Patent GB-231651-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in sheet-feeding devices
IPC: B65H3/10
Filed: 1924-03-11
Abstract: 231,651. Aldrich, L. K. March 11, 1924. Sheet-separators; pile supports. - Sheets are separated from piles by oscillating suction separators which move in one direction to separate the top sheet from the next sheet, and are then carried in the opposite direction to detach the top sheet from the pile. The separation of the sheets is assisted by air blasts, and the degree of suction can be varied for dealing with sheets of different thicknesses, the suction effect increasing after the top sheet has been separated from the next sheet. The pile of sheets rests on a table 13 carried by counterweighted chains 22 on a shaft 20 operated from a shaft 16, which can be driven by worm gearing from a hand-wheel 17 or automatically by a pawl 25 and ratchet 24, the pawl being carried by a weighted oscillating plate 26, Fig. 3, controlled by a pivoted finger 36 having an arm 34 resting in contact with the pile. Only when the pile is low does the finger 36 permit the pawl 25 to be retracted sufficiently to operate the ratchet. The sheets are separated by an oscillating suction nozzle 66 mounted on a shaft 67 carried by arms 69 from an oscillating shaft 70. The shafts 67, 70 are oscillated from a cam 41 by levers 37, 74, and a lever 71 respectively, the pawl plate 26 being also oscillated from the cam 41 through a lever and link with a pin-and-slot connection. The nozzle 66 occupies the position shown in Fig. 6 at the commencement of the separation operation, and a vacuum pipe 52 is in communication with an air pump driven by a motor 42 and with a spring-pressed connection 86 connecting to a radial passage 75 in the nozzle. The nozzle engages the top sheet lightly and air is sucked through the passage 75, the top sheet being drawn into contact with the nozzle. A vent 105 limits the suction effect on the sheet. The nozzle 66 is now given a counterclockwise motion, and the connection 86 communicates in succession with passages 76, 77, 78 which complete the. separation of the sheet. The arms 69 are raised while the nozzle 66 oscillates, and, owing to the shaft 67 being normally below the shaft 70, the separated sheet is at first moved slightly to the left, which assists in detaching it from the pile. The sheet is then carried to the right, being guided by an inclined surface 104 integral with the pile guide 90, and is advanced by rollers 91, 92 driven by tapes from the crankshaft 46 which actuates the cam-shaft 41. This shaft 46 may be driven by tapes from the motor 42, or may be actuated from a printing or folding machine to which the sheets are fed. As the sheets are advanced, an abutment 70 on the lever 71 operates a valve 57 to connect an opening 60 in the pipe 52 to the atmosphere, thus relieving the vacuum in the nozzle 66 and releasing the sheet. The valve 57 is returned to closed position by a lever 31 and link 63. The tube 53 is fitted with a vent valve 64 which can be set to control the vacuum to suit papers of different thicknesses. The rear edge of the pile is held by a holding-down bar and, to assist the separation of. the sheets, air blasts are directed against the front edges of the pile by vertically adjustable nozzles 97, 98, movable about a vertical axis and connected by pipes 100, 101 to the pressure side of the air pump which exhausts air from the tube 52.