Patent GB-120392-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to Automatic Sheet Feeding Mechanism.
IPC: B65H5/02
Filed: 1918-10-22
Abstract: 120,392. Thermic Plating Process Co., (Assignees of Conran, F. M.) Oct 31, 1917, [Convention date]. Pile tables; sheet separators, forwarders, and registering-devices.-A sheet-separating and feeding mechanism comprises means for lifting the rear end of the top sheet of a pile, means for blowing air under the lifted sheet, and members on an endless carrier for engaging the rear lifted end to push the sheet forward from the pile. Means is provided for gradually raising the pile as the sheets are removed. The means described for lifting the rear end of the sheet are pneumatic or magnetic, and in the latter case, additional magnets are provided for lifting the front end, Fig. 14. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 8 the pile of sheets S is placed on a table 29 adjustably mounted on side brackets 24 sliding vertically on the side frames 21 and guided by rollers 25 engaging the slotted guideways 23 and by rollers 26 engaging the inner edges of the guideways. On each bracket 24 is a rack bar 31 engaged by pinions 32 on short shafts 33 provided also with gears engaging pinions on a transverse shaft 40. On the shaft 40 ie a hand-operated clutch through which the shaft is driven by ratchet gear operated from a cam on the driven shaft 52 of the coating machine, to the rollers 167 of which the sheets are fed. An adjusting screw is provided to regulate the stroke of the cam lever and consequently the amount of each upward feed movement of the table. A hand-wheel is provided on one of the shafts 33 for moving the table by hand when the clutch on the shaft 40 is disengaged, and a brake is applied automatically to the hand-wheel on disengagement of the clutch to prevent the table from descending by its weight. The mechanism for separating and removing the sheets is driven from the shaft 52 by a sprocket chain connecting it with the shaft 80. On the shaft 80 and a shaft 83 are pairs of sprocket wheels 81, 84 carrying two pairs of chains 85 on which sheet-removing devices 86 are carried. A sheet-lifting nozzle 124 is mounted adjustably on a member 106 pivoted by pins 109 in slots 108 in the sides of a housing 97 connected by a link 98 to an arm 101 on a transverse bar 87 and by a screw 95 to a block swivelled to a cam lever 93 pivoted at 92 to an arm 91. A cam lever 102 pivoted at 103 in the housing 97 engages a pin 105 on the member 106, this pin being guided by slots 107 in the housing. The lever 102 is operated by a cam 133 on a sleeve 130 driven by the rear sprocket wheels 84, so as to rock the member 106 and bend up the rear of the top sheet as shown in Fig. 8, and the lever 93 is then operated by a cam 131 to lift the sheet into position for its rear edge to be engaged by the removing devices 86, as shown in Fig. 4. Air is blown under the lifted sheet by a nozzle 116 connected to a compressed air supply, a valve operated by a cam on the sleeve 130 controlling the time and duration of the blast. Another valve operated by a cam on the sleeve 130 controls the suction in the nozzle 124, and a passage in the valve opens to the atmosphere when the suction is cut off to release the sheet. The lifted sheet is positioned or registered laterally at each side of the machine by rollers carried by arms on vertical rock shafts rocked by cams on the faces of the outer sprocket wheels 84. Guides or tracks 154 engaging arms 157 control the position of the sheet-removing devices 86 as they pass into engagement with the sheet, and depressions 156 act to withdraw them as the sheet reaches the rollers 167. Guides 158 prevent the chains 85 from sagging as they move the sheet forward. Sheets below the top one are prevented from moving by a stop 173 on a slide 169 operated by a lever 164, cam 163, and spring 171 to move the stop into engagement with the pile when the top sheet has moved forward a short distance. In the modification shown in Fig. 14, the shaft 200 is driven from the coating machine and the chains 202 carrying the removing devices 205 are on sprocket wheels on the shafts 200 and 204. A rear pair of electro-magnets 219 is suspended from an arm 217 pivoted at 216 and raised and lowered by an arm 233 operated by a cam on the sleeve 235. A pair of magnets 212 for lifting the front end of the sheet is suspended from an arm 210 pivoted on the shaft 200 and raised and lowered by an arm 209 and cam. A switch 241 carried by a bracket 242 controls the circuit of the magnets, and the contacts are operated to make and brake the circuit by a plunger operated by a cam on the sleeve 235. Air is blown under the sheet from a nozzle 231. A stop 245 similar to the stop 173 may be provided.