Patent GB-806473-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to apparatus for automatically collating sheets of paper and the like
IPC: B65H39/04
Filed: 1955-04-19
Abstract: 806,473. Feeding and delivery sheets. LEHMANN, R. April 19, 1955 [April 20, 1954], No. 11213/55. Class 100(1) Apparatus for automatically collating sheets of paper disposed in several storage stacks 11, 12, 13, 14 comprises one or more radially disposed horizontal arms a mounted for angular movement about a horizontal axis and adapted to sweep over the upper surface of the storage stacks, the arm or arms a having a plurality of suction heads adapted to be brought into an operative position successively to enable each arm to remove the top sheet from the successive stacks and retain them in superimposed relationship until the arm is located over the deposit stack 15 when the retained sheets are released. As shown in Fig. 2 a guide member 1 is secured on to a base frame G and a central operating column 3 is mounted for axial and rotatable movement in the guide member 1. The column 3, which carries five arms a, is rotated by means of gears 4 and 5, the gear 4 being fast on a driving shaft 7. Axial movement of the column 3 is effected by a cam 20 which operates on a push rod 19 and on the gear wheel 5. Four storage stacks 11, 12, 13, 14 and a delivery stack 15 are provided, the height of each stack being controlled by suitable manual or automatic means. The arms a are provided with a plurality of parallel and radially disposed suction tubes b', b<2>, b<3>, and b<4> mounted on quadrant plates and adapted for simultaneous lateral movement in a circular path about a pivot axis P. Pivoting is effected by levers 18 located in the head member 16 of the column 3 to to which the arms a are attached. The arrangement is such that a sheet from the stack 11 is picked up and retained by the tube b', a sheet from the stack 12 by the tube b<2>, a sheet from stack 13 by the tube b<3> and a sheet from the stack 14 by the tube b<4>, the arm a pivoting so as to bring each tube successively into sheet separating position. The tubes b are provided with suction nozzles and these are maintained in a downwardly pointing direction during pivoting by a chain 22 which is trained around chain wheel 22a on each tube b. The levers 18 are operated during the vertical reciprocation of the column 3 by the push rod 19. The rod 19 engages a rod 71 connected to the lever 18 of an arm a. The lever 18 is mounted on the shaft 100 of the arm a and the shaft 100 is provided with a ratchet 70 engaged by a pawl 72 which is connected to and operated by the lever 18. The pawl 72 is pivoted on a bar 76 together with a ratchet holding pawl 44. Each reciprocation of the rod 71 therefore causes the shaft 100 to be rotated an amount sufficient to cause the rods b to be brought successively into operative position, suction being applied to the nozzle or the rods b when they reach operative positions and when they are in subsequent sheet holding positions in the same machine cycle. When the arm a is located above the deposit stack 15 the bar 76 is acted upon by release piece 77 on the rod 19 thus releasing the pawls 72 and 44. The lever 18 is not operated since at this position the rod 71 enters a recess in the rod 19. The arm a is thus returned to its original position by torsion springs 45 the rods b releasing the sheets on to the stack 15 as they are rotated beyond the position at which suction was initially applied to them. In a modification (Fig. 6, not shown) vertical reciprocation of the head of the operating column is effected by rollers mounted thereon and which engage a fixed cam disc mounted on a fixed member surrounding the operating column. In this embodiment the pile supports 11, 12, 13, 14 are automatically raised by bevel and worm gears, the drive being derived from the rotation of the operating column, feelers being prvided which control a magnet arranged to break one of the gear couplings when the pile is at a sufficient height.