IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING SHEETS OF PAPEE FROM A PILE, AND FEEDING OR MOVING THEM INTO OR THROUGH PRINTING, FOLDING, RULING, EMBOSSING, ENVELOPE MAKING, AND SIMILAR MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Cumming at the Office
of the Commissioner of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
January 1873.
I, JOHN CUMMING, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian,
North Britain, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING SHEETS OF PAPEE
FROM A PILE, AND FEEDING OR MOVING THEM INTO OR THROUGH PRINTING, FOLDING,
RULING, EMBOSSING, ENVELOPE MAKING, AND SIMILAR MACHINES," to be as
follows:--
This Invention has for its object the separating of sheets of paper
from a pile in a certain and rapid manner, and the feeding or moving of
the separated sheets into or through printing, folding, ruling, embossing,
envelope making, and similar machines. The improvements can be
carried out under various modifications, some being more suitable for
some cases and others for other cases.

page_text: levers. Transverse frame pieces confine the front and back edges of the
sheets at the top of the pile, and over the front edges there is a series of
holding back fingers which prevents the top sheet from taking the next
one along with it. The separation of the top sheet is effected by a set of
separators shaped like segments of a circle, and fixed on a transverse
horizontal shaft to which a reciprocating angular motion is imparted by
means of a connecting rod from a crank on a revolving shaft, or in any
other convenient way. The segment separators are faced with rubber
which is by preference free from sulphur, and is formed with a cellular,
grooved, or otherwise indented surface, and when these separators move
backwards they bear down on the pile and draw the front edge of the
top sheet backwards from under the holding back fingers, the after part
of the sheet bulging up in consequence of the back edge being confined.
Then when the separators return forwards they carry the front edge of
the sheet clear above the holding back fingers, and enter it between the
entering feed rollers of the printing, folding, or other machine.
The separators may be made flat or of curvatures differing from that
of a circle, and they may be made to reciprocate along straight or other
courses. In some cases a short reciprocating movement may be adopted,
sufficient merely for entering the edge of the sheet between the feeding
rollers or tapes of the machine, whilst in other cases the separators may
have sufficient length of movement for carrying each sheet quite through
the machine as well as for separating it.
An advantageous application of the modification last referred to can
be made in a ruling machine, and when the ruling is to be confined to
parts of the sheet by what is known as a mask (having parts cut out
where the ruling is to take effect), this mask is moved forward with
.each sheet and returns with the separators or by a separate but similar
movement to cover the succeeding sheet.
In another modification of sheet separating and feeding or moving
apparatus, advantageously applicable where great speed is required, and
where the paper is separable with comparative ease a continuous rotary
motion is employed, and the separators consist of a number of narrow
strips of rubber on a series of discs or on a drum or cylinder on a
revolving shaft. In this case the pile of paper may either be borne up
against the separators or it may be stationary, and the separators may be
carried by levers or a frame so as to rest with more or less pressure on
the pile, and follow it down as it becomes lessened.
The reciprocating

page_text: segment separators may also be arranged to bear on the pile of paper
when the latter is on a fixed support, or what amounts to the same
thing the disc separators may be made to reciprocate instead of revolving
continuously.
In the case of the continuously revolving separators the front edge of
the top sheet is not confined as in the modification first herein-before
described, but a frictional pressure is applied by rubber covered pads to
the sides of the pile which will tend to prevent the top sheet from
carrying the next with it, the latter experiencing more resistance to its
removal than the top sheet. These side pads might also be applied
instead of the holding back fingers in the modification with reciprocating
separators.
When any of the herein-before described feeding or moving appliances
is used in a ruling machine of the kind in which the ruling pens are
raised at intervals by means of cams in order to limit their action to
certain parts of the sheet a stop is applied to insure the correct starting
of the ruling with each fresh shect. This stop is made to descend and
rise by a special cam working in concert with the ordinary pen lifting
cam or cams; and when the edge of the sheet comes forward to the stop
the feeding appliance slips along the sheet without moving it until such
time as the stop is lifted by the cam, this being of course set to agree
with the starting positions of the pen lifting cam or cams.