IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FEEDING SHEETS OF PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSES AND OTHER MACHINES REQUIRING TO BE, SIMILARLY FED
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FEEDING
SHEETS OF PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSES AND OTHER MACHINES REQUIRING TO
BE, SIMILARLY FED."-A communication from abroad by John Thomas
Ashley, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
'at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd August 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
FEEDING SHEETS OF PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSES AND OTHER MACHINES REQUIRING
TO BE SIMILARLY FED," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention consists in the employment in con-
junction with a vertically moving table upon which the paper to be fed

page_text: from the machine is supported, of a rectilinear horizontally reciprocating
suction chest for picking up the sheets one at a time, and also of such
an arrangement of a blast in relation to said suction chest as will allow a
current of air to be directed beneath each top sheet as it is lifted from
the pile.
Second. In constructing the bottom of the suction box with a curved
or waved surface perforated, and thus adapted for picking or gathering
up and holding each topmost sheet so as to effect a more positive
separation of the same from the succeeding lower sheets by allowing air
to enter between them.
Third. In providing for automatically elevating the table upon which
the pile of paper is supported in a given ratio with respect to the removal
of the sheets, and in combining therewith an arrangement for stopping
the further ascent of the table when the sheets have all been removed
from it, and also for facilitating the depression of the table again to
receive upon it another pile.
Fourth. In combining a registering scale and index with the table of a
paper-feeding machine in such manner that by a simple adjustment the
ascent of the table can be caused to stop automatically at any desired
point of elevation, according to the height of the pile or the number of
sheets contained therein.
The reciprocating suction chest is connected with an exhaust which
causes it to lift the forward end of the top sheet, it being assisted by a
blast from an adjacent blast chamber, which blast will act on the under
side of the lifted sheet and ensure its being carried singly to the feed
rollers or their equivalents.
The table of the paper-feeding machine is provided with an elevating
and depressing screw in combination with geering and other mechanical
devices which will automatically stop the ascent of the table at the
desired moment, and also will allow the table to be run down by hand
through the application of a key crank to any desired point. Projecting
from the side of the table is a finger, which as the table rises strikes
against an adjustable tooth carried by a lever that actuates a pawl to
stop the upward movement of the table when the paper is exhausted or
the feed completed. For facilitating the adjustment of the tooth on its
lever it is fitted with a pointer which lies opposite a graduated scale
formed on the lever carrying the tooth. The suction chest is operated
by rock levers, and it is preferred so to arrange, guide, and controll its

page_text: action as to cause it to ride perpendicularly while picking up a sheet of
paper, then to remain stationary for a moment, and then to move forward
horizontally and deliver the sheet between the feed rollers or their
equivalents.
As a modification of the suction chest for a paper-feeding machine it
may be constructed with a flexible or bellows bottom, the bottom being
formed of jointed sections and connected to the upper section by a flexible
air-tight material.
It is also proposed to apply rigid or flexible fingers to the front of the
suction chest of the paper-feeding machine, which fingers will enter the
paper more effectually into the bite of the feed rollers, more especially
when those rollers are not continuous cylinders.
For more effectually preventing the adherence of one or more sheets of
paper to the top sheet when lifted, frictional stripping devices, such for
example, as elastic fingers may be used, the same being placed at the
side of the pile. Diagonally arranged brushes or friction rollers or their
equivalents may be applied to the top of the pile of paper for dis-
engaging the top sheet from the pile, and thus facilitating its being
raised by the suction chest.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,

page_text: should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FEEDING
SHEETS OF PAPER TO PRINTING PRESSES AND OTHER MACHINES REQUIRING TO BE
SIMILARLY FED," being a communication to me from abroad by John
Thomas Ashley, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, United States
of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
-
The first part of this Invention consists in the employment in con-
junction with a vertically moving table, upon which the paper to be fed
from the machine is supported of a rectilinear horizontally reciprocating
suction chest for picking up the sheets one at a time, and also of such
an arrangement of a blast in relation to said suction chest as will
allow a current of air to be directed beneath each top sheet as it is lifted
from the pile.
Second. In constructing the bottom of the suction box with a curved
or waved surface perforated and thus adapted for picking up and holding
each topmost sheet so as to effect a more positive separation of the same
from the succeeding lower sheets by allowing air to enter between them.
Third. In providing for automatically elevating the table upon which
the pile of paper is supported in a given ratio with respect to the removal
of the sheets, and in combining therewith certain means for stopping
the further ascent of the table when the sheets have all been removed
from it, and also for depressing the table again to receive upon it another
pile.
Fourth. In combining a registering scale and index with the table
of a paper-feeding machine in such manner that by a simple adjustment
the ascent of the table can be caused to stop automatically at any desired

page_text: point of clevation according to the height of the pile or the number of
sheets contained therein.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1, Sheet I., is an elevation of one
side of the improved paper feeding machine. Fig. 2 is a top or plan
view of the machine with the upper portion of the air trunk removed;
Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally and centrally through
the machine; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken through the frame of
the machine below the vertically moveable table showing the mechanism
by which this table is raised and lowered; Fig. 5 is a section taken
vertically and transversely through the machine in the plane indicated
by dotted line x, x, in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the
graduated lever, its adjustable pointer, and tooth, and also the toc or
projection which is applied to the vertically moveable table for acting
against said tooth.
In reference to the Figures above referred to A represents a rectangular
frame within which is arranged a vertically moveable horizontal table J
on which the pile of sheets to be fed from the machine is supported, as
shown by red lines in Figs. 3 and 5. Above this table J and at ouć ond
of the frame A are standards B, B, which afford elevated bearings for a
horizontal transverse driving shaft B'. To the extremities of this shaft
grooved excentrics C, C, are. keyed which receive around them the yokes
which are on the rear ends of pitman rods C¹, C. The pitman rods C¹, C¹,
are extended forward and downward and are pivotted to the ends of a
horizontal transverse chest F, which I shall denominate the suction
chest, and which is guided in its ways A', A', so as to receive a horizontal
reciprocating motion. This suction chest F is constructed with a
perforated waved bottom as shewn in Fig. 5 for a reason herein-after
explained, and it is in communication with the elevated overhanging
end of a trunk or pipe E by means of a flexible pipe E¹ applied at its
lower end to a nozzle c of the suction chest F. The trunk or pipe E is
carried backward beneath the shaft B' and is suitably connected with an
exhausting fan or suction engine of any desired description whereby a
continuous exhaustion of air can be maintained through the chest F.
Any other convenient arrangement of the trunk E may be adopted. At
a suitable point a hole is made through the trunk E and provided with
a valve 9 for tightly closing it against the ingress of air. This valve is
applied to one end of a lever G which has its fulcrum at g' and which
extends beneath the shaft B and beneath a cam segment G' on this

page_text: shaft. The cam segment is adjusted in such relation to the movements
imparted to the suction chest F by excentrics C, C, and pitman rods C¹, C¹,
that this cam will lift the valve at the proper moment for delivering a
sheet of paper between the rollers V, V, and thus cause a release of the
sheet from said chest. The valve g will then be closed by the action of a
spring bearing against the under side of the lever G and remain closed
until the chest Fagain reaches a point in its forward stroke for delivering
another sheet between the rollers V, V. The two rollers V, V, which
may be employed for carrying off the sheets from the machine are
supported by bearings S, S, applied to the front end of the frame A
and are arranged so that their bite is in or nearly in a horizontal plane
coinciding with the bottom of the chest F. Other contrivances suitable
for gripping the sheets and carrying them off may be adopted instead
of said rollers. Between the rollers V, V, and the suction chest, when
the latter is in, the position shewn in Fig. 1, I arrange a blast chamber
- N into which air is forced from any suitable engine through the nozzle n.
This chamber extends transversely across the frame A, and bas a
narrow outlet through which air in a thin sheet is expelled backward.
The current of air is thus caused to act upon the paper to assist in the
operation of separating each top sheet from the pile. The suction
chest F is constructed with a curved or waved bottom surface as shewn
in Fig. 5, which will present a greater length of surface over the pile
of paper than would be the case if the said bottom surface was flat or
parallel to the surface of the paper on the table. This being the caso
it is obvious that during the act of picking up a sheet of paper the
lateral edges of the sheet will be drawn inwardly away from the corre-
sponding edges of the next sheet below, thereby freeing the top sheet.
It will also be seen that by giving each sheet the movement above
described at the commencement of the act of lifting it the blast of air
will be allowed to enter between such sheet and the next lower one
which will greatly add to the certainty of separation. On one end of
the shaft B' a pulley D is keyed, over which a belt a passes that com-
municates rotary motion to a pulley D¹ on one side of the frame A.
This pulley D¹ is applied fast to a wheel D°, on the periphery of which
is an elevation d which is intended to give a vibrating impulse to a
lever D³ once in every rotation of the shaft B¹. The lever D³ is pivotted
to the frame A at d, and between its lower forked end is the end of a
lever c, this latter lever is arranged in a horizontal plane acted upon by
a spring c¹ and loosely pivotted to an extension f² of a slide f¹. The

page_text: slide f¹ is fitted into a groove made in the frame A, and on the front
end of this slide a pawlf is fastened so as to act upon a pinion or ratchet
wheel 6. The teeth of the wheel 62 engage with the teeth of a large
spur wheel 6' and the teeth of this wheel engage with the teeth of a
spur wheel b; this wheel b has arising centrally from it a screw M
which is received into the female screw socket M' that is made fast on.
the bottom of the table J, as shewn in Fig. 3. A rod j extends trans-
versely across the frame A beneath the table J, and is arranged in such
relation to the pawlf as to serve as a means for disengaging this pawl
from its pinion or ratchet wheel 62. One end of the rod j is pivotted
to the lower end of a slotted lever R, see Fig. 5, which has its fulcrum at
¹, and which extends from the bottom to the top of the frame A on one
side thereof. Above the fulcrum ¹ the lever R is slotted for receiving
the shank of a vertically adjustable tooth m shewn in Figures 5 and 6.
This tooth m passes through a vertical slot which is made through one
side of the frame A and can be adjusted up or down and set at any
required point on the lever R. The set screw t and a plater and are used
to confine the tooth m in place, and the plate r is tapered at one end
so as to serve as a pointer. On one side of the lever R, and on the
outer side thereof, a scale is marked off, as clearly shewn in Fig. 6, which
scale with the pointer will indicate the position of the tooth m with
respect to the height of table J. On one side of the table J directly in
line vertically with the tooth ma toe i is fixed having double bevilled
surfaces. The inner end of the tooth m is bevilled so that when the
toe i presses against it by the ascent of the table J this toe will force
outwardly the upper end of the lever R and press the rod j against the
pawlf so as to disengage the latter from its wheel 62, and thus stop the
further ascent of the table J. The adjustable tooth m in combination
with the pointer r, the set screw t, and the scale or lever R will admit
of adjusting the machine for running off any given number of sheets, the
upward motion of the table ceasing when such number has been run
off. A post or hub P having a socket in its upper end for receiving a
key rises from the centre of the wheel 6', and directly over this hub a
hole P¹ is made through the table J, through which a key crank can be
introduced and inserted into the socket in the hub P. By turning the
key crank the pawlf being disengaged from the wheel 62 the table J can
be rapidly depressed.
•
The nature of the second part of this Invention consists, first, in a
pneumatic suction chest which receives a vertical and also a horizontal

page_text: movement, and which is so arranged, guided, and controlled as to pick
up sheets of paper one at a time from a pile of paper and deliver the
sheets between rollers, grippers, or other equivalent receiving and
carrying devices.
Second. In a pneumatic suction chest which is constructed with a
flexible bellows bottom in such manner that in the act of picking up
the topmost sheet of a pilé, the edges of such sheet will be lifted
somewhat higher than the central portion to allow blasts of air to be
directed laterally beneath the sheet, and thereby facilitate the separation
of the sheet from the succeeding lower one.
Third. In the construction of a pneumatic suction chest with rigid
or flexible hollow fingers projecting from its bottom, which fingers are
arranged at suitable distances apart and adapted by the action of
draughts of air to pick up sheets of paper one at a time and deliver the
same either between rollers or other equivalent gripping devices.
Fourth. In the employment in a paper-feeding machine of stripping
devices which will, when arranged in proper relation to the edges of
a pile of sheets, offer such resistance to the edges of a sheet in the act
of lifting it from the pile as will prevent two sheets rising together.
Fifth. In the employment of flexible or rigid picking up .fingers
applied to and communicating with a suction chest in combination with
annularly grooved feed rollers or grippers, whereby each sheet is firmly
held until it is delivered between the said rollers or grippers.
Sixth. In providing for keeping the sheets of paper upon the table
in proper position for presentation to the feed rollers or their equivalents
by means of pushing rollers, brushes, or other equivalent devices applied
to a rotating shaft which is arranged diagonally to the length of the
feed movement of the sheets, which devices will move the topmost sheets
laterally and forward against a straight edge or guide upon the frame of
the machine.
Seventh. In such an arrangement of blast pipes in a paper-feeding
machine as will admit of the introduction of air inwardly from the sides
of the machine, and direct the currents beneath the topmost sheet when
the latter is lifted from the pile.
In Sheet II. of the Drawings Fig. 7 is an elevation of one side of the
improved machine, indicating the several parts in position for picking
up a sheet from the pile upon the table; Fig. 8 is a top or plan view of
the machine with the several parts in the same relative positions as

page_text: indicated in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a section taken longitudinally through the
centre of the machine with the several parts in the same relative positions,
as indicated in Figures 7 and 8; Fig. 10 is a similar view of the same
parts, shewn in Fig. 9, indicating them in the act of delivering a sheet
of paper between the feed rollers; Fig. 11 is a vertical transverse section
taken centrally through the suction chest, and its immediate connections
when in the position indicated in Figures 7, 8, and 9; Fig. 12 is a
vertical section through the suction chest after it has picked up a sheet
and just before this chest is elevated and moved forward to deliver the
sheet between the feed rollers; Fig. 13 is an elevation of one side of the
machine shewing a cam and lever applied to it for operating a laterally
moveable foot or pusher upon the sheets to assist in separating them one
at a time from succeeding lower sheets; Fig. 14 is a top or plan view of
one side of the machine with the said pushing foot and its acting parts
applied; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of these feet; Fig. 16 is a
sectional view shewing one set of flexible strippers which may be used
to assist in separating the lateral edges of the topmost sheets of paper
from the pile during the operation of lifting the sheets; and Fig. 17 is
a bottom view of the suction chest on a reduced scale.
In carrying this the second part of the Invention into effect it
is preferred to employ the same means as above described with reference
to Sheet I. of the Drawings for automatically elevating the table upon
which the pile of paper is supported so that the upward movement
of the table shall be commensurate with the gradual diminution of the
height of the pile of paper caused by the removal of the sheets one at a
time, thereby keeping the topmost sheet always at a given distance from
the picking-up device; other devices may, however, be employed for this
purpose if preferred, such, for instance, as weights and pulleys and
the like.
paper
The frame A of the machine is of a rectangular form, consisting of
vertical sides and ends suitably connected and adapted for receiving and
supporting the devices which I shall now describe. Within the frame A
is the vertically moveable table B, upon which the pile of
indicated
by red lines, Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12, is supported. This table is moved
upward during the operation of removing sheets of paper from it; C is
a horizontal shaft which extends transversely across that end of the
franie A at which the pile of paper is introduced, which shaft is supported
by elevated bearings and provided on its ends with two segmental

page_text: cams c¹, c¹, and two excentric cams c, c; D, D, are two levers which
are provided with arms d, d, and which pass freely through fulcrum
guides D¹, D, applied to the sides of the frame A. The segments c¹, c',
in their revolution depress the rear ends of the levers D, D, by their
action upon the arms d, d, of these levers, and the excentrics c, c, by
acting on the rear ends of said levers move them forward. The front
ends of the levers D, D, are connected by pivots e to blocks e¹ which are
secured to and rise perpendicularly from the ends g of a suction chest G.
The ends g of the top board of the suction chest G are fitted to slide
horizontally in guide ways F, F, which latter are fixed to the upper ends
of vertically moving sashes S, S, the suction chest G is thus guided
horizontally in its forward and backward movements, and also guided
vertically by the sashes S, S. These sashes are applied on the outer sides
of the frame A, and guided between the side pieces S', S', as shewn
in Figures 7 and 13. The segments c', c¹, operating on the arms d, d,
of the levers D, D, raise the sashes S, S, and with them the suction
chest G, and while in this elevated position the excentrics c, c, operating
on the ends of the said levers move the suction chest forward far enough
to allow a sheet of paper to be taken hold of by the rollers H, H. The
springs s will cause the depression of the sashes S, S, and the suction
chest, and the springs d², d², will cause the retraction of the suction box
by holding the ends of the levers D, D, forcibly against the peripheries
of the excentrics c, c. The object of elevating the suction chest G is to
raise the topmost sheet of the pile of paper some distance above the pile
so as to free it therefrom, also to bring the forward part of the sheet into
proper relation with the height of the feed rollers H, H, so that when the
succeeding forward movement of the suction chest terminates the sheet
will be delivered into the bite of said rollers.
It will be seen by reference to Fig. 7 that the peripheries of the
lifting cams c¹ are concentric to the axis of their shaft C, consequently
the suction chest will be sustained at a given invariable height during
its full forward strokes. It will also be seen that the cams and excentrics
are so adjusted on the shaft C that after the first picking-up movement
of a sheet hereafter to be explained there is a repose before the further
clevation of the sheet to allow the action of lateral blasts of air to effect
a positive separation of such sheet from the pile. The suction chest G
is arranged transversely across the frame A, and
guides F, F, on sashes S, S, as above described.
supported by the
This chest which

page_text: receives vertical and horizontal bodily movements is constructed with a
flexible bottom R, composed of two stiff pieces connected together at the
centre of the chest and also connected to the sides and ends of the top
board of the chest by means of any suitable flexible material which is
impervious to air. The lower edges of the longitudinal side pieces of the
upper portion of the chest are inclined from their ends to a point at the
middle of their length as shewn in Figures 11 and 12, so that when air
is exhausted from the chest G the bottom sections R thereof will assume
the inclined positions indicated in Fig. 12, thereby raising a sheet of
paper higher from the pile at its sides than at its central position. When
the air is not exhausted from the chest G, the sections R, R, will assume
the position indicated by Fig. 11. either by their own gravity alone or
assisted by springs in the chest. If the bottom edges of the sides of the
upper portion of chest G were inclined from the centre of this chest
downwardly then the sheets would be lifted higher at the middle of their
width than at their lateral edges. To this flexible bottom hollow
fingers are applied having openings o at their under side. These
fingers n extend forward from the chest a suitable distance, and by the
exhaustion of air from this chest they are caused to pick up the topmost
sheet from a pile of paper on the table beneath them. Apertures are also
formed through the bottom of the chest as shewn in Fig. 17. By this
manner of using a suction chest with narrow fingers, a twofold object is
secured, viz., the sheet when lifted by suction against the bottom of
the chest and fingers will be sustained and kept from drooping and the
narrow extended fingers will permit the sheet to be carried close up to
and delivered between the feed rollers or between the grippers of a
printing press.
In Figures 9 and 10 the fingers n are represented as being rigidly
applied to the flexible sections R, R, of the suction chest, and are thus
dependent for their movements on the movements of said sections, but
T

page_text: shewn at Fig. 8, for the purpose of admitting between them the said
fingers during the act of delivering a sheet between these rollers. The
exhaustion of air from the chest G is continuous and may be effected
by any suitable exhausting fan or engine put in communication with
said chest by means of a flexible pipe applied to the nozzle g¹, as
described under the first part of this Invention. On one side of the
nozzle g¹ in a valve G¹, the stem G² of which is pivotted at h to the top
of the chest G, and its outer end is arranged between two lugs i, i, on
one of the guides F, as shewn in Figures 8 and 14. Beneath the valve G
a hole is made through the top of the chest G, which hole when
uncovered will allow the influx of air into the chest and thus counteract
the upward pressure of air against the sheet beneath this chest and its
fingers n. The lugs i, i, on the guide F are so adjusted that when the
suction chest G reaches the terminus of its forward stroke the forward
lug i will cause the valve G¹ to uncover the hole v and thus free the sheet
from the suction chest and its fingers, and when the chest returns to the
terminus of its back stroke the rear lug i will cause the valve G¹ to close
the opening v. In rear of the suction chest and arranged in a horizontal
plane is a shaft K which extends diagonally across the frame A over the
table B. This shaft carries friction wheels k, k, which may have brushes
applied to their peripheries, or which may be provided with cloth or
other frictional material. Rotary motion being imparted to the shaft K
from the driving shaft C or otherwise, the wheels K will move the
topmost sheets of paper laterally and forward, and keep the edges evenly
in contact with one side and the front end of the frame A, thereby
automatically adjusting the sheets on the table B in proper position to be
fed to a printing press or other machines. For the purpose of positively
separating the sheets of paper from the pile during the act of lifting
them one at a time blasts of air are employed, the same being directed
inwardly from opposite sides of the frame A; to do this effectively tubes j
pass through the sides of the frame A from a trunk J, J', J², and arc in-
clined so as to direct the currents downwardly upon the pile of paper, and
inwardly between the sheet which is being raised and the succeeding
lower sheets. These blasts are continuous, and consequently operate
during the act of moving forward each sheet. By arranging the blast
pipes on opposite sides of the frame A two edges of the pile of paper
are acted on by the currents whilst an arrangement of blast pipes in
front of the pile of paper would direct currents of air upon one edge
only of the pile. In conjunction with a suction chest frictional strippers

page_text: are employed for picking up the sheets singly. These it is preferred to
make of india-rubber pieces p suitably secured in boxes P, and if desired
adjustable lengthwise therein, the pieces p are arranged so that their
inner bevilled ends overhang the lateral edges of the pile of paper on the
table B, and thereby operate with some degree of resistance upon the
edges of each sheet while it is being freed from its pile and also
operate in like manner upon the edges of the succeeding lower sheets,
These strippers will in this manner hold down the sheets by their edges
so that only the topmost sheet can be raised at a time. The arrange-
ment of the thin bevilled strips p between spacing pieces, and so that
their inner or bevilled ends overhang one another, as shewn in Fig. 16
is preferred although other arrangements will answer a very good
purpose. The single flexible frictional strips t which are secured to and
project inwardly from the front end of the frame A also operate to
separate the topmost sheets of the pile from the succeeding lower sheet
during the act of lifting the sheets.
Figures 13 and 14 represent another mode of separating or loosening
the lateral edges of the topmost sheet from the pile. In this arrange-
ment this effect is produced by the direct action on the top sheet of two
inclined pushing feet which receive lateral movements from cams a
on the faces of the excentrics c acting through the medium of a lever T
and rod b. The lever T is acted upon by a spring U which forces its
forward end outward. The cam a moves this end of the lever inwards.
The feet lie upon the topmost sheet of the pile and when moved
inwards will by their serrated or frictional edges press inwardly the edges
of the topmost sheet, thus sliding these edges upon the sheet below,
so that when the feet retract quickly the edges of the top sheet will
spring back, and in doing so will rise over the elevated lips m and thus
allow currents of air to pass beneath the upturned edges of the topmost
sheet, and in this way prepare this sheet for being completely separated
from the pile and carried forward to the feed rollers H.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved
Machinery for Feeding Sheets of Paper to Printing Presses and other
Machines requiring to be similarly Fed," and explained the nature of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
First. The horizontally reciprocating suction chest arranged over a
vertically moveable table in combination with a blast chamber and with

page_text: feed rollers or their equivalents, as above described with reference to
Sheet I. of the Drawings.
Second. Providing the table of the paper-feeding machine with
elevating and depressing apparatus, as above described.
Third. The projection i on the table J in combination with an adjust-
able tooth m which is applied to a lever that actuates a pawl to stop the
upward movement of said table.
i
Fourth. The adjustable pointer r applied to the tooth m, and to a
graduated scale on lever R combined with a paper-feeding machine.
Fifth. The suction chest, constructed, arranged, and operated, as
described with reference to Sheet II. of the Drawings.
Sixth. Rigid or flexible fingers n applied to the suction chest of a
paper-feeding machine.
Seventh. The employment of the frictional stripping devices p and t
in a paper-feeding machine.
Lastly. The application to the paper-feeding machine of the diagonally
arranged pushing devices K, or their equivalents as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Second day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy- 2
one.