Patent GB-742646-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in the automatic feed of sheets of paper or the like to printing machines
Inventor: HEYWOOD CHRISTOPHER JOHN
IPC: B65H5/02
Filed: 1952-05-02
Abstract: 742,646. Feeding and embossing sheets &c. AUTOFEEDS LONDON, Ltd. May 4, 1953 [May 2, 1952], No. 11187/52. Classes 100 (1) and 100 (2). Apparatus for feeding sheet units from a pile to a printing station comprises sheet-separating mechanism which feeds a unit from the pile to a first belt conveyer which conveys it to stops for arresting and registering the unit, mechanism for transferring the registered unit to a second belt conveyer which conveys the unit to the printing station and at right angles to the direction conveyed by the first conveyer. The apparatus includes means to detect the presence or absence of a sheet unit at the registering position. As shown, the sheet-feeding apparatus is combined with a type die stamping machine. Sheet-separators.-Three suckers, connected by flexible pipes 1 to a common suction pipe 3, are secured on a rod 4 rotatably mounted in arms 5 secured on a rockable shaft 6. An arm 7 secured to one end of the rod 4 has a follower engaging a fixed cam 9, such that the suckers are lifted and tilted when the shaft 6 is rocked by a power-driven cam. The sheet pile rests on a support which is raised intermittently, to keep the level of the uppermost sheet constant, by a ratchet means incorporated in a lifting means controlled by a feeler resting on the pile and adapted to operate a switch in an electric circuit. Sheet-carriers; sheet-registers.-The suckers present the sheets to feed rollers 17, 171 which feed them between flexible guide strips 25 and the upper runs of conveyer belts 24 arranged over a fixed feed table 23. The belts 24 convey each sheet up to adjustable stops 27, and after a brief interval, drop rollers 42 press the sheet on to a second set of conveyer belts 41, 411 arranged at right angles to the first, whereby the sheet is fed over a table 40 up to stops 44. A side lay bar 45 carrying a pusher plate 761 registers the sheet transversely, and two presser feet 85 carried by rods 84 descend to clamp the sheet on the table 40 during the stamping operation by the members 76, 77, these feet acting to strip the sheet from the members 76, 77 when they part. The drop rollers 42 are carried by arms 56 secured to a rockable shaft 57 on which are also freely mounted an arm 64 carrying a roller 46 which presses the sheet on one belt 41, and a guide and presser strip 49 which rests on the second belt 41<SP>1</SP>. Two further rockable shafts 66, 67 have secured thereon, respectively, arms carrying a drop roller 47 co-operating with the belt 41 and weights 50 adapted to press on the strip 49, and an arm carrying the stops 44. All three rods 57, 66, 67 have fingers which are engaged by similar fingers on a longitudinal rod 60 adapted to be rocked by a cam. The first conveyer belts 24 and feed roller 17<SP>1</SP>, and the second conveyer belts 41, 41<SP>1</SP> are driven by an electric motor through a system of belts and pulleys, but the main cam shaft is driven indirectly through a gear clutch which is controlled by a switch means actuated in timed sequence with the stamping operation. The timing of the apparatus is so arranged that when a sheet is being stamped, a subsequent sheet is in a stationary position against the stops 27 on the first table 23. The table 40 is readily detachable from the fixed table 23. Embossing.-The sheets, envelopes, cards or groups of sheets are registered on the table 40 by the front stops 44 and side lay 45, and clamped by the feet 85 so that a side edge overlies the lower block or force 76 which is adapted to be reciprocated vertically by a lever actuated by a cam on a motor-driven shaft. The engraved female die 77 is moved substantially horizontally, for inking purposes, into and out of a position above the block 76 by means of a pivoted lever operated by a cam, and has a slight downward and corresponding upward movement when immediately over the block to permit of insertion and withdrawal of a sheet. The feet 85 strip the sheet from the die and block after stamping, the stops 44 are raised, and the sheet is pressed on to the conveyer belts by the drop roller 47 and is thus carried away. Platen trips.-The force or block 76 is actuated through the intermediary of a known mechanism which will prevent the block meeting the die 77 if a sheet is absent. This mechanism is connected in an electric circuit which includes a switch operated by a cam on the shaft which drives the block 76, the clutch mechanism which controls the cam shaft of the first conveyer, and a further switch comprising a curved strip 33 which bears on a surface 34 on the feed table 23. In the absence of a sheet on the table 23, the switch 33, 34 is closed, and the die and block do not meet when subsequently operated.