Patent GB-587685-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in devices for automatically inserting marking strips in piles of sheets
IPC: B65H33/04
Filed: 1944-10-24
Abstract: 587,685. Sheet-delivery apparatus. ENGLISH NUMBERING MACHINES, Ltd., and KATZ, L. NAMENYI-. Oct. 24, 1944, No. 14087. [Class 100 (i)] Delivering in counted batches.-In apparatus for inserting marker tabs in a pile of sheets, e.g., sheets delivered from a printing machine, to divide it into counted batches, the tabs are cut from a strip fed from a roll, and an arm carrying the movable blade of the cutter has a vertical movement and also a horizontal oscillating movement, and serves to feed the severed strip into the required position. The strip is fed over a table 19, Fig. 2, by a spring- pressed roller coacting with a roller 9 driven by gearing 13, 14 from a shaft 15 adapted to be connected by a clutch 27 to a shaft 15x rotatable with but axially slidable in a bushing driven from the printing-machine by gearing 30, 31, Fig. 4. A bell-crank lever 37 connected to the end of the shaft 15x by a universal joint 38 is under the control of a spring 39 tending to connect the shafts 15, 15x, but such connection is normally prevented by a slidable pin 40 extending between the horizontal arm of the lever 37 and a bar 23 to which the movable cutter-blade is attached. The bar 23 is fixed to a spindle 24 capable of axial and rotary movement. It is normally held with a pad 26 thereon pressing on the table 19 by a spring 24x on the spindle 24 and by a catch 41 engaging its free end. When the catch 41 is released by mechanism controlled by counting apparatus as described below, the bar 23 swings through 90 degrees under the action of spring 24x to feed the cut-off strips to the pile. At the same time the pin 40 is allowed to rise and the clutch 27 to engage, so that rotation of the shaft 15 takes place and causes the marking strip to be fed under the cutter. During this rotation a cam 25 on the shaft raises the spindle 24 and bar 23, and at its highest point, a pin 24o on the spindle is engaged by a pin 25x on the cam so as to rotate the arm 23 back to its original position where it is re-engaged by the catch 41. As the arm subsequently drops under the action of the spring 24x, the knife severs a tab and the pin 40 causes disconnection of the shafts 15, 15x. The counting mechanism comprises two sets of units, tens and hundreds drums 59, 60, 61 and 89, 90, 91, Fig. 4, respectively normally geared together but operating reversely, i.e., as the number on the drums 59, 61 increases that on the drums 89 ... 91 decreases. The shaft 62 of the drums 59 ... 61 is rotated in either direction by alternative ratchet-and-pawl mechanisms 70, 76, and 71, 77 actuated from a spindle 49 carrying a bracket 54 with projections 55, 56, Fig. 2, engaged by a cam 53x on a shaft 35 driven from the gear 30 so as to oscillate the spindle 49. The spindle 49 is moved endwise in opposite directions to bring either of the ratchet mechanisms 70, 76, or 71, 77 into operation by two solenoids 99, 104, Fig. 10. The solenoid 99 is energised when the drums 59 ... 61 are at zero by means of projections 94 on the drums closing contacts 97 and similarly the solenoid 104 is energized by projections 100 on the drums 89 ... 91 closing contacts 101. In operation the drums 59, 60, 61 are set to zero and the drums 89 ... 91 to the figure at which a tag is to be inserted, the latter drums being movable to disengage them from the drums 59 ... 61 for this purpose. When the drums 89 ... 91 record zero during the delivery of the sheet, at which time the drums 59 ... 61 will record the original setting of the drums 89 ... 91, the contacts 101 are closed and the solenoid 104 energized, thus moving the spindle 49 to the right. This causes the ratchet mechanism 70, 76 to be coupled instead of the ratchet mechanism 71, 77 and the drums 59 ... 61 and 86 ... 88 are operated in reverse, this continuing until the contacts 97 are closed when the spindle 49 is moved to the left and the first operation is repeated. Each time the spindle 49 moves axially, it actuates a lever 46 operating through links 45, 45x a cam 43 which releases the catch 41 against the action of a spring 42 so as to allow the bar 23 to swing and feed the previously-severed tab on to the pile.