Patent GB-944414-A (GB)
Title: Sheet piler for handling non-rectangular materials
IPC: B21D43/22
Filed: 1961-01-23
Abstract: 944,414. Delivering sheets. BUCCICONI ENGINEERING CO. Inc. Jan. 23, 1961 [Feb. 1, 1960], No. 2571/61. Heading B6H. [Also in Division B8]  In an apparatus for stacking metal sheets S of non-rectangular, e.g. truncated triangular, shape successive sheets are released from the underside of a magnetic conveyer 10 at longitudinally spaced points for deposit in piling areas 12, 13 and back stops 18, 21 and end stops 17, 20 guide the sheets into the piling areas, each end stop having a vertical pad 61, Fig. 4, a support 60 for the pad, a carriage 100 or 112 which is longitudinally adjustable on the machine frame and a vertical pivot 63 connecting the carriage and the support 60 whereby the pad 61 is free to swing on the pivot into the plane of the leading edge of a sheet when the sheet strikes the pad. The sheets S are all the same shape but are cut by a shear which oscillates about a vertical axis so that successive sheets face opposite ways, Fig. 1. The shear is not shown but is at the right-hand end (Figs. 1, 2, 13) of a feed conveyer 14 which transports the cut sheets from the shear to the conveyer 10. The conveyer 10 comprises two units 22 of the type described in U.S.A. Specifications- 2,486,733, 2,527,911 and 2,642,174 having a series of electromagnets arranged above the lower rim of an endless belt or endless belts 31 driven by a motor 36. The magnets are controlled by means of a photoelectric cell, which senses the sheets S, and release the sheets alternately in the areas 12, 13. The conveyer 14 is mounted on a frame 200, Figs. 13, 17, having side members 201, 201<SP>1</SP> and end members 202, 203 and consists of three conveyer units 240, 241, 242 of which 240 is fixed on the frame 200 and 241, 242 are longitudinally adjustably mounted on the frame. Each of the conveyer units comprises two longitudinal members 243, 244 which support endless chains 245, 245<SP>1</SP>, Fig. 17, passing round sprockets 246, 247, Fig. 13, at the ends of the members 243, 244. The chains carry sheetsupporting rollers 252 each of which has two side sections of rubber and a central section of permanently magnetized material. Roller tracks 300, 300<SP>1</SP>, 301, 301<SP>1</SP> are secured to the frame 200 and help support the sheets S as they are conveyed along the upper rims of the chains 245, 245<SP>1</SP>. The frame 200 is longitudinally adjustable on the main machine frame by means of a rack and pinion device in order that the central conveyer unit 240 may be correctly positioned in relation to the vertical axis of the oscillating shear blade; when this has been done the side conveyer units are adjusted in relation to the frame by means of further rack and pinion devices so that their ends are as close as possible to the cutting planes of the blade. Receivers.-Pile supporting trolleys 15, 16 are positioned in the areas 12, 13 respectively and are longitudinally adjustable in the machine frame. Each trolley has a rectangular frame 50 (Fig. 3) carrying rollers 51 upon which the pile rests. The frame is supported at its sides by rollers 53 and carries a pair of grooved rollers 54 which engage a guide rail 56 running longitudinally of the machine frame. After adjustment the trolleys are locked in position by any convenient means. The end stops are connected to their carriages 100, 112 by brackets 68, Fig. 4, each of which carries a cylinder 67 at its lower end. A T-shaped bracket 65 has its stem part 66 telescoped within the cylinder 67 and guided therein by rollers 71, 71<SP>1</SP>. The crosspiece of the bracket 65 is a cylinder 64 which rotatably houses the pivot 63, the pivot being secured at its ends in lugs projecting from the pad support 60. A compression spring 87 urges the stem 66 towards the right in Fig. 4 and absorbs the shock caused by the sheets hitting the pad 61. In order to supplement the shockabsorbing function of the spring 87, a rod 76 secured in the stem 66 is slidable in a hole in an end cap 78 on the cylinder 67 and carries a roller 81 at its outer end which roller engages a pivoted, counterweighted lever 82. An angled bumper plate 90 is pivoted at 92 to the upper end of the frame 60 and is counterweighted by means of a lever 94, 95 and a weight 96 so that the vertical portion of the plate is normally slightly spaced from the pad 61. The back stop 21 (Figs. 8, 10) is carried by a bracket 120 fixed to the machine frame and comprises a plate 121 having an inclined upper end 136 and secured to a cylinder 123. The cylinder 123 is rotatable about a pivot 125 secured in the bracket 120 and has a segmental gear 130 fixed to its lower end which gear projects into a recess in the bracket 120. A worm-wheel 132 is mounted in the recess and engages the segmental gear 130 so that rotation of the worm-wheel by means of a knob (not shown) on one end of its shaft causes movement of the plate 121 about the pivot 125. In this way the back stop is adjusted so as to be parallel with the trailing edge of a sheet S. A roller 137 is mounted above and to the rear of the plate 121 in a vertically pivoted yoke 139 to support the sheets as they leave the conveyer 10. The pivot 140 of the yoke 139 carries a cross bar 142 at its lower end which is connected by pivoted rods 146 to the outer edges of the plate 121; thus when the angle of the plate 121 is adjusted the angle of the roller 137 is similarly adjusted. The back stop 18 is similar to the back stop 21 but is mounted on a stand 152, Fig. 2, which is longitudinally adjustable in the machine frame. Side guide plates 170, 170<SP>1</SP>, 171, 1711, Figs. 1, 2, 3, are mounted at their upper ends on shafts 172, 172<SP>1</SP> in the piling areas 12, 13. The shafts 172, 172<SP>1</SP> are journalled at their ends in bearings which are transversely adjustable in the machine frame so that sheets of different widths may be stacked. Radial arms 195, 195<SP>1</SP> on the shafts 172, 172<SP>1</SP> carry spring-pressed pins 196 at their free ends which are engageable with holes 197, 198 in sector plates 199 secured to the movable bearings of the shafts. During operation the pins 196 engage the holes 197 to maintain the plates 170, 170<SP>1</SP> in a vertical position, but when a stack has been completed on each of the trolleys 15, 16 the arms 195, 195<SP>1</SP> and the corresponding plates are swung outwards and upwards until the pins engage the holes 198 whereby the plates are held in a horizontal position and the stacks are accessible for removal.