US2177460A - Sheet feeding and overlapping mechanism - Google Patents

Description

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ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1939. F. RENz SHEET FEEDING AND OVERLAPPING MECHANISM Filed arch l0, 1938 v' 2 R. m 1 m l@ W m 1 uw mh 1 e E E s`N N 2 liv WJ M. NVN I l@ ,INNI

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BY Eaerz'ck R @nlJ M fw ATTORNEYS Patented oci. 24, 1939 PATENT oFFlcE SHEET FEEDING AND ovElsrlzlilrme.4

MECH

ANISM neaeriek Renz, Forest mns west, N. Y.

Application March 10,

I 6 claims.

This invention relates generally to sheet feedringapparatus and broadly comprehends an improved mechanism for receiving and overlapping sheets which are fed singly and in spaced relation thereto and for presenting the samein their overlapped relation to the receiving box of a layboy or other sheet stacking lapparatus so as to obviate any possibility of collision between the Ltrailing edge of a preceding sheet and the leading edge of a following sheet as the same enter the receiving box of the layboy.

- The invention broadly resides in an improved mechanism of the indicated character and for the purpose specified wherein means is provided for arresting the sheets in their movement so that a preceding sheet, while so arrested, is overlapped by `an adjacent following sheet and the overlapped arrangement of the sheets maintain until they enter the layboy receiving box.`

More particularly the invention contemplates a sheet yarresting means which is controlled by the sheets themselves and wherein each sheet actuates the arresting means to stop itself and wherein a preceding sheet which has been arrested is released by a following sheet as it reaches a predetermined point.

The invention,y furthermore, embodies means for so conveying the sheets subsequent to their overlapping as to maintain proper alignment of their side edges as they enter the layboy receiving box thereby insuring an even jogging of the sheets therein.

The invention, furthermore, includes means for regulatingthe` pressure of the sheet arresting means so that the to a'stop thereby avoiding buckling of the rear portion of the sheet being arrested and causing the same to lie flat on the conveyor means to prevent collision of the following sheet during the initial overlapping thereof.

Other objects of the invention reside in the provision of a sheet overlappingA mechanism which ispositive in .its action, comparatively sim- 45 ple in its construction and mode of operation and which may be economically manufactured and installed.

With the above in view, the invention is set forth in greater detail in the following specification, illustrated in thev accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims which cover variations and modifications not speciflcally disclosed, but which fall within the scope of the invention.

sheets are not abruptly brought enumerated and other objects y 1938, Serial No.- 195,103

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating -a sheet overlapping and feeding mechanism con'- strueted in accordance with the inventionY and showing the same interposed between a layboy and a feed from a source of supply of sheets.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic side view thereof.

n Fig. 3 is a detail perspective viw of the means 1for controlling the sheet arrestingmeans.

Fig. 4 is 1any enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic side view with parts shown in sectionv illustrating the sheet arresting means in its active position.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a sheet on the *feeding conveyor in engagement with the switch arm and breaking the circuit to render the sheet larresting means inactive.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, I0 designates a series of conveyor cords upon which are fed, from a source of supply, a

ksuccession of sheets lS which are spaced apart longitudinally of the conveyor cords as the upper leads thereof travel in the direction `of the arrows towards and around the driven peripherally grooved roll II which is mounted to turn on a transverse axis. superimposed upon the roll II in staggered relation to the conveyor cords I0, are a series of idler wheels I2 `having rubber or other suitable yieldable treads I3 which bear upon the periphery of the driven roll I I to impart turning Amotion to the wheels. The wheels I2 are secured to an idler shaft I4 mounted for rotation on a transverse' axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll I`I and Asaid shaft has secured thereto pulley sheaves I5 which, .together with the shaft I4, are rotated in unison with the wheels I2 by their frictional contact with the roll A guide plate I6 having a downwardly curved forward edge I1 is supported at the transverse medial portion of the roll II and is located within a medial peripheral groove I8 formed on the roll so that itsupper surface is flush with the upper portion of the periphery of the roll I I. The guide plate is provided with a central longitudinal notch I9 which opens through the rear edge and extends forwardly therefrom.

The overlapping mechanism or unit includes a pair of driven conveyor rolls 20. and 2| which are mounted to turn on transverse axes parallel to the axis of the roll II and are spaced apart longitudinally of the mechanism or unit with the upper portion of the peripheries of the rolls 20 disposed in a horizontal plane below the plane of the upper leads of the conveyor cords I0. The

. 10..tapes 22, overhead A ly from the roll 26 to the roll 2| 34 to rock the shaft :011s :cena 2| have trained leads of ywhich are adapted to receive thereon the sheets S as they' leave the roll II and which are fed longitudinally beyond the roll by the action of the conveyor cords I8 and the feeding action of the idler wheels I2 impinged upon and rotated by the periphery of lthe roll II. e

In order to hold down and guide the leading edges of thesheets downwardly onto the conveyor which are trained around the pulley sheaves I5 on the idler shaftI I4 and around idler pulley sheaves 24 which are rotatably mounted on a transverse axis such 4as the rock shaft 25, the lower leads of the guide cords 23 being inclined downwardly from the pulley sheaves I 5 to the idler pulley sheaves 24 so that said guide cords 23 extend longitudinally of and above the upper leads of the conveyor tapes 22.

`A guide roll 26 mounted for rotation on a transverse axis is interposed between the conveyor rolls 28 and 2Ifandis so positioned that the upper portion of its periphery is in a plane slightly above the plane of the upper portions of the peripheries of the rolls 28and 2I so that the upper leads of the conveyor tapes 22 incline slightly from the roll 28 to the roll 26 and decline slightthereby causing the sheets as they are conveyed on the upper leads of the conveyor tapes 22 to assume a longitudinally angulated position for a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth.

A iixed non-rotary transverse rod 21 extends across `the overlapping unit or mechanism beneath the upper leads of the conveyor tapes 22 and said rod has secured thereon a pluiality of transversely spaced abutments 28 other yieldable material which are staggered with reference to the conveyor ,tapes and the upper surfaces of which are disposed slightly above the upper surfaces of the upper leads of said conveyor tapes to allow free runningof the tapes when the sheet is arrested.

The rock shaft 25, in atddition to serving `as a mounting for the idler sheaves 24 has secured thereto and projecting therefrom a plurality of stop ngers 29 corresponding in number to the number of abutments 28 and the free terminals 38 of which overlie the abutments 26.

The rock shaft also has secured thereto a radially projecting actuating arm 3I which is con-v nected by a pin 32 to a vertically disposed shift -bar 33 which is in turn adapted upon shifting upwardly to rock the shaft 25 in a direction to raise the stop finger terminals 38 with reference to the abutments 26 and upon downward shifting movement to engage the stop finger terminals 38 with the abutments 28. The bar 33 is shifted upwardly by means of a coiled contractile spring 34 which is connected at its lower terminal with the bar and anchored at its upper terminal to an overhead support 35. The lower end of the shift bar 33 is connected to the movable core 35 of a solenoid 31 which when energized, shifts the bar 33 downwardly against the action of the spring l 25 in a direction the stop finger terminals 38 against the abutment elements 28.

'I'he solenoid 31 is arranged in an electrical circuit 38 including a source of supply 33 and a switch 48 which controls the opening and clos- 38 to energize and de-energize The'switch 48 is provided with a fixed contact 4I and a movable contact 42 and guide cords 23 are provided of rubber or to impinge e the movable contact is carried by an actuating arm-43 which is fulcrumed as at 44 and the terminal of which arm i of the guide plate I6 and into a peripheral groove that the switch controlling in the path of movement of the sheets S as they are conveyed bythe conveyor extends through the alotv I l cords I8 over the upper portion of'the periphery of the roll II and over the upper surface of the guide plate I8, it being apparent that the 4sheets S as they move over the lguide plate, will lift and retain the switch position and when so elevated the movable contact 42 will be out of engagement with the fixed contact 4I of the switch. It will be likewise apparent that when no sheet is in a position to retain the switch arm 43 in its upper position, the same will drop by gravity to its lower position so as to cause the movable contact 42 to engage the fixed contact 4I, thus closing the circuit 38 to the solenoid 31. 'In addition to the conveyor tapes 22, the overlapping mechanism has extending longitudinally thereover a series of upper cords ,58, the 'lower leads of which overlie the upper surfacesot and move inthe same direction as the sheets. The

lower leads of the conveyor cords '58 are impin 26 so as toex'ert a pressure on the sheets in the region thereof which is passing over the roll 26.

The overhead cords 58 are trained around a sutable supporting idler, not shown, and around -In use and operation, as the leading edge 'of the first sheet S engages the switch arm 4'3 and raises the same, the circuit 38 is broken thereby de-energizing the solenoid 31 to permit the spring 34 to raise the stop finger terminals 38 out of engagement with the abutments 26. As the sheet enters the overlapping unit and is advanced and guided by the overhead cords 23 onto the conveyor tapes 22 to a position between the separated stop finger terminals 38 and the abutments 28, 1t

will be automatically arrested and prevented from further longitudinal movement towards the layboy as soon as its rear or trailing edge has cleared the switch arm terminal 43 due to the fact that the switch arm will drop and close the circuit 38 thereby energizing the solenoid. It is apparent that the energized solenoid vwill pull the cere as thereof downwardly together with the shift bar 33 to impinge the stop finger terminals 38 against the abutments 28 thus clamping the sheet therebetween. It should, however, be noted that the trailing edge of said sheet will at this I8. As soon as the leading following sheet S engages dge of the second or with and raises the switch arm 43 to break the'circuit, thesolenold control arm 43 in an ,elevated It should here be noted tapes In and in practice it has been found that the ratio-of three to 1 operates satisfactorily, that is, the conveyor cords l travel at a rate of speed three times that of the conveyor tapes 22. It thus follows that when the leading edge of the second l lapthe trailing edge of the rst or preceding sheet, while continuing to increase the overlap due to the difference in the rate o f speed at which it is fed until its vtrailing edge passes beyond the switch arm and again causes the circuit 38 to be closed for energizing the solenoid. At this time, the trailing edge of the second sheet will, due to momentum, have passed beyond the roll 4l I, while the leading portion thereof has advanced to a position between the separated vstop finger terminals 30 and abutments 28 so that said second sheet will be gripped and arrested in lits movement, while the trailing-edge of the first or preceding sheet will have been conveyed beyond the stop ngers. Immediately following this, the leading edge of the third sheet will engage and raise the switch arm to break the circuit thus releasing the rsecond sheet while still in overlapping relation to the first sheet and the same will then be conveyed together in overlapped relation upon the conveyor tapes 22. The operation is repeated on eachsucceeding sheet so that the sheets are uniformly overlapped a predetermined'distance and are conveyed on the tapes 22 between the intake roll 55 and the intake wheels 56 of the layboy and presented to the layboy in their overlapped relation.

In order to maintain a proper alignment of the side edges of the sheets during and subsequent to their overlapping and to insure their entering the layboy with their side edges properly aligned whereby to cause even jogging of the sheets in the receiving box, the sheets are caused to assume a longitudinally angulated position by the longitudinal angulations of the upper leads, of the conveyor tapes 22. This resists any tendency of the sheets to become misaligned at their side edges during and subsequent to the overlapping operation. Means is provided for regulating the pressure of the stop fingers against the abutments 28 so that the sheets will not be abruptly stopped and to thereby avoid buckling of the rear portion of the Ysheets as they are arrested. This means consists of the employment of set screws 60 threaded through the collars 6l which carry the stop fingers 29 and set screw 62 on the collar 63 which carries the actuating arm 3|. Either of the fingers may be adjusted individually or the collar of the actuating arm adjusted to accomplish this end.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for overlapping and presentingsheets in overlapped relation to a layboy comprising means for conveying the sheets to the layboy, means for feeding the sheets in spaced relation to said conveyor means, said conveyor means being disposed in a plane below and operated at a lesserspeed than the" feeding means, means for arresting the movement of a sheet on the conveyor means so that said sheets are overlapped during the arresting thereof on the conveyor means while the conveyor means continues to move to present previously overlapped sheets to the layboy, and means controlled by the sheets for effecting the actuation of the sheet arresting ,v

means.

2. Amechanism for overlapping and presenting sheets in overlapped relation to a layboy comprising means for conveying the sheets to the layboy, means for feeding the sheets in spaced relation to said conveyor means, said conveyor means being disposed in a plane below and operated at a lesser speed than the feeding means, means disposed in the path of movement of the sheets on the conveyor means for arresting the movement of .a sheet on the conveyor means so that said sheets are overlapped during the arresting thereof on'the conveyor means while the conveyor means continues to move to present the previously overlapped sheets to the layboy, and means disposed in the path of movement of the sheets on the feeding means and controlled bythe sheets for effecting the actuation of the sheet arresting means. f

3. A mechanism for overlapping and presenting sheets in overlapped relation to a layboy comprising means for conveying the sheets to the layboy, means for feeding the sheets in spaced relation to said conveyor means, said conveyor means being disposed in a plane below and operated at a lesser 4speed than the feeding means, means for arresting the movement of a sheet on the conveyor means so that said sheets are overlapped during the arresting thereof ion the conveyor means, means contrilled by the sheets as the same are fed from the feeding means to the conveyor means for effecting the actuation of the sheet arresting means, and means for maintaining the overlapped sheets in overlapped relation until they are fed into the layboy.

4. A mechanism for overlapping and presenting sheets in overlapped relation to a layboy comprising means for feeding the sheets in spaced relation, a longitudinal conveyor means driven at a lesser speed than the feeding means and disposed in a plane below the feeding means and between the feeding means and the layboy, means controlled by the sheets as the same are fed from the feeding means for eiecting the arrestment of the movement of a sheet on said conveyor means so that adjacent sheets are overlapped, said latter means including a stop flnger, electrically actuated means, and means disposed in the path of movement of the sheets on the feeding means and released by the sheets forrendering the electrically actuated means active to effect the moving of said stop finger into contact with the sheets on the conveyor means for arresting the same, and means for maintaining the sheets in overlapped relation as they enter the layboy.

5. A mechanism for overlapping and presenting sheets in overlapped relation to a layboy comprising means for feeding the sheets in spaced relation, a longitudinal conveyor means driven at a lesser speed than the feeding means and disposed in a plane below the feeding means and between the feeding means and the layboy, means for arresting the movement of each sheet while on the conveyor means so that the same is overlapped by the following sheet subsequent to the arrestment thereof, said latter means including a stop nger, an electric circuit including an electro-magnet adapted when energized to render the stop finger active to arrest a sheet, and a gravity operated switch normally closing the circuit andv having an arm disposed in the path of movement of the sheets on the feeding means and actuated when released by the sheets to effect lllv the closing oi the electric circuit and the energizing oi' the electro-magnet. n 6. A mechanism for overlapping and presenting sheets in overlapped relation to a layboy 5 comprising means i'or feeding the sheets in spaced relation. a longitudinal conveyor means driven at a lesser speed than the feeding means and disposed in a plane below the feeding means and between the feeding means and the layboy, a stop finger, an electric circuit including an elec'- tro-inagnet adapted when energized to render the stop nger active to arrest a sheet as it is rec ived upon the conveyor means, a gravity operated switch normally closing the circuit and havu an arm disposed in the path of movement of the sheets on the feeding means and actuated when released by the sheets to elect the closing of the electric circuit and th'e energizing of the electro-magnet, said arm being adapted to be raised by the succeeding sheet on the i means to effect the opening oi the electric circuit and the de-energizing of the electro-magnet to therebyrende'r the stop linger inactive .and to release the arrested sheet so that the succeeding sheet is kdelivered to the conveyor means in overlapping relation with the released sheet, and means for maintaining the sheets in overlapped relation as they are presented to the layboy.

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