Patent GB-1068853-A (GB)
Title: Document aligning and feeding device
IPC: B65H9/06
Filed: 1964-10-02
Abstract: 1,068,853. Feeding sheets. ING. C. OLIVETTI & C., S.p.A. Oct. 2, 1964 [Oct. 8, 1963], No. 40115/64. Heading B6B. A sheet - feeding apparatus, particularly for accurately aligning cheques as they are being fed to a machine sorting them according to sensed data thereon, comprises devices for (a) moving forward a number of the top sheets of a pile 11, the sheets of which may be misaligned, (b) arresting these sheets in a position 64, Fig. 4, to effect a preliminary alignment, (c) returning all the sheets except the top sheet to the pile and (d) moving the top sheet forwardly against a fixed stop 62 to complete its alignment. The pile 11, Fig. 1, is supported on a table 10 urged upwardly by a spring 13. A bar 14 engaging the top of the pile 11 is carried by a bail 16 and is urged downwardly by a spring 19 overcoming the action of spring 13, the upper end of the bail 16 engaging a cam 18 on a cyclically-operated shaft 21. Two forwarding rollers 53, Fig. 4, normally actuated just above the top of the pile, are carried by a bail 43, whose upper end engages a cam 39 on the shaft 21. The rollers 53 are continuously rotated in an anticlockwise direction, through a friction drive permitting slippage, from a shaft 26 geared to a main motor-driven shaft. The cam-shaft 21 is driven from the main shaft through a one-revolution clutch which can be operated manually or automatically to cause cycles of the shaft 21. At the beginning of such a cycle, the cams cause the bar 14 to be lifted and the rollers 53 to feed forward a number of sheets into engagement with two stop fingers 64. Situated axially between the two fingers 64 are two rollers 89, Fig. 5, on a fixed axis 107 and rotated continuously in a counterclockwise direction through a friction drive, and two idler rollers 81, Fig. 1, carried by bails 83 operated by a cam 87 on the shaft 21. The rollers 89 co-operate with two rollers 88 carried by bails 92 operated by a cam 97. The rollers 88 are continuously driven in an anticlockwise direction, and, after the separated sheets have reached the fingers 64, are moved downwardly to engage the sheets against the rollers 89, so that the combined action of the rollers 88, 89, all rotating anti-clockwise, causes the top sheet to be held against the fingers 64 and the underneath sheets to be moved rearwardly back to the pile. The fingers 64 are now raised by the action of a cam 75, Fig. 4, on a bail 71 having toothed engagement with members 66 carrying the fingers. At the same time, the idler rollers 81, Fig. 1, are raised by the cam 87 towards rollers 76 continuously rotated in an anticlockwise direction so as to engage the top sheet and move it forwardly. Beyond the rollers 76, 81 are two further rollers 117, 119, the roller 119 being an idler and the roller 117 being continuously driven in a clockwise direction and being carried by a cam-operated bail 112. The roller 117 is now caused to move towards the roller 119 so as to feed the top sheet against the stop 62 to complete its alignment. This also completes a cycle of operations. At the beginning of the next cycle, continuously driven rollers 124 are raised to co-operate with idler rollers 123 to feed the sheet at right-angles to its previous path into the sorting machine.