Improved Method and Apparatus for Automatically Lifting and Feeding Single Sheets from a Pile of Paper to Machines used in the Paper and Printing Industry.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method and Apparatus for Automatically Lifting and
Feeding Single Sheets from a Pile of Paper to Machines used
in the Paper and Printing Industry.
I, ADOLF REISSER, of Fichtegasse 11, in the City of Vienna, in the Empire
of Austria, Printing Manager of the "Neue Freie Presse," do hereby declare
the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The subject matter of this invention relates to a method and apparatus for
effecting the automatic and periodic lifting of the upper sheet of a
pile of paper
automatically raised step by step as the pile decreases, and for automatically
feeding such sheet to the machine in the exact position required. For this purpose,
a series of arrangements and devices are employed, which can be fixed to every
machine in the paper and printing industry. As shown in the accompanying
drawings, these arrangements and devices are arranged on the table and feeding
board of a printing machine (fly-press) the sheets being lifted from the pile of
paper, brought into the correct position and fed to the printing cylinder of the fly-
press automatically.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a front view of the table and feeding board of a fly-press provided with
my improved devices.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the table,
Figs. 14, 1B, and 1° show in details different parts of the arrangement,
Fig. 3 is a section of the feeding board,
Fig. 4 a plan view of same,
Fig. 3 is a detail view
Fig. 5 shows the automatic mechanism for raising the table.
Fig. 6 is an automatic device for throwing the machine out of gear and which
only operates when a sheet of paper fails to be fed.
All the parts, arrangements and devices forming the subject matter of this
invention may be comprised in several groups, and for the sake of clearness and
brevity I shall divide same in such manner and describe each group separately.
Such groups are:-
1. The mechanism for lifting the upper sheet of a pile of paper;
2. The mechanism for feeding the sheets into the exact position required,
3. The mechanism for raising the table (for successively raising the pile of
paper);
4. The stopping mechanism, which throws the machine out of operation when a
sheet of paper fails to be fed.
The construction of these mechanisms, arrangements and devices and their
disposition, as shown in the drawings and as hereafter described, are only given in
order that the invention can be thoroughly understood; it will be evident that
such constructions may be modified in numerous ways, without departing from the
spirit of this invention.

page_text: The method of raising the upper sheet of paper is carried out in such manner
that the needles d, when in their lowest position, pick said upper sheet at any
suitable point, and that in consequence of the sliding movement of the fingers e (in
the direction of arrow a) on the upper face of such sheet, the latter slightly
inclines in an upward direction along the needle, the separator simultaneously
entering the opening thus formed between the upper sheet and the one immediately
underneath same and finally, that after the needles d have been drawn from the
hole, formed in the sheet, during their movement to the highest position, said sheet
is transferred over the separator to the feeding rollers c, c, in consequence of the
movement of the finger e (at this moment in the direction of arrow (B).
This reciprocating motion of the main parts-needles d, pushers e and
separators fis effected by the cam and by the two oscillating shafts h and i
operated by same.
Each of these shafts is provided with an arm h', i, carrying an antifriction roller
acting on the periphery of the cam g. The oscillating shaft h carries the two
arms which, by means of the connecting rods ³, cause the support to
reciprocate in an inclined direction.
-
Oblique guide ways or slots & engaging with the ends of this support d' are
provided for such purpose, and the needles d work parallel or nearly parallel to the
direction of such movement. The needles d are secured in the ends of holders d³,
which by means of springs (Figs. 1 and 1°) are held to the needle-carrier d so
that they yield; the latter is carried by the parts d adjustably connected to the
support d'. The other oscillating shaft carries the arms and The end of
the arm is linked to the angle lever i, an horizontal arm of which latter forms
the pusher e, whose head e' for pressing on the face of the upper sheet, is made of
indiarubber or other suitable material. The pressure of the pusher e on the upper
sheet is effected by the spring,attached to a horizontal extension of the angle
lever (Figs. 1 and 1^). The other arm actuates the support f¹ carrying the
separator, by means of the connecting rod i.
This support f¹ is rectilinearly guided in consequence of the guide slots and
thus receives a rectilinear reciprocating motion. It is evident that the number of
arms employed, corresponds to the number of pushers e, and that the arms ³
together with connecting rod are arranged in pairs or in larger numbers.
The operation of the mechanism is such that the upper sheet of the pile of
paper a is subjected at certain moments to the pushing and pressing action of the
pusher e (viz. from the starting point as shown by the position of e and ² in
Fig. 1, and then for a certain part of the motion in the direction of the arrow a).
At these moments the pusher e is raised a little when it takes a position a certain
distance above the upper sheet. The individual parts of the raising device
arranged for this purpose are mounted on the two transverse supports K, K, (the
one in Fig. 1 being angle-iron, the other round-bar iron). The bar K' clamped to
both supports K, K, carries the oscillating arm K³ around which the oscillating
bolt K turns, said arm K³ being supported on the bar K' by means of the adjusting
screw K; the side nose e³ of the pusher e glides during part of the movement of e
in the direction of the arrow a on the horizontal face of the adjusting screw K
the pushere being thus slightly raised. The bar K¹ also carries the adjusting
screw K which, by its action on the vertical arm of the angle lever at the
starting point of e and (Fig. 1) raises the pusher e slightly above the upper
sheet of the pile of paper (Figs. 1A and 1B); in Fig. 2 the levers and are
shown in their centre positions whereas in Fig. 1 they are shown in their extreme
position to the left.
The operation of the mechanism described for raising the upper sheet of paper,
is as follows:-
The cam y rotating in the direction of the arrow a operates by its projecting
parts first the shaft h, with roller h', and swing arm h, and with this the support d'
together with the needle carriers d', the holders d and needles d, corresponding to
the rectilinear movement permitted by the guide-ways or slots d², in an oblique

page_text: and downward direction, until the point of the needle comes in contact with the
upper sheet of the pile of paper.
When, now, the swing arm is raised by the projection on g, the arms &* and
are moved in the direction of the arrow a.
The pusher immediately falls on the upper sheet and commences to draw same
in the direction of the arrow a, whereupon the end of the sheet picked by the
needle d is slightly raised along same, an opening being formed in which the
separator enters. The picked sheet which is pushed to the right and raised along
the needle, is then released from the action of the pusher e by the nose e³ of the
pushere coming in contact with the face K', said pushere being then slightly
raised. The nose e² does not fall from the face K' until the extreme limit to the
right is almost attained. In the meantime the needle d is moved into its upper
position by the ing arm h' running down the slope of the projection of the cam g
and thus returns to its original position; the sheet hanging on same is then pushed
off the needle by the metal stripper preferably acting on the needle like a fork.
Finally the two arms and return from the end of the right stroke in the
direction of the arrow ẞ and the upper sheet is now pushed in the same direction
to the feeding rollers c, c.
l
When
The pushere at the same time moves underneath the under face of K', where-
upon the oscillating arm K', which yields in an upward direction, is slightly raised
and thereby constantly exerts a downward pressure on the side nose e³ of e.
the extreme position to the left is reached, the pusher e, by the action of the
adjustable screw K on the vertical arm cf the angle-lever i, is slightly raised and
takes up the original position shown in Fig. 1.
The feeding of the sheets from the pile a to the board m is effected in proper
order by the feeding rollers c, c.
Reference might be made to the adjustability of the individual parts of the
construction, as will be seen on referring to Figs. 1 and 2, although such is only a
secondary feature of the invention, yet nevertheless by no means, unimportant in
the carrying out of same.
(2.)
THE MECHANISM FOR FEEDING AND ADJUSTING THE SHEETS.
The sheet carried from the feeding board m passes along the inclined plane m¹
as soon as it is caught by the rollers c, c, and for avoiding the front edge of the
paper being mutilated by contact with the setting point of the printing cylinder
passes first with a sufficiently reduced speed-under the clamps n, which does
not exert too great a pressure on the feeding board and which retards the paper
sliding down the incline, in the most preferable manner for bringing same to a
standstill.
Immediately after the sheet has reached the clamps n, however the latter are
raised and the sheet then glides with a velocity, which, as will be seen, cannot
become too rapid, until it reaches the setting point o of the printing-cylinder p.
In this position the sheet of paper laying free on the feeding-board m is auto-
matically brought in line to the setting-point o with its front edge and one of its side
edges (right or left) is also adjusted, this being effected by the adjustment of the
sheet on the feeding board m, by means of a special device likewise operated
automatically.
9
The catchers q do not fall until the exactly adjusted position is attained, such
adjustment being necessary as well for reprints as for prints in several colors or
for making other productions of the paper and printing industries; the sheet of
paper is then carried along with the rotating printing-cylinder p or transferred
from the board m to the machine.
The clamps or brakes and reciprocating devices arranged on the board m are
automatically operated from the shaft (Figs. 1, 3 and 4).
The clamps n are mounted on the shaft n' carrying the arm n³, at the end of

page_text: which the two armed lever n is attached by the link n*, the other end of n' carrying
the roller n being actuated by the cam n°. The adjusting members s are clamped
to a frame ',,, which receives a rectilinear reciprocating motion from the
oscillating shafts, to which the lever & with the rollers 8 at the end of same is
clamped, said rollers being actuated by the cams; on the oscillating shaft are
also secured by set screws the two levers which operate the guides 2, 3, of the
frame by means of the connecting rods st, said guides being mounted on the
forks s³, 8, 83, 8³.
The adjusters m², m³, adjustably arranged on the metal sheet m¹ of the feeding
board m, serve as preliminary guides for the sheets of paper from the rollers c, c,
according to the inclination of the feeding board, and also for bringing the sheet
which has got moved either to the right or left into its exact position by striking
against m² or m³.
The adjusting members s operate with such a moderate pressure and so closely
to the adjusting edge (for striking m³ or m³) that they slide with comparatively
little friction on the surface of the sheet of paper already in position, without the
latter being folded or creased in its passage between the point where it is caught
by the adjusting members and the sheet adjustor. When the members s are in
their outermost position, the sheet of paper is released from the action of such
members by the latter resting on bars m*, m, or m³, m¹.
The modification in Fig. 34 shows an arrangement of this adjusting devices
which allows of same being turned 180° (as shown by dotted lines) without it
being necessary to remove same from the frame s³, 8³, 8².'
The surface of the pile of papers a becomes lower as the sheets pass from same.
In order, therefore, that the upper sheet of paper is subjected to the most uniform
action of the needles d pusher e and separator f, it is necessary that the whole pile
of paper can be raised in the ratio of the decreasing pile of paper, this being
effected by automatically raising the plate b.
The essential parts of this mechanism for raising the table are shown in Fig. 5.
The vertically movable plate 6 mounted on the rack 6' is moved upwardly from
time to time by wheel gear.
This takes place when the pawl falls into one of the teeth of the ratchet-
wheel 62 after contact has been made in the circuit t. For attaining this end, the
pawl forms one of the arms of the angle lever, whose other arm
carries an armature which is attracted by the electromagnet 6 when the circuit
is closed.
The angle lever 64 and the electro-magnet 6 are secured to one slide ', which
receives a uniform rectilinear reciprocating motion from any part of the machine,
and the arm 68 of a connecting rod 610 pressed downwards by the spring 6 rests on
the pile of paper a, said rod 60 carries at its lower end the contact 6", which, when
the surface of the pile of paper a, has lowered a certain distance closes the circuit
by its contact with the insulated metal piece 6" and thus the plate b is automatically
If a sheet of paper which should be carried over the separator to the feeding-
board m fails to pass at the proper time-whether it be où account of the pile of
paper being finished or on account of some accident or break having occurred with
the sheet-feeding mechanism-the mechanism shown in Fig. 6 throws the whole
machine out of gear, for instance, by. shifting the driving belts off the fixed on to
the loose pulley as customary.

page_text: The sheet of paper carried to the feeding-board m passes underneath a contact
spring, which presses against the separator f, when a sheet does not pass that
point. The contact spring is secured to the stripper 1 (Figs. 1 and 2) the latter
being attached to the insulated bar . The circuit u is also interrupted at another
point; the cam g therefore has a contact g', which closes the circuit with contact g³,
when a sheet is or should be fed between the contact spring and separator f. In
this circuit is the coil of an electro-magnet v which is attached to a slide
together with the armature lever w, said slider being connected to some operating
parts of the machine from which it receives a continuous reciprocating
movement.
If the sheet for some cause or another fails to pass between the contact spring "
and separatorf, the circuit is closed, the armature w attracted and the end of the
latter then abuts against the angle lever y, which in its normal position retains the
stopping lever z; in consequence of the action of the spring z¹ the latter thus takes
up its other position, whereupon the machine is thrown out of gear and brought to
a standstill. When the lever is in that position it closes the circuit by
actuating a contact, when the alarm-bell rings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An improved method of automatically lifting single sheets for machines used
in the paper and printing industry, in which the sheet to be lifted is picked up by
obliquely arranged needles and glides along the latter in an upward direction as
the sheet retreats, whereupon each sheet is. separated by the separators entering
the opening formed between the raised sheet and the one immediately underneath
same, and finally, after the needles have been drawn out of the raised sheet, the
latter being transferred to the feeding rollers, which catch and carry same forward,
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
2. An improved apparatus for automatically lifting single sheets for machines
used in the paper and printing industry the combination with obliquely arranged
and axially movable needles, for picking up the sheets to be lifted of pushers
effecting a pressing and sliding action on the surface of said sheet, of separators
which enter the opening formed between said sheet and the one immediately
underneath same, of strippers which remove the lifted sheet from the needles and
finally of feeding rollers which catch the raised sheets and carry same forward,
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
3. An improved apparatus for automatically raising single sheets for machines
used in the paper and printing industry, the combination with obliquely arranged
and axially operating needles for picking up the sheet to be raised, of pushers
effecting a pressing and sliding action on the surface of said sheet, of releasing
means for temporarily releasing the action of the pushers on the sheets whilst the
latter are being lifted and carried forward by the feeding rollers, such means
effecting the raising of the pushers above the lifted and advancing sheet, of
separators inserted between the said sheet and the one immediately beneath same,
of strippers releasing the lifted sheet from the needles and finally of feeding
rollers which catch the raised sheets and carry same forward, substantially as
described and shown in the drawings.
4. An apparatus for automatically lifting single sheets for machines used in the
paper and printing industry, comprising obliquely arranged and axially operating
needles for picking the sheet to be raised, pushers for temporarily acting on the
sheets, means for raising such pushers above the lifted sheet, such means temporarily
acting, whilst said sheet, after gliding along the needles in an upward direction, is
held by said needles, separators inserted between the said sheet and the one
immediately beneath same, of strippers releasing the lifted sheet from the needles
and finally of feeding rollers which catch the raised sheets and carry same forward,
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.

page_text: 5. An improved apparatus for automatically lifting single sheets for machines.
used in the paper and printing industry the combination with obliquely arranged
and axially operating needles for picking the sheet to be raised, of pushers effecting
a pressing and sliding action on the surface of said sheet, of means for raising the
pushers above the sheet of paper during its course to the feeding rollers, by which
it is caught and carried forward, such means temporarily acting, whilst the said
sheet, after gliding along the needles in an upward direction, is held by said needles,
separators inserted between the said sheet and the one immediately beneath same,
of strippers releasing the lifted sheet from the needles and finally of feeding
rollers which catch the raised sheets and carry same forward, substantially as
described and shown in the drawings.
6. A method of automatically feeding single sheets to machines used in the
paper and printing industry and of automatically transmitting same to such
machines in the exact position, according to which the sheets to be fed after sliding
down an inclined plane are retarded in their movement by the action of clamps
such clamps being then released, when the sheet advances a short distance further
along the inclined plane until it comes in contact with the setting point and being
finally adjusted or worked into the exact position by the action of laterally
operating adjusting members, the sheet being thus transferred to the machine,
substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
'
7. In combination with the feeding board of a machine used in the paper and
printing industry, clamps retarding the movement of the sheet sliding down the
inclined plane, which clamps are immediately afterwards released by being raised,
adjusting members bringing the sheet into exact position and, after attaining such
exact position, said adjusting members being released, a lifting mechanism for
temporarily releasing said clamps, means for temporarily releasing or raising the
adjusting members after the sheet has attained its exact position, finally setting
devices for adjusting as well the forward as the side edges of the sheet, all such
parts effecting the automatic feeding of the sheets and transmitting same to the
machine in the exact position, substantially as described and shown in the
drawings.
8. In machines used in the paper and printing industry, a mechanism for succes-
sively and automatically raising the table leaf bearing the pile of paper in the
ratio of the feeding of the sheets, comprising, a means for raising the table-leaf, a
constantly reciprocating member, being permitted to actuate the table mechanism
by a releasable device temporarily coupling the said part and the raising gearing,
a feeler constantly resting on the upper sheet of paper, an electric contact in direct
connection with said feeler and finally a circuit which is opened or closed by such
contact and which when closed effects the coupling of the device, substantially as
described and shown in the drawings.
9. In machines used in the paper and printing industry, a stopping mechanism
for automatically throwing the machine out of gear when a sheet of paper has
failed to pass a certain point, whether it be because the pile of paper is finished or
because an accident or bre kage has occurred with the feeding mechanism, con-
sisting of the combination with a circuit normally interrupted at two points, of a
contact made at said point acting where the sheet should pass, in such manner that
the sheet passing this point breaks the contact of a second contact arranged on the
mechanism driving the feeding device and acting in such manner that at the moment
a sheet fed or to be fed passes the said point the circuit is closed, finally of a means
for stopping the device driving the machine, which operates when the circuit is
closed owing to a sheet not being fed, substantially as described and shown in the
drawings.
Dated this 16th dow of Iul 1901
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.