An Improved Paper Feeding Machine.
Year: 1895

page_text: PROVISIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Paper Feeding Machine.
I, NELSON FUNK of Elkhart, County of Elkhart, Indiana, U.S.A., Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a machine for feeding sheets of paper and like material
to a table for ruling, printing or the like. The machine comprises a supporting
frame carrying a vertically adjustable and guided table upon which the paper to
be operated upon is piled in sheets. The table is provided with a long slot along
which may be moved and fixed at any point thereof, a vertical standard which bears
by its face against the rear end of the paper pile and serves to keep the sheets in a
vertical line. Upon the standard is a vertically sliding block carrying a rotary
cutting disc which is of just sufficient weight, or weighted, to cut through one
sheet of paper at a time and is intermittently partially rotated by pawl and ratchet
mechanism for this purpose, the pawl being operated from an excentric through a
connecting rod all carried on the machine. The excentric or driving shaft also
carries two loose arms at the end of each of which is mounted a friction roller to
bear upon the top sheet of paper.
The friction rollers are driven through a train
of wheels from the driving shaft so as to withdraw the sheets of paper one at a
time from the front of the machine after they have been cut through at the back
end by the cutting disc.
The arms carrying the friction rollers may be weighted at their outer ends to
adjust the pressure of said rollers upon the paper.
Dated this 25th day of March 1895.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C. Agent for the Applicant.
I, NELSON FUNK of Elkhart, County of Elkhart, Indiana, U.S.A., Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention relates to a machine for feeding sheets of paper and like material
arranged in quantities upon a support or table, for ruling, printing, or otherwise
operating upon the same.
The object of the invention is primarily to provide a machine which will operate
to firmly hold the bottom sheets of a pile at the rear end thereof by a novel means
while the top sheet may be easily pulled away from the pile in any known or
suitable manner. Another object is to more effectually act upon the material at
the forward end of the pile of sheets.
In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine with the frame partly broken away at
its forward and
upper end.

page_text: A is a frame consisting of side pieces A1, A2, bolted to a base or to suitable
transverse pieces, not shewn. B is a vertically adjustable table supported and
guided between the side pieces A', A2, and holding a sufficient quantity of paper
piled in sheets to be operated upon at one run of the machine.
The table B has transverse bars at its ends and also transverse plates 61, 62,
upon its under side in which plates are fixed eye bolts c, by means of nuts c², the
eyes of the bolts having attached to them the ends of ropes D which pass over
and are supported upon small sheave pulleys at the upper ends and corners of the
frame, and pass downwardly and forwardly to sheave pulleys E supported upon a
shaft e held in bearings supported at a in the lower and forward ends of the frame
the said sheave pulleys being arranged in pairs upon opposite sides of the frame to
prevent their interfering one with the other. The shaft e of the pulleys may be
operated at suitable intervals either by an attendant or from a driving shaft. of the
machine in any known or suitable way,
The table B has a longitudinal slot 63 and an adjustable standard F, the vertical
part being of tee shaped cross section and the base f¹ resting on the table to
which it is fixed by a bolt and nut f2, so as to be adjustable along the slot. The
plate of the standard F bears against the piled up sheets placed upon the table
and holds them in a vertical line and serves also to guide a block G dovetailed to
fit and slide freely thereon. A stud pin 3 is secured to and projects from the
side of the block G, and carries a rotary cutting disc or discs H which latter bears,
or bear, at all times with sufficient weight upon the upper and rear end of the pile
of paper upon the table, and additional weights g¹, g² may be placed on the block G
to hold said disc or discs down with increased force to pass through other kinds of
material.
I is a ratchet wheel secured to the hub of the disc H and K a pawl turning on
pin 3 and partly rotating the disc Hat suitable intervals to cut through the upper
sheet of the pile in time to admit of its being freely drawn from the forward end
without permitting any sheet or sheets below being also drawn away with the
upper sheet.
The pawl K is adjustably connected by a rod K adjustable as to
length by a set screw k, with an excentric K³ secured to and turning with a driving
shaft L supported in bearings Z at the upper and forward end of the frame and
driven in any well known manner from the machine of which this is an attachment.
Upon the shaft L are also secured two independently moving arms M, M³, either
or both of which may be adjusted by means of collars m and set screws m' to
oscillate freely upon the shaft and carrying at their rear ends freely revolving
friction wheels N, N', which rest upon the side margins of the upper sheet of
paper and are caused to revolve by means of a train of gear wheels 0, 0¹, 0, 0³
with the shaft n of said friction wheels thus imparting to them an equal motion
and causing them to draw the upper sheet of paper by frictional contact with a
firin and steady movement to the forward end and away from the cutting disc or
discs at the back end of the machine.
It will be seen that the gear wheel O is secured to the driving shaft and the
gear wheels O³ to the shafts n of the friction wheels and together with the inter-
mediate gear wheels 03, 0%, supported by studs upon oscillating arms M, M', move
freely and independently with said arms to permit the friction wheels to bear
independently of each other upon the margin of the paper and at the same time to
be driven at a uniform speed.
Pare counterbalance weights adjustable on the forward ends of the arms M, M'
for balancing the weight of the friction wheels N, N', so that each may bear upon
the paper with such a delicacy of touch as to cause each succeeding upper sheet
only to be moved forward by the weight of the discs H which are also so adjusted
as to secure a corresponding delicacy of pressure upon the rear edge of said upper
sheet and permit it to be more freely pulled forward, a positive cut in the upper
sheet having been secured by the short rotation of the cutting disc or discs by the
means hereinbefore described which also adjust themselves with the free downward
movement of the cutting discs and the gravity block G.

page_text: The nice adjustment of the friction wheels and cutting discs will continue while
the table with the material upou it may from time to time be adjusted without
frequent changing of the adjustments. The paper after leaving the friction rollers
is carried away by a belt R or other suitable conveyor. The friction rollers have
preferably india rubber peripheries.
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. A paper feeding machine comprising a table to receive a quantity of sheets
of paper or similar material, a roller adapted to rest and revolve upon the material
at the forward end of the machine, and a rotary cutting disk to rest upon the rear
edges of said sheets, substantially as described and shewn.
2. A feeding machine comprising a table to receive a quantity of sheets of paper
or similar material, two or more rollers driven positively at a uniform speed and
supported to move freely and independently upon the paper in different planes
of rotation, substantially as described and shewn.
3. A paper feeding machine comprising a table to support separate sheets of
paper or similar material, two or more rollers driven uniformly and supported
upon arms having independently adjustable pressure attachments to act with
greater or less force upon the paper by either roller, substantially as described and
shewn.
4. A paper feeding machine comprising a vertically adjustable table to support
a quantity of sheets of paper or similar material, a swinging rubber roller at the
forward end, and a gravity paper holder at the rear end to rest upon, feed, and hold
the paper and follow the irregular vertical adjustment of the table, substantially as
described and shewn.
5. A paper feeding machine comprising a frame, a vertically adjustable table,
cords extending over pulleys or rollers to each corner of the table and over a
winding shaft and pulleys to elevate the table, adjustable connections between the
cords and corners of the table, and friction feed rollers upon the frame of the
machine, substantially described and shewn.
6. A paper feeding machine comprising a vertically adjustable table to support
a quantity of sheets of paper, a revolving paper roller at the forward end of the
frame, and an adjustable guide standard carrying a gravity paper holder at the
rear end of the table, substantially as described and shewn.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1895.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.