US798857A - Sheet-feeding apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

N0. 798,857. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. W. ZANDER. SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

2 HEBTSSHBET 1,

ATTORNEY A uil APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1904.

No. 798,857. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. W. ZANDER. SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1904 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F m h WITNESSES: 4 MK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\YILLIAM ZANDICR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO A. B. DICK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COHIOItA'IION OF ILLINOIS.

SHEET-FEEDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

Application filed November 29. 1904. Serial No 234,794.

To 01/ 1071 0711, it ntrty con/earn:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM Zaxnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide means of a simple and durable character for positively and reliably feedingsheets successively to a printing, duplicating, folding, or other machine.

A further object is to guard against the feeding of more than one sheet at a time and to preclude the choking of the ap 'iaratus through the tendency of a plurality of sheets to pass the feeding mechanism.

In carrying out the invention I employ, preferably, a combined feeding and separating roll coacting with the under side of a sheet pile, upon which a weight may be an ranged to bear with variable pressure. In combination with such roll and weight I employ a paper-stop, preferably inclined in the direction of travel of the sheets to be fed and the lower end whereof preferably extends below the level of the lowermost sheet of the pile, whereby only the lowermost sheet of the pile will be acted upon by the feed-roll to be advanced forwardly toward the printing or duplicating mechanism, the sheets above such lowermost sheet being held to await their turn by said paper-stop and being acted upon by thefeed-roll only after the first shall have been advanced, as above indicated. Obviously the feed-roll may operate continuously or intermittently, dependent upon whether or not the sheets are'to be spaced apart before reaching the mechanism by means whereof they are carried to the printing or duplicating device.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which---- Figure 1 is a vertical section (partly in elevation) of a stencil-duplicating machine having my improved sheet-feeding device applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an end view of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1, the stencil-carrying drum being omitted. Fig. 3

is a central vertical section in which the feeding device hereof is shown as applied to a folding-machine, a slight modification being also shown with respect to the adjustable weight for applying pressure to the sheet pile; and Fig. 4: is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar letters denote corresponding parts, A designates a combined separator and feed-roll suitably supportcd at either end and preferably provided with a fluted covering 1/, of rubber or other elastic material, having outwardlyprojccting ribs u. thereon. The shaft of this roll is connected with any suitable source of power, and, if desired, a stop movement (not shown) of any common construction may be employed, whereby intermittent movement may be communicated to such shaft. As an example of such a movement I refer to United States Letters Patent No. HELQST, granted January 19, 190%.

B designates a f00ll-l)O2tl(l, here shown as detachably supported at its forward end in the frame in which said feed-roll A is mounted. Said feed-board may be provided with side guides /1 for the purpose of centering the sheet pile C thereon.

I) designates a paperstop, preferably of a length substantially coextensive with the length of the feed-roll A and inclined forwardly----/. 0., in the direction of travel of the sheets. Said paper-stop may be of any suitable material-such as metal, glass, or vulcanized tiber and is suitably supported at its upper end in the frame of the feeding device. In the present instance I. have shown a bar (Z forming part of the frame of the machine, and to this said paper-stop is secured in any suitable manneras, for instance, by means of screws (1, preferably carried in slots (1* whereby said paper-stop may be adjusted either vertically -as, .for instance, by interposing washers -or toward or from the feedroll A. As will be seen, the lower end of the paper-stop l) terminates, preferably, below the original feed-line of the sheet pilc-/'. (a, (in the present instance,) below the highest point reached by the periphery of the feedroll A, the purpose whereof will presently be explained.

E designates a presscr-bar which may be substantially coextensive in length with the length of the feed-roll A or of the paper designed to be fed thereby. The under surface thereof may, if desired, be provided with a facing of rubber or other material for the purpose of assuring contact with the upper surface of the sheet pile. Said presser-bar is pivoted intermediate of its ends at e to an angular carrier 6, pivoted at 0 upon a crossrod extending between the side members of the frame of the machine. It is also provided with a jaw a, coacting with a pin 0, whereby when said presser-bar and its carrier are swung upwardly to inoperative position they may be held in this position until replaced. For the purpose of varying the degree of pressure with which the bar E shall bear upon the upper surface of the sheet pile I provide the carrier thereof with an adjustable weight, and this is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as comprising a cylindrical weight a provided with a set-screw e, by means whereof said weight may be secured to the carrier 0 at any desired position thereon.

In carrying out the invention for use in connection with a stencil-duplicating machine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is contemplated that sheetpassing mechanism intermediate of the feeding device and the stencil-duplicating apparatus shall be employed, and this is shown in the present instance as comprising sheet-passing roll F, gravity-rollf, guide-rolls f and f bed f, and guard said rolls f and f being, if desired, provided with beveled flanges f f" for the purpose of centering the sheets during their passage to the duplicating apparatus.

The operation of the device in connection with this form of mechanism is indicated quite clearly in the figures referred to. In arranging the sheet pile for feeding to said mechanism the presser-bar is raised and the pile laid upon the feedboard B, itsforward end resting upon the feed-roll A. Preferably the forward edge of the sheet pile will be placed against the stop D; but this is not absolutely essential, as the operation of the roller will move the same to that point even if it be initially arranged rearward thereof. The presser-bar may then be placed in operative position gin which itis shownin Fig. 1)and the weight 6" thereof adjusted, if necessary, with regard to the particular character of the sheets in the pile. The tendency of the presser-bar E is naturally to depress the forward end of the sheet pile. The relation between the lower end of the paper-stop D and the ribs 0 upon the feed-roll A is preferably such that after one of said ribs has passed such extreme lower end a very considerable space is left between the latter and the next adjacent rib, due to which the forward end of thelowermost sheet of the pile maybe readily moved clownward under the action of such next adjacent rib until such forward end is carried below the extreme lower end of the paper-stop. Such lowermost sheet is therefore separated from the pile and positively grasped and carried forward, the other ribs upon the feedroll coming successively into coaction with such sheet and advancing it with a continuous and uniform movement to the passing and gravity rolls F f. If a continuous movement be transmitted to the roll A, the moment the end of the lowermost sheet passes the point of coaction between such roll and the under side of the sheet pile the next sheet above will be acted upon by said roll, and immediately upon the passage of the sheet first named below the paper-stop the edge of such next sheet will be advanced in similar manner, the feeding operation therefore being, like the movement of the feed-roll A, continuous. If, on the other hand, the movement of the roll A be intermittent, (as shown, for instance, in the patent above referred to,) such roll may be so arranged as to come to a stop immediately after coaction with each sheet, so that the latter may be advanced to, or at least in the direction of, the duplicating mechanism before the next sheet on the under side of the pile is similarly acted upon.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown substantially the apparatus hereinabove described applied, however, not to a duplicatingmachine, but to a folding-machine, and for the purpose of this illustration l have disclosed in the drawings part of a folding mechanism similar to that shown and described in a pending application, Serial No. 181,897. The only parts of said folding mechanism to which, for the purpose of this illustration, reference is here necessary are the bed G, adapted to receive the sheet pile, the separator-roll H, and passing-rolls I, the roll H preferably having, like the roll A, a ribbed periphery of rubber or other elasticmaterial. In this instance the paper-stop (indicated by the reference-letter D in Figs. 1 and 2 and by the reference-letter L in Figs. 3 and 4) is secured upon a plate Z, formed integral with or secured to an upwardly-extending spring-plate Z, secured in any suitable manner to the framework of the folding-machine. The centrally-pivoted presser-bar E of Figs. 1 and 2 is here reproduced in substantially the same form in the centrally-pivoted presser-bar M, carried by cross-arm m, secured to the ends of ways in m, which in turn are pivoted at m to the upwardly extending members Z. Said presser-bar M, as shown in Fig. 3, bears the same (close) relation to the pa per-stop L as the presser-barEbearstothepaper-stopD. (Illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.) The sliding weight 0 of said last-named figures is represented in Figs. 3 and 4 by the sliding weight N, which coacts with the ways m, as clearly described in the application last above referred to. If desired, the plate Zmay be provided with setscrews Z thus reproducing the corresponding means shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for adjusting the paper-stop relatively to the separatorroll H. Substantially the only change or addition involved in the application of the sheet-feeding device of this invention to a folding-machine of the character herein suggested resides in the provision of a guard P, carried by or formed integral with the paperstop II and the function whereof is to turn dmvnwardly the advancing edge of a sheet for coaction with the passing-rolls I. Save in the latter respect, the above statement as to the behavior of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and "2 applies with equal force to the behavior of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. and I. The sheet pile is laid upon the bed (it. its forward edge resting upon the separator-roll I l and either against or adjacent to the stop L, which, like the stop I), is preferably inclined. The presser-lmr l\l is then applied and the weight N adjusted, if necessary, and movement (either continuous or intermittent) applied to the separator-roll II. The relation between the lower end of the paper-stop I1 and the periphery of the separator-roll ll is substantially the same as that of the corresponding parts in the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and the coaction of the sheets therefore is also the same as that above described, substal'itially the only difference being that after the lowermost sheet has been advanced sutliciently far to come into contact with the inclined paperguard I the forward edge thereof is turned downwardly toward the point of coaction of the passing-rolls I, so that after such sheet shall have been passed sutliciently far by the separator-roll I'l said sheet will be grasped by said passing-rolls and fed between the same to the folding mechanism below.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In sheet-feedingapparatus, hecombination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact succes: sively with the sheets of said pile, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

2. In sheet-feeding apparatus. the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, and an inclined paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

3. In sheet-feeding apparatus, thecombination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, and an adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

st. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, and an inclined, adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially llOl'IZOI'ltill plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, a paperstop whose lower end terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheetof said pile, and means for passing a sheet from the under side of said pile in a different plane from that in which it was received therefrom, substantially as set forth.

6. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, a paperstop whose lower end terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, and a paper-guard adjacent to said stop and adapted to coact with a sheet fed past the same, substantially as set forth.

7. In sheetfeeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a. sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, said roll having longitudinal ribs, a paper-stop whose lower end terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, and means for passing a sheet from the under side of said pile in a different plane from that in which it was received therefrom, substantially as set forth.

8. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll adapted to coact successively with the sheets of said pile, said roll having longitudinal ribs, a paper-stop whose lower end terminates below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, and a paperguard adjacent to said step and adapted to coact with a sheet fed past the same, substantially as set forth.

9. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means for applying pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed-roll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

10. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means for applying variable pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed roll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

11. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means for applying pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed-roll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, and an adjustable paper-stop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet-of said pile, substantially as set forth.

12; In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of means for applying variable pressure upon the upper surface of such pile, a feed-roll underlying said pile and adapted to support the forward end thereof, and an adjustable paperstop the lower end whereof extends below the plane of the lowermost sheet of said pile, substantially as set forth.

13. In sheet-feeding apparatus,the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof terminates in close proximity to said roll and at a point in advance of,

and lower than, the point of coaction between such roll and the under side of said sheet pile, substantially as set forth.

14. In sheet-feeding apparatus, the combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll having a longitudinallyribbed periphery, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof terminates in close proximity to said roll and at a point in advance of, and lower than, the point of coaction between such roll and the under side of said sheet pile, substantially as set forth.

15. In sheet-feeding apparatus,tl1e combination with a bed adapted to support a sheet pile in a substantially horizontal plane, of an underlying feed-roll having a longitudinallyribbed periphery of elastic material such as rubber, and a paper-stop the lower end whereof terminates in close proximity to said roll and at a point in advance of, and lower than, the point of coaction between such roll and the under side of said sheet pile, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 26th day of November, 1904:.

WVILLIAM ZANDER.

Witnesses:

IV. 6". ARNOLD, IVILLIAM LANG.

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