said piece is turned in one direction. As the gatherer carriage reciprocates, a roller'104 on said piece 102 trails over a cam or guide 105 secured to a statior ary part of the. machine.

This cam is seen in Figs. 1 and 6, and its outline is shown in broken lines in Fig. 3.

stroke the piece is in such position as to per-.

mit the spring 100 to keep the fingers 93 in their lowered position for pushing the enclosures into an envelope. When the gatherer carriage completes its forward movement and starts to travel rearward, the piece 102 is turned so that it acts on the arm 98 to swing the fingers 93 upward and rearward, in order to clear the next collection of enclosures on the rearward stroke. At the end of'the back stroke, the piece 102 is again reversed in position, allowing the fingers to be lowered in time to catch behind the enclosures, so that on the succeeding forward stroke the enclosures are pushed into the envelope.

A spring 106 may be provided for urging the piece 102 in one direction.

A set of inclined yielding blades 107 extend forward and downward over the enclosure supporting surface at the loading region, the function of these blades or fingers being to raise slightly the back edge of the mouth of the envelope and to bridge this edge so that the enclosures do not catch on it as they are pushed into the envelope. They are moved in the forward direction just far enoughto accomplish this purpose, this taking place just before the enclosures are start ed into the envelope, and are retracted at the proper time. They are pivoted at their rear ends on arms 108 projecting downward from a rock-shaft 109, and are preferably urged in the forward direction by a spring 110.

At this point it will be convenient to follow the operating connections whereby the various instrumentalities whch have been described are operated in proper time from a common source or recipient of power.

The shaft marked 111 (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 6) may be considered a primary shaft, receiving power through a sprocket 112 (Figs. 4 and 7) from an electric motor (not shown) or any suitable source of power. A spur gear 113 (Fig. 6) on this shaft meshes with a gear 114 on a shaft 115, and the gear 114 meshes in turn with a gear 116 (Figs. 1 and 7) fixed to one end of the shaft 74 which drives the feed rolls 66 of the enclosure magazine. Through gearing 117 at the opposite end of this shaft, the shaft 118 of the forwarding or delivery rolls of the enclosure magazines are driven from the shaft 74.

Through bevel gears 119 (Fig. 7) a shaft 120 is driven from shaft 111. A crank 121 (Fig. 3) on the shaft 120 is connected through a link 122 and a cross rod 123 with a pair of arms 124, which are mounted to swing on a pivot shaft 125. The arms 124 have slotted portions 126 which engage the cross rod 83 of Way the gatherer is reciprocated.

A cam 127 on the shaft 120 acts on a roller of a bell-crank lever 128 pivoted on the fixed frame at 129, and a link 130 connects this lever with the arm 92, by which the guide bars 89 are raiscdand lowered (or permitted to be lowered), in order to cause the gatherer fingers to rise above and to descend below the surface 6, and to be maintained projecting above the surface during the forward stroke, and below the surface during the back stroke.

Through bevel gears 131 (Fig. 4) a shaft 132 (Figs. 2-5) is driven from the shaft 115. A cam 133 on this shaft acts on a roller 134 on an arm 135 projecting downward from the raising and lowering platform 40, to raise this platform at the proper time to admit an envelope flap, to hold it raised for a suflicient brief period, then to lower it back to the normal plane, and to allow it to stay there for the requisite period while a collection of inserts is being pushed into the envelope.

One portion of the shaft 132 passes through the feed roller 13 of the envelope magazine, to drive the same.

Two cams 136, 137 (Fig. 4) on the shaft 132 coact with rollers 138, 139 on the arms of a yoke 140 forming one end of a lever 141 which is pivoted at 142. On the other end of this lever a toothed segment v143 meshes with a pinion 144 on the shaft 25. This shaft carries the pinions 24 previously described, which mesh the racks 23 of the carriage of the v gripper, whereby the envelopes, advanced one at a time from the envelope magazine, are seized and withdrawn, at the same time causing their flaps to be opened against the blade 12. The cams 136 and 137 are so designed as to move this carriage forward and rearward at the proper times, and to cause it to remain in its rearward position, away from the envelope magazine, for a proper period.

Another cam 146 (Fig. 4) on the shaft 132' acts on a roll 147 on an arm 148, which is pivoted at 149. The upper end of this arm acts on the striker slide 38, by which the envelope withdrawing gripper 18 is opened at the proper moment. The slide is preferably urged in the direction contrary to the action of the cam by a spring 150. It has been thought unnecessary to show all of these parts in full lines, since similar mechanism is shown in my aforesaid prior application. As previously indicated, movement of the striker slide is utilized to raise the flap opener blade 12 slightly at the proper moment and then to allow it to press downward on the back of an envelope.

Still another cam 151 (Fig. 5) on the shaft 132 acts on the roller 152 of a lever 153 which is pivoted at 154, this lever being connected at 155 with an arm 156 on the rock-shaft 109 of the blades 107.

A crank arm 157 (Fig. 2) on the; shaft 111 is connected by a link 158 with an oscillatory arm 159, which is pivoted at 160. This arm has a fork 161 which engages a pin 162 on a reciprocatory slide 163 carrying a rack 164. The end of the pin 162 may be provided with a roller 165 working in a channel guide 166. The rack 164 meshes a toothed wheel 167 on a shaft 168 suitably journaled in the fixed frame, and fixed on the same shaft is a larger gear 169, which meshes a rack 170 on the under side of the reciprocatory slide 41 of the grippers 46 and 47 by which the envelopes are moved endwise to and then away from the loading position. By these connections this gripper mechanism is given the appropriate movements at the proper times.

One of the features of the present machine is a jogger 171 (Figs. 1, 4 and 8-10) located at one side of the region to which the collections of enclosures are brought just before they are inserted into the envelopes. It is located at the portion of the deck 4 just in front of the longitudinally slotted surface 6 and just behind the movable platform of hinged section 40 of the general surface or deck, and is at the side of this region nearer the envelope magazine. The function of the jogger is to push or jog each completed collection of enclosures at right angles to the direction in which the collection was gathered, over against the gauge 72, thereby evening the collection and insuring its proper position opposite the mouth of the envelope. In this operation it acts in the direction in which the envelopes are moved endwise to the loading position. As hereinafter explained the endwise positioning of the envelope at loading is determined by means cooperating with its leading end, so that the leading end of the envelope when in position for loading always bears a definite relation to the gauge 72, the leading end of the envelope extending slightly past this gauge. Therefore by moving each collection of enclosures over against this gauge, the collections are always roperly disposed for insertion into the enve opes, irrespective of thelength of the envelopes and irrespective of the length of the enclosures which may be inserted into them.

The jogger is automatically operated in time with the other instrumentalities, and its precise form and the form of its operating means may naturally be varied.

As illustrated, it comprises a pusher 172 slidable on the deck 4 and freely pivoted at 173 to the upper end of an arm 174 extending from below through a slot in the deck. The arm 174 is pivoted at 175 to a bracket 176 and has a roller 177 which is acted upon by a cam 178 in the direction to draw the pusher back and to hold it back for a suitable period so that it will not obstruct the enclosures when the collection is advanced by the gatherer, the collection then probably being in a more or less uneven condition crossways of the direction in which the collection is advanced. The high dwell portion of thecam is sufliciently high to move and hold the jogger out of the way of the longest enclosures that ma be employed.

The orward or active movement of the jogger is conveniently effected by a spring 179. Yielding or non-positive actuation of the jogger in this direction has an advantage, since if the jogger should be set to travel a trifle too far it will not buckle the enclosures or hold them tightly against the gauge 72 while the inserter 93 is acting on the collection to move it into the envelope, nor will it result in injury to the jogger, as might be the case if the jogger were advanced rigidly and continued to advance after pushing stiff enclosures against the gauge 72.

However, it will be evident that the ogger could be operated by a cam in both directions, and that instead of a cam and the precise connections shown other appropriate operating linkage could be employed. In the illustrated embodiment, the cam 178 is fixed to the shaft 111 to cause the jogger to operate at the proper times.

A feature of this jogger is that it is capable of being set or adjusted readily to vary the forward limit of its stroke, this being important in order that the machine may operate with enclosures of different lengths. The rearward limit of movement of the jogger mayor may not be varied also. The precise means for varying the stroke of the jogger is naturally susceptible of embodiment in numerous forms, the one shown being suitable and convenient for the particular arrangement utilized.

In this form a rod 180 passes through and is rotatable in a bearing 181, the portion of this rodextending below the deck being screw-threaded. A knurled knob 182 on the rod is located above the deck in an accessible position for ready manipulation. The screw end is a stop lug 187 to coact with a projection 188 on the arm 174. This stop, therefore,

limits the extent to which the jogger is moved by the spring 179. By turning the knob 182 in one direction or the other the forward limit of the movement of the jogger is regulated.

Attention is called to a relation between thefeatures of adjustability of throw of the jogger, which is very important in a machine which must load enclosures of all sizes 'lrto envelopes, and a provision by virtue of which the jogger is advanced by a yielding means or connection, for example, such as the spring 79. A yielding means by or through which the jogger is advanced to do its work makes ible or yielding fingers 300 projecting downward and forward from stationary bars 301 into proximity to or contact with'the gathering surface 6. The enclosures are pushed by the gatherer beneath and in contact with these fingers.

Another feature to which particular attention is called is a positioner for positioning the envelopes at the loading station. Each envelope being carried endwise to this position by a gripper engaging its forward end, which gripper is released at the proper movement, the envelope is left at approximately the proper position for loading, and indeed if the envelopes are sufliciently longer than the enclosures the position may be accurate enough. However, in order to enable the machine to work with enclosures which are but little shorter than the length of the envelopes, it is highly desirablev to provide for quite exact positioning of the leading end of the envelope. In my prior application there was a stop against which the end of each envelope abutted when it was released by the gripper. The disadvantage of such a plan is that if the functioning of the gripper mechanism should not be precise, the envelope may be brought against the stop an instant before the gripper opens, the effect being to distort or to skew the envelope, or both.

I have therefore dispensed with a stop, and the envelope is preferably allowed to come to rest where it will after the release of the gripper,in which connection it will be understood that the momentum of the envelope tends to carry it onward for a short distance after it is free.

The important improvement in this connectionis that regardless of the precise point at which the envelope is released, it can not be brought up against an obstacle while it is is shifted back to the desired position in a direction contrary to that in which it was brought to the approximate leading position. The improvement is thus applicable in connection with other types of mechanism for bringing the envelopes to such approximate position, and is not necessarily limited to a translating mechanism which holds the envelope by its leading end.

The form and arrangement of the positioner and the connection for automatically operating it may be modified in many respects.

A suitable form is illustrated and will be described.

A rock-shaft-190 (Figs. 1, 3, 5, 11 and 12) is journaled in a bracket 191 onthe deck of the machine, and this shaft carries an arm 192, towhich a plate 193 is freely knifehinged at 194. This plate preferably lies a short distance above the deck 4 between the envelope guide 39 and the slot 43. At its free end there is a toe 195, which may be formed on a bar 196 fixed to the plate 193 by a screw 197, permitting the toe to be adjusted on the plate. A spring 198 reacting between the plate 193 and the arm 192 serves to hold the toe 195 down against the deck of the machine when the arm 192 is swung to move the toe downward and rearward as shown in Fig. 12 (by rearward being meant the direction contrary to that in which the envelope was brought to the approximate loading position). The toe may be notched to straddle a rib 199 on-the deck, as is seen.

in Fig. 5, though this is not essential.

The joint 194 permits of relative pivotal movement between the plate 193 and the arm 192 in this operation. When the arm 192 is swung in the opposite direction, the plate 193 and the toe 195 are raised as shown in Fig. 11, the plate being sustained by the abutting surfaces of the knife joint.

Another arm 200 on the shaft 190 is connected by a link 201 (Fig. 2) with an arm 202 on a rock-shaft 242 mounted in a bracket 203, and a link 204 extends from another arm 243 on the shaft 242 down below the top of the machine for connection with another bellcrank 205 (Fig. 5), this bell-crank being in turn connected by a link 206 with a lever 207 fulcrumed at 208, and the said lever carrying a roller 209 which bears against a cam 210 on the shaft 132. The cam actuates the positioner in one direction, and a spring 211 actuates it in the other direction, though here as elsewhere in the machine operations may be positive in both directions. The timing sitioner is moved and held out of the way in time so that the envelope after being loaded may be carried onward by the gripper 47.

It is not essential that the envelope positioner be located over the deck of the machine. However, an advantage of a. construction and arrangement such as shown is that the plate 193 or other suitable part of the positioner, when lying a short distance above the surface on which the envelope is loaded and extending for a distance over the back of the envelope, acts also as a guard to keep the envelope from buckling when the enclosures ed envelope.

are pushed into it. For the purpose of this function the cam 210 is so designed that the positioner is kept in its lowered position while the envelope is being loaded and is raised out of the way just before the loaded envelope is moved onward.

The end flap retainer 305 (Fig.1), su stantially like the one disclosed in my prior application, may be firmly held and may be stiff enough to cooperate with the plate 93 carries the forward end of each loaded envelope between two rollers 212 and 213 which are then not rotating, the gripper is then opened and proceeds enough farther to clear the envelope, closes, and then returns beneath the envelope to pick up the next load- The upper roller 212 is on a spring-pressed arm 214, and means are provided for driving the roller 213 at the proper times.

For this purpose the roller 213 is fixed to a sleeve or tubular shaft 215 (Fig. 5) which passes through a bearing 216, and at the opposite end of this bearing the sleeve has a .1.

ratchet wheel 217 fixed to it. A shaft 218 turns within the sleeve and has a pinion 219,

ratchet'when the slide is moved in the opposite direction. A retaining dog 223 coacting with suitable teeth or roughness on the face of the ratchet wheel 217 prevents the roller 213 being dragged in backward rotation on the idle stroke of the slide. The slide 221 is actuated to rotate the rolle 213 forwardly at the proper time by an arm 224 on the slide 163 striking and moving a projection 225 on the slide 221. On the return movement of the slide 163 another arm projection 225 and. returns- 226 strikes the the slide 221. i

The roller 213, when driven, causes the loaded envelope to advance into the bite of two rollers 227 and 228 mounted in a bracket 229 at the delivery end of the machine. roller 227 is spring pressed, and the roller 228 is driven through bevel gears 230 from the shaft 132. v

The loaded envelopes may be .delivered from the machine with their flaps either open or closed. For closing the flaps an inclined bar 231 (Fig. 1) of suitable form is em-' ployed. This bar may be secured to a, rib 232 by a set-screw 233 so that it can be read- The ily removed and replaced. When the bar is in position as shown in Fig. 1, the open flaps as they encounter and move along it are turned over toward the backs of the loaded 5 envelopes before the envelopes pass between the rolls 227 and 228.

Another bar 234 is shown swiveled on the bracket 229 so that it-can be shifted from an inoperative position, shown in full lines in 10 Fig. 1, to an operative position, represented by broken lines in the same view. When the bar 234 is in the latter position it serves to keep the flaps open, so that the envelopes pass in this condition through the delivery rolls 227 and 228. In that case, the bar 231 is removed or moved out of the way.

In the machine of my prior application, provision was made for moistening the flaps of the envelopes, for sealing. A moistening means has not been shown in connection with the present machine, but may be provided if desired.

The operation of the machine has been fully explained in connection with the foregoing description, and need not be repeated. It will be understood that there may be numerous changes in form and details, and by way of substitution, addition or subtraction, without departing from essentials.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points, gathering elements supported beneath said surface in tandem relation, means for reciprocating said gathering elements forward and rearward, a longitudinal part along which said elements move, means for automatically raising and lowering said part, an upwardly projecting forward support on said carriage, an inserting pusher a ove said surface movably mounted on said support so as to be raisable and lowerable, a stationary part, and means on said carriage and having a member coacting with said stationar art for causing said pusher to be lowered fbr the forward stroke and raised for the rearward stroke.

2. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points, a reciprocatory carriage below said surface, gathering elements in tandem relation movably connected with said carriage, means for reciprocating said carriage, means for causing said elements to rise and fall with reference to the carriage in proper time with the reciprocation thereof, an inserting pusher above said surface and connected with said carriage to move therewith, a stationary part, and means c0- acting with said stationary part and controllin raising and lowering movement of said pus er.

3. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered 65 at a plurality of points, gathering elements supported beneath said surface in tandem relation, means for reciprocating said gathering elements forward and rearward, a longitudinal part along which said elements move, means for automatically raising and lowering said part, an inserting pusher above said surface and connected wlth said carriage to move therewith, a stationary part, and means coacting with said stationary part and controlling raising and lowering movement of said pusher.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination with an envelope magazine, a flap opener in front of said magazine, means for moving successive envelopes from said magazine in a direction transverse to their length to cause the flaps to be opened by said opener, and means for then moving the envelopes endwise to a loading position, of a yielding pendent piece encountered by the flaps in the latter movement for causing their further opening.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with mechanism for moving an envelope endwise to approximate position for loading, of a positioner which acts in the contrary direction to shiftthe envelope back to the proper position for loading.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with automatically closable and releasable gripper mechanism for moving an envelope endwise by its'forward end to approximate position for loading, of a positioner which acts in the contrary direction to shift the envelope back to the proper positon, and means for automatically actuating said positioner to act on the envelope when it has been released by said gripper mechanism.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a series of enclosure magazines, a gatherer extendinglengthwise of said series of magazines, means for feeding enclosures simultaneously from said magazines to difierent positions on said gatherer, means for operating the gatherer to form successive collections of enclosures by translating the enclosures in one direction, an inserter acting in the same direction to insert the successively formed collections into envelopes, means for moving envelopes to the loading station in a direction at right'angles to the path of movement of the'enclosur'es, a jogger disposed at one side of the loading station, and means for operating said jogger to act on the successive collections in' the same direction as that in which the envelopes are moved to the loading station.

8. In a machine of the character described, a jogger at the loading station to act on successive collections of enclosures, yielding means for advancing said jogger, astop directly cooperative with said'jogger to limit such advancing movement and thereby to limit the action of the 'ogger on the enc1osures,*a; device fora justingsaid' stop-,

and means for retracting said jogger at the proper times.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points,

' which the enclosures are advanced by said gathering elements, and means for inserting the collections of enclosures into envelopes.

10. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points, a reciprocatory carriage below said surface, gathering elements in tandem relation movabiy connected with said carriage, means for reciprocating said carriage, and means for causing said elements to rise'and fall with reference to the carriage in proper time with the reciprocation thereof, a loading station to which the enclosures are advanced by said gathering elements, and means for inserting the collections of enclosures into envelopes.

11. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points, gathering elements supported beneath said surface in tandem relation, means for reciprocating said gathering elements forward and rearward, a longitudinal part along which said elements move, and means for automatically raising and lowering said part, a loadin station to which the enclosures are advance by said gathering elements, and means for inserting the collections of enclosures into envelopes.

12. In a machine of the character described, a surface onto which enclosures are delivered at a plurality of points, a recipro-- catory carriage beiow said surface, carriers tandem relation on said carriage, bars vertically guided in said carriers and having upwardly projecting gathering fingers, means for reciprocating the carriage, and means for causing said bars to move vertically in said carriers at the proper times, a loading station to which the enclosures are advanced by said gatherin elements, and means for inserting the col ections of enclosures into envelopes.

13. In .a machine of the character described, a jogger to act on successivecollections of enclosures to even the same, a gauge to which the enclosures are evened, a stop directly cooperative with said jogger to limit its advancing movement and thereby to limit the action of the jogger on the enclosures, a device for adjusting said stop, and

provisions for advancing and retracting said jogger, said provisions comprising yieldingmeans for advancing the jogger against the adjustable stop.

14. In a machine of the character described, having a deck, a jogger to act on successive collections of enclosures to even the same, a portion of said jogger being below the deck, provisions for operating the jogger, including yielding means for advancing it, an .adjustable stop cooperative with the portion of the jogger below the deck, and means passing through the deck for adjusting said stop by manipulation above the deck.

15. In a machine of the character described, having a deck, a jogger to act on successive collections of enclosures to even the same, said jogger having an arm passing below the deck, a spring for advancing said arm, driven means for retracting the arm, a movable stop below the deck to arrest the advancing movement of the arm, and a screw adjusting device for said stop having an operating knob above the deck.

FLORENCE MoCARTHY.

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