Sheet material collating apparatus

A sheet material collating apparatus includes a conveyor and a plurality of hoppers which hold sheet material articles. Feed drums are operable to sequentially feed sheet material articles from each of the hoppers to sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor. Each of a plurality of feed drum drive systems includes a transmission which is operable to drive a feed drum at either a first speed or a second speed which is greater than the first speed. A control system for the transmissions may include a detector which is operable to detect when a pusher element in the conveyor is at predetermined location relative to a feed drum by detecting either the pusher element itself or the trailing edge of a sheet material article being pushed by the pusher element. A signal generator, such as an encoder or pulse generator, may be used to indicate the position of a pusher element in the conveyor relative to the feed drums.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a new and improved sheet material 
collating apparatus for use in forming assemblages of sheet material. 
A known sheet material collating apparatus includes a conveyor having a 
plurality of sheet material receiving locations. Hoppers which hold sheet 
material articles, are provided at spaced apart locations along the sheet 
material conveyor. A feed drum is associated with each of the hoppers and 
is operable to sequentially feed sheet material articles from the hoppers 
onto the sheet material conveyor. Sheet material collating apparatus 
having this construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,477,067; 
4,795,144; 5,100,118; and 5,174,559. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a new and improved sheet material collating 
apparatus. The apparatus includes a plurality of hoppers which are 
disposed at spaced apart locations along a sheet material conveyor. Feed 
drums are operable to sequentially feed sheet material articles from the 
hoppers to sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor. 
A feed drum drive system includes a transmission which is operable between 
an initial condition in which the transmission is ineffective to transmit 
force to drive one of the feed drums, a first condition in which the 
transmission is effective to transmit force to drive the feed drum at a 
first speed, and a second condition in which the transmission is effective 
to transmit force to drive the feed drum at a second speed which is 
greater than the first speed. Controls connected with the transmissions 
are operable to effect operation of each of the transmissions between the 
initial, first, and second conditions. 
In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of detectors are disposed 
at spaced apart locations along the sheet material conveyor. The detectors 
are operable to detect when a sheet material receiving location has moved 
to a predetermined position relative to one of the hoppers. The detector 
may detect when the sheet material receiving location has moved to the 
predetermined position relative to a hopper by detecting the presence of a 
sheet material pusher element or by detecting the position of a trailing 
edge of sheet material pushed by the sheet material pusher element. In 
another embodiment of the invention, a signal generator is provided to 
indicate when a sheet material receiving location has moved to a 
predetermined position relative to one of the hoppers. 
During operation of the sheet material collating apparatus, the feed drums 
may be rotated at different speeds to feed sheet material at different 
rates from the hoppers to the conveyor. Thus, a first group of feed drums 
may be rotated at a first speed to feed sheet material articles at a first 
rate from a first group of hoppers. A second group of feed drums may be 
rotated at a second speed which is greater than the first speed to feed 
sheet material articles from a second group of hoppers at a second rate 
which is greater than the first rate.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
General Description 
A sheet material collating apparatus 12 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
The sheet material collating apparatus 12 includes a plurality of hoppers 
14 which are disposed in a linear array along a sheet material conveyor 
16. A plurality of feed drums 18 are rotatable, in a counterclockwise 
direction as viewed in FIG. 2, to grip sheet material articles 20 in the 
hoppers 14 with grippers 22. Continued rotation of the feed drums 18 
sequentially feeds sheet material articles 20 (FIG. 2) from the hoppers 14 
to the sheet material conveyor 16. A pair of opener drums 24 and 26 are 
disposed beneath the feed drum 18 and open sheet material articles 20 fed 
from the hopper 14 by the feed drum. The opener drums 24 and 26 deposit 
the opened sheet material articles 20 on the conveyor 16. 
The conveyor 16 is of the well known saddle type. The conveyor 16 has an 
elongated sheet material support 28 having an inverted V-shaped 
configuration. A plurality of pusher elements 30 cooperate with the sheet 
material support 28 to form sheet material receiving locations. The pusher 
elements 30 are spaced equal distances apart along the conveyor 16. The 
pusher elements 30 are engageable with a trailing edge portion of a sheet 
material article 20 on the sheet material support 28 to push the sheet 
material article 20 along the sheet material support during operation of 
the conveyor 16. 
The sheet material collating apparatus 12 is constructed in a generally 
known manner which is similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
2,251,943 and 4,299,378. Although the illustrated sheet material collating 
apparatus 12 includes a saddle type sheet material conveyor 16, it is 
contemplated that the sheet material collating apparatus 12 could use a 
conveyor having a flat sheet material support 28. It is also contemplated 
that the hoppers 14 could be disposed in a circular or oval array adjacent 
to a correspondingly shaped sheet material conveyor 16. If this was done, 
the sheet material conveyor 16 could have pockets for receiving the sheet 
material articles rather than a saddle type sheet material support. 
A main drive system 34 (FIG. 1) is provided for the sheet material 
collating apparatus 12. The main drive system 34 includes a main drive 
motor 36 which is connected with a line shaft 38 through a gear box 40. 
The line shaft 38 extends parallel to the sheet material conveyor 16 and 
extends beneath each of the hoppers 14. 
A conveyor drive system 44 is driven from the main drive system 34 through 
a gear box 46. The conveyor drive system 44 operates the conveyor 16 to 
sequentially move the pusher elements 30 past each of the feed drums 18 
and hoppers 14 in turn. A plurality of feed drum drive systems 50, 
transmit force from the main drive system 34 to the feed drums 18 to 
rotate the feed drums relative to the hoppers 14. 
Feed Drum Drive System 
In accordance with one of the features of the present invention, each of 
the feed drum drive systems 50 includes a transmission 54 (FIG. 3) which 
facilitates make-ready procedures for the sheet material collating 
apparatus 12. In addition, the transmission 54 in each of the feed drum 
drive system 50 enables each of the feed drums 18 (FIG. 1) to be driven at 
any one of a plurality of speeds. Thus, the transmissions 54 enable a feed 
drum 18 for one hopper 14 to be driven at a first speed and a feed drum 18 
for a next adjacent hopper to be driven at a second speed which is greater 
than the first speed. 
Each of the transmissions 54 is located between one of the feed drums 18 
and the line shaft 38 (FIG. 1) in the main drive system 34. An externally 
toothed input pulley 56 (FIG. 3) is connected with the transmission 54. A 
toothed drive belt 58 transmits force from a toothed pulley (not shown) 
connected with the line shaft 38 to the input pulley 56. The input pulley 
56 is fixedly secured to an input shaft 60 connected with the transmission 
54. 
An output pulley 62 (FIG. 3) is connected with an output shaft (not shown) 
from the transmission 54. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, 
the output pulley 62 is of the V-groove type and is connected with one of 
the feed drums 18 by a drive belt 64. Although only a single feed drum 
drive system 50 has been shown in FIG. 3, it should be understood that a 
feed drum drive system is provided in association with each of the feed 
drums 18 and hoppers 14 (FIG. 1). Although only four feed drums 18 and 
hoppers 14 have been shown in FIG. 1, it should be understood that the 
sheet material collating apparatus 12 may contain a substantially greater 
number of hoppers and feed drums. 
When the transmission 54 is in an initial or neutral condition (FIG. 4), an 
axially movable and rotatable input gear 66 is spaced from a first output 
gear 68 and a second output gear 70. When the transmission is in the 
initial or neutral condition of FIG. 4, it is ineffective to transmit 
force from the input pulley 56 (FIG. 3) to the output pulley 62. 
Therefore, at this time, a feed drum 18 (FIG. 1) connected with the 
transmission 54 is not driven by the line shaft 38. 
A shifter motor 74 is operable to move the input gear 66 axially along the 
input shaft 60 from the initial position shown in FIG. 4 to either a first 
position in which the input gear 66 is in meshing engagement with the 
large diameter output gear 68 or to a second position in which the input 
gear is in meshing engagement with the small diameter output gear 70. When 
the input gear 66 is in the first position in meshing engagement with the 
first gear 68 which has a relatively large diameter, the input gear is 
rotatable by the input shaft 60 to rotate the first gear at a relatively 
slow speed. This results in a feed drum 18 connected with the transmission 
54 being rotated at a first or relatively slow speed to feed sheet 
material articles 20 from an associated hopper 14 at a relatively slow 
rate. 
The shifter motor 74 is operable to move the input gear 66 axially along 
the input shaft 60 into engagement with the second output gear 70. When 
the input gear 66 is disposed in meshing engagement with the second gear 
70 which has a relatively small diameter, the input gear is rotatable by 
the input shaft 60 to rotate the second gear at a relatively fast speed. 
This results in a feed drum 18 connected with the transmission 54 being 
rotated at a second or relatively fast speed to feed sheet material 
articles 20 from an associated hopper 14 at a relatively fast rate. 
The diameter of the first output gear 68 is twice as great as the diameter 
of the input gear 66. When the input gear 66 is in meshing engagement with 
the output gear 68, the output gear is rotated at a speed which is 
one-half the speed of rotation of the input gear 66. The output gear 70 
has a diameter which is the same as the diameter of the input gear 66. 
When the input gear 66 is in meshing engagement with the output gear 70, 
the output gear is rotated at the same speed as the speed of rotation of 
the input gear 66. Therefore, when the input gear 66 (FIG. 4) is in 
meshing engagement with the output gear 70, the feed drum 18 connected 
with the transmission 54 is driven twice as fast as when the input gear is 
in meshing engagement with the output gear 68. Since the input gear 66 is 
driven from the line shaft 38 and since the conveyor 44 is driven from the 
line shaft, the speed of rotation of the feed drum 18 and the speed of 
operation of the conveyor 16 will vary as a direct function of variations 
in the speed of operation of the main drive motor 36 and the speed of 
rotation of the line shaft 38. 
In the illustrated embodiment of the transmission 54, there are only two 
output gears 68 and 70. However, it is contemplated that the transmission 
54 could be constructed with a greater number of output gears if desired. 
It is believed that it would be advantageous to make the diameters of the 
output gears as a whole number function of the diameter of the smallest 
output gear. Thus, the output gear 68 has a diameter which is twice as 
great as the output gear 70. If a third output gear was provided, it is 
contemplated that this gear would have a diameter which would be three 
times as great as the diameter of the output gear 70. This would result in 
the associated feed drum 18 being driven at a speed which is one-third the 
speed at which it would be driven through the output gear 70. 
A gear shift assembly 80 (FIGS. 3 and 4) includes the shifter motor 74. The 
gear shift assembly 80 is operable to move the input gear 66 relative to 
the output gears 68 and 70 in the transmission 54 to change the speed at 
which the transmission drives an associated feed drum 18. In addition to 
the shifter motor 74, the gear shift assembly 80 includes a plurality of 
motor control valves 84, 86 and 88. The motor control valves 84, 86 and 88 
are actuated by solenoids 90, 92 and 94. Each of the motor control valves 
84, 86 and 88 is connected with a main air conduit 98 (FIG. 4). 
The shifter motor 74 (FIG. 4) includes a main cylinder 102 in which a pair 
of cylindrical pistons 104 and 106 are disposed. The pistons 104 and 106 
have axially extending piston rods 108 and 110. The piston rod 110 is 
telescopically received in the piston rod 108. 
The main cylinder 102 is divided into a first section 114 and a second 
section 116 by a cylinder wall 118. The first section 114 has an axial 
extent which is twice as great as the axial extent of the second section 
116. The piston 104 divides the first section 114 into a pair of 
cylindrical variable volume chambers 122 and 124. Similarly, the piston 
106 divides the second section 116 into a pair of cylindrical variable 
volume chambers 128 and 130. 
The piston rod 108 is connected with a shifter fork 134. Upon movement of 
the piston rod 108, the shifter fork 134 is effective to move the input 
gear 66 axially along the input shaft 60 from the initial or neutral 
position shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the input gear 66 is movable axially along 
the input shaft 60 by the piston rod 108 and shifter fork 134 to a first 
engaged position in which the input gear engages the first output gear 68. 
The input gear 66 is movable along the input shaft 60 by the piston rod 
108 and shifter fork 134 to a second engaged position in which the input 
gear engages the second output gear 70. 
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the transmission 54 does 
not have a synchromesh feature. Therefore, the input shaft 60 is 
stationary when the input gear 66 is moved into meshing engagement with 
either the first output gear 68 or the second output gear 70 by the 
shifter fork 134. Of course, the transmission 54 could be provided with a 
synchromesh feature in order to enable the input gear 66 to be moved into 
engagement with the output gears 68 and 70 during rotation of the input 
shaft 60. 
When the input gear 66 is to be moved from the initial or neutral position 
shown in FIG. 4 into engagement with the first output gear 68, the 
solenoid 90 for the motor control valve 84 is energized by a controller 
140 (FIG. 3). Energization of the solenoid 90 (FIG. 4) actuates the motor 
control valve 84 to direct air under pressure to the cylinder chamber 128. 
The motor cylinder chamber 130 is vented to atmosphere through a vent port 
144. At this time, the motor cylinder chamber 122 is vented to atmosphere 
through the motor control valve 86 and the motor cylinder chamber 124 is 
vented to atmosphere through the motor control valve 88. 
Upon actuation of the motor control valve 84, an increase in fluid (air) 
pressure in the motor cylinder chamber 128 moves the piston 106 toward the 
left (as viewed in FIG. 4). This leftward movement of the piston 106 is 
transmitted by the piston rod 110 to the piston rod 108 and piston 104. 
The resulting leftward movement of the piston 104 and piston rod 108 moves 
the shifter fork 134 toward the left to shift the input gear 66 towards 
the output gear 68. As the piston 106 continues to move toward the left 
and the motor cylinder chamber 128 expands, the input gear 66 is moved 
into meshing engagement with the output gear 68. When this occurs, the 
piston 106 reached a left end of its range of movement. 
If it is desired to move the input gear 66 from the initial or neutral 
position illustrated in FIG. 4 into engagement with the second output gear 
70, the solenoid 92 is energized by the controller 140 (FIG. 3) to actuate 
the motor control valve 86 (FIG. 4) to connect the cylinder chamber 122 
with the high pressure fluid (air) conduit 98. This results in the piston 
104 moving toward the left from the position shown in FIG. 4. At this 
time, the piston 106 remains stationary. 
The leftward movement of the piston 104 moves the shifter fork 134 and 
input gear 66 toward the left. This leftward movement of the input gear 66 
moves the gear along the input shaft 60 past the first output gear 68 into 
meshing engagement with the second output gear 70. As the piston 104 moves 
toward the left (as viewed in FIG. 4), air is exhausted from the motor 
cylinder chamber 124 through the motor control valve 88 to the atmosphere. 
When the shifter motor 74 is to be operated back to the neutral condition 
shown in FIG. 4 from an actuated condition in which the input gear 67 is 
in engagement with either the first output gear 68 or the second output 
gear 70, the solenoid 94 is energized to actuate the motor control valve 
88. At this time, the motor control valves 84 and 86 are in the unactuated 
condition shown in FIG. 4 venting the motor cylinder chambers 122 and 128 
to atmosphere. Actuation of the motor control valve 88 directs high 
pressure fluid from the conduit 98 to the motor cylinder chamber 124. The 
high pressure fluid in the motor cylinder chamber 124 moves the piston 104 
toward the right to expand the motor cylinder chamber 124 to contract the 
motor cylinder chamber 122. 
As the piston 104 moves toward the right, the shifter fork 134 moves the 
input gear 66 out of engagement with the output gear 70. Continued 
rightward movement of the piston 104 moves the shifter fork 134 to 
disengage the input gear 66 from the first output gear 68. When the piston 
104 reaches the right end (as viewed in FIG. 4) of its range of movement, 
the shifter fork 134 will have moved the input gear 66 back to its initial 
position and the piston 106 will be in its initial position. 
One specific embodiment of the shifter motor 74 is commercially available 
from Mozier Fluid Power having a place of business at 2220 West Dorothy 
Lane, Dayton, Ohio 45439, under order No. S3808. One specific embodiment 
of the transmission 54 is commercially available from Hub City, Inc. 
having a place of business at 2914 Industrial Ave., Aberdeen, S. Dak. 
57402 under the designation VG 10D140. Of course, a shifter motor and 
transmission having a construction which is different from the specific 
constructions which have been illustrated schematically in FIG. 4 and 
which have been described herein could be utilized if desired. For 
example, a plurality of shifter motors could be utilized to actuate one or 
more transmissions. The shifter motor could be electric and could be used 
to actuate a different type of transmission, such as a variable diameter 
pulley. If desired, the transmission 54 could be of a known continuously 
variable type. 
A detector assembly 150 (FIG. 3) is provided to detect the operating 
condition of the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54. The detector 
assembly 150 includes a neutral position proximity switch 154 which 
provides an output over a lead 156 to the controller 140 when the neutral 
condition of FIG. 4. Upon operation of the shifter motor 74 and the 
transmission 54 to the first actuated condition in which the input gear 66 
(FIG. 4) is in engagement with the first output gear 68, a proximity 
switch 158 (FIG. 3) provides an output over a lead 160 to the controller 
140. When the shifter motor 74 and the transmission 54 are in an actuated 
condition in which the input gear 66 is in meshing engagement with the 
second output gear 70, a proximity sensor 162 provides an output over a 
lead 164 to the controller 140. 
The proximity switches 154, 158 and 162 are effective to detect the 
position of an indicator member 168 (FIG. 3). The indicator member 168 is 
connected with the piston rod 108 and shifter fork 134 (FIG. 4). 
Therefore, the indicator member 168 is moved relative to the proximity 
switches 154, 158 and 162 upon operation of the shifter motor 74. The 
indicator member 168 is shown in FIG. 3 in a position adjacent to the 
proximity switch 162 indicating that the transmission 54 and shifter motor 
74 have been actuated to a condition in which the input gear 66 (FIG. 4) 
is in meshing engagement with the second output gear 70. 
The controller 140 (FIG. 3) is operable to effect energization of the 
solenoids 90, 92 and 94 for the motor control valves 84, 86 and 88. Thus, 
the controller 140 is connected with the solenoid 90 for the motor control 
valve 84 by a lead 172. The controller 140 is connected with the solenoid 
92 for the motor control valve 86 by a lead 174. Similarly, the controller 
140 is connected with the solenoid 94 for the motor control valve 88 by a 
lead 176. 
In addition to the inputs from the detector assembly 150, the controller 
140 receives an input over a lead 180 which indicates when the main drive 
motor 36 (FIG. 1) is in a de-energized condition. At this time, the line 
shaft 38 is stationary so that the input shaft 60 (FIG. 3) to the 
transmission 54 is not being rotated and the transmission can be shifted 
by operation of the shifter motor 74. 
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, control or 
operator stations 186 are provided for each pair of hoppers 14 and feed 
drums 18. The control or operator stations 186 are disposed between the 
pair of hoppers 14 with which the control stations are associated. The 
control stations 186 are connected with the feed drum drive systems 50 and 
the controller 140. 
Each control station 186 includes a jog control button 190 (FIG. 1) which 
can be manually actuated to effect operation of the main drive motor 36 
and rotation of the line shaft 38. In addition, each control station 
includes a pair of manually actuatable controls 192 for the shifter motor 
74 and transmission 54 (FIG. 3) in the associated feed drum drive systems. 
The controls 192 (FIG. 1) can provide any one of a plurality of outputs, 
including an output connected over a lead 196 (FIG. 3) to the controller 
140 indicating that the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54 are to be in 
the initial or neutral condition illustrated in FIG. 4. The controls 192 
(FIG. 1) can be manually actuated to provide an output over a lead 198 
(FIG. 3) to the controller 140 indicating that the shifter motor 74 and 
transmission 54 are to be in a first actuated condition in which the input 
gear 66 (FIG. 4) is in engagement with the first output gear 68. The 
controls 192 (FIG. 1) can be manually actuated to provide an output over a 
lead 200 (FIG. 3) indicating that the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54 
are to be in an actuated condition in which the input gear 66 is in 
engagement with the output gear 70 (FIG. 4). Manually actuatable controls 
192 (FIG. 1) are provided at each control station 186 for a pair of feed 
drum drive systems which are disposed adjacent to opposite sides of the 
control station. 
The condition to which the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54 (FIG. 4) 
are to be operated will depend upon the selection made by an operator of 
the sheet material collating apparatus 12. Thus, if the operator of the 
sheet material collating apparatus 12 wishes to have the shifter motor 74 
and transmission 54 in the neutral condition, the controls 192 (FIG. 1) 
will be actuated to provide an output over the lead 196 (FIG. 3) to the 
controller 140. In response to this input, the controller 140 will effect 
energization of the solenoid 94 to actuate the motor control valve 88. As 
was previously explained, actuation of the motor control valve 88 results 
in operation of the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54 to the neutral 
condition illustrated in FIG. 4. 
If the operator wishes to have the shifter motor 74 and transmission 54 
actuated to the first condition in which the input gear 66 (FIG. 4) is in 
engagement with the first output gear 68, the controls 192 (FIG. 1) are 
operated to provide an input to the controller 140 (FIG. 3) over the leads 
198. This results in the controller 140 energizing the solenoid 90 to 
actuate the motor control valve 84. Actuation of the motor control valve 
84 moves the pistons 104 and 106 and the shifter fork 134 to shift the 
input gear 66 into engagement with the first output gear 68. Similarly, 
when the operator desires to have the input gear 66 (FIG. 4) in engagement 
with the second output gear 70, the operator actuates the controls 192 
(FIG. 1) to provide an input to the controller 140 (FIG. 3) over the lead 
200. In response to the input over the lead 200, the controller 140 
energizes the solenoid 92 and effects operation of the control valve 86 to 
move the piston 104 (FIG. 4) and the shifter fork 134 to move the input 
gear 66 into engagement with the output gear 70. In addition to the input 
over the leads 196, 198 and 200 from the controller 192, the controller 
140 receives an input over a lead 204 when the main drive motor 36 is 
energized. 
Operation 
When the sheet material collating apparatus 12 is to be utilized to collate 
sheet material assemblages on the conveyor 16, the sheet material 
collating apparatus must be placed in a condition to feed sheet material 
articles 20 (FIG. 2) from the hoppers 14 in a desired manner. Assuming 
that all of the feed drum drive systems 50 are in the initial or neutral 
condition (FIG. 4), each of the feed drum drive systems 50 must be 
connected with the main drive system 34 (FIG. 1) with the grippers 22 
(FIG. 2) on the drums 18 in the desired orientation relative to the pusher 
elements 30 and sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor 16. To 
accomplish this, a make-ready operation is undertaken by the operator of 
the sheet material collating apparatus 12. 
During the make-ready operation, the operator moves along the conveyor 16 
(FIG. 1) to each of the control stations 186 in turn. At each of the 
control stations 186, the operator manually actuates the jog button 190 to 
operate the conveyor 16. Manual actuation of the jog button 190 is 
interrupted when the operator visually determines that a pusher element 30 
in the conveyor is in a desired position relative to one of the feed drums 
18. The one feed drum 18 is rotated so that the grippers 22 on the feed 
drum 18 are in a desired orientation relative to the sheet material 
conveyor 16. 
The operator then actuates the controls 192 associated with the feed drum 
drive system 50 to obtain the desired drive ratio. Assuming the operator 
wishes to have the feed drum 18 driven at the first relatively low speed, 
the operator would manually actuate the control 192 to provide a signal 
over a lead 198 to the controller 140 (FIG. 3). In response to this 
signal, the controller 140 transmits a signal over the lead 172 to 
energize the solenoid 190 to effect operation of the motor control valve 
84 (FIG. 4) to the actuated position. 
When the motor control valve 84 has been operated to the actuated position, 
high pressure fluid (air) is conducted from the conduit 98 through the 
control valve 84 to the motor cylinder chamber 128. The high pressure 
fluid in the motor cylinder chamber 128 moves the piston 106 toward the 
left (as viewed in FIG. 4). The leftward movement of the piston 106 
results in the piston 104 and piston rod 108 being moved toward the left 
under the influence of force transmitted from the piston 106 to the piston 
rod 108 by the piston rod 110. As this occurs, air is vented from the 
motor cylinder chamber 130 through the vent passage 144. 
The leftward movement of the piston rod 108 moves the shifter fork 134 
toward the left (as viewed in FIG. 4). Leftward movement of the shifter 
fork 134 moves the input gear 66 along the input shaft 60 into meshing 
engagement with the first output gear 68. When the input gear 66 is in 
meshing engagement with the first output gear 68, operation of the main 
drive motor 36 (FIG. 1) and rotation of the line shaft 38 results in force 
being transmitted from the line shaft through the transmission 54 to 
rotate the associated feed drum 18 at a relatively slow speed. 
However, if the operator wishes to have the feed drum 18 driven at the 
second relatively high speed, the operator manually actuates the controls 
192 (FIG. 1) to transmit a signal over a lead 200 (FIG. 3) to the 
controller 140. In response to the signal over the lead 200, the 
controller 140 energizes the solenoid 92 with current conducted over a 
lead 174. Energization of the solenoid 92 actuates the motor control valve 
86. 
Actuation of the motor control valve 86 directs high pressure fluid (air) 
into the motor cylinder chamber 122 (FIG. 4). As the fluid pressure in the 
motor cylinder chamber 122 increases, the piston 104 is moved toward the 
left (as viewed in FIG. 4). At this time, the motor cylinder chamber 124 
is vented to atmosphere through the motor control valve 88. 
Leftward movement of the piston 104 and piston rod 108 moves the shifter 
fork 134 toward the left. Leftward movement (as viewed in FIG. 4) of the 
shifter fork 134 moves the input gear 66 along the input shaft 60 into 
meshing engagement with the second output gear 70. When the input gear 66 
is in meshing engagement with the second output gear 70, operation of the 
main drive motor 36 (FIG. 1) and rotation of the line shaft 38 results in 
force being transmitted from the line shaft through the transmission 54 to 
rotate the associated feed drum 18 at a relatively high speed. 
Once the operator has engaged the feed drum drive system 50 (FIG. 1) for 
one of the hoppers associated with a control station 186, for example, a 
left or upstream hopper, the operator engages the feed drum drive system 
for the other hopper associated with the control station 186, that is, the 
right or next downstream hopper. Engagement of the feed drum drive system 
50 for the next downstream hopper 14 is performed in the same manner as 
previously described for the upstream hopper. 
Once the feed drum drive systems 50 for feed drums 18 associated with a 
pair of hoppers 14 have been engaged at a first control station 186, the 
operator moves to the next downstream control station 186. The feed drum 
drive systems 50 for the feed drums 18 and hoppers 14 associated with this 
control station are then engaged in the manner previously explained. This 
process is repeated at each of the control stations 186 along the length 
of conveyor 16. 
It is contemplated that most sheet material articles 20 will be fed from 
hoppers 14 by feed drums 18 which are driven at a relatively high speed. 
Thus, most feed drums 18 will be driven by a feed drum drive system 50 in 
which the transmission 54 is in the second engaged condition with the 
input gear 66 (FIG. 4) in meshing engagement with the output gear 70. 
However, it is believed that some sheet material articles 20 will be 
relatively difficult to feed and will have to be fed slower than other 
sheet material articles. 
When a feed drum 18 is to be driven at a relatively slow speed by the 
transmission 54, the shifter motor 74 is operated to move the input gear 
66 into engagement with the first output gear 68. This results in the feed 
drum 18, which is to be used to feed relatively difficult sheet material 
articles 20 from a hopper 14, being driven at one-half the speed of the 
adjacent upstream feed drum. The difficult sheet material articles can 
then be fed from a hopper 14 at a relatively slow rate while easier to 
feed sheet material articles 20 are fed from other hoppers at a relatively 
fast rate. 
When a feed drum 18 is driven at the first relatively slow speed by the 
transmission 54, it is effective to feed one sheet material article during 
the time in which it takes the next upstream feed drum 18 to feed two 
sheet material articles. A feed drum 18 which is driven at the first 
relatively slow speed can only feed one sheet material article 20 in the 
time which it takes two sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor 
16 to move past the relatively slow moving feed drum. Therefore, the 
relatively slow moving feed drum is effective to feed a sheet material 
article to every other sheet material receiving location on a conveyor 16. 
To enable each of the sheet material assemblages formed on the conveyor 16 
to contain the same sheet material articles 20, the next adjacent 
downstream feed drum 18 from the slow moving feed drum is also driven at a 
relatively slow speed. The next downstream feed drum 18 which is driven at 
a slow speed, will feed the same sheet material articles as the upstream 
feed drum which is driven at a slow speed. Thus, the hoppers 14 for two 
adjacent feed drums 18 which are driven at the first relatively slow 
speed, contain identical sheet material articles 20 which are relatively 
hard to feed. 
The relatively slow rotation of the next downstream feed drum 18 is 
coordinated with movement of the sheet material receiving locations in the 
conveyor 16 to feed sheet material articles to the receiving locations 
which are missed by the adjacent, slow moving upstream feed drum 18. Thus, 
the relatively slow moving upstream feed drum 18 will feed signatures to 
every other feed location on the sheet material conveyor 16. The 
relatively slow moving downstream feed drum 18 will feed sheet material 
articles to the sheet receiving locations on the conveyor 16 which are 
missed by the slow moving upstream feed drum. 
The operator must coordinate operation of the adjacent feed drums 18 which 
are driven at a relatively slow speed to have the feed drums feed sheet 
material articles to every other sheet material receiving location on the 
conveyor 16. To this end, the operator coordinates the engagement of the 
transmission 54 for the downstream feed drum 18 with a conveyor pusher 
element 30 which next succeeds the conveyor pusher element with which the 
engagement of the feed drum drive system 50 for the upstream slow moving 
feed drum 18 was coordinated. The jog button 190 at a control station 186 
is operated to move the sheet material receiving location to which the 
upstream slow moving feed drum 18 is to feed a signature past the 
downstream feed drum which is to be driven at a slow speed. Actuation of 
the jog button 190 is interrupted when the pusher element 30 for the next 
succeeding sheet material receiving location has moved into alignment with 
the downstream feed drum 18 which is to be driven at a slow speed. 
Upon interruption of actuation of the jog button 190, the controls 192 are 
actuated to effect engagement of the transmission 54 in the feed drum 
drive system 50 for the downstream feed drum 18 at a relatively slow 
speed. The shifter motor 74 in the feed drum drive system 50 for the 
downstream feed drum 18 is then operated to move the input gear 66 (FIG. 
4) in the transmission 54 into engagement with the first output gear 68. 
This results in the downstream feed drum 18 being driven at the same 
relatively slow speed as the next preceding upstream feed drum. Therefore, 
the two slow moving feed drums 18 can be operated to sequentially feed 
signatures to each of the sheet material receiving locations along the 
conveyor 16. Half of the sheet material receiving locations are fed with 
sheet material articles 20 by the relatively slow rotating upstream feed 
drum and half of the sheet material receiving locations are fed with sheet 
material articles by the next adjacent and relatively slow rotating 
downstream feed drum 18. 
The foregoing explanation of the manner in which the feed drum drive 
systems 50 are engaged to drive the slow moving feed drums assumes that 
the slow moving feed drums are to be driven at one-half of the speed at 
which the feed drums which feed normal sheet material articles are driven. 
However, depending upon the ratio of the gears in the transmissions 50, 
the feed drums 18 could be adjusted to feed at a different ratio of the 
speed at which the feed drums which feed normal sheet material articles 
are driven. Thus, the feed drums for the difficult to feed sheet material 
articles could be driven at one-third of the speed at which the feed drums 
which feed normal sheet material articles are driven. In this situation, 
the feed drum drive systems 50 would be engaged to drive three adjacent 
feed drums 18 to sequentially feed sheet material articles from each of 
the hoppers to every third sheet material receiving location along the 
conveyor 16. 
Automatic Make-Ready Operation 
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the operator 
manually actuates the jog button 190 to index the conveyor 16 until a 
pusher elements 30 is in desired positions relative to a feed drum which 
is to be connected with the main drive system 34 by engagement of a 
transmission 54 in a feed drum drive system 50. The operator interrupts 
actuation of the jog button 190 when a visual inspection indicates that a 
pusher element 30 in the conveyor 16 is at a desired location relative to 
a feed drum 18 and hopper 14. In the embodiment of the invention 
illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, a detector system is provided to automatically 
detect when a pusher element is in a desired location relative to a 
hopper. Since the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 is 
generally similar to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 
1-4, similar numerals will be utilized to designate similar components, 
the suffix letter "a" being associated with the numerals of FIGS. 5-8 to 
avoid confusion. 
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, a sheet material 
collating apparatus 12a includes a plurality of hoppers 14a disposed in a 
linear array along a sheet material conveyor 16a. Feed drums 18a are 
operable to feed sheet material articles from the hoppers 14a to sheet 
material receiving locations on the conveyor 16a. The saddle type conveyor 
16a includes elongated sheet material support surfaces 28a. Pusher 
elements 30a engage trailing edge portions of the sheet material articles 
and push them along the sheet material support surfaces 28a. 
A main drive system 34a includes a main drive motor 36a. The main drive 
motor 36a is connected with a line shaft 38a through a gear box 40a. The 
main drive system 34a is connected with the conveyor drive system 44a 
through a second gear box 46a. 
In accordance with a feature of this embodiment of the invention, a 
plurality of detectors 250 are provided to detect when the pusher elements 
30a are in predetermined positions relative to the hoppers 14a and feed 
drums 18a. Thus, a detector 250 is mounted along one side of a hopper 14a. 
The detector 250 is operable to detect when a pusher element 30a is in a 
predetermined position relative to the hopper 14a. Each of the detectors 
250 is operable to detect when a pusher element 30a is in a predetermined 
position relative to the hopper 14a with which the detector is associated. 
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, each of the detectors 250 
(FIGS. 6 and 7) includes a light source 254 and a photo cell 256. The 
light sources 254 direct a beam of light, in the manner indicated 
schematically at 258 in FIGS. 6 and 7, toward the conveyor 16. The 
detector 250 can detect when a pusher element 30a is at a desired location 
relative to a hopper 14a and feed drum 18a by detecting either the pusher 
element itself (FIG. 6) or by detecting a trailing edge of a sheet 
material article (FIG. 7). 
When the detector 250 is to detect the presence of the pusher element 30a 
itself, the beam 258 of light is directed toward a polished upper surface 
260 (FIG. 6) of the pusher element. The pusher element 30a is connected 
with a conveyor chain 264 and is moved along the conveyor 16a by the main 
drive motor 36a. When the pusher element 30a moves into alignment with the 
beam 258 of light from the light source 254, light is reflected back to 
the photo cell 256. The output from the photo cell 256 causes a controller 
140a (FIG. 5) to interrupt operation of the main drive motor 36a and 
movement of the pusher element 30a. 
Once the pusher element 30a has moved into a predetermined location 
relative to a feed drum 18a and hopper 14a associated with the detector 
250, the operation of the main drive motor 36a is interrupted to stop the 
conveyor 16a with the pusher element in the desired position. The 
controller 140a then responds to controls 192a, in the manner previously 
described in conjunction with the embodiment of the invention illustrated 
in FIGS. 1-4, to shift a transmission 54a in a feed drum drive system 50a 
to an engaged condition in which the feed drum 18a is driven at a desired 
speed. The controls 192a may be manually set to indicate the desired speed 
at which a feed drum 18a is to be rotated before the main drive motor 36a 
is operated to move a pusher element 30a to a desired position. When this 
is done, the controller 140a can automatically effect shifting of a 
transmission 54a as soon as the conveyor motor 36a stops with a pusher 
element 30a in a desired position. 
Once this has been done, the operator again actuates a jog button 190a or 
other suitable controls at a control or operator station 186a to initiate 
operation of the main drive motor 36a and movement of the pusher elements 
30a relative to the hoppers 14a and feed drums 18a. When a pusher element 
30a moves into alignment with the next succeeding hopper 14a and feed drum 
18a, the detector 250 associated with that hopper and feed drum detects 
the presence of the pusher element 30a and interrupts the operation of the 
drive motor 36a. The feed drum drive system 50a for this feed drum 18a is 
then shifted to the desired drive ratio in the manner previously explained 
in conjunction with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 
1-4. 
The controller 140a may be programmed to automatically shift the 
transmissions 50a in any desired sequence without manual actuation of the 
jog button 190a. When this is to be done, the operator merely sets the 
controller 140a to indicate the desired operating speed for each of the 
feed drums 18a. The controller 140a then effects shifting of each of the 
transmissions 50a in turn when the main drive motor 36a has stopped and a 
detector 250 indicates that a pusher element 30a is in a desired position 
relative to one of the hoppers 14a. 
It is contemplated that some of the detectors 250 may be positioned to 
detect the trailing edge of the sheet material article 20a (FIG. 7). When 
this is done, the detector 250 is positioned so that the light source 254 
directs the beam 258 of light downward so as to engage a sheet material 
article 20a engaged by a pusher element 30a connected with the chain 264. 
When a trailing edge 270 of the sheet material article has moved past the 
beam 258 of light, the relatively shiny sheet material support surface 28a 
increases the amount of light reflected back to the photo cell 256. The 
output from the photo cell 256 causes the controller 140a to interrupt 
operation of the main drive motor 36a. 
The detectors 250 can be used to either directly detect the presence of the 
pusher elements 30a, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6, or to indirectly 
detect the location of the pusher elements 30a, by detecting the location 
of a trailing edge 270 of a sheet material article 20a engaged by the 
pusher element 30a, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. In the specific 
embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the detector 250 at the 
first hopper 14a along the conveyor 16a detects the pusher element 30a in 
the manner illustrated schematically in FIG. 6. The detectors 250 
downstream from the first hopper 14a detect the trailing edge 270 of a 
sheet material article 20a in the manner illustrated schematically in FIG. 
6. Although the detectors 250 are used during make-ready operations, they 
could also be used during normal feeding operation of the collating 
apparatus 12a. 
The controller 140a can receive signals to effect actuation of the motor 
control valves to shift the transmissions 54a into either the first gear 
or the second gear. The controller may receive the signals to shift the 
transmission to either the first gear or the second gear from either the 
manually actuated controls 192a or from the detectors 250. To enable the 
controller 140a to receive signals from either the manual controls 192a or 
the detectors 250 to effect actuation of solenoids 90a or 92a, OR gates 
270 and 272 (FIG. 8) are provided in the controller 140a. 
The OR gate 270 is connected with an AND gate 276. The AND gate 276 
receives signals from the OR gate 270 over a lead 280. In addition, the 
AND gate receives a signal over a lead 282 indicating that the main drive 
motor 36a has stopped. The AND gate 276 also receives a signal over a lead 
284 when the manual controls 192a associated with a hopper 14a and feed 
drum 18a have been actuated to indicate that it is desired to have the 
associated transmission 54a shift to the first operating condition, that 
is an operating condition in which gears corresponding to the input gears 
66 and first output gear 68 (FIG. 4) are in meshing engagement. 
During a manual make-ready operation, the manual controls 192a are actuated 
to provide a signal over a lead 290 to the OR gate 270 when a pusher 
element 30a is aligned with a hopper 14a and feed drum 18a. When the 
controls 192a are manually actuated to provide a signal over a lead 290 to 
the OR gate 270, the 3D gate 276 will provide an output signal. The output 
signal from the AND gate 276 effects energization of the solenoid 90a and 
actuation of an associated control valve, corresponding to the motor 
control valve 84 of FIG. 4. During automatic make-ready operation, a 
detector 250 provides a signal over a lead 292 when a pusher element 30a 
has moved to a desired position. The OR gate 270 will then provide an 
output signal over the lead 280 to the AND gate 276 to effect energization 
of the solenoid 90a. 
When the main drive motor 36a (FIG. 5) is stopped, a signal is provided 
over a lead 298 to the AND gate 296. When a manual control 192a has been 
actuated to indicate that the feed drum 18a is to be driven at a 
relatively high speed, that is, the gear corresponding to the input gear 
66 of FIG. 4 is to be moved into meshing engagement with the output gear 
70, a signal is provided over the lead 300 to an AND gate 296. The AND 
gate 296 is connected with a solenoid 92a. Energization of the solenoid 
92a effects operation of a control valve corresponding to the control 
valve 86 of FIG. 4. 
The OR gate 272 provides an output when the manual controls 192a have been 
actuated to provide a signal over lead 304 or a detector 250 has been 
actuated by movement of a pusher element 30a to a desired position to 
provide an output over a lead 306. The output from the OR gate 272 enables 
the AND gate 296 to provide an output to energize the solenoid 92a and 
cause a transmission 54a to shift to a position in which the feed drum 18a 
is driven at a relatively high speed. 
Controls Second Embodiment 
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, detectors 250 
are provided to indicate when the pusher elements 30a are in a desired 
position relative to a hopper 14a and feed drum 18a. In the embodiment of 
the invention illustrated in FIG. 9, an output from a signal generator is 
utilized to indicate when the pusher elements have moved to the desired 
positions relative to the hoppers and feed drums. Since the embodiment of 
the invention illustrated in FIG. 9 is generally similar to the embodiment 
of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, similar numerals will be 
utilized to designate similar components, the suffix letter "b" being 
associated with the numerals of FIG. 9 to avoid confusion. 
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 9, a plurality of 
hoppers 14b are disposed in a linear array along a conveyor 16b. Feed 
drums 18b are operable to feed sheet material from the hoppers 14b to 
sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor 16b. During operation 
of a main drive system 34b, a motor 36b drives the conveyor 16b to gear 
boxes 40b and 46b to move pusher elements 30b along a saddle type sheet 
material support surface 28b. 
When the pusher elements 30b are in predetermined positions relative to the 
hoppers 14b, a controller 140b is operable to shift transmissions 54b in 
feed drum drive systems 50b from a neutral condition to either a first 
condition in which the feed drums 18b are driven a relatively low speed or 
a second condition in which the feed drums 18b are driven at a relatively 
fast speed. A signal generator 350 is connected with the gear box 46b for 
the conveyor drive system 44b. The output from the signal generator 350 is 
indicative of the position of the pusher elements 30b relative to the 
hoppers 14b and feed drums 18b. When one of the pusher elements 30b has 
moved to a predetermined position relative to one of the hoppers 14b and 
feed drums 18b, the output from the signal generator 350 indicates to the 
controller 140b that the pusher element is in the predetermined position. 
The controller 140b is then effective to stop operation of the main drive 
motor 36b. This enables the controller 140b to shift a transmission 54b 
associated with a hopper 14b and feed drum 18b relative to which a pusher 
element 30b is in a predetermined position. 
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the signal generator 350 is 
an encoder which provides an output signal indicative of when a pusher 
element 30b has moved to a predetermined position relative to each of the 
feed drums 18b in turn. However, rather than using an encoder, the signal 
generator 350 could be a pulse generator which is associated with a 
digital control system. Although the output from the signal generator 350 
is used during make-ready operations, the output from the signal generator 
could also be used during normal sheet material feeding operations. 
Conclusion 
In view of the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present 
invention provides a new and improved sheet material collating apparatus 
12. The apparatus 12 includes a plurality of hoppers 14 which are disposed 
at spaced apart locations along a sheet material conveyor 16. Feed drums 
are operable to sequentially feed sheet material articles 20 from the 
hoppers 14 to sheet material receiving locations on the conveyor 16. 
A feed drum drive system 50 includes a transmission 54 which is operable 
between an initial condition (FIG. 4) in which the transmission is 
ineffective to transmit force to drive one of the feed drums 18, a first 
condition in which the transmission is effective to transmit force to 
drive the feed drum at a first speed, and a second condition in which the 
transmission is effective to transmit force to drive the feed drum at a 
second speed which is greater than the first speed. Controls connected 
with the transmissions 54 are operable to effect operation of each of the 
transmissions between the initial, first, and second conditions. 
In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of detectors 250 (FIGS. 
5-7) are disposed at spaced apart locations along the sheet material 
conveyor 16a. The detectors 250 are operable to detect when a sheet 
material receiving location has moved to a predetermined position relative 
to one of the hoppers 14a. The detector 250 may detect when the sheet 
material receiving location has moved to the predetermined position 
relative to a hopper 14a by detecting the presence of a sheet material 
pusher element 30a or by detecting the position of a trailing edge 270 of 
sheet material pushed by the sheet material pusher element. In another 
embodiment of the invention, a signal generator 350 (FIG. 9) is provided 
to indicate when a sheet material receiving location has moved to a 
predetermined position relative to one of the hoppers 14b. 
During operation of the sheet material collating apparatus, the feed drums 
18 may be rotated at different speeds to feed sheet material 20 at 
different rates from the hoppers 14 to the conveyor 16. Thus, a first 
group of feed drums 18 may be rotated at a first speed to feed sheet 
material articles 20 at a first rate from a first group of hoppers 14. A 
second group of feed drums 18 may be rotated at a second speed which is 
greater than the first speed to feed sheet material articles 20 from a 
second group of hoppers 14 at a second rate which is greater than the 
first rate.