Abstract:
A feeding mechanism comprising an accumulating area. A mechanism for feeding at least one sheet into the accumulating area. An exit mechanism and a mechanism for moving sheets from the accumulating area through the exit mechanism. The moving mean comprises a kicker mechanism at one end of the accumulating area mounted for reciproactable rotary movement to push a stack of sheets through said exit mechanism. A release gate mechanism is provided in front of a stack being accumulated in the accumulating area and mechanism is provided to activate and move the release gate out of the way to permit a stack of sheets to be moved out of the accumulating area.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to sheet feeding mechanisms and more particularly to an improved sheet feeding mechanism for accumulating and moving stacks of sheets.  
           [0002]    In current sheet feeding mechanisms, sheets of paper are moved from one machine to another or from one portion of a machine to another. Various means are provided for feeding the paper sheets including rollers, belts, etc. However, existing machines are not easily adapted to feed sheets without recourse to moving belts, conveyors and other conventional stack moving means.  
         OBJECTS  
         [0003]    The present invention overcomes these difficulties and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved sheet feeding mechanism which accumulate and move stacks of sheets without the use of moving belts, conveyors, etc.  
           [0004]    Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved sheet feeding mechanism which is simple to operate.  
           [0005]    Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved sheet feeding mechanism which is inexpensive to manufacture and to maintain.  
           [0006]    Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice. 
       
    
    
     DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine in which the present invention is used.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevational view showing the position of some parts when feeding sheets of the longest lengths.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevational view showing the position of some parts when feeding sheets of intermediate lengths.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevational view showing the position of some parts when feeding sheets of the shortest length.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a schematic detailed side view showing the position of some of the parts to adjust the machine from feeding the longer sheets to feeding the shortest sheets.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing the positions of the drive system when feeding the longest sheets.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8. is a side elevational view showing the positions of the drive system when feeding the shortest sheets.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line  9 - 9  of FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    Referring to the drawings, sheets of paper  S  are fed from a source (not shown) and are moved into the mechanism  1  by a plurality of rotatable insert rollers IR mounted on power shafts  111  driven by power pulley  37  and then moved out of the mechanism by exit roller  ER  which are driven by power pulley  109 . The mechanism  1  includes an accumulating area  A  which comprises a plurality of superimposed pairs of stationary cables  2 - 3 , opposed side rails  21 , opposed frame supports  5 , a rear main document kicker  20  and a front release gate  30 . In general, the sheets S are fed by insert rollers IR through a mouth  4  and move between the plurality of superimposed pairs of stationary cables  2  and  3  and the pair of opposed side rails  21 . A plurality of main first and second feed rollers  12  and  112 , respectively, are mounted in front of mouth  4  and adjacent to the main document kicker  20 . The feed rollers  12  and  112  grasp the leading edge  L  of each sheet  S  as it passes through the mouth  4  and move it forward until the sheet is deposited in the accumulating area  A . When positioned in the accumulating area A the leading edge  L  of each sheet  S  is in back of the front release gate  30 , which acts as a stop for the sheets  S , and the trailing edge  T  is in front of the main document kicker  20 . When a sufficient number of sheets have accumulated in a stack in the accumulating area  A , a control mechanism (not shown) activates the movement of front release gate  30  and main document kicker  20 . The front release gate  30  is moved out of the way and the main document kicker  20  is swung forward to push the stack of sheets  S  out of the accumulating area  A . The movement of the front release gate  30  and the main document kicker  20  are synchronized and coordinated so that when the main document kicker  20  is moved toward the front release gate is moved out of the path of a stack to permit a stack to move out of the accumulating area. The exit rollers  ER  will grasp the leading edges  L  of the stack of sheets  S  and pull the stack out of the accumulating area  A  as a unit.  
         [0018]    The front release gate  30  is mounted on a transverse shaft  32  which is reciprocated back and forth by a motor  31  so that the front release gate  30  is moved from a raised position in the path of the stack of sheets  S  in the accumulating area  A  to a lowered position out of the path of the stack of sheets  S  to permit the stack of sheets to move forward out of the accumulating area  A  after which the front release gate  30  is moved back to its raised position. The main document kicker  20  is mounted on a transverse shaft  34  controlled by a motor  35  which reciprocates the main document kicker  20  back and forth between a raised position in back of the stack to a forward position where it will strike the trailing edge  T  of the stack of sheets  S  in the accumulating area  A  and push the stack of sheets  S  forward toward and through the exit rollers  ER  after which the main document kicker  20  will be swung back to its original raised position. Movement of the release gate  30  and the main kicker  20  are synchronized and coordinated by a controller (not shown) so that when the main document kicker  20  is moved forward to push the stack of sheets  S  out of the accumulating area  A , the release gate  30  is swung down and out of the way to permit the stack of sheets S to pass through.  
         [0019]    A trolley assembly  22  is provided which is moveable back and forth relative to the frame supports  5  to permit the mechanism to process sheets of different lengths. The trolley assembly  22  comprises a pair of opposed support plates  23  having a plurality of spaced pairs of superimposed support rollers  24  extending therefrom, main document kicker  20  mounted on shaft  34  controlled by motor  35 , feed rollers  12  and  112  mounted on shafts  6  and  9 , respectively, and an auxiliary transfer conveyor assembly  10  which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. The support rollers  24  of the trolley assembly  22  are mounted on and move along an elongated rail  25  which is mounted on each of the frame supports  5 . The frame supports  5  have spaced elongated slots  26  and  27  to receive the shafts  6  and  9  of feed rollers  12  and  112  which extend therethrough. The movement of the trolley assembly  22  from a rearward position (FIG. 3) where the longest sheets  S  are processed through an intermediate position (FIG. 4) where intermediate length sheets are processed to a forward position (FIG. 5) where the shortest sheets are processed will change the size of the accumulating area  A  from its greatest length (FIG. 3) through an intermediate length (FIG. 4) to its shortest length (FIG. 5). The support plates  23  have spring pressed lock pegs  28  mounted thereon and movable therewith. Each frame support  5  has a lock bar  29  mounted thereon having a plurality of spaced lock openings  36  adapted to receive the lock pegs  28  and hold the trolley assembly  22  in one of its many positions. When the trolley assembly  22  is to be moved from one position to another, the lock pegs  28  are raised and moved out of the lock opening  36  and after the trolley assembly reaches a new position, the lock pegs  28  are inserted into another opening  36  in order to hold the trolley assembly  22  in the desired new position.  
         [0020]    The auxiliary conveyor assembly  10  which is adapted to move the shortest sheets (as will be more fully described hereinbelow) comprises a plurality of spaced movable belts  11  driven by and wound around the main second feed rollers  112  (two shown in drawings) and front auxiliary feed rollers  13  which are mounted on shaft  14  supported by spaced support arms  15 . The shaft  14  is mounted on the forward ends  7  of the spaced support arms  15  and the rear ends  8  of support arms  15  are pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft  16 . The front auxiliary feed rollers  13  and belts  11  are adapted to be lowered or raised around pivot shaft  16 . When lowered, belts  11  may ride on a pair of idler rollers  171 .  
         [0021]    In conjunction with the activation of the auxiliary conveyor assembly  10  to process the shortest sheets, an auxiliary document kicker  17  is provided and is mounted on reciprocatable transverse shaft  18  which is controlled by motor  118 . The auxiliary document kicker  17  is mounted above the level of the accumulating area A, in front of the slots  26 - 27 , spaced rearwardly from exit rollers  ER  and at the rear of the accumulating area  A  when it is at is shortest length. The auxiliary document kicker  17  is reciprocated back and forth by shaft  18  from a raised position above the accumulating area  A  to a lowered position at the rear of the shortened accumulating area  A  to push a stack of short sheets deposited in shortened accumulating area  A  forward through the exit rollers  ER . Its reciprocal movement is also synchronized with reciprocal movement of the front release gate  30  in a manner similar to the synchronization of the main document kicker  20  with the release gate  20 .  
         [0022]    A power train  19  controls the rotation of the various rollers and comprises the stationary power pulley  37 , a pair of spaced stationary idler pulleys  38  and  39 , and moveable drive pulleys  40  and  41  movable with the trolley assembly  22 . These pulleys  37  to  41  are located outside one of the frame supports  5 . Shafts  6  and  9  for feed rollers  12  and  112  extend from drive pulleys  40  and  41  which are mounted on frame plates  5  and extend through slots  26  and  27 , respectively, so that they move with the trolley assembly  22 . The pulleys  37  to  41  are connected to each other by an endless serpentine belt  42  which is wound around the various pulleys  37 - 41  and which is driven from the stationary power pulley  37 . The power shaft  111  for insert rollers  IR  extends from stationary power pulley  37 . As the trolley assembly  22  moves back and forth between its rearward, intermediate and forward positions, the idler rollers  40 - 41 , shafts  6 - 9  with feed rollers  12  and  112  will move with the trolley assembly  22  while the other rollers  37 - 39  remain stationary. Hence, the length of the endless serpentine belt  42  remains the same since those portions of the belt  42  which are shortened by the movement of the trolley assembly  22  in one direction or the other are compensated for by other portions of the belt  42  which are lengthened by the same amount.  
         [0023]    When sheets of the longest lengths are to be processed, the trolley assembly  22  is moved to its rearmost position as shown in FIG. 3. The auxiliary conveyor assembly  10  is in its raised position above the accumulating area. The lock pegs  28  are positioned in the rearmost lock opening  36 . The insert rollers  IR  move the sheets  S  through the mouth  4  and into the accumulating area  A  where the sheets  S  lie between the plurality of superimposed cables  2 - 3 , the side rails  21 , the front release gate  30  and the rear main document kicker  20 . The feed rollers  12  and  112  of the trolley assembly  22  will pick up the leading edges  L  of the sheets  S  being fed and will hold the sheets  S  and move them forward until the sheets  S  are deposited in the accumulating area  A . When a sufficient number of sheets S accumulate in the accumulating area  A , the front release gate  30  is swung to its lowered position out of the way of the stack and the rear main document kicker  20  is swung forward to push the stack of sheets out of the accumulating area  A  and through the exit rollers  ER .  
         [0024]    When sheets of intermediate size are to be processed, the trolley assembly  22  is moved to the intermediate position as shown in FIG. 4. The auxiliary conveyor assembly  10  remains in its raised position over the accumulating area. The feed rollers  12  and  112  as well as the main document kicker  20  is also moved to this intermediate position as part of the trolley assembly  22 . The locking pegs  28  have been moved out of the rearmost lock openings  36  and have now been inserted into the intermediate lock openings  36  to hold the trolley assembly  22  in the intermediate position. The drive shafts  6  and  9  of the feed rollers  12  and  112  have also been moved forward along the slots  26 - 27 . In this position, the accumulating area  A  is now shorter than it was when the longest sheets were being processed (FIG. 3). When sheets are fed by the insert rollers  IR , the sheets are held by the insert rollers  IR  until the leading edges  L  of the sheets  S  are grasped by the feed rollers  12  and  112  and are moved and deposited one by one into the now shortened accumulating area  A  in front of the main document kicker  20  and in back of the release gate  30 . When a sufficient number of sheets are accumulated in the accumulating area  A , the release gate  30  is lowered and the main document kicker  20  is swung forward in order to push the stack of sheets out of the accumulating area  A  through the exit rollers  ER .  
         [0025]    When the shortest sheets are to be processed, the sheets are too short for the input rollers IR and the main feed rollers  12  and  112  to continue to grasp the sheet  S  until the sheets are deposited into the accumulating area  A . In order to process sheets of the shortest length, the trolley assembly  22  is now moved to its forward most position carrying with it the auxiliary conveyor assembly  10 , the feed rollers  12  and  112  together with shafts  6  and  9  and the main document kicker  20  (which does not act on the shortest sheets). The lock pegs  28  from the immediate or rearmost lock openings  36 , the trolley assembly  22  is moved down to its foremost position and the lock pegs  28  are inserted into the forwardmost openings  36 . The belts  11  and front auxiliary feed rollers  13  of the auxiliary conveyor assembly  10  are lowered by moving arms  15  down around pivot shaft  16  so that the auxiliary feed rollers  13  are now in the path of the short sheets  S  being fed. When fed by insert rollers  IR  the leading edges of the sheets  S  are grasped by the feed rollers  12  and  112  and the sheets are held until the front auxiliary feed rollers  13  grasp the leading edge  L  of the sheets  S . The sheets are controlled by the front auxiliary feed rollers  13  until they are deposited into the shortened accumulating area  A  in front of the auxiliary document pusher  17  and behind the front release gate  30 . When the stack is complete and is to be moved forward, the auxiliary document kicker  17  will swing down and forward to push the stack forward while the release gate  30  will move out of the way to permit the sheets to be pushed through the exit rollers ER which will grasp the leading edge L of the stack of sheets and move them out of the machine.  
         [0026]    When longer sheets are again to be processed by the machine, the entire auxiliary transfer conveyor assembly  10  is raised around pivot  16  and placed out of the way and the trolley assembly  22  is moved back to the desired intermediate or rearmost position. Hence, the machine can be easily and quickly be converted to feed either shorter sheets or longer sheets.  
         [0027]    It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved sheet feeding mechanism which can be easily and quickly to feed sheets without the use of moving belts, conveyors, etc. which is simple to operate and which is inexpensive to manufacture and to maintain.  
         [0028]    As many and varied modifications of the subject matter of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description given herein above, it will be understood that the present invention is limited only as provided in the claims appended hereto.