Source: http://www.google.fr/patents/US4897946
Timestamp: 2013-05-18 08:21:42
Document Index: 155203027

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n19', 'art.\n25', 'art.\n29', 'art 91', 'art 91', 'art 14', 'art 69']

Brevet US4897946 - Device for the cyclic rearrangement of a pile of rectangular or square sheets - Google�BrevetsRecherche Images Maps Play YouTube Actualit�s Gmail Drive Plus » Recherche avanc�e dans les brevets | Historique Web | Connexion Recherche avanc�e dans les brevets BrevetsA device for cyclically rearranging a pile of rectangular or square sheets (such as photographic prints) by repeatedly performing the operation of removing one sheet from one end of the pile and returning the removed sheet to the other end of the pile. To facilitate removal of each sheet from the pile,...http://www.google.fr/patents/US4897946?utm_source=gb-gplus-shareBrevet US4897946 - Device for the cyclic rearrangement of a pile of rectangular or square sheets Num�ro de publicationUS4897946 AType de publicationOctroi Num�ro de demande07/226,068 Date de publication6 f�vr. 1990 Date de d�p�t29 juil. 1988 Date de priorit�13 nov. 1984Autre r�f�rence de publicationEP0201551A1EP0201551B1US4777748WO1986003022A1 InventeursPeter Ackeret Cessionnaire d'origineLicinvest Ag Classification aux �tats-Unis40/51340/511 Classification internationaleG03B23/02B42F7/14 Classification coop�rativeG03B23/02 Classification europ�enneG03B 23/02R�f�rencesCitations de brevets (5)Liens externesUSPTO Cession USPTO EspacenetDevice for the cyclic rearrangement of a pile of rectangular or square sheetsUS 4897946 A R�sum� A device for cyclically rearranging a pile of rectangular or square sheets (such as photographic prints) by repeatedly performing the operation of removing one sheet from one end of the pile and returning the removed sheet to the other end of the pile. To facilitate removal of each sheet from the pile, the sheet to be removed is pressed against a frictional surface by a roller on the separator structure which moves relative to the sheet to be removed in order to separate that sheet from the remainder of the pile. The frictional surface moves with the sheet to be removed, and the roller helps ensure that the sheet to be removed stays in contact with the frictional surface and is moved thereby.
What is claimed is: 1. A device for cyclic rearrangement of a pile of substantially planar rectangular sheets, said pile having a principal plane parallel to the plane of said sheets, comprising first and second frame parts movable relative to each other in a predetermined direction parallel to said principal plane, and including means for removal of an individual sheet from one end of the pile leaving a remainder of said pile and for adding said individual sheet to the other end of the remainder of the pile upon reciprocal relative movement of the frame parts, said individual sheet having a first substantially planar face in contact with said remainder of said pile prior to removal, said means comprising: separating means for separating said individual sheet from the pile, means for feeding sheets to said separating means and for displacing said individual sheet relative to said remainder of said pile so as to expose said first planar face thereof, first retaining means for holding said individual sheet in said first frame part and second retaining means for holding the remainder of the pile in said second frame part, and means for guiding the individual sheet after separation for the purpose of returning it to the other end of the remainder of the pile, wherein said first retaining means comprises: a roller element rotatably journalled to said second frame part and rolling on said first face of said individual sheet after separation, a counter element on one of said frame parts opposite to and cooperating with said roller element to clamp said individual sheet between said roller and counter elements so as to hold said individual sheet in said first frame part over a first predetermined portion of said relative movement of said frame parts, and means for urging said roller and counter elements toward one another.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 including at least one roller adjacent said separating means.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said counter element includes at least one rail provided with a friction increasing coating, at least one roller being freely rotatable and driven by contact with said individual sheet.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 including at least one roller provided with a friction increasing coating and driven to rotate by relative frame part movement.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for urging include a spring system, said spring system being active over movement of said frame parts away from each other.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one roller element is mounted on said second retaining means.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said second retaining means forms part of said separating means and includes a separating edge, and wherein said roller element protrudes beyond said separating edge by less than a sheet thickness.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first frame part is a housing and said second frame part is a slider reciprocable between an inner end position within the housing and an outer end position.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said housing has a display window exposing an uppermost sheet of said pile, and wherein said individual sheet is the one remote from said window.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said counter element includes a rail system supported by a housing bottom opposite said window.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said separating means includes a separator defining a sheet passage gap, and wherein at least one roller is journalled in a shoe displaceable relative to said separator in the direction towards said pile.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said shoe is subjected to spring bias and defines said gap, said spring bias providing a force for urging said roller element and counter element towards one another.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said shoe is pivotably supported so as to adapt itself to sheet deformations.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 including a plurality of parallel rails forming said counter element, each rail cooperating with an allocated roller.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for urging include bias spring means producing a force to which said rails are subjected.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of said first and second retaining means is symmetrical with respect to pile.
17. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said counter element includes a counter roller provided with a friction increasing coating and is driven to rotate with a speed equal to that of said roller element.
18. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said plurality of rails is comprised of separately manufactured components mounted in said first frame part.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said rails are provided with a friction-increasing coating prior to their being mounted.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said rails are symmetrical relative to a plane extending orthogonal to said predetermined direction.
21. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein an element of said separating means forms part of said rails.
22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said first frame part includes means for preventing said pile remainder transported out of said first frame part by said second frame part from hitting said rails upon an inward movement of said frame parts.
23. The apparatus of claim 3 including spacing means adapted to maintain a distance between said pile remainder and said coating upon relative movement therebetween.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said spacing means are provided in said second frame part.
25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said roller element urges said individual sheet against said counter element, said individual sheet being elastically deformed by said spacing means.
26. The apparatus of claim 1 including rails forming said counter element and extending over a movement stroke of said frame parts away from one another.
27. The apparatus of claim 1 including spring means biasing said frame parts toward one another.
28. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said roller and counter elements is elastically supported in its allocated frame part.
29. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said separating means include means for defining a passage gap for said individual sheet, and said roller and counter elements being urged toward one another only after said individual sheet has passed said gap.
30. The apparatus of claim 1 including guide means for hit-less engaging of said roller and counter elements.
31. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first retaining means further includes additional means for holding said individual sheet, said additional means being activated at the latest upon the roller element having completely passed said individual sheet upon relative withdrawal of said frame parts.
32. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said spacing means extending in said predetermined direction.
33. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein spacing means are laterally offset with respect to said counter element, seen in said predetermined direction.
34. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said additional means retain said individual sheet at least until its being passed by said second retaining means.
35. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said roller and counter elements are symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry extending in the direction of frame part movement.
36. The apparatus of claim 35 including pairs of roller elements and pairs of counter elements.
37. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said separating means includes a separating edge provided on said second retaining means, said separating edge being spaced from a sheet support by a blocking step when said frame parts are moved to an inner end position.
38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said sheet support forms part of rails members which, in turn, form part of said counter element.
39. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said second retaining means includes an oblique surface emanating from said separating edge, and wherein transverse sheet edges may be conveyed along said surface toward said blocking step upon movement of said frame parts from said inner end position away from each other.
40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said blocking step has a height greater than a sheet thickness and less than two sheet thicknesses so that upon said movement of said frame parts away from each other the transverse edge of said individual sheet is positioned behind said blocking step and is passed by said second retaining means.
41. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein said roller element is trailing with respect to said second retaining means so as to engage that face of the individual sheet which faced the pile prior to being passed by said separating edge.
42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein a distance less than a sheet thickness is maintained between said separating edge and said individual sheet when said roller element engages the individual sheet.
43. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said feeding means engages a transverse edge of said individual sheet remote from said blocking step so as to brake said individual sheet.
FIG. 1 shows in a plan view, partially cut away, a device according to the invention The first frame part is designed as a housing 12, the second frame part is a slider member 14 which can be pulled out of the housing for a distance limited by stop members 16 on the slider member and complementary stop members 18 on the housing and pushed back in again The separating means is formed by a separator bar 20. The feeding means is embodied by hook-like members 22 which are located on leaf-spring type spring arms 24. The retaining means for holding the remainder of the pile in the slider member is likewise formed by the separator bar, whilst the separated individual picture is held in the housing by the co-operation of rails, fixedly arranged in the housing and provided with a retentive coating 26, and with rollers 28 that hold the individual picture firmly against the rails and are caused to rotate as a result of contact with the rails. Finally, the guide means is embodied by pairs of leaf springs 30 and spring arms 32, the spring arms 32 being formed integrally with the spring arms 24.
The housing is composed of three parts the bottom shell 62 providing the floor 63, the frame-like upper shell 64 with the window aperture, and the window 35 set into this. The housing is reinforced in the direction of the slider member movement in that the struts between the top and bottom wall are constructed as double supports, as shown in FIG. 6. The housing parts can be welded together, or a snap-fit connection may be provided.
Around its main surface the window has a narrow border 66 that protrudes slightly outwards, so that it is somewhat proud in respect of the frame surrounding it. A recess that is complementary with the outline of this border on the outside of the opposite bottom wall is denoted by the numeral 67 and permits several housings to be stacked one on top of the other
FIG. 3 shows the position of the lands 68 which protrude by fully the thickness of a photographic print further above the level of the base of the housing than the surface of the retentive coating 26. In the rest or closed position of the slider member, the lowermost portion of the shoes is spaced somewhat from the edge 72 of the land, and the surface of the separator bar facing towards the pile is sloped, somewhat like a wedge, such that, as the separator runs onto the edge of the pile, the photographs, on the opposite edge of which the hook-like members 22 are acting, "migrate" downwards along the oblique face towards the edge 72 of the lands facing them There is sufficient room between the shoes 69 and the retentive coating 26 for the leading edge of a single photograph alone (the lower-most in the pile) to be able to enter the slot forming between the shoes 69 and the retentive coatings 26, for as long as this slot is held open by the land 68 as will be explained All the other photographs transported with the hook-like member 22 come up against the separator itself or against the shoes thereof with the result that the hook-like members slip off the end edge of the photographs.
Care should be taken therein that the separator bar also runs over the spring arms 32. So that they do not stress the separated picture from below during the passage of their ends acting on the pile, during a certain phase of the withdrawal movement they are pressed mechanically towards the housing floor Spring-depresser members 73 moulded on the slider member side pieces 44 are used for this purpose; these spring-depresser members pass over projections 74 extending laterally from the spring arms and hold the arms corresponding to their length for a part of the withdrawal movement Further spring-depresser members 75 on the slider member side pieces run onto the spring arms 24 at the enlarged portion 76 as soon as the individual photograph has been safely held between the retentive coating and the rollers, and press these arms likewise away from the viewing window so that further photographs can be introduced and others removed without hindrance.
The slidable catch 38 is mounted so as to slide in the grip part and is biassed by a spring towards the housing, as readily recognisable from FIG. 3. As the slider member is inserted, the free edge 82 of the slidable catch strikes against a stop member 83 provided in the housing, as a result of which the slidable catch is pushed back into the grip part and does not project into the space visible through the housing window Once the slider member has been pulled out, however, the slidable catch prevents the photographs lying in the slider member from falling out. To change the photographs, the slidable catch can be pushed back manually, which is facilitated by the finger-engageable edge 84 The photographs may be pushed out from the underside of the slider member by getting hold of them between the side pieces, or they may be grasped from above next to the grip part.
A control bar 85 is slideably mounted in the housing, held by retainers 86 moulded on the housing. The bar carries an actuating or control key 87 which passes through the rear wall 88 of the housing and projects slightly beyond the outline of the change-over device applying pressure with the finger to the key, the bar runs on wedge-like guide members 89 on the housing floor and is thereby lifted towards the window. The width of the bar fits exactly into a complementary recess 90 in the separator and blocks, for the entire withdrawal movement of the slider member, the through-slot of the separating means, so that every picture located in the device has to be transported out with the slider member. Close to the outer end position of the slider member, its separator bar runs over an upwardly-projecting part 91 of the bar which yields resiliently downwards; if the slider member is now pushed back in, the separator bar first pushes the bar back into its initial position, before it can be freely guided back with the upwardly-projecting part 91 being deflected again.
Let it be assumed that the pinion is in the position shown in FIG. 9 and that when the slider member moves in the direction of the arrow 102 the pinion rotates in the direction of the arrow 103. Owing to the friction of the small spring 98 on the housing wall the pinion is thereby held near the centre of the slot with its shaft resting against the rib 99. The result is a spacing, although this is small, between the circle defined by the tips of the teeth of the pinion and the point of the lug 101 If an attempt is now made to move the slider member in the opposite direction, the pinion is displaced to the outer end of the slot and its further movement immediately blocked by the point of the lug 101 At the end of the travel of the slider member, however, the toothed circumference of the pinion meets a stop sector 104 and, with the small spring 98 being deformed, is lifted over the rib 99, so that now rotation only in the opposite direction is enabled.
As is apparent from the preceding explanation, each rearranged sheet is never released during the whole changeover cycle, but is held at at least two points and thus secured against rotation It is thus constantly under control, in this case with means symmetrical to the axis.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show an alternative form of blocking means according to FIGS. 9 and 10. 0f the the frame parts, in each case only sections 12 and 14 lyi opposite each other are indicated In one of the fra parts, in this case the frame part 14, a jamming-acti roller 108 is rotatable about a journal 106, which is however, fitted eccentrically. The roller carries opposite its greatest radius a pin 110 over which the is engaged a leaf spring 112 attached to the frame pa 14. During movement in tee direction of the arrow in FIG. 11 the jamming-action roller can yield, but in the opposite direction it jams the two frame parts. When the frame parts are in the end positions the jamming-action roller meets in each case a recess 114 in the other frame part and can therefore, when the push/pull direction is reversed, pivot freely through approximately 90 the pin 110 rests against the spring 112 again.
The two blocking devices described above act in the manner of a free-wheel and they only switch over the direction of free-wheeling when the two frame part are in the end positions relative to each other. It may happen, however, that a user would like to rectify a faulty operation, perhaps because a pile of photographic prints has shifted during insertion. It is then desirable to be able to displace the frame parts relative to each other in both directions without blocking, at least from certain positions. For this reason a different type of construction of the blocking device is provided in the preferred example of execution described below.
In FIGS. 13 to 15, the embodiment is illustrate in its totality. The slider member 14 is housed in the housing 12 so that it can slide; the housing 12 forms the first frame part, and the slider member 14 the second. The withdrawal travel is limited by means of a bearing eye 116 which is moulded onto one of the side pieces 44 of the slider member and runs onto a stop member 18 in the housing. The housing is screwed together from an upper shell 64 and a bottom shell 62, the outer rims of which engage in an interlocking manner with each other, in the region between the side pieces 44 of the slider member and the outer edges of the housing which are parallel thereto. For this purpose, the bottom shell has in each case moulded-on guide sleeves 118 for screw shanks 120 and also recesses 122 on the outside for screw heads 124, while the upper shell carries for this purpose coaxially moulded-on bushings 126 in which the screws cut their own thread The window 35 is clipped into the upper shell 64 and the parts of the upper shell lying beneath its outer border areas are not visible, owing to the fact that these areas of the window are frosted. In FIG. 13 the outline of the central transparent portion of the window is marked by 34.
In this case the spring arms 24, 32 and 80 are combined into a stamped and bent part, positioned by means of projections 128 and fixed by crimping without the application of heat The spring arms 79, however, are separate components which as shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 are positioned on the bottom shell by means of moulded-on projections and fixed by crimping without the application of heat In order that this spring arm arrangement can raise up the separated picture as early as possible, the corresponding side piece 44 of the slider member has recesses 130. Secure holding of the separated picture is ensured during this phase of the changeover cycle by means of the spring arms 80, which bear the extreme edge of the picture remote from the slider member upwards like a bracket.
In certain circumstances, the retentive coating 26 may hold the separated picture so firmly that the force of the spring arms 79 is not sufficient to lift up the edge of the picture facing towards the slider member FIGS. 19 and 20 show a first possibility for additionally pushing this edge away from the retentive coating: the two strips of retentive coating are each arranged on a separately produced bar 134. On each side of the strip 26, the bar has moulded-on resilient bridge portions 132 which after the separator bar 20 has passed over them spring out upwards and lift the edge of the picture Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, separate metal leaf springs 136 may be provided.
The shape of the bars 134 can be seen from FIGS. 32 and 33. It is to be appreciated that they are mirror-symmetrical in shape and therefore have lands 68 at both ends with edges 72 The reason for this is that when the bars are to be coated automatically with the retentive coating no sorting is necessary. In addition, apertures 138 must of course be provided, through which project guide or wedge-like projections 140 for the separator bar which are moulded onto the bottom shell of the housing on the end at which it is gripped by the user. The bars are fixed in the bottom shell by pressing the lugs 142 into corresponding channels in the bottom shell f the housing, and they are accurately positioned by means of one of the two pins 144, namely by means of the pin remote from the grip part of the slider member, while the other pin has associated with it a slot in the housing.
The bars 134 at the same time form the guide for the control key 87 arranged in the plane of symmetry, the shape, arrangement and operation of which is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 23 to 25 FIG. 23 shows the operating position, that is to say, in this position of the control key 87 the normal changeover operation occurs The control key 87 carries a projection 146 which points towards the separator bar 20 and has an incision 148, to complement which there is a double-faced projection 150 on the underside of the separator bar 20 If the control key 87 is now pressed while the slider member is held firmly, its projection 146 springs out in a downward direction until the double-faced projection 150 locks into the incision 148 (FIG. 24, left). The locking lug 152 projecting downwards from the projection 146 now blocks the separating means for the edge of the bottom picture in the pile, so that when the slider member is pulled the hook-like members 22 slide away from the edge of this picture also when the separator bar together with the control key 87 acts on the edge of the pile nearest to it and takes the pile along with it (FIG. 24, centre) Near the outer end position of the slider member 14, the locking lug 152 meets a recess 154, while the control key guide lugs 158 run onto a stop member 156. The projection can accordingly spring out downwards when the slider member is pulled further, and thus release itself from the separator (FIG. 24, right). When the slider member 14 is pushed in again, the control key is freely movable, so that the doublefaced projection easily pushes the key in front of itself, until the key has reached its end position again (FIG. 25).
With reference to FIGS. 9 to 12, two types of construction of blocking means for the change o direction were described In the present example of execution, blocking means are also provided, but they act only in the "critical" phases of the changeover cycle.
FIGS. 28 and 29 show the shape of the co-operating parts of the separator bar and of the bars 134 with a retentive coating In the rest position (FIG. 28), thus with the slider member 14 completely pushed in, the shoes 69 sit laterally on the bars, while the pressing rollers 28 project into a recess behind the retentive coating so that their bearings are relieved of their loading and no deformation can occur because of cold flow . At the beginning of the changeover cycle (FIG. 29), the rollers then run first onto a land 178 and are thus lifted up to the level of the surfaces lying in front of the retentive coating 26, while the shoes are on the level of the land 68. The difference in level between 68 and 178 is of operational significance, since it is matched to the thickness of the pictures; both levels are on the same injection-moulded part, so that the tolerancing is extremely good, and there is no problem regarding the running of the rollers 28 onto the edge of the picture.
FIG. 34 shows in a simplified and enlarged view a longitudinal section through the pushed-together device. As in FIGS. 1 to 10, here too the separator bar has centrally a projection 93 which engages between holding-down members 40. When, as the slider member is pulled out, however, the topmost picture is still supported only laterally by the ribs 36, there is a risk that the topmost picture, or even several pictures, will slip off the separator. This is prevented by the holding-down members 81 on the housing having additionally an inclined stepped member 338 which checks at least the topmost picture for sufficiently long for its opposite edge to come to rest against the bottom side 386 of the separator and be gripped by the projection 93 thereof Because of the friction of the picture on the bottom surface 390 of the holding-down member 81, this state is maintained even when the pictures (photographic prints) are severely bowed.
The device shown in FIGS. 38 to 40 shows a further embodiment of the retaining means according to the invention The individual sheet 188 passes behind the separator bar 20 in the working gap between two rollers 300,306, at least one of which is driven in the same manner as that described for FIGS. 35 to 37. The other roller may also be driven directly by the first, or alternatively be moved by friction. The pressing force is produced by the fact that one of the rollers, preferably the one which is not driven, is of resiliently compressible construction, and its shaft is placed somewhat nearer to the other roller that would actually correspond to the diameter. The cross-section through such a resilient roller is shown in FIG. 40, from which it can be seen that blind recesses extend round the hub in a meandering arrangement so that there is always sufficient springiness available.
FIG. 41 shows a roller 300 which is rotatably supported in the housing 12, forming the second frame part in this case, which roller is driven by way of a toothed rack (not shown) mounted in the side pieces 44 of the slider member, and a pinion (not shown) arranged to drive with the roller at a peripheral speed which is equal to the withdrawal speed of the slider member. In this way, the separated picture 188 is apprehended behind the separator bar 20, pressed against the top wall 26 of the housing, along which it slides, and released in the outer end position of the slider member. It is to be understood that as feeding means one of the assemblies illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 34 and 42 to 82 is provided in each case, without this being also illustrated every time.
Different feeding means, shown in FIGS. 42 to 60, may cooperate with the described retaining means With a view to simplifying the description, comments in respect of FIGS. 35 to 41 apply analogously. Moreover, it should be noted that the retaining means according to the invention may be supplemented by further means, for instance with elements that engage the separated picture pincer-fashion.
FIG. 56 shows an embodiment having a plate 422 which has a retentive layer 26 which is able to engage frictionally and transport the sheet lying against it. The level arrangement is ensured by the mounting of the plate by means of a first pivot 424, and a second pivot 426 and a biassing spring, in this case a coiled torsion spring 428 with projecting ends.
FIGS. 77 to 81 serve to explain the so-called length compensation Since the sheets in fact have nominally equal dimensions, but these may be liable to large tolerances, especially in the case of photographic prints, there is a risk that operation will be disrupted when there are successive sheets of considerably different dimensions in the pile It is possible to solve this problem, however.
FIG. 77 shows in longitudinal section the situation after a changeover cycle A stop member provided on the slider member 14 has aligned the edges of the sheets remote from the separator 20 so that their ends projecting to different extents out of the pile - or standing back in the latter - form the configuration indicated in FIG. 77. The case of a longer sheet lying over a shorter sheet is shown separately again in FIG. 78, and FIG. 79 illustrates schematically what could happen if provision was not made for compensation the second lowest sheet places itself with its free projecting edge over the end edge of the lowest sheet, and when the separator bar 20 runs on, the situation shown in FIG. 80 occurs, in which the changeover operation is disturbed (double sheet changeover) In order to prevent this, means are provided in order first of all to align the edges of the sheets somewhat on the side of the pile facing towards the separator bar For this purpose there is firstly provided an "idle movement" of the separator bar 20 until it runs over the land 68. During this movement, therefore, no separation occurs. Nevertheless, the extreme edges of the sheets remote from the separator bar are already supported by a first contact face 230 during this idle movement travel. Sheets which are oversize are pressed back by the separator bar and spring away from the contact face 230; sheets which are undersize still remain on the first contact face. The sheets which have sprung away from the latter, however, are apprehended by a second contact face 22 which is provided at a distance 232 behind the first which corresponds to the maximum permissible difference in lengths of the sheets In FIG. 81 the shortest sheet is symbolised by the arrow 234, and the longest by the arrow 236 When the separator bar has passed through its idle movement, the shorter sheets are therefore supported by the first contact face and the longer sheets by the second contact face, so that approximately the situation shown in FIG. 79 is produced in the region of the edges of the sheets facing towards the separator bar It is sufficient here for the length compensation to be only approximate, so that the sheets are no longer flexible enough to allow the situation in FIG. 80 to occur.
FIG. 82 shows in schematicized partial longitudinal section an arrangement that holds down the remainder of the pile for the insertion of the separated sheet and blocks the return through-gap at the start of the changeover cycle.
Instead of the leaf spring 32, other means may be used in order to displace the edge of the individual sheet remote from the separator bar against the other housing edge. This is shown in FIG. 87 a guide member 318 has been pushed by a spring 320 beneath this edge of the sheet 188 and has raised it up in front of the pushing stop member 52, still during the first half of the changeover cycle. The other sheet edge is then, after the separator bar 20 has passed, lifted up by a leaf spring 79 in front of the return gap 310. Towards the end of the second phase of the changeover cycle, the separator bar then pushes the guide member 318 back. Instead of the spring 320, the guide member 318 could also, by means of coupling to the second frame part, but with a "phase shift", be moved to and fro by the latter. Instead of the movable guide member, inclined wing-like guide members which are capable of being pivoted in and out could be provided, without any change in the operating principle FIG. 88 shows schematically a plan view of the guide member 318, and FIG. 89 represents the situation at the point of reversal of the changeover cycle.
FIG. 90 shows a schematic side view of a mechanism which can be used instead of the lifting spring 79. A wire spring 324 is pivotable with its eye about a pin 322. One of its arms is angled and engages from outside transversely beneath the edge in question of the individual sheet, and the other arm can be moved over by engaging a stop member 326, carries the angled arm 328 along with it, and thus causes the edge of the sheet to be lifted. A limits-defining device 330 is indicated, in order to eliminate uncontrolled movements of the mechanism; the latter is indeed only to be switched over in the two end positions (rest position/ point of reversal).
The embodiment according to FIGS. 94 and 95 represents an embodiment in which the retaining means for the individual picture comprises retentive coatings 26 in the first frame part As a result of static charging, as mentioned above, the individual sheet may adhere so firmly to the retentive coatings that considerable forces are required to tear it away from them. It must however be guided onto the side of the frame part remote from the retentive coatings. The springs 136 are therefore provided centrally between two retentive coatings in each case. The edge of the individual sheet facing towards the separator bar 20 is lifted by a lever-like member 344 which is pressed down by means of actuator slopes 346 on the ends of the side pieces 44 of the slider member, while it is lifted up by a spring force (not illustrated). As can be seen from FIG. 95, the lever-like member extends over the entire width of the device and in particular italso engages with the individual sheet directly adjacent to the retentive coatings The shaft of the lever-like member is indicated by 348.
FIGS. 96 to 98 show another alternative form. On the separator bar 20, on both sides of the retentive coating 26, a thin plate-like member 350 is arranged so that it engages resiliently in a corresponding recess near the retentive coating. The two thin plate-like members are connected to each other by means of a bridge member 352 When the individual sheet runs through, each thin plate-like member is lifted up resiliently and snaps back into the recess after the rear edge of the sheet has passed, so that during the return travel the sheet edge in question is pulled away from the retentive coating and the edge has to climb up along the separator bar, since the return path through the other through gap is now securely blocked by means of the thin plate-like members.
FIG. 99 shows in a partial longitudinal sectional view an embodiment in which the separating means can be blocked at will by manual intervention. It is to be assumed that there is a separating means according to FIGS. 35, 36 but in this case only the separator bar 20 of the slider member is shown The land 354 is not stationary, as in FIGS. 35 and 36, but is movable in the direction of movement of the slider member, and displacement may be effected manually by means of a control key 87 projecting through the base 218 of the housing. In the position shown by solid lines, this corresponds to FIG. 35 (normal operation). But if the control key is displaced with the land towards the right, the wedge-shaped end 356 engages beneath the edge, facing towards it, of the bottom sheet 188 in the pile and lifts this edge onto the land 354, so that the through gap beneath the separator bar is "closed".
The pile removal function is also manually controllable in the embodiment according to FIG. 100 (partial longitudinal section) It is to be assumed that as initial construction the one according to FIGS. 65 and 66 is provided.
FIGS. 104 and 105 show in a partial longitudinal sectional view and in a partial plan view a further embodiment of a separating system that can be switched over for the removal of the pile It is to be assumed that in principle the type of construction according to FIG. 63, 64 is provided The land indicated by 68 in FIG. 61, which is also present in fact in FIG. 63, is very narrow, and therefore of double construction. The part 69 which defines the through gap and is arranged resiliently in the separator bar 20, has a recess opposite the gap between the two lands 68 Moulded onto the base 218 of the housing there is a control key 87 which can be pushed in and springs back, and which lifts up a blocking shoe 368 which with its forwardly-extending part blocks the through gap whilst it lies in front of the underside of the separator bar and engages behind the separator bar with a rearwardly-extending 370. On both sides of the latter projection, small leaf springs 372 press the blocking shoe in the direction of the base of the housing. If the control key 87 is pressed and the locking shoe is brought into a drive connection with the separator bar, with the separating function being blocked, and the slider member is now pulled, the blocking shoe is simply taken along also. During reinsertion, the small springs 372 then push the shoe into the release position again, where a trough-like recess is provided behind the run-up ramp 374.
Picture changers are known from U.S. Patent Specifications 4238898, 238899, 4241528, 4241529, 4245417, 4259802 and 4376348. These specifications are all based on the principle that a pile of pictures, especially photographic prints, is held by two frame parts that are movable relative to one another, one of which may have a viewing window During each complete cycle of movement of the frame parts, that is, pulling them fully away from each other and sliding them fully back together again, one picture is removed from one end of the pile and returned to the other end of the pile again. The picture changers have the following components for this:
The picture changers known from the above-mentioned publications use one and the same element for the feeding means and retaining means, which secures the individual sheet in the first frame part Since, however, the functions of these two devices are different, it is preferable for separate elements to be used.
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 888,332 filed July 11, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,748 entitled "Device for the Cyclic Rearrangement of a Pile of Rectangular or Square Sheets."
Citations de brevets Brevet cit� Date de d�p�t Date de publication D�posant TitreUS423889818 sept. 197816 d�c. 1980Licinvest AgPicture viewerUS424152918 sept. 197830 d�c. 1980Licinvest AgPicture viewerUS425980218 sept. 19787 avr. 1981Licinvest AgPicture viewerFR2403207A1 Titre non disponibleFR2403585A1 Titre non disponibleFaire pivoterImage d'origineAccueil Google - Plan du site - T�l�chargements par lot sur l'USPTO - R�gles de confidentialit� - Conditions d'utilisation - � propos de Google�Brevets - Envoyer des commentairesDonn�es fournies par IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google