Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Conveying Sheets of Paper from Cutters in Paper Mills.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 24th June, 1899
Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Conveying Sheets
of Paper from Cutters in Paper Mills.
I, RICHARD JAMES ROUSAY, of 36, Easter Road, Edinburgh, 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 has for its object to provide apparatus for conveying paper in
sheets from the cutter to the sorting room, for straightening out the sheets before
delivering them, and subjecting the paper during transit to a cold blast for the
purpose of cooling and maturing it and thus preventing subsequent expansion or
contraction beyond the desired degree.
At present the sheets are caught by hand as they emerge from the cutting
machine and piled in a warm condition with the result that the paper either
expands or contracts when the air has access to it during sorting; moreover the
handling of the sheets results in the accumulation of a great quantity of "waste,"
broke and "
retree."
With the improved conveyor hereinafter described, the use of hand labour is
entirely dispensed with, the sheets being delivered to the sorting room in a more
cleanly and expeditious manner and in a much cooler condition.
In the accompanying sheets of illustrative drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation of a
paper conveyor constructed according to this invention, Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 an
end elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is an elevation of disengaging mechanism.
The conveyor comprises a suitable supporting frame a extending from the
cutter frame into the sorting room and, if desired, partly supported and steadied
by the dividing wall or partition c.
Mounted in brackets a fixed at suitable
distances apart on the frame a are a number of rollers e, el, e, over which endless
conveyor tapes f g are traversed and guided in grooves h. The top tape f passes
forwards over the inner rollers e and back over the rollers e¹. The bottom tape
is also traversed forwards over the rollers e, but returns on the rollers 2.
There are thus two sets of tapes passing over the rollers e and between
these tapes the paper is carried. In the arrangement shown the paper is fed from
the cutter into the conveying tapes by a web or blanket h carried on rollers i
mounted in the cutter frame and a roller mounted in the conveyor frame, but
the tapes may be arranged to catch the sheets from the web or blanket at present
in use.
It will be seen that where the sheets enter and leave the conveyor the
rollers e and tapes f g are so arranged that the paper passes over and under the
rollers alternately being thereby straightened out in the process and delivered
perfectly flat and even at the edges.
9
The number of tapes required varies according to the width of the cutting
machine, the size of the rollers being also determined by the width of the cutting
machine and according to the substance of the paper.
The tapes and rollers are driven from the main driving shaft by belts j running
on pulleys m, or the rollers may be driven from a counter shaft.
Whilst passing along the tapes the paper is subjected on opposite sides to a

page_text: blast of cold air issuing from pipes n arranged transversely of the conveyor tapes.
Fans or blowers for producing the air blast are driven from the main shaft i or
from a counter shaft.
The sheets of paper are delivered from the conveyor onto a slanting frame or
table o of the same width as the cut sheets and mounted on a trolley at the
delivery end of the apparatus. The slanting frame or table o is provided with
depending sockets ฐ that slide on vertical rods q¹ fixed to the trolley, and bear by
means of collars q2 on helical springs surrounding said rods so that when the
table o contains a certain weight of paper, it is depressed and automatically
operates on disengaging mechanism to throw the clutch of the cutting machine out
of gear whilst an empty trolley takes the places of the one already loaded. The
clutch disengaging mechanism comprises a depending pieces secured to the table o
and having a projection s¹ at its lower end against which bears a rod t under
the action of a spring u. The rod t is pivotted to one end of a bell crank lever
fulcrummed on the frame b of the cutter, and carrying a rod w suitably guided
and adapted to engage in a spiral groove in the clutch y of the driving shaft.
When rod t bears against the projection s¹, rod w is held out of the groove r, but
as soon as the weight of the paper on the table lowers the table and its depending
pieces sufficiently, the rod t is forced by spring u in the direction of the arrow
and operates through the bell crank lever to raise the rod w into the groove v
in which it acts to slide the clutch out of gear. When an empty trolley has been
substituted for the loaded one the automatic disengaging mechanism is reset by
hand.
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. The combination with a cutter for cutting webs of paper into sheets, of an
apparatus for conveying the sheets into the sorting room, comprising a frame or
support, rollers mounted on the frame, conveyor tapes running on the rollers,
trolley for receiving the sheets, means for automatically throwing the cutters out
of gear, and means for directing an air blast on the sheets during transit, sub-
stantially as described.
2. The combination with a conveyor in which sheets of paper are received in a
more or less heated condition from a cutting machine and carried between endless
tapes over rollers, of means for cooling the sheets during transit, and consisting of
air blast pipes arranged on opposite sides of the paper and connected to an air
blast supply, substantially as described.
3. The improved apparatus for conveying sheets of paper from cutters in paper
mills, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents.