Improvements in Paper Feeding Machines.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Paper Feeding Machines.
I, TALBOT CHAMBERS DEXTER, Secretary of The Dexter Folder Company, of
97, Reade Street, in the City, County, and State of New York, one of the United
States of America, Manufacturers of Paper Folding and Feeding Machines, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
I
The invention relates to improvements in paper feeding machines of the buckling
type in which the successive sheets of paper in an adjustably supported pile are buckled
and separated from the pile and then fed off from the pile to a printing press, paper
folding or ruling machine or other machine designed to operate upon the paper.
The object of the invention is to improve the structure and operation of the
several essential parts of such mechanisms to render such machines more accurate
in separating the sheets, more effective in guarding against the delivery of more
than one sheet, and more completely automatic in operation, and to provide means
for arresting the movements of the several devices in cases when the sheets are not
properly separated or the machine is otherwise imperfectly operating and would
be liable to injure the mechanism or the sheets being handled.
To these ends the invention relates, firstly, to improved buckling devices com-
prising an automatically controlled spring-pressed holding down finger engaging
the corner of the pile of paper, and an inwardly reciprocating buckling carriage
carrying a loosely journaled spring-pressed buckling finger operated by suitable
mechanism which first releases the buckling finger to the action of its spring to
throw it down into engagement with the top sheet of the pile of paper and
then engages the reciprocating carriage for moving the finger inwardly for
buckling the sheet. The reciprocating carriage of the buckler is provided with a
spring-pressed brake which overcomes the initial tendency of the carriage to move
at each change of direction for the purpose of giving the buckling finger time to
move into contact or out of contact with the paper before the movement of the
carriage.
The first part of the invention consists further in improving and simplifying the
structure and operation of sheet separating and feeding machines of the buckler
type by combining with the sheet buckling mechanism an auxiliary frictional
device which will rest constantly upon the pile of sheets adjacent to the holding-
down finger and exert sufficient frictional resistance upon any under sheets which
may be partially separated from the pile by buckling finger to prevent such under
sheets being completely buckled and separated and fed off with the top sheet. With
such a device the imperfection of the buckling device is removed and it will be im-
possible for the buckling device to separate and start off from the pile more than
one sheet at one time thereby obviating to a large extent the need of a sheet
separator at the delivery end of the machine.
The invention consists, secondly, in providing friction blocks which constantly
rest upon the pile of paper and exert an effective frictional resistance upon the
under sheet, or sheets, at their rear edge, or edges, which may by chance be

page_text: buckled and started off from the pile together with the top sheet, in order that said
under sheet, or sheets, will be held back while the top sheet is carried off by the
feeding-off devices and drop-rollers. These friction blocks assist greatly in
separating the sheets when more than, one sheet is started off because in such cases
the underlying sheet, or sheets will almost invariably project slightly back of the
upper sheet and allow said blocks to engage the rear edge, or edges, of said under
sheet, or sheets, and, although each of said underlying sheets may not project more
than one-eighth of an inch the friction between the upper sheets and the friction
blocks will be greater than the friction between the two smooth sheets of paper
and consequently the under sheets will be effectively held back while the upper
sheet is fed off. This device is considered of great importance.
The invention consists, thirdly, of automatically operated holding shoes or blocks
which are forcibly thrown down into engagement with the pile of paper directly
in rear of the rear edge of the top sheet just as it is fed off to its most forward
position by the main separators and is in position to be grasped by the drop
rollers, for the purpose of further counteracting the tendency of the frictional
engagement between the top sheet and the pile to carry forward more than one
sheet: These holding down blocks are so adjusted that they will just miss the rear
edge of the top sheet and firmly engage the next underlying sheet and' hold it
back even though said underlying sheet has been advanced so far that the friction
between it and the top sheet would be sufficient to carry it forward into the bite of
the drop rollers. It often happens that the main separators at the delivery end
of the machine will separate the top sheet from the underlying ones but will
advance the underlying ones so near to the drop rollers that they are liable to be
drawn forward. These holding down blocks are important for preventing this.
The invention consists, fourthly, in an improved governing device for auto-
matically regulating the height of the pile of paper. This governing device
comprises essentially an intermittently operable driving shaft geared to the table
elevating screws and having a ratchet wheel keyed to it which is operated by a pawl
carried upon an intermittently oscillated rock arm or lever loosely journaled upon
the driving shaft, a hood or shield being also loosely journaled upon
said shaft and constructed and arranged to project over a segment
of the teeth of the ratchet wheel for holding the pawl out of
engagement with the ratchet wheel while the pile of paper
its proper height. The hood is connected, through a suitable link, with a vertically
sliding gage rod which is normally held in elevated position by means of a dog
formed upon a bell crank lever pivoted to the machine frame and carrying at its
lower end a freely journaled roller which rests upon the top of the pile of paper.
Said hood or shield is also connected through suitable links, crank-arms and a
rock-shaft with the pawl carrying rock arm in such a manner that the hood or
shield will be oscillated over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, exposing some of the
teeth of the ratchet wheel to the action of the pawl, and causing the gage rod
to move up and down in its bearings, when the surface of the pile of paper has
descended sufficiently below the normal plane to disengage the dog from said gage
rod. When the pile of paper is at its normal height, suitable springs hold the hood
or shield in normal position to keep the oscillating pawl out of engagement with
the ratchet teeth and during this normal position of the mechanism the continued
regular oscillation of the pawl carrying arm will not move the shield and connected
gage rod because the engagement between the two parts of the mechanism is
effected by means of a tappet or collar on the operating rod of the shield and a
head attached to the oscillating pawl-carrying-rock-arm which slides upon said rod
and only engages the tappet when the gage rod has been allowed to fall below
normal by the disengagement of the dog caused by the lowering of the pile of
paper.
is at
The invention consists, fifthly, of automatically controlled time frictional instru-
ments controlled by the sheet being fed off, as distinguished from combing devices
so controlled. There are two well recognized classes of frictional paper feeding

page_text: machines for separating and successively feeding sheets of paper from a pile, which
two classes of machines are distinguishable as paper combing devices or true
frictional feeders. The paper combing feeding machines comprise essentially a
feeding instrument movably supported over a pile of sheets and having a hard
smooth engaging surface which is caused to slide or slip over the top sheet of the
pile for combing out and partially separating the sheets near the top,-giving
the pile a shelving appearance at its edge. The true frictional feeding machines
comprise essentially a feeding instrument movably supported above a pile of
sheets and provided with a soft rubber or other frictional engaging surface which
is adapted to take a positive frictional hold upon the top sheet of the pile and
separate and move said top sheet forward singly from the pile. In true frictional
feeding machines, the individual sheet moves positively with the frictional feeding
instrument the whole length of the stroke while in engagement, whereas, in the
combing feeding machines the feeding instrument slips or slides over the sheet
and imparts to the sheet (and the adjacent underlying sheets) only a short move-
ment, a frictional part of the stroke of the combing instrument while in engage-
ment. That on account of this recognized difference in operation between these
two classes of feeding machines, combing devices cannot be employed for the
accurate feeding work such as the true frictional feeding devices are capable of
accomplishing.
It has heretofore been proposed to combine with combing feeding machines,
suitable automatic devices controlled by the movement of the sheets for throwing the
combing devices out of operation when the sheet reaches the proper position to be
engaged by suitable delivery mechanism, but by reason of the irregular and
uncertain feeding movement of the sheets under the action of the combers, the
registry of the successive sheets in time to be taken by the delivery mechanism
cannot be sure and the delivery mechanism will therefore, sometimes fail to remove
a sheet at the proper moment to be fed to the folder or printing press, which
omission is very objectionable for obvious reasons. It has also been proposed to
arrange independently controlled combing devices transversely across a pile and
provide each independent comber with a controlling device operated by the sheet
as it passes over the pile, but by reason of the uncertain feeding motion. of the
combed sheets above referred to, it is impracticable to accurately square the front
edge of the sheets by said independently controlled combers.
In view of the above, therefore, it is the object of this fifth part of the present
invention to provide a machine of the true frictional feeding type in which a
plurality of independent true frictional feeding instruments may be accurately
controlled by the position of a sheet being fed from a pile so that the movement
and position of the sheet can be accurately timed and gauged to invariably arrive
at registered position every time the delivery mechanism is moved into position
to take a sheet to feed it to the printing press, folder or other machine.
1
To this end the fifth part of the invention consists broadly of the combination,
in, a paper feeding machine, of true frictional feeding devices having a normally
active positive frictional engagement with the top sheet of a pile on their forward
stroke, as distinguished from combing devices which slide irregularly over the
surface of the pile,-means for imparting a uniform stroke to the feeding devices,
and automatic controlling devices operated by the passing sheet and controlling
the true frictional feeding devices, rendering said feeding devices active or inactive
according to the position of the sheet being fed off and without reference to the
uniform stroke of the feeding devices.
The invention consists sixthly in the combination in a paper feeding machine of
a plurality of independent true frictional feeding devices having normally active
frictional engagement with the top sheet of a pile on their forward stroke, and
arranged transversely of the line of feed, means for imparting a uniform stroke to
said feeding devices, and a plurality of automatic controlling devices also arranged
transversely to the line of feed and controlling respectively the independent feeding
devices, said controlling devices being operated by a passing sheet for rendering

page_text: the feeding devices active or inactive without interfering with their uniform
motion.
The invention consists seventhly in the construction of the feeding-off devices
comprising essentially a reciprocating carriage upon which are pivotally mounted
a plurality of spring-pressed feeding-off fingers (one behind the other) which are
thrown into engagement with the surface of the top sheet of paper by the action
of their springs and automatically elevated from the paper by means of a
longitudinally sliding rack-bar movably mounted upon the carriage and having a
lower cam face. When the rack-bar in the carriage is in normal position, the
feeding-off fingers are in engagement with the surface of the top sheet of paper
but as soon as the forward edge of the sheet being fed off, reaches proper registered
position, it engages an electric contact device and an electric circuit is broken and a
pawl or dog thereby released by an electro magnet to fall into engagement with the
rack-bar, causing said rack-bar to be held stationary while the reciprocating
feeding-off carriage continues to move, resulting in the elevation of the feeding-off
fingers from the surface of the paper. As long as a sheet of paper is passing between
the controlling contact devices, the pawls or dogs are in engagement with the rack-
bars, thereby holding the feeding-off fingers up from the surface of the paper. As soon
as the sheet is fed off and the contacts of the controlling circuits are again made
the dogs are drawn up out of engagement with the rack-bars which are shifted to
normal position to allow the feeding-off fingers to again operate. In addition to
the automatic control of the rack-bars, suitable stops are provided to engage the
rack-bars, at the forward and rear end of the movement of the feeding-off
carriages to throw the rack-bars back into normal position, the normal position
being such that the feeding-off fingers will be held out of engagement with the
surface of the paper during the rearward stroke of the carriages and in engage-
ment with the paper during the forward stroke of the carriages.
The invention consists, eighthly, of the combination of a suitable sheet-retarding
bed located at the delivery end of the machine, a frictional separator operating
upon the sheets of paper over said bed to carry the top sheet over the bed and
separate it from any chance underlying sheets, and an independent auxiliary feed-
ing-off instrument operating upon the pile of sheets at the rear of the separator
pad to feed off the top sheet from the pile onto the sheet retarding bed before said
sheet is engaged by the separating pad. The feeding-off instrument and separating
pad operate upon the sheets alternately or successively, the feeding-off instrument
first pushing the sheet forward to the bed and the separator pad then engaging the
sheet on the bed. It is not necessary that the feeding-off instrument shall dis-
engage the sheet the moment the separator pad comes into engagement with it,
as their operations may slightly overlap or be partly coincident, but it is essential
that they should be brought into play alternately or successively to produce the
important result aimed at in this part of the invention. It is also preferred to
employ sheet-delivering mechanism to convey the successive advanced sheets from
the sheet retarding or separating beds of the machine to the printing press, folder
or other machine.
The invention consists, ninthly, in the improved separating device located at
the delivery end of the machine and operating in conjunction with the inde-
pendently operated feeding-off devices (in accordance with the eighth part of the
present invention, to receive the sheet being fed off and separate therefrom any
additional under sheet or sheets which may by chance have passed the bucklers
and resistance brakes, causing the upper sheet to be fed to the drop rollers of the
machine and holding back said under sheets. The separator comprises a paper
retarding bed disposed at the delivery end of the machine and having an upper
friction surface to which the forward edges of the sheets of paper are delivered by
the feeding-off devices, and a friction-pad or block reciprocating over said retarding
bed and moving vertically to and from it at the ends of its stroke, and adapted to
engage the top sheet and push it forward over the bed while the underlying sheet,
or sheets, is, or are, detained by their frictional engagement with the bed. Suitable

page_text: sheet-delivering mechanism, such as the drop rolls shown, engage the separated
sheet which is pushed forward over the retarding bed of the separator and convey it
from the machine. The operating mechanism of the reciprocating friction pad
or block of the separator has a two-fold function, as in the operating mechanism
of the buckler, in that it first moves said friction-pad into or out of engagement
with the surface of the paper and then, by continued movement in the same
direction, causes the reciprocation of the carriage either forward or backward, an
automatic spring brake being provided to counteract, the initial tendency of the
carriage to move and give time for the supporting block to move into or out of
engagement with the paper before the reciprocation of the carriage.
The invention consists, tenthly, in arranging the sets of feeding-off devices and
separating devices one behind the other in groups which are connected by a suitable
structure to enable the ready adjustment of each group transversely of the machine
to suit the requirements for operating upon the paper of different sizes. To
accomplish this result the track bars upon which the feeding-off carriages and
separator carriages reciprocate are supported at their ends upon castings which slide
upon the frame pieces while the operating levers and links are supported from
another casting connected with one of the aforesaid castings and the cams for
effecting the movements of the operating levers are keyed to a suitable sleeve
having a sliding spline connection with the operating shaft, which sleeve is formed
with an annular groove in which engages a fin or flange projecting up from one of
the castings. In this way all of the parts of each group of mechanisms are readily
adjusted at one time by simply loosening one or more securing bolts in one of the
main castings. In the machine, two sets or groups of such mechanisms are
employed, one at each side of the machine, each set comprising a feeding-off
mechanism and a separating mechanism.
The invention consists, eleventhly, in providing means for automatically arrest-
ing the operation of the machine in cases when the several mechanisms have, for
unseen reasons, failed to properly separate the sheets and have fed forward a
greater number of sheets than the separating devices can effectively manage. It will
be clear that such an arrangement is very important in this class of machines.
The separating devices can effectively separate from four to six sheets when they
are passed forward to them but if a greater number of sheets are fed forward there
is not sufficient room upon the lower retarding bed to effectively engage the forward
edge of all of the sheets and consequently two or more sheets will be engaged by the
drop rollers and conveyed to the folder or printing machine causing the destruction
of such sheets and sometimes the injury of the machine. To obviate this difficulty
an automatic clutch device is provided which disengages the machine from the
power shaft and positively arrests its movement when an electric contact device
is actuated by the thickness of more than the maximum number of sheets which
the separator can properly take care of, said contact device closing a circuit which
energizes an electro-magnet causing the operation of the operating arm of the
clutch controller. A hand lever is also provided which engages the clutch con-
troller for throwing the machine out of operation by hand. To further ensure the
positive stopping of the machine under the action of the automatic clutch a
rock-arm is provided connected to said clutch controlling mechanism and provided
with a dog or lug which engages a similar dog or lug on one of the supporting
rock arms of the drop rollers in order that said drop rollers will be held out of
operation the instant the machine is stopped to thereby prevent any slight forward
feed of the paper by their momentum."
The invention consists, lastly, in various combinations of the parts above referred
to and in certain minor details of construction of the several parts of the machine
which, together with the features above pointed out, will first be described by the
following description.
The side pieces or bars of the main frame and the front and rear bars connecting
the side frame pieces are preferably of angle iron. Extending between the top
side pieces parallel with the front and rear angle iron frame pieces is the top

page_text: channel iron frame piece all of which parts are securely bolted together to support
the mechanisms hereinafter to be described.
1-
The paper is piled upon a vertically movable paper supporting table. The
paper-supporting table operates within suitable vertically extending paper guide
rods of usual construction, and is provided with outwardly extending threaded
ears or lugs working in vertical slots in the standards, through which ears or lugs
work the vertically extending adjusting screws. Keyed to the upper ends of the
vertical screws are bevel cog gears with which mesh the similar bevel cog-gears
keyed to the transverse shaft adjacent to its ends, which shaft is journaled in
bearings on the main side bars of the machine frame.
It will, of course, be understood that the main frame pieces are supported at
the upper ends of suitable standards or vertical side frame-pieces. Extending
rearwardly from the vertical side frame-pieces are the auxiliary track bars of dove-
tailed cross-section. Suitable brackets extend inwardly from one of the side bars
and an auxiliary frame piece respectively and an adjusting screw is journaled
in the brackets and formed with a worm gear with which meshes a similar worm
gear keyed to an adjusting shaft journaled in the side bars of the machine and
extending at a right angle to the adjusting screw from side to side of the machine.
An operating crank handle keyed to the adjusting shaft by means of which said
shaft is rotated.
There is a head embracing the track bar so as to slide thereon said head having
a lug or block projecting inwardly from it and formed with a threaded opening
through it through which passes the adjusting screw.
It will be observed that there is a track bar supporting a head and an adjusting
screw at each side of the machine. Extending between the heads and supported
by them is an auxiliary frame piece or bar bolted to suitable lugs and journaled in
bearings projecting upwardly from the heads is the rotary buckler-operating-shaft.
Upon the auxiliary frame-piece or bar and buckler-operating shaft (which are
adjustable longitudinally of the machine by the movement of the heads are
adjustably mounted two sets of sheet buckling devices, two sets of paper retarding
brakes, and two paper holding shoes or blocks which will be described in their
order, and as both sets of each pair of such devices are of the same construction a
description of but one set of each will be given as this will be sufficient for a proper
understanding of the whole.
A suitable casting is formed with engaging lugs by means of which it is adjust-
ably mounted upon the auxiliary frame-piece or bar. The rear face of the casting
is formed with guide grooves in which slides the reciprocating buckler carriage.
The sliding carriage has projecting out from its rear face a rigidly secured bolt
having a head at its outer end. The buckling finger has a forward bifurcated
end in which is rigidly clamped the rubber faced buckling roll. The buckler
finger is loosely journaled upon the bolt upon the carriage and is given a tendency
to press against the top of the pile of paper by means of a spiral spring having one
end engaging the buckler finger and its opposite end engaging a suitable head.
A bell-crank lever is loosely journaled upon the buckler-supporting bolt between
the buckler finger and sliding block or carriage and is formed with a right-angled
projection which extends under the spring-pressed buckling finger engaging with
said finger for elevating it against the action of the spring. The sliding block or
carriage has a lug formed integral with it. A journal pin projects out from the
vertical plate of the carriage supporting casting and a lever is pivoted upon the
pin and has its lower end connected to the upper end of a bell-crank-lever by
means of a short link. A double-faced cam is adjustably keyed to the buckler-
operating shaft and engages an anti-friction roller journaled upon the upper end
of the lever. By the rotation of the cam the lever will be rocked to cause the bell-
crank-lever to move, throwing its vertical arm over into engagement with the lug
and releasing the buckling finger to the action of its spring which throws it down
upon the surface of the pile of paper. As soon as the vertical arm of the bell-
crank lever engages the lug the buckler slide or carriage will be moved inwardly by

page_text: the continued movement of the lever, causing the corner of the sheet of paper.to be
buckled.
:
The buckler-supporting bolt also projects forwardly from the carriage and
extends through a slot of the casting. A leather faced brake block is loosely
supported upon the bolt and held in frictional engagement with the casting by
means of a spiral spring and clamp nuts. This brake overcomes the initial
tendency of the buckler carriage to move and exerts sufficient resistance to insure
the moving of the buckler finger into or out of engagement with the sheet before
the reciprocation of the carriage.
Supported in bearings of the carriage-supporting casting is a vertically movable
rod having a spiral spring surrounding it and engaging the upper bearing at one
end and a head on the rod at its lower end, which head is loosely mounted upon
the rod above an adjustable collar on said rod and is held down against said collar
by the spring. Projecting upwardly from the head is an arm to the upper end of
which is pivoted a crank-arm formed integral with a head from which projects
another crank-arm having journaled at its upper end an anti-friction roll. A
single-faced cam is adjustably keyed to the buckler-operating shaft alongside of
the buckler-operating cam, and engaging said anti-friction roll to cause the inter-
mittent lifting of the head for releasing the spring pressure upon the rod. The
lower end of the rod is provided with a paper retaining or holding down foot
which constantly rests upon the extreme corner of the pile of paper and holds the
pile intact while the sheet which has been buckled is being fed off, the pressure
upon the holding-down foot being released (without elevating the foot from the pile)
just as the corner of the top sheet is buckled and slid from under said foot, and
being allowed to act again as soon as the edge of the sheet has been withdrawn
from under the foot. As the holding-down foot always rests upon the surface of
the pile, though only by its own gravity while the corner of the top sheet is being
buckled, the liability of buckling more than one sheet and the chance of the
buckled corner of the sheet slipping back under the holding-down finger are
greatly reduced. The spring pressure is normally on the holding-down finger,
during which time the buckled sheets are being fed off from the pile.
The preferred form of the improved auxiliary frictional device which is combined
with the buckling device comprises a small rod or finger supported upon or
adjacent to the holding-down finger and carrying a small block or pad of soft
rubber which rests upon the top of the pile of sheets constantly. The holding-down
finger is preferably constantly in engagement with the top of the pile of sheets,
being actuated by suitable spring pressure for clamping the pile in position and
the pressure of the spring being intermittently released to allow the buckling of
a sheet. The form of the holding-down finger may, however, be changed without
departing from the scope of the invention, but whether the holding-down finger is
constantly in engagement with the pile or only engages the pile intermittently, the
auxiliary frictional device is always in contact with the pile.
Bolted to a horizontal flange of the carriage supporting casting is a plate
having vertical flanges through which the buckler-operating shaft passes. Collars
are adjustably mounted upon the buckler-operating shaft upon the opposite sides
of the bearing flanges for securing the same in place. By simply removing the
screws from the collars the casting and attached plate can be shifted transversely
of the feeding-machine, the casting sliding upon the auxiliary frame piece or bar
and the buckler and holding-down finger operating cams sliding upon the shaft,
carrying all of the operating parts of the buckler with them. By means of this
lateral adjustment and the longitudinal adjustment already described the position
of the buckling devices can be regulated to a nicety to suit sheets of paper of
any size.
A main air pipe adapted to receive air from any suitable blower is supported by
brackets from the side frame pieces and is provided at proper intervals in its length
with couplings from which extend nozzles provided with cocks. Flexible air pipes
extend from the nozzles to the air supplying nozzles which are supported at the

page_text: proper points to supply air blasts under the top sheet as soon as it is buckled
preparatory to being separated from the pile. Suitable adjustable brackets are
supported upon the auxiliary frame piece or bar and secured in any adjusted
position by means of screws. Slotted arms extending from said adjustable brackets
support the air nozzle or pipe connecting with one of the flexible pipes. The lower
end of the air nozzle or pipe is curved inwardly and flattened to supply the blast
in a plane horizontal to the surface of the pile of paper. The air nozzles are
supported adjacent to the buckling devices and at each side of the pile as hereafter
referred to.
Adjustable brackets embrace the auxiliary frame or bar and have journals
in which are journaled rock shafts having keyed upon their rear ends the arms
upon which are pivotally mounted long narrow paper retarding brake blocks carry-
ing rubber friction pads. Spiral springs surround said rock arm and engage a
head at one end and the bearing at the other for constantly holding the brake
block in engagement with the surface of the paper. The purpose of the brake
blocks is to exert an effective resistance upon the rear edges of the under sheets
of paper in cases where two or more sheets are separated by the buckling devices
and start off together with the upper sheet a little in advance of the under one.
That this result may be accomplished, the blocks are formed very narrow and
the springs are adjusted to exert only a light pressure upon them, so that the
frictional hold of the brake blocks upon the top sheet will be inferior to the
frictional hold of the feeding-off instruments but will be sufficient upon the rear
edges of the under sheets to counteract the friction between the sheets.
A bracket adjustably supported upon auxiliary frame bar is formed with a
bearing in which slides the vertically movable square rod carrying an adjustable
tappet or collar adjacent to its upper end. A rod is adjustably mounted in an
opening formed in the lower end of the square rod and has a holding shoe or
block pivoted to its forward end. A cam is adjustably keyed to the buckler-
operating shaft and confined between the bearings projecting up from the plate
which is bolted to the horizontal flange of a suitable bracket. A vertically extend-
ing rounded rod passes through a bearing on said bracket plate and pivotally
attached at its lower end to the lower end of the square rod. A spiral spring sur-
rounds the round rod and is confined between the bearing and an adjustable collar.
The purpose of the round rod and spring is to exert a downward pressure upon
the square rod, it being preferable to provide the rounded rod with its surrounding
spring than to surround the square rod with a spiral spring because in the latter
case the spring would bind and interfere with the free movement of the square
rod. A short lever pivoted to an arm of the bracket has a foot at its forward end
which engages a tappet on the square rod, and such lever projects beneath the cam
by which it is operated for holding square rod and the holding shoe or block
normally upward and for intermittently releasing them to allow the spring to
throw the block into engagement with the surface of the pile of paper just behind
the rear edge of the top sheet for holding the under sheets and preventing them
from being drawn off by the friction of the sheet being fed off. The holding down
shoes or blocks may be adjusted as a whole with the other mechanisms described
by the adjustment of the heads carrying auxiliary frame bar and buckler-operating
shaft, or they may be individually adjusted by means of the adjustment of block-
supporting rod in the square rod.
As stated above, the transverse shaft engages the vertical threaded shafts by
means of mitre gears to cause the intermittent elevation of the table supporting
the paper.
The automatic mechanism for governing the elevation of the table as the paper
is fed off will now be described.
A ratchet wheel is keyed to the transverse shaft and a rock arm or lever is
journaled upon said shaft adjacent to the ratchet wheel. An operating rod or
pitman is journaled to the rock arm or lever and has formed upon its forward
end a guide loop which embraces the main power shaft (hereinafter more fully

page_text: described). An oval-shaped cam and an adjustable collar are keyed to the main
power shaft, the loop end of operating rod or pitman being confined and guided
between said cam and collar. An anti-friction roller is journaled to the operating
rod adjacent to the inner end of the guide loop with which the cam engages for
reciprocating rod to cause the oscillation of the rock-arm or lever. A spring-
pressed pawl is journaled upon a journal pin on the rock-arm or lever and is
adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel for causing the partial rotation
of the transverse shaft which in turn imparts rotation to the vertical shafts for
elevating the paper carrying table. A rod is pivoted to the operating rod or
pitman adjacent to its lower end and extends rearwardly through a guide opening
in one of the angle iron frame pieces and a long spiral spring surrounds said
rearwardly extending rod and is confined between the angle iron frame piece and
an adjustable collar by means of which the tension of the spring can be adjusted on
the rod. The purpose of the spring is to keep the anti-friction roll constantly
pressed against the operating cam.
The mechanism as above described would cause the elevation of the table a
short step at each oscillation of the pawl carrying lever which would be entirely too
much for the proper operation of the machine. It is therefore very desirable to
provide automatic mechanism controlled by the height of the pile of paper for
regulating the action of the table elevating mechanism. To accomplish this the
following mechanism has been devised:
A
A segment-shaped hood or shield formed with a semi-circular flange and a hub
portion is journaled upon the transversely extending table-elevating shaft adjacent
to the ratchet wheel with its semi-circular flange covering a portion of the toothed
periphery of the ratchet wheel, the spring-pressed pawl being adapted to ride upon
the flange of the hood during the greater part of its stroke forward and back.
rock arm is secured to and projects from the hub of the hood and is formed with
a slot. A frame-piece is rigidly secured at its forward end to a bracket bolted to
the channel frame bar and at its rear end to a bracket which embraces the angle-bar
frame piece. The frame-piece is shaped to suit the position it assumes in the main
frame and has projecting upwardly from it a suitable bearing block through which
the transverse table-elevating shaft passes. The purpose of this is to strengthen
and steady the supporting frame piece. A rock shaft is journaled in the frame-
piece and has keyed to one end a slotted rock-arm and to its other end another
rock-arm. The other rock arm has a rod pivoted to it and projecting rearwardly
through a sliding head which is pivotally attached to the lower end of the pawl-
supporting lever by means of a pivot bolt. An adjustable tappet or collar is
secured to the rearwardly-extending rod in proper position to be engaged by a
sliding head at such times when the hood or shield is to be shifted for the purpose
and in the manner which will hereinafter appear. A rod is adjustably connected
with the said slotted crank-arm and the rock-arm of the hood respectively for
connecting the hood with the operating rock shaft. Another rod is pivoted to the
slotted crank-arm and projects rearwardly through a guide bracket secured to the
above-named frame piece. A spiral spring surrounding this rod is confined
between a collar on the rod and the bracket on said frame piece for holding the
hood and its connected operating parts in normal position.
A guide bracket is bolted to the angle-iron-frame piece and a square vertically
sliding gage-rod slides in bearing openings formed in said bracket and angle-
iron frame-piece. A pitman or connecting link is pivoted at its upper end to the
hood or shield and pivoted at its lower end to a head secured to the gage-rod. An
adjustable collar is also secured to the gage-rod and adapted to engage the angle-
iron frame-piece for limiting the downward movement of the gage-rod. A bracket
is adjustably secured to the angle iron-frame-piece and a bell-crank-lever is pivoted
in cars of a bracket on angle-iron frame-piece, and formed with an integral dog on
its vertical arm and having an anti-friction roller freely journaled in the bifurcated
lower end of its other arm. A notch is cut in the forward face of the gage-rod
in which the dog of the bell-crank lever is adapted to engage for preventing the

page_text: downward movement of the gage-rod and holding the guard or shield in position
to prevent the operation of the table elevating mechanism. The operation of this
table governing mechanism will be clear from the following explanation:
As long as the top surface of the pile of paper is at the proper elevation the dog
will engage the notch of gage-rod and hold the gage-rod and hood in normal
position and the tappet on the rearwardly extending rod will be out of reach of
the head carried by pawl-supporting rock-arm which is constantly oscillated by
its operating cam. In this position of the parts the hood will hold the pawl out
of engagement with the teeth of ratchet and the height of the pile will not be
changed. Just as soon, however, as sufficient paper has been fed off to lower the
surface of the pile far enough to disengage the dog from the notch of the gage-rod,
(by lowering of the bell-crank lever,) the gage-rod will fall to the limit of its stop
and allow the spring to shift the hood rearwardly and thereby uncover the teeth
of ratchet to the pawl. The rod carrying tappet will also be moved rearwardly
when the hood is shifted, thus throwing the tappet into the path of the head. The
forward stroke of the pawl having partially rotated the ratchet, the rock arm
will move back and cause head to engage the tappet and shift the rod forwardly
which, through the connections described, will shift the hood forwardly and raise
the gage-rod against the action of the spring. Now, if the partial rotation of the
ratchet has been sufficient to elevate the pile of paper to the required plane the dog
will be ready to slip into the notch of the gage-rod as soon as the gage-rod is raised,
but if the paper is not high enough the actuating spring will cause the hood and
connected gage-rod to again shift with the succeeding forward movement of the
pawl, the tappet following the head rearwardly into position to be again engaged by
said head. This operation again uncovers the ratchet teeth to the action of the
pawl. These steps are repeated till the paper is elevated sufficiently high to hold
the dog in the notch of gage-rod, which holds the pawl out of engagement with
the ratchet and the tappet out of reach of the head and does not interfere with the
regular oscillation of the pawl carrying arm under the action of its cam.
In addition to the air blast nozzles supported at the rear of the pile as above
described, an air nozzle is provided at each side of the pile of paper for directing
currents of air under the top sheet of paper at the sides and more completely
separating it from the pile. The air nozzles connect with flexible branch pipes
and are supported in positions by brackets from the angle-iron frame-piece in the
same manner that the air nozzles are supported.
As soon as the top sheet of paper has been buckled and partially separated from
the pile by the devices above described, it becomes necessary to feed the sheet
forward from the pile without twisting or turning it in order that it will pass
squarely to the printing press, folder or other machine and require the least
possible registering. To accomplish this, two sets of feeding-off devices are pro-
vided, one adjacent to each side of the machine and each comprising a reciprocating
carriage carrying two feeding-off fingers arranged one behind the other. The
construction of these devices will now be described. A track bar is bolted at its
forward end to a bracket (of peculiar construction, hereafter more fully explained)
which is adjustably mounted upon the forward angle frame bar, and at its rear end
to a bracket having sliding connection with the rear angle frame-bar. The feeder-
off carriage is formed with integral lugs which embrace the track bar and allow
the carriage to slide thereon. Vertically extending guide arms or lugs depend
from the carriage and are formed with vertical guide grooves in which are
supported the vertically sliding rods or plates, said rods being confined in the
grooves by the plates secured by screws. The lower ends of the depending guide
arms are formed with bracket arms in which are pivotally mounted the feeding-off
fingers, said feeding-off fingers having the rubber surfaced feed-rolls rigidly secured
in their forward bifurcated ends. Projecting rearwardly from the journal portion
of each of the feed fingers is a heel having a pin with which the lower slotted
or bifurcated end of one of the rods or plates engages. There is lost motion or a
loose joint between each pin and rod or plate to allow the springs of the feed

page_text: fingers more freedom and for forcing the feed fingers down into engagement with
the surface of the paper to insure the proper frictional engagement of the fingers
with the paper whether the paper is soft and gives considerably or is still and
unyielding. This feature is a very important one.
A pivot rod or journal pin is secured to and projects from the hub portion of
the feeding-off fingers through one of the bracket arms and is provided with a
head at its end. A spiral spring surrounds this rod and engages the head at one
end, and one of the bracket arms at its other end for the purpose of causing the
feeder-off fingers to be pressed against the surface of the paper with a yielding
pressure. Formed integral with the upper end of each of the vertically extending
rods or plates is a bifurcated portion in which is journaled an anti-friction roller.
As above stated, each feeding-off carriage supports two feeding-off fingers
constructed as just described. The anti-friction rollers bear upon the lower sur-
face or cam face of a rack-bar which is formed with two longitudinally extending
slots, the rack teeth on its upper surface, and the semi-circular recesses in its
lower or cam surface. The semi-circular recesses are arranged the same distance
apart as the anti-friction rollers of the vertically movable rods or plates in order
that said rollers may enter said recesses when the rack-bar is in the proper position
and thereby allow both of the rods or plates to move upwardly in their bearings
at the same time to permit the springs to throw both of the feeder-off fingers down
into operative engagement with the surface of the sheet being fed off. A wire
spring is supported centrally upon a screw secured to the feeder carriage, and
having its opposite ends engaging the shoulders formed near the upper ends of
the rods or plates by their bifurcated portions. The purpose of the wire spring
is to keep the rollers in contact with the lower surface of the rack-bar. Embracing
the rack-bar are the lugs which are integral with the feeder-off carriage and extend
upwardly upon the opposite faces of the rack-bar. Anti-friction rollers work in the
longitudinal slots of the rack-bar and journaled between the integral lugs of the
feeder-off carriage, the purpose of said lugs and rollers being to confine the rack-
bar within proper limits upon the feeder-off carriage.
A lug depends from the feeder-off carriage and a connecting link is pivoted to
the lug at one end and to the lower end of an operating lever at its other end, which
operating lever is pivotally supported at its upper end from the rearwardly curved
horn or bracket-arm projecting from and forming part of the casting or bracket
which embraces and is supported upon the channel-bar of the frame. The bracket
or casting is adjustably mounted upon the frame-piece as will be hereinafter more
fully explained. An operating rod or pitman is pivoted to a lever and is formed
with a guide-loop at its forward end which guide-loop embraces the main-shaft
upon one side of the operating cam. An anti-friction roller is journaled upon a
pin upon the operating rod at the outer end of the guide-loop, said anti-friction
roller being engaged by the operating cam for moving the rod and lever forward
against the tendency of a spring for imparting the necessary reciprocating motion
to the feeder-off carriage. A rod is pivoted to the operating lever and projects for-
wardly through a guide opening in a bracket secured to and extending up from the
above-noted casting. A spiral spring surrounds this rod and is confined between
said bracket and an adjustable collar on the rod for holding the anti-friction roller
in contact engagement with the cam.
It will be clear from the description of the parts of the feeding-off devices as
far as gone that should the rack-bar remain in normal position with the rollers
resting in the recesses that the friction blocks of the feeder-off fingers would be
in constant engagement with the surface of the sheet to be fed off. This would be
objectionable not only on account of the fact that it would be impossible to correct
the position of or registry of the sheet which has started forward slightly out of
position, but because the friction of the blocks upon the surface of the paper during
the backward movement of the carriage would be. so great that it would interfere
with the movement of the sheets forward out of the machine.
In view of this, means have been devised for automatically shifting the rack bar

page_text: to lift the friction blocks from the surface of the paper as soon as they have fed the
sheet forward to the proper point and for holding said friction blocks elevated
during the movement of the carriage backward. These means comprise a dog or
pawl journaled upon a pin projecting from the horn or bracket arm and confined
by the adjustable collar, a spiral spring surrounding the pin and engaging the
dog for throwing it normally into engagement with the rack bar, an armature
formed integral with the dog and an electro-magnet adapted to be excited by the
electric current under the control of suitable contact devices actuated by the sheet
of paper as hereinafter described for holding the dog normally disengaged from the
rack-bar and allowing it to drop into engagement therewith when the circuit is
broken. The electro-magnet is supported from the casting upon a suitable bracket
A bracket arm having a rightangled projection formed with a threaded head at
its forward end is supported from the machine frame and in the head is adjustably
mounted a small receptacle or cup of metal containing a small quantity of mercury.
A doubled-armed contact device is secured to a hub portion which is pivotally
mounted upon pointed screws adjustably mounted in suitable brackets. A pin
depending from the forward end of the contact arm dips into the mercury contained
in the metal cup. The lower forward end of the other contact arm is turned or
bent slightly and the bent end rests in a shallow groove formed on the upper face
of a plate of fibre or other insulating material secured alongside of the casting
which supports the lower block of the separator. Circuit wires lead from the contact
devices to the main circuit wires leading from the small generator, one of the
circuit wires including the electro-magnet above referred to.
The contact device is normally in position to close the circuit through the
electro-magnet causing said magnet to attract the armature and hold the dog out of
engagement with the rack-bar. As soon, however, as the forward edge of the
sheet of paper comes in contact with the lower arm of the contact device, said arm
will be lifted causing the circuit to be broken between the pin and mercury in the
metal cup which will de-energize the magnet and allow the dog or pawl to drop
into engagement with the rack-bar and hold it against movement with the feeder-
off carriage, said carriage continuing in its movement and thereby
between the carriage and rack-bar
causing relative movement
which
will force the rollers out of the recesses and into engagement with
the straight faces of the rack-bar causing the rods or plates to be forced downwardly
and elevating the feeder-off blocks from the surface of the paper.
In addition to the automatic control of the feeding-off fingers by the movement
of the rack-bar, the movement of the carriage will bring the ends of the rack-bar
into engagement with the forward angle-bar of the frame on its forward motion
and with the rear angle-bar on its rear movement, said angle bars serving as
stops to throw the rack-bars into normal position in case they have not been shifted
by the automatic controlling devices.
To further obviate the possibility of two sheets being fed forward from the
pile, two sets of sheet separators are arranged at the forward or delivery end of the
machine, each set of separators comprising a lower retarding bed supported in a
casting disposed in front of the delivery end of the machine in the plane of feeding,
and an upper vertically movable horizontally reciprocating friction-pad or block.
The retarding bed is preferably formed of hard rubber but it may be formed of
other suitable hard material and in separating some qualities of paper it may be
advisable to apply to the top of the bed a sheet of sand paper or emery paper or
other similar rough surfaced material which will present sufficient friction to
prevent the forward movement of a sheet of paper which may have followed the
top sheet in its forward movement from the pile.
Bolted to the opposite faces of the sliding brackets is a track-bar which sup-
ports the horizontally reciprocating carriage which carries the friction-pad of the
separator. The carriage is formed with integral lugs which embrace the track
bar and confine the carriage thereon. A wear plate is supported by adjustable
screws between the upper face of the track bar and the inner face of the integral

page_text: flange of the carriage. This plate takes up the wear of the carriage and by
means of the screws the freedom of motion of the carriage can be properly
regulated. An integral head depending from the carriage is formed with guide
lugs forming a slide in which is supported a vertically movable bar having a lower
forwardly projecting right-angled extension. The forward end of this extension is
pivoted between the integral lugs of the upper separator block or friction-pad upon
a pivot bolt. An integral lug projects up from the back of the separator block and
is formed with a vertical slot through which passes an adjustable screw which is
seated in a suitably threaded opening in the extension or arm. By means of the
pivotal connection and the adjustable connection the upper separator block can be
adjusted upon the arm.
An integral lug depends from the carriage and in said lug is journaled
a rock-shaft, having secured to one end a rock arm which projects
forwardly from the rock shaft and is provided with a longitudinal
slot which engages a pin on the vertically movable sliding bar of the
separator. A rock-arm is mounted upon the opposite end of the rock shaft and
adjustably secured thereto by means of a set screw. A pitman or connecting link
is pivoted at its forward end to the upper end of the rock-arm and at its rear end
to the lower end of the driving lever which is pivotally supported to the end of the
bracket arm formed integral with and projecting from the adjustably mounted
casting. The bracket arm or horn is of the same shape as the other bracket arm
or horn above referred to both of said arms being supported upon or formed
integral with the same casting. A driving rod is pivoted to a lever and formed
at its forward end with a guiding loop which embraces the power shaft and has
anti-friction rollers journaled to it at opposite ends of the guide loop. A cam
is keyed to the power shaft for imparting an intermittent oscillatory motion to the
driving lever. A guide rod pivoted at its forward end to the driving lever and
sliding in a bracket is secured to the adjusting bracket. A spiral spring surrounds
the rod and is confined between said bracket and an adjustable collar, the purpose
of the spring being to hold the parts in proper normal position to cause the
anti-friction rollers to operate properly upon the cam.
Integral lugs project from the sliding carriage and adjusting screws are seated
in threaded opening in said lugs and provided with clamp nuts. The inner pro-
jecting ends of these screws are adapted to engage the opposite edges of a crank-
arm, said screws being properly adjusted to allow sufficient movement of the rock-
arm and rock shaft to throw the upper separator block down upon the surface of
the paper. This action of lowering or elevating the upper separator block precedes
the movement of the separator carriage either forward or backward and is caused
by the engagement of the rock arm with one of the screws. A pin projects
from the inner face of the carriage through a longitudinal slot of the track-bar
and a brake block is supported upon the pin with a spiral spring confined upon the
pin to cause it to have the proper frictional engagement with the side of the track-.
bar to resist the initial tendency of the carriage to move forward or backward
upon the movement of the driving lever for the purpose of giving time for the
operation of the rock-arm, rock-shaft and sliding bar in throwing the upper
separator block down upon or elevating it from the surface of the paper.
Each set of feeding-off devices is arranged adjacent to one
of separators in order that the separator will be in the best position
to take the sheet from the feeding-off devices. This relative position
the feeding-off devices and separators should always be
same and yet it is essential to provide means for adjusting said devices
transversely upon the machine to suit the varying requirements of the machine
in handling different sized sheets of paper. To facilitate said adjustment without
interfering with the proper relation of the devices the devices have been arranged
in groups which are adjustable as a whole as will now be explained.
between
set
the
As already described, the track bars of the feeder-off carriage, and separator
carriage are both supported from the sliding brackets which are respectively

page_text: mounted upon the angle frame bars. The bracket arms carrying the operating
devices of the feeding-off and separator mechanisms are formed integral with the
sliding bracket or casting. The other bracket has an integral portion projecting
rearwardly from it which is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the forward
vertical face of the forward casting thus causing the brackets to move as a single
structure transversely of the machine. The main driving shaft is formed with a
spline groove extending from end to end. A sleeve is formed with reduced ends
and bored longitudinally to fit loosely upon the driving shaft. A feather key is
formed integral with the sleeve and engages the spline groove of the power shaft.
Annular flanges form an annular groove between them with which engages a semi-
circular fin or flange of the plate projecting up from and formed integral with two
of the castings. The cams are adjustably keyed to the reduced ends of the sleeve
while the loop guide ends of the driving rods respectively embrace the reduced
portions of the sleeve and are confined against sidewise motion thereon between
their cams and adjustable collars which are secured to the reduced ends of the
sleeve. The forward bracket or casting has bolts extending through it and engaging
in longitudinal slots formed in the channel bar of the frame. It will therefore be
observed that by loosening the bolts the whole set or group of feeding-off devices
separating devices and their operating mechanisms can be adjusted as a single
structure transversely of the machine."
.
The automatically controlled governor which arrests the movement of the
machine in case more than the maximum number of sheets have been fed forward
by the devices above described, will now be described.
Loosely journaled upon the outer end of the main driving shaft is a large power
gear which has secured to it or formed integral with it the loose clutch disk having
a radial notch. Keyed to the outer end of the shaft adjacent to the loose clutch
disk is a similar disk secured by means of a key and formed with a similar radial
notch. Pivoted upon a pin supported in the lug projecting from, and forined
integral with, the aforesaid fixed clutch disk is a clutch dog having an engaging
tooth which is adapted to engage in the radial notches of the clutch disks when
said notches register or correspond in position. A pin projecting from one side
of the dog has a rod pivoted to it which projects through a guide lug projecting
from the fixed clutch disk. A spiral spring is confined upon this rod between said
lug and a collar for holding the dog against the peripheries of the clutch disks
and forcing the tooth into the notches when they assume proper position. A head
or enlarged lug is formed integral with the fixed clutch disk and a heel portion is
formed integral with the clutch dog said heel portion projecting over the enlarged
lug or head into the plane of the disk for engaging it to arrest the motion of the
machine.
A bracket is secured to one of the side frame bars and a pin is supported upon
said bracket. A sliding head having two arms projecting from it slides upon said
pin and is provided with a guide strap on one arm which embraces a stationary
guide pin projecting from the main frame. A rock-shaft is journaled in bearings
on the main frame and a rock arm is secured to one end of the shaft by means of
a set screw. The lower end of the rock arm is forked or bifurcated to engage the
arm of the sliding-head. An arm keyed to the rock-shaft has a pin mounted in
its outer end which extends parallel to the rock-shaft. A head is loosely journaled
upon the rock-shaft between the rock-arm and a collar. Another arm projecting
from the loosely journaled head carries. a weight at its outer end. A heel or
shoulder is formed upon the head and an armature is mounted at one end upon a
suitable lever pivoted upon a bracket and is provided at its other end with a
hook or dog which engages with the heel or shoulder of the loosely journaled head.
A spiral spring surrounds a rod projecting up from the armature lever through an
arm supported from the main 'frame. The spiral spring is confined between the
arinature lever and a bracket for holding the dog into engagement with heel or f
shoulder on the loosely mounted head. An electro-magnet is supported upon
J. . 1.
1

page_text: another bracket in position to attract the armature when an electric current passes
through it.
Operating in conjunction with the clutch mechanism just described an electric
contact device is provided which is adapted to be operated by more than the maxi-
mum number of sheets for closing the circuit and dropping the weighted arm
to throw it into engagement with the pin to cause the shifting of the sliding head
which will throw its arm into the path of the heel of the clutch dog disengaging
the clutch tooth from the notches of the clutch disks, and allowing the power gear
to rotate and arrest the driving shaft of the machine by the engagement of said arm
with the head or dog of the fixed clutch disk. This paper operated electric contact
device is supported adjacent to the central line of the machine at the delivery end.
Depending from the forward angle frame bar of the machine is an arm having a
forwardly projecting lower bent end. Pivoted beneath the bent end is a lever
pivoted upon screws seated in a bracket. A spiral spring is supported upon a
pin between the forward end of the contact lever and the bottom plate of its
supporting bracket for holding the forward end of the lever in close proximity
to the bent end of the arm. An adjustable stop is also provided for regulating the
proximity of the lever to the bent end of the arm. Suitable circuit wires connect
the two parts of the contact device with the clutch-controlling electro-magnet.
When more than the maximum number of sheets are forced between the lever and
forward bent-end of the arm by the feeding instrument, the lever will be moved
sufficiently far on its pivot by the pressure of the several thicknesses of paper to
make contact which will energize the magnet and release the automatic weighted
arm which in turn disengages the clutch and arrests the operation of the machine
as already explained.
The clutch mechanism just described is located at the forward left hand corner
of the machine. The main driving shaft extends across the machine and is pro-
vided with suitable mechanism for conveying motion to the several parts of the
machine. Keyed to the outer end of the main shaft is a worm cog gear which
meshes with a similar worm gear keyed to the shaft extending longitudinally of
the machine and supported in suitable bearings. A bevel gear adjustably splined
to said shaft and a bevel gear meshing therewith is keyed to the end of the
buckler operating cam shaft. A bracket bearing supported upon the shafts and
sliding upon one of the shafts for confining the bevel gears in proper position, and
causing one of the gears to be adjusted on its shaft by the movement of the adjust-
able head, the buckler-operating shaft, and bar which supports the bucklers. By
this means the buckler operating mechanism is driven.
Inside of the worm gear a sprocket gear is keyed to the power shaft, a sprocket
chain leading from said sprocket gear to a similar sprocket gear on a stationary
journal supported from the side frame. A stationary shaft is supported in the
side frame of the machine and projecting upon both sides of the side frame. A
cog-gear is loosely journaled upon the outer end of the stationary shaft and receives
motion from the sprocket through a large gear. The sprocket wheel is a tension
guide for the sprocket chain. Rock-arms are loosely journaled concentric to the
cog-gear upon the stationary journal shaft and upon a similar bearing at the
opposite side of the machine. Journaled in the forward bearings of the loose rock-
arms is the drop-roller shaft having a gear at one end meshing with the gear on
said journal shaft and carrying the drop rollers which co-operate with the lower
feed-rollers. The feed rollers are journaled upon bearings which support their
upper surfaces in the horizontal plane of feeding. Rock-arms are loosely journaled
upon suitable bearings and have anti-friction rollers at their upper ends which
run upon the peripheries of cams keyed to the main shaft inside of the main
bearings of the main frame. A head or box is formed integral with each of the
hub portions of these rock-arms. The heads have integral lugs in which are
seated the adjusting screws which bear upon the opposite edges of rock arms for
adjusting the relative position of these rock-arms to drop roller supporting rock-
In the ordinary operation of the machine the cams normally support the
arms.

page_text: drop rollers above the feed-rollers and allow them to drop at intervals to catch
the forward edge of the sheet of paper and feed it off from the machine.
To prevent the momentum of the drop rollers feeding a sheet from the machine
after the clutch has been automatically thrown out and during the moment just
before the machine is brought to a full stop, suitable rock-arms are journaled upon
stationary brackets and each carries a lug which is adapted to engage a similar
lug upon the drop-roller supporting bracket arms for supporting the drop rollers in
elevated position. These rock-arms are connected through rods with other rock
arms keyed to a shaft which is journaled in suitable bearings and has bevel gear
connections with the clutch-operating shaft so that the movement of said clutch-
operated shaft for operating the clutch will move said rock-arms for holding the
drop rollers in elevated position. For the purpose of enabling the throwing out
of the machine by hand, another rock shaft is provided with hand levers.
Adjustable supported bar is also provided having a longitudinal T-groove
adapted to receive T-headed journal pins upon which are journaled the gears for
gearing the feeding machine to a folder or other machine.
By loosening the adjustable connection it will be observed that the slotted bar
can be shifted to any angle to suit the height of the driving gear of the folder
or other machine to which the feeder is geared and by properly arranging the
gears supported in said slotted bar the folder can be driven at any desired relative
speed.
The operation of the improved machine as a whole is substantially as follows:-
The rear corners of the top sheet of the pile are first buckled by the operation
of the buckling devices, the pressure upon the holding-down fingers being released
while the corners are being buckled and being applied immediately after the
corners of the sheet have been withdrawn from under them. As soon as the
corners of the sheet have been buckled the air blasts blow currents of air under
the sheet from the rear and sides. The feeding-off devices then come into play
to engage the sheet and move it from the pile, the friction brake blocks resting
on the top sheet and the exposed rear edges of the sub-adjacent sheets to assist
in holding back the under sheets in cases where more than one sheet has been
started by the bucklers and air blasts. The holding down blocks or shoes engage
the pile just after the rear edge of the top sheet being fed off passes from beneath
them to further assist in separating any under sheets which may have been
moved, and to further assist in keeping the pile intact. When the feeding-off
fingers start on their forward movement, the rack-bar which controls them is
in normal position with the curved notches in engagement with the small rollers
carried by the bars which control the feed fingers. As soon as the forward edge
of the sheet reaches the electric contact devices, the electric circuits are broken
and the pawls or dogs are dropped down into engagement with the teeth of the
rack-bars holding said rack-bars against further movement while the feeder-off
carriages continue to the end of their stroke, thus causing the elevation of the
feed fingers from the paper. Each set of feeding-off devices is independently
controlled by the electric contact controlling device directly in front of it, and
the sheet is thereby squared and registered at its front edge. The feeding-off
fingers will be held in elevated position until the end of the return stroke when
the rack-bars will be engaged by a suitable stop, the angle frame bar for shifting
them into normal position, allowing the feed fingers to again drop upon the
surface of the paper. If two or more sheets have been fed forward to the sepa-
rator the circuits controlling the electro-magnets will continue to be broken by
the interposition of the sheets, allowing the dogs to remain in engagement with
the rack-bars and thus preventing the feed-fingers from falling when the carriages
again start forward. In case no sheet has been fed forward by the feeding-off
devices to operate the electric contact devices, the rack-bars will engage the stops
at the front of their stroke causing them to shift and elevate the feeding-off
fingers from the paper for the rearward stroke of the carriages.
The feeding-off devices deliver the front marginal edge of the top sheet of

page_text: paper part way on to the rear portions of the retarding beds, in which position
the movements of the feeding-off devices are arrested by the electric contact
controlling devices. While the sheet is assuming this position, the reciprocating
friction-pads or blocks of the separator are moving to their rearmost elevated
position, and immediately after the feeding-off devices are elevated from the
paper, the said friction pads descend upon the aforesaid front marginal part of
the advanced top sheet and obtain a frictional hold upon the sheet and move
forward pushing said sheet over the retarding bed, and thereby separating any
under sheets which may have adhered, delivering said top sheet to the drop
rollers which feed it out of the feeding machine to the folder or other machine
designed to receive the sheet. It sometimes happens that the feeding-off fingers
advance two or more sheets simultaneously from the pile to the separators. Under
these circumstances, the portions of the sheets which have become interposed
between the top sheets (engaged by the movable friction-pads) and the retarding
beds are prevented from further following the top sheet by the friction between
the beds and said under sheets, which is greater than the friction between the
several sheets. Hence the separators effectually prevent the feeding machine
from delivering more than one sheet at a time.
During the operation of the several feeding devices, the height of the pile of
paper is automatically regulated by the governor as described, and the operation
of the whole mechanism automatically arrested when the operations are not
perfect, or by hand when it is desired to stop the feeding operation.
It has been proposed to construct paper feeding machines with a lower stationary
separator plate and an upper movable separator friction-pad or block which, in
addition to separating the top sheet from the next underlying sheet, or sheets,
serves to feed the sheets off from the pile of paper and that it is old to provide a
paper feeding machine with feeding instruments without the paper separators
is also known; but it is not known that it has ever been proposed to provide
a machine with sheet separators at the delivery end of the machine in combina-
tion with independent feeding instruments which start the sheet from the pile
and deliver its front edge to the separator; nor is it known that
it has ever been proposed to combine with such machines buckling devices
or preliminary separating devices for separating the top sheet at the rear before
it is started from the machine by the feeding instruments. Such combinations
are claimed to be broadly new in the present application. The results of such
combinations are vastly superior to the results of all other machines, the chief
advantage lying in the fact that the independent feeding instruments engage
the sheets to the rear of their forward edges (leaving the forward edges free to
move over the separator bed) and never fail to push the forward marginal edge
of the top sheet onto the lower separator retarding bed in position to be subse-
quently taken hold of by the upper movable friction-pads of the separators,
while in all other machines the movable separator block also feeds the paper
from the pile to the retarding bed and the forward edges of the sheets are con-
stantly crowded against the edge of the lower separator bed (on account of the
necessary downward pressure of the blocks upon the extreme forward edge of
the sheets when the sheet is started from the pile) and tend to curl or bend down-
wardly under the action of the upper movable separator blocks and very frequently
catch against the separator bed and cause the rumpling up and destruction of
the sheets and sometimes even the breaking of the machine if the operation is
not quickly arrested.
By the expression used in the specification "feeding devices having a normally
active frictional engagement with the sheets on their forward stroke," it is meant
to cover such feeding instruments which take a positive frictional hold upon the
surface of the top sheet of the pile on their forward stroke to cause the single
sheet to move positively forward with the feeding instruments the whole distance
of their stroke while in engagement, as distinguished from combing devices which

page_text: do not have a positive frictional hold on the sheets but slip or slide over the
surface of the top sheet and move a number of sheets.
Dated December 18th 1897.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
I, TALBOT CHAMBERS DEXTER, Manufacturer, a citizen of the United States,
residing at Pearl River, Rockland County, New York, 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:-
The invention relates to improvements in paper feeding machines of the buck-
ling type in which the successive sheets of paper in an adjustably supported pile
are buckled and separated from the pile and then fed off from the pile to a print-
ing press, paper folding or ruling machine or other machine designed to operate
upon the paper.
The object of the invention is to improve the structure and operation of the
several essential parts of such mechanisms to render such machines more accurate
in separating the sheets, more effective in guarding against the delivery of more
than one sheet, and more completely automatic in operation, and to provide means
for arresting the movements of the several devices in cases when the sheets are
not properly separated or the machine is otherwise imperfectly operating and
would be liable to injure the mechanism or the sheets being handled.
To these ends the invention relates, firstly, to improved buckling devices com-
prising an automatically controlled spring-pressed holding down finger engaging
the corner of the pile of paper, and an inwardly reciprocating buckling carriage
carrying a loosely journaled spring-pressed buckling finger operated by suitable
mechanism which first releases the buckling finger to the action of its spring to
throw it down into engagement with the top sheet of the pile of paper and then
engages the reciprocating carriage for moving the finger inwardly for buckling
the sheet. The reciprocating carriage of the buckler is provided with a spring-
pressed brake which overcomes the initial tendency of the carriage to move at
each change of direction for the purpose of giving the buckling finger time to
move into contact or out of contact with the paper before the movement of the
carriage.
The first part of the invention consists further in improving and simplifying
the structure and operation of sheet separating and feeding machines of the de-
scribed type by combining with the sheet moving mechanism an auxiliary fric-
tional device which will rest constantly upon the pile of sheets adjacent to the
holding down finger and exert sufficient frictional resistance upon any under
sheets which may be partially separated from the pile by the sheet-moving instru-
ment to prevent such under sheets being completely removed from the holding
finger and separated and fed off with the top sheet. With such a device the
imperfection of the sheet feeding device is removed and it will be impossible for
the feeding device to separate and start off from the pile more than one sheet at
one time thereby obviating to a large extent the need of a sheet separator at the
delivery end of the machine.
In the preferred form of the improved auxiliary frictional device, it is com-
bined with the buckling device, in which form it may comprise a small rod or
finger supported upon or adjacent to the holding-down finger and carrying a

page_text: small block or pad of soft rubber which rests upon the top of the pile of sheets
constantly. The holding-down finger is preferably constantly in engagement
with the top of the pile of sheets, being actuated by suitable spring pressure for
clamping the pile in position and the pressure of the spring being intermittently
released to allow the buckling of a sheet. The form of the holding-down finger
may, however, be changed without departing from the scope of the invention, but
whether the holding-down finger is constantly in engagement with the pile or
only engages the pile intermittently, the auxiliary frictional device is always
in contact with the pile.
The invention consists, secondly, in providing friction blocks which constantly
rest upon the pile of paper and exert an effective frictional resistance upon the
under sheet, or sheets, at their rear edge, or edges which may by chance be buckled.
and started off from the pile together with the top sheet, in order that said under
sheet, or sheets, will be held back while the top sheet is carried off by the feeding-
off devices and drop-rollers. These friction blocks assist greatly in separating
the sheets when more than one sheet is started off because in such cases the under-
lying sheet, or sheets, will almost invariably project slightly back of the upper
sheet and allow said blocks to engage the rear edge, or edges, of said under sheet,
or sheets, and, although each of said underlying sheets may not project more
than one-eighth of an inch, the friction between the upper sheets and the friction
blocks will be greater than the friction between the two smooth sheets of paper
and consequently the under sheets will be effectively held back while the upper
sheet is fed off." This device is considered of great importance.
The invention consists, thirdly, of automatically operated holding shoes.or
blocks which are forcibly thrown down into engagement with the pile of paper
directly in rear of the rear edge of the top sheet just as it is fed off to its most
forward position by the main separators and is in position to be grasped by the
drop rollers, for the purpose of further counteracting the tendency of the fric-
tional engagement between the top sheet and the pile to carry forward more than
one sheet. These holding down blocks are so adjusted that they will just miss
the rear edge of the top sheet and firmly engage the next underlying sheet and
hold it back even though said underlying sheet has been advanced so far that
the friction between it and the top sheet would be sufficient to carry it forward
into the bite of the drop rollers. It often happens that the main separators at
the delivery end of the machine will separate the top sheet from the underlying
ones but will advance the underlying ones so near to the drop rollers that they
are liable to be drawn forward. These holding-down blocks are important for
preventing this.
The invention consists, fourthly, in an improved governing device for auto-
matically regulating the height of the pile of paper. This governing device
comprises essentially an intermittently operable driving shaft geared to the table
elevating screws and having a ratchet wheel keyed to it which is operated by a
pawl carried upon an intermittently oscillated rock arm or lever loosely journaled
upon the driving shaft, a hood or shield being also loosely journaled upon said
shaft and constructed and arranged to project over a segment of the teeth of
the ratchet wheel for holding the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet wheel
while the pile of paper is at its proper height. The hood is connected, through
a suitable link, with a vertically sliding gage red which is normally held in
elevated position by means of a dog formed upon a ball crank lever pivoted to
the machine frame and carrying at its lower end a freely journaled roller which
rests upon the top of the pile of paper. Said hood or shield is also connected
through suitable links, crank-arms and a rock-shaft with the pawl carrying rock
arm in such a manner that the hood or shield will be oscillated over the teeth
of the ratchet wheel, exposing some of the teeth of the ratchet wheel to
the action of the pawl, and causing the
gage rod
up and
down in its bearings, when the surface of the pile of paper has descended
sufficiently below the normal plane to disengage the dog from said rod.
gage
to move

page_text: When the pile of paper is at its normal height, suitable springs hold the hood
or shield in normal position to keep the oscillating pawl out of engagement with
the ratchet teeth and during this normal position of the mechanism the con-
tinued regular oscillation of the pawl carrying arm will not move the shield
and connected gage rod because the engagement between the two parts of the
mechanism is effected by means of a tappet or collar on the operating rod of the
shield and a head attached to the oscillating pawl-carrying rock-arm which slides
upon said rod and only engages the tappet when the gage rod has been allowed to
fall below normal by the disengagement of the dog caused by the lowering of the
pile of paper.
The invention consists, fifthly, of automatically controlled true frictional feed-
ing instruments controlled by the sheet being fed off, as distinguished from
combing devices so controlled. There are two wel! recognized classes of fric-
tional paper feeding machines for separating and successively feeding sheets of
paper from a pile, which two classes of machines are distinguishable as paper
combing devices or true frictional feeders. The paper combing feeding machines
comprise essentially a feeding instrument movably supported over a pile of sheets
and having a hard smooth engaging surface which is caused to slide or slip over
the top sheet of the pile for combing out and partially separating the sheets near
the top, giving the pile a shelving appearance at its edge. The true frictional
feeding machines comprise essentially a feeding instrument movably supported
above a pile of sheets and provided with a soft rubber or other frictional en-
gaging surface which is adapted to take a positive frictional hold upon the top
sheet of the pile and separate and move said top sheet forward singly from the
pile. In true frictional feeding machines, the individual sheet moves positively
with the frictional feeding instrument the whole length of the stroke while in
engagement, whereas, in the combing feeding machines the feeding instrument
slips or slides over the sheet and imparts to the sheet (and the adjacent under-
lying sheets) only a short movement,-a fractional part of the stroke of the
combing instrument while in engagement. On account of this recognized dif-
ference in operation between these two classes of feeding machines, combing
devices cannot be employed for the accurate feeding work which the true fric-
tional feeding devices are capable of accomplishing.
It has heretofore been, proposed to combine with combing feeding machines,
suitable automatic devices controlled by the movement of the sheets for throwing
the combing devices out of operation when the sheet reaches the proper position
to be engaged by suitable delivery mechanism, but by reason of the irregular and
uncertain feeding movement of the sheets under the action of the combers, the
registry of the successive sheets in time to be taken by the delivery mechanism
cannot be sure and the delivery mechanism will, therefore, sometimes fail to
remove a sheet at the proper moment to be fed to the folder or printing press,
which omission is very objectionable for obvious reasons.
It has also been pro-
posed to arrange independently controlled combing devices transversely across
a pile and provide each independent comber with a controlling device operated
by the sheet as it passes over the pile; but by reason of the uncertain feeding
motion of the combed sheets above referred to, it is impracticable to accurately
square the front edge of the sheets by said independently controlled combers.
In view of the above, therefore, it is the object of this fifth part of the present
invention to provide a machine of the true frictional feeding type in which a
plurality of independent true frictional feeding instruments may be accurately
controlled by the position of a sheet being fed from a pile so that the movement
and position of the sheet can be accurately timed and gaged to invariably arrive
at registered position every time the delivery mechanism is moved into position
to take a sheet to feed it to the printing press, folder or other machine..
To this end the fifth part of the invention consists broadly of the combination,
in a paper feeding machine, of true frictional feeding devices having a normally
active positive frictional engagement with the top sheet of a pile on their forward

page_text: stroke, as distinguished from combing devices which slide irregularly over the.
surface of the pile,-means for imparting a uniform stroke to the feeding devices,
and automatic controlling devices operated by the passing sheet and controlling
the true frictional feeding devices, rendering said feeding devices frictionally
active for feeding or inactive for arresting the feed, according to the position of
the sheet being fed off and without reference to the uniform stroke of the feeding
devices. *
The invention consists sixthly in the combination in a paper feeding machine
of a plurality of independent true frictional feeding devices having normally
active frictional engagement with the top sheet of a pile on their forward stroke,
and arranged transversely of the line of feed; means for imparting a uniform
stroke to said feeding devices, and a plurality of automatic controlling devices
also arranged transversely to the line of feed and controlling respectively the in-
dependent feeding devices, said controlling devices being operated by a passing
sheet for rendering the feeding devices frictionally active for feeding or inactive
fór arresting the feed without interfering with their uniform motion.
The invention consists seventhly in the arrangement and construction of the
sheet-inoving means or feeding-off devices, each of which comprises, preferably,
a reciprocating carriage upon which one or more spring-pressed feeding-off-
fingers or instruments is or are pivotally mounted (one behind the other when
more than one is employed), which are automatically thrown into engagement
with the surface of the top sheet of paper and automatically elevated from the
paper by means of a longitudinally movable sliding rack-bar mounted upon the
carriage and having a lower cam face. The rack-bar is controlled by a sheet-
actuated trip. When the rack-bar in the carriage is in normal position, tha
feeding-off fingers or instruments are in engagement with the surface of the top
sheet of paper but as soon as the forward edge of the sheet being fed off, reaches
proper registered position, it engages an electric tripping device and an electric
circuit is broken and a pawl or dog thereby released by an electro-magnet to fall
into engagement with the rack bar, causing said rack-bar to be held stationary
while the reciprocating feeding-off carriage continues to move, resulting in the
elevation of the feeding-off fingers from the surface of the paper. As long as
a sheet of paper is passing between the controlling contact devices, the pawls
or dogs are in engagement with the rack-bars, thereby holding the feeding-off
fingers up from the surface of the paper. As soon as the sheet is fed off and the
contacts of the controlling circuits are again made the dogs are drawn up out of
engagement with the rack-bars which are shifted to normal position to allow
the feeding-off fingers to again operate. In addition to the automatic control
of the rack-bars, suitable stops are provided to engage the rack-bars, at the
forward and rear ends of the movement of the feeding-off carriages to throw
the rack-bars back into normal position, the normal position being such that the
feeding-off fingers will be held out of engagement with the surface of the paper
during the rearward stroke of the carriages and in engagement with the paper
during the forward stroke of the carriages.
The invention consists, eightly, of the combination of a suitable sheet-retarding
bed located at the delivery end of the machine, a frictional separator operating
upon the sheets of paper over sand bed to carry the top sheet over the bed and
separate it from any chance underlying sheets, and an independent auxiliary
feeding-off instrument operating upon the pile of sheets at the rear of the separator
pad to feed off the top sheet from the pile onto the sheet retarding bed before said
sheet is engaged by the separating pad. The feeding-off instrument and sepa-
rating pad operate upon the sheets alternately or successively, the feeding-off
instrument first pushing the sheet forward to the bed and the separator pad then
engaging the sheet on the bed. It is not necessary that the feeding-off instrument
shall disengage the sheet the moment the separator pad comes into engagement
with it, as their operations may slightly overlap or be partly coincident, but it is
essential that they should be brought into play alternately or successively to

page_text: produce the important result aimed at in this part of the invention. It is also
preferred to employ sheet-delivering mechanism to convey the successive advanced
sheets from the sheet retarding or separating beds of the machine to the printing
press, folder or other machine.
The invention consists, ninthly, in the improved separating device located at
the delivery end of the machine and operating in conjunction with the indepen-
dently operated feeding-off devices (in accordance with the eighth part of the
present invention), to receive the sheet being fed off and separate therefrom any
additional under sheet or sheets which may by chance have passed the bucklers
and resistance brakes, causing the upper sheet to be fed to the drop rollers of the
machine and holding back said under sheets. The separator comprises a paper
retarding bed disposed at the delivery end of the machine and having an upper
friction surface to which the forward edges of the sheets of paper are delivered
by the feeding-off-devices, and a friction-pad or block reciprocating over said
retarding bed and moving vertically to and from it at the ends of its stroke, and
adapted to engage the top sheet and push it forward over the bed while the under-
lying sheet, or sheets, is, or are, detained by their frictional engagement with the
bed. Suitable sheet-delivering mechanism, such as the drop-rollers shown, en-
gage the separated sheet which is pushed forward over the retarding bed of the
separator and convey it from the machine. The operating mechanism of the re-
ciprocating friction pad or block of the separator has a two-fold function, as
in the operating mechanism of the buckler, in that it first moves said friction-pad
into or out of engagement with the surface of the paper and then, by continued
movement in the same direction, causes the reciprocation of the carriage either
forward or backward, an automatic spring brake being provided to counteract,
the initial tendency of the carriage to move and give time for the supporting
block to move into or out of engagement with the paper before the reciprocation of
the carriage.
The invention consists, tenthly, in arranging the sets of feeding-off devices
and separating devices one behind the other in groups which are connected by a
suitable structure to enable the ready adjustment of each group transversely of
the machine to suit the requirements for operating upon the paper of different
sizes. To accomplish this result the track bars upon which the feeding-off car-
riages and separator carriages reciprocate are supported at their ends upon cast-
ings which slide upon the frame pieces while the operating levers and links are
supported from another casting connected with one of the aforesaid castings,
and the cams for effecting the movements of the operating levers are keyed to a
suitable sleeve having a sliding spline connection with the operating shaft
which sleeve is formed with an annular groove in which engages a fin or flange
projecting up from one of the castings. In this way all of the parts of each
group of mechanisms are readily adjusted at one time by simply loosening one or
inore securing bolts in one of the main castings. In the machine, two sets or
groups of such mechanisms are employed, one at each side of the machine, each
set comprising a feeding-off mechanism and a separating mechanism.
The invention consists, cleventhly, in providing means for automatically arrest-
ing the operation of the machine in cases when the several mechanisms have, for
unseen reasons, failed to properly separate the sheets and have fed forward a greater
number of sheets than the separating devices can effectively manage. It will be
clear that such an arrangement is very important in this class of machines. The
separating devices can effectively separate from four to six sheets when they are
passed forward to them but if a greater number of sheets are fed forward there
is not sufficient room upon the lower retarding bed to effectively engage the forward
edge of all of the sheets and consequently two or more sheets will be engaged by
the drop rollers and conveyed to the folder or printing machine causing the
destruction of such sheets and sometimes the injury of the machine. To obviate
this difficulty an automatic clutch device is provided which disengages the
machine from the power shaft and positively arrests its movement when an

page_text: electric contact device is actuated by the thickness of more than the maximum
number of sheets which the separator can properly take care of, said contact device
closing a circuit which energizes an electro-magnet causing the operation of the
operating arm of the clutch controller. A hand lever is also provided which en-
gages the clutch controller for throwing the machine out of operation by hand.
To further ensure the positive stopping of the machine under the action of the
automatic clutch a rock-arm is provided connected to said clutch controlling
mechanism and having a dog or lug which engages a similar dog or lug on one of
the supporting rock-arms of the drop-rollers in order that said drop-rollers will
be held out of operation the instant the machine is stopped to thereby prevent
any slight forward feed of the paper by their momentum.
The invention consists, lastly, in various novel combinations of the parts above
referred to and in certain minor details of construction of the several parts of
the machine which, together with the features above pointed out, will first be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings and afterwards pointed
out more particularly with reference to their patentable novelty in the annexed
claims.
In said drawings,
Figure 1 is a plan view of the left hand portion of my improved feeding machine.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the right hand portion of the same.
Figures 1 and 2 taken together represent a plan view of the whole machine.
Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of part of the rear right hand corner of
the machine.
Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the sheet buckling mechanism and one of
the air blast devices.
Figure 4 is a detail sectional view showing the friction brake of the buckling
devices.
Figure 5 is a detail perspective view showing the paper retarding brake and
the holding down shoes or blocks.
Figure 5 is a detail transverse sectional view showing the means for operating
the holding down shoes or blocks.
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the governor mechanism for regulating the
height of the paper-supporting table.
Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine showing the paper-table
governing mechanism and operating devices.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the feeding-off devices and its control-
ling mechanism.
Figure 9 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the machine showing the
same devices.
Figure 10 is a detail perspective view of the paper separator and feeding-off
devices showing also the electric controller of the feeding-off devices.
Figure 11 is a detail perspective view of one of the separating devices looking
at the opposite side from that represented in Figure 10.
Figure 12 is a top perspective view of one set of the feeding-off devices and
separator showing particularly the castings for supporting them in an adjustable
set or group.
Figure 13 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the driving shaft showing
the arrangement of the operating cams upon the adjustable sleeve for operating the
feeding-off and separator devices.
Figure 14 is a front perspective view of the electric contact device controlling
the main clutch of the machine and also showing paper guides and one of the
paper feeding drop-rollers.
Figure 14 is a detail front elevation of said contact device.
Figure 15 is a perspective view showing the main driving gear and clutch with
the automatic mechanism for throwing the same out of gear and arresting the
operation of the machine.

page_text: Figure 16 is a perspective view showing the automatic means for supporting the
drop rollers in inoperative position and the gearing for operating them.
Figure 16 is a detail elevation illustrating diagrammatically the gearing from
the main driving shaft to the drop rollers.
Figure 17 is a detail side elevation of parts of the feeder and a folding machine
to which the feeder is geared, showing the adjustable device for gearing the
feeder to any machine.
Figure 17 is a detail transverse sectional view taken on the line
Figure 17.
of
Figure 18 is a diagrammatic representation of my improved feeding machine
representing the relative positions of the several mechanisms.
Figure 19 is a perspective view of a portion of a pile of sheets and a sheet
separating buckling device in operative position with relation thereto and having
my auxiliary frictional device combined therewith.
Figure 20 is a detail elevation showing a slightly different form of buckling
device having my auxiliary attachment applied thereto.
Figure 21 is a detail sectional elevation of the holding-down finger shown in
Figure 1 having my improved auxiliary frictional device applied thereto.
Figures 22, 23 and 24 are detail views of modified forms of the improved
auxiliary frictional device applied to the holding-down finger of the buckler
mechanism.
The
Like letters of reference indicate the same parts throughout the several views.
1, 1 are the side pieces or bars of the main frame formed preferably of channel
iron, and 2, 5 are the front and rear bars connecting the side frame pieces.
bars 2 and 5 are preferably of angle iron. Extending between the top side
pieces 1, 1 parallel with the angle iron frame pieces 2 and 5 is the channel iron
frame piece 3 all of which parts are securely bolted together to support the
mechanisms hereinafter to be described.
6 is the vertically movable paper supporting table upon which is piled the
paper P. The paper supporting table operates within suitable vertically extending
paper guide rods of usual construction, (not shown), and is provided with outwardly
extending threaded ears or lugs ? working in vertical slots 12" in standards 12,
through which ears or lugs work the vertically extending adjusting screws 7,
indicated by dotted lines in Figures 1 and 2. Keyed to the upper ends of the
vertical screws 7 are bevel cog gears 8 with which mesh the similar bevel cog-
gears 9 keyed to the transverse shaft 10 adjacent to its ends, which shaft is jour-
naled in bearings 11 on the main side bars 1 of the machine frame.
It will, of course, be understood that the main frame pieces 1, 1 are supported at
the upper ends of suitable standards or vertical side frame-pieces, such as 12, as
indicated in detail view, Figure 3. Extending rearwardly from the vertical side
frame-pieces 12 are the auxiliary track bars 13 of dovertailed cross section.
14 and 15 are brackets extending inwardly from the side bar 1 and auxiliary
frame piece 13 respectively and 16 is an adjusting screw journaled in the
brackets 14 and 15 and formed with a worm gear 17 with which meshes a similar
worm gear 18 keyed to an adjusting shaft 19 journaled in the side bars of the
machine and extending at a right angle to screw 16 from side to side of the
machine, 20 is an operating crank handle keyed to shaft 19 by means of which
said shaft is rotated.
25 is a head embracing the bar 13 so as to slide thereon and 26 is a lug or block
projecting inwardly from the head 25 and formed with a threaded opening through
it, through which passes the shaft 16.
It will be observed that there is a bar 13 supporting a head 25 and an adjusting
screw 16 at each side of the machine. Extending between the heads 25 and sup-
ported by them is an auxiliary frame piece or bar 27 bolted to the lugs 26, and
journaled in bearings 28 projecting upwardly from heads 25 is the rotary
buckler-operating-shaft 29. Upon the bar 27 and shaft 29 (which are adjustable
longitudinally of the machine by the movement of the heads 25) are adjustably

page_text: mounted two sets of sheet buckling devices, 'two sets of paper retarding brakes,
and two paper holding shoes or blocks which will be described in their order,
and as both sets of each pair of such devices are of the same construction a descrip-
tion of but one set of each will be given as this will be sufficient for a proper
understanding of the whole.
...30 is a casting formed with engaging lugs 31 by ineans of which it is adjustably
mounted upon the bar 27. The rear face of the casting 30 is formed with guide
flanges 32 between which slides the reciprocating buckler carriage 33. The slid-
ing carriage 33 has projecting out from its rear face a rigidly secured bolt 34
having a head 35 at its outer end. 36 is the buckling finger having a forward
bifurcated end 37 in which is rigidly clamped the rubber faced buckling roll 38.
The buckler finger 36 is loosely journaled upon the bolt 34 and is given a tendency
to press against the top of the pile of paper by means of the spiral spring 39
having an end 40 engaging the buckler finger and its opposite end engaging the
head 35.
41 is a bell-crank lever loosely journaled upon the bolt 34 between the buckler
finger 36 and sliding block or carriage 33, and 42 is a right-angled projection
on the bell-crank lever which extends under the spring-pressed buckling finger 36
engaging with said finger for elevating it against the action of the spring 39. 43
is a lug formed integral with the sliding block or carriage 33. 45 is a journal pin
and 46 is a lever pivoted upon the pin 45 and having its lower end connected to
the upper end of bell-crank lever 41 by means of a short link 47. 48 is a double
faced cam adjustably keyed to the shaft 29 and engaging an anti-friction roller 49
journaled upon the upper end of the lever 46. By the rotation of the cam 48 the
lever 46 will be rocked to cause the bell-crank lever to move, throwing its vertical
arm over into engagement with the lug 43 and releasing the buckling finger 36
to the action of its spring 39 which throws it down upon the surface of the pile of
paper. As soon as the vertical arm of the lever, 41. engages lug 43 the buckler
slide or carriage 33 will be moved inwardly by the continued movement of
lever 46, causing the corner of the sheet of paper to be buckled.
.
The bolt 34 also projects forwardly from the carriage 33 and extends through
the slot 30b of casting 30. 33" is a leather faced brake block loosely supported
upon bolt 34, and held in frictional engagement with the casting 30 by means of a
spiral spring 34°and clamp nuts 34b. This. brake overcomes the initial tendency
of the buckler carriage to move and exerts sufficient resistance to insure. the
moving of the buckler finger into or out of engagement with the sheet before, the
reciprocation of the carriage.
Supported in bearings 50 and 51 of the casting 30 is a vertically movable rod 52
having a spiral spring. 53 surrounding it and engaging the upper bearing 50 at
one end and a head 54 at its lower end, which head 54 is loosely mounted upon
the rod 52 above, an adjustable collar 55 on said rod and is held down against said
collar by the spring 53. Projecting upwardly from the head 54 is an arm 56 to
the upper end of which is pivoted a crankarm 57 formed integral with a head. 58
from which projects another crank-arm 59 having journaled at its upper end an
anti-friction roll 60. 61 is a single-faced cam adjustably keyed to the shaft 29.
alongside of cam 48. and engaging the anti-friction roll 60 to cause the inter-
mittent lifting of the head 54 .for releasing. the spring-pressure upon the rod 52.
The lower end of the rod 52 is provided with a paper retaining or holding down
foot 52 which constantly rests upon the extreme corner of the pile of paper and
holds the pile intact, while the sheet which has been buckled is being fed off, the
pressure upon the holding-down foot being released (without elevating the foot
from the pile) just as the corner of the top sheet is buckled and slid from under
aid foot, and being allowed to act again as soon as the edge of the sheet has been
rithdrawn from. under the foot.. As the holding-down foot always rests upon
he surface of the pile. though only by its own gravity while the corner of the
op sheet is being, buckled, the liability of buckling more than one sheet and the
hance of the buckled corner of the sheet slipping back under the holding-down

page_text: finger are greatly reduced. The spring pressure is normally on the holding-down
finger, during which time the buckled sheets are being fed off from the pile.
The holding-down finger 52" as shown in Figures 19 and 21 has an opening
bored vertically through it in which is seated a tubular support S. In the tubular
support S is loosely mounted a cylindrical head H carrying at its lower end a
small pad or block H¹ of soft rubber, and a rod H² projecting from its upper end
through a central guide opening S¹ in the top of the tubular support S. J is a
delicate spiral spring surrounding the rod H2 and confined between the upper end
of the tubular support S and the head H, said spring holding the head H down-
wardly with a delicate pressure so as to keep the rubber pad or block H' constantly
in engagement with the surface of the pile irrespective of the position of the hold-
ing-down finger upon which the tubular support S is mounted. The head H
carrying the rubber block or pad H¹ constitutes the auxiliary frictional device
which co-operates with the holding-down finger and prevents the buckling and
separation from the pile of more than one sheet at one time.
The auxiliary frictional device has less frictional hold upon the sheets than
the buckler, and hence will not interfere with the buckling of the top sheet but
will have sufficient frictional hold upon any under sheets to overcome the adhesion
between the top sheet and said under sheets. It will be observed that the holding-
down finger operates at or near the edge of the pile of the sheets and the frictional
buckling finger is located farther in from the edge and operates away from the
edge and holding-down finger to withdraw the edges of the successive top sheets
from under the holding-down finger, while the auxiliary frictional holding
device is located to engage the pile behind the inner edge of the holding-down
finger so that any under sheets which start off with the top sheet will be engaged
at their edges by said auxiliary device before they get from under the holding-
down finger.
In Figure 20 is shown the auxiliary frictional device applied to the form of
buckling device illustrated in the Specification of British Patent Application
No. 30406 of 1897, for improvements in paper feeding machines. This form of
buckling device comprises a reciprocating buckling finger F pivoted at F1 to a
reciprocating head F2 and having a spring pressure device G controlled by three-
armed rocking lever E to which the operating rod E¹ is connected. The holding-
down finger 52 is mounted upon the end of a long lever 52b pivoted at 52° and
held in engagement with the pile P by means of a spring 52. The auxiliary
frictional attachment indicated by references S, H³ may be constructed as already
described.
The spring 52 is attached to the journal 52° and engages the holding-down
finger 52 at its forward end. 52 is an arm projecting from the reciprocating
head F and formed with a downwardly extending portion which supports a
pin 52 directly beneath the spring 52d. In Figure 20 the buckling device is
shown in the position it assumes at the completion of the forward buckling stroke
the top sheet being withdrawn from under the holding-down finger by the
buckling finger. In this position the pressure of the spring 52 upon holding-
down finger 52ª is removed by the engagement of pin 52' under the spring, tend-
ing to lift the spring slightly and allowing the holding-down finger 52ª and
auxiliary device H to rest upon the pile by their own weight. Upon the reverse
movement of the reciprocating head F2, the buckling finger F is elevated from
the pile by reason of the rocking of the three-armed lever E and the engagement
of collar G¹ of the spring-pressure device G with the buckling finger: and the
head F2 moves backwardly to return buckling finger F to initial position and at
the same time cause the pin 52 to disengage the spring 52d to allow said spring
to re-apply its pressure to the holding-down finger 52" for holding the pile intact
while the top buckled sheet is drawn from the nile hy the feeding-off device.
For a further description and illustration of this form of buckling device
reference is made to said Specification of British Patent Application 30,406 of
1897, in which this form of buckler, without the auxiliary device, is claimed.

page_text: In Figure 22 is shown the holding-down finger 52" at the lower end of the
rod 52 formed with a longitudinal groove cut in its lower face in which is
mounted an auxiliary arm K carrying at its forward free end a small rubber pad
or block k and pivoted at its rear end upon a pin k mounted in brackets at the
rear edge of the holding-down finger. This form of the device operates in prac-
tically the same manner as the form illustrated in Figures 19, 20 and 21, the
lever arm K moving freely upon its pivot to keep the rubber pad k constantly
in contact with the top sheet of the pile. In Figure 23 is shown the auxiliary
frictional device in the form of a gravity rod L passing freely through an open-
ing 52% in the holding-down finger 52 and through an opening in a bracket arm 51"
of the bracket 50, 51, the rod L having a pin or other device L' at its upper end
to prevent its falling out of position in the absence of a pile of sheets, and the
soft rubber pad or block 1 at its lower end which rests upon the pile of sheets.
In Figure 24 is shown part of a modified form of buckling device in which the
holding-down finger 52" is intermittently raised and lowered to allow the buckling
finger to buckle the top sheet of the pile. The only difference between this form
of device and the form shown in Figure 19 is that the head 54 from which the
operating arm 56 extends, is rigidly clamped to the rod 52 by means of a set-screw
or other similar device 54", the lower end of the spring 53 resting against the
head 54 and by its pressure thereon tending to throw the holding-finger 52" into
engagement with the pile. In this form of the device the operating mechanism
will cause the holding-down finger 52 to be elevated from the pile when the
buckling finger 36 moves forward to buckle the sheet, the auxiliary frictional
device resting constantly in engagement with the pile whether the holding down
finger 52" is in elevated or depressed position. It will be observed that in the
form shown in Figure 19 the pressure of the spring upon the holding-down
finger 52 was removed without elevating the finger.
The operation of the sheet separating and buckling device with auxiliary frie-
tional device applied will be clear with but few words of explanation. When
the buckling finger 36 is moved forward to buckle a sheet, the spring pressure is
released from the holding-down finger 52" (or said finger 52 is raised) to allow
the edge of the top sheet to be drawn out from under it and the pressure is again
applied to the holding-down finger immediately after the edge of the top sheet is
free. The auxiliary frictional device rests constantly upon the pile of sheets and
should more than one sheet start forward under the action of the buckling finger
the under sheet or sheets will necessarily project a little in the rear of the edge of
the top sheet by reason of the buckle, and this will allow the soft rubber pad or
block of the auxiliary device to come into engagement with the under sheet or
sheets and exert sufficient frictional resistance upon them to arrest their movement
and allow the top sheet under the effective frictional engagement of the buckling
finger to be separately buckled and separated from the pile. The auxiliary fric-
tional device will hold the under sheet or sheets under the holding-down finger till
the spring pressure is again applied when they will be firmly clamped and held
upon the pile while the top sheet is being fed off under the action of the feeding-
off devices hereinafter described.
Bolted to a horizontal flange 30° of the casting 30 is a plate 62 having vertical
65 and 66 are
flanges 63 having bearings 64 through which the shaft 29 passes.
collars mounted upon the shaft 29 upon the opposite sides of the bearing lugs 63
for securing the same in place. By simply rmoving the screws from the
collars 65 and 66 the casting 30 and plate 62 can be shifted transversely of the
feeding machine, the casting 30 sliding upon the bar 27 and the cams 48 and 61
sliding upon the shaft 29, carrying all of the operating parts of the buckler with
them.
By means of this lateral adjustment and the longitudinal adjustment already
described, the position of the buckling devices can be regulated to a nicety to suit
sheets of paper of any size.

page_text: 70 is a main air pipe adapted to receive air from any suitable blower (not
shown). The air pipe 70 is supported by brackets 71 from the side frame pieces and
is provided at proper intervals in its length with the couplings 72 from which extend
the nozzles 73 provided with cocks 73". 74 are flexible air pipes.extending from
the nozzles 73 to the air supplying nozzles which are supported at the proper
points to supply air blasts under the top sheet as soon as it is buckled preparatory
to being separated from the pile. 75 are suitable adjustable brackets supported
upon auxiliary frame piecas 27 and secured in any adjusted position by means of
the screws 76. 75" are slotted arms extending from brackets 75, and 77 is the air
nozzle or pipe connecting with flexible pipe 74 and provided with an adjustable
rod 78 which is adjustably secured in the slotted arm 75" by means of the
device 79. The lower end of nozzle or pipe 77 is curved inwardly and flattened to
supply the blast in a plane horizontal to the surface of the pile of paper. It will
be observed that nozzles 77 are represented adjacent to each of the buckling
devices and at each side of the pile as hereafter referred to.
80 are adjustable brackets embracing rod 27 and having journals 81 in which
are journaled the rock shafts 82 having keyed upon their rear ends the arms 83.
Pivotally mounted in the lower end of arm 83 is a long narrow paper retarding
brake block 84 carrying a rubber friction-pad 85. 86 is a spiral spring surround-
ing rock-shaft 82, and engaging a head 87 (indicated by dotted lines) at one end
and the bearing 81 at the other for constantly holding the brake block 84 in
engagement with the surface of the paper. The purpose of the brake blocks 84
is to exert an effective resistance upon the rear edges of the under sheets of paper
in cases where two or more sheets are separated by the buckling devices and start
off together with the upper sheet a little in advance of the under one.
That this result may be accomplished, the blocks are formed very narrow and
the springs are adjusted to exert only a light pressure upon them, so that the
frictional hold of the brake blocks upon the top sheet will be inferior to the fric-
tional hold of the feeding-off instruments but will be sufficient upon the rear
edges of the under sheets to counteract the friction between the sheets.
90 is a bracket adjustably supported upon bar 27 formed with a bearing 91 in
which slides the vertically movable square rod 92 carrying an adjustable tappet
or collar 93 adjacent to its upper end. 94 is a rod adjustably mounted in an
opening formed in the lower end of the rod 92 and held rigidly therein in adjusted
position by a set screw, and 95 is a holding shoe or block pivoted to the forward
end of rod 94. 96 is a cam adjustably keyed to shaft 29 and confined between the
bearings 97 projecting up from the plate 98 which is bolted to the horizontal
flange 90 of the bracket 90. 98ª is an integral arm projecting from the plate 98
formed with a bearing in its end. 100 is a vertically extending rounded rod
passing through the opening or bearing in arm 98" and pivotally attached at its
lower end to the lower end of the square rod 92. 101 is a spiral spring surround-
ing rod 100 and confined between the arm 98 and an adjustable collar 102. The
purpose of rod 100 and spring 101 is to exert a downward pressure upon the
rod 92, it being preferable to provide the rounded rod 100 with its surrounding
spring 101 than to surround the square rod 92 with a spiral spring because in the
latter case the spring would bind and interfere with the free movement of the
square rod 92.
103 is a short lever pivoted at 104 and having a foot 105 at its
forward end which engages a tappet 93 on rod 92, and such lever projects beneath
the cam 96 by which it is operated for holding rod 92 and shoe or block 95 nor-
mally upward and for intermittently releasing them to allow spring 101 to throw
block 95 into engagement with the surface of the pile of paper just behind the
rear edge of the top sheet for holding the under sheets and preventing them from
being drawn off by the friction of the sheet being fed off. The, holding-down
shoes or blocks may be adjusted as a whole with the other mechanisms described
by the adjustment of the heads 25 carrying bar 27 and shaft 29, or they may be
individually adjusted by means of the adjustment of rod 94 in rod 92. The blocks
:

page_text: or shoes -95 are pivotally attached to rods 94 to enable them to automatically
conform to the plane of the upper surface of the pile when they are pressed down
by spring 101.
As stated above the shaft 10 engages the vertically threaded shafts 7 by means
of mitre gears 8, 9 to cause the intermittent elevation of the table supporting the
paper.
The automatic mechanism for governing the elevation of the table as the paper
is fed off will now be described.
110 is a ratchet wheel keyed to the shaft 10, and 111 is a rock arm or lever
journaled upon shaft 10 'adjacent to the ratchet wheel 110. 112 is an operating
rod or pitman journaled at 113 to the rock-arm or lever 111 and having formed
upon its forward end a guide loop 114 which embraces the main power shaft 115
(hereinafter more fully described). 116 is an oval-shaped cam keyed to the
shaft 115 and 117 is an adjustable collar also keyed to the shaft 115, the loop
end 114 of the rod or pitman 112 being confined and guided between said cam and
collar. 118 is an anti-friction roller journaled to the rod 112 adjacent to the
inner end-of the guide loop 114 with which the cam 116 engages for reciprocating
rod 112 to cause the oscillation of the rock-arm or lever 111. 119 is a spring-
pressed pawl journaled upon a journal pin 120 and adapted to engage the teeth of
the ratchet wheel 110 for causing the partial rotation of the shaft 10 which in
turn imparta rotation to the vertical shafts 7 for elevating the paper carrying
table. 121 is a rod pivoted to the pitman 112 adjacent to its lower end and extend-
ing rearwardly through an opening 122 in the angle iron frame piece 5, and 123
is a long spiral spring surrounding rod 121 and confined between angle iron 5
and an adjustable collar 124 by means of which the tension of spring 123 can
be adjusted. The purpose of the spring 123 is to keep the anti-friction roll 118
constantly pressed against the operating cam 116.
The mechanism as above described would cause the elevation of the table a short
step at each oscillation of the pawl carrying lever 111 which would be entirely too
much for the proper operation of the machine. It is therefore very desirable to
provide automatic mechanism controlled by the height of the pile of paper for
regulating the action of the table elevating mechanism. To accomplish this I
have devised the following mechanism:
125 is a segment-shaped hood or shield formed with a semi-circular flange 126
and the hub portion 127. The hood or shield is journaled upon the transversely
extending table-elevating shaft 10 adjacent to the ratchet wheel 110 with its semi-
circular Hange 126 covering a portion of the toothed periphery of the ratchet
wheel, the spring-pressed pawl 119 being adapted to ride upon the flange 126
during the greater part of its stroke forward and back. 128 is a rock arm
secured to and projecting from the hub 127 of the hood and 129 is a slot formed
in said arm. 130 is a frame-piece rigidly secured at its forward end to a
bracket 131 bolted to the channel bar 3 and at its rear end to the bracket 132
which embraces the angle-bar 5. The frame-piece 130 is shaped to suit the posi-
tion it assumes in the main frame and has projecting upwardly from it a suitable
bearing block 134 through which the table-elevating shaft 10 passes. The pur-
pose of this is to strengthen and steady the supporting frame 130. 135 is a rock-
shaft journaled in the frame-piece 130 and having keved to one end a slotted rock-
arm 136 and to its other end a rock-arm 137. The rock-arm 137 has a rod 138
pivoted to it and projecting rearwardly through a sliding head 139 which is
pivotally attached to the lower end of the lever 111 by means of the pivot bolt 140.
141 is an adjustable tappet or collar secured to the rearwardly extending rod 138
in proper position to be engaged by the sliding head 139 at such times when the
hood or shield 125 is to be shifted for the purpose and in the manner which will
hereinafter appear. 142 is a rod having adjustable connections 143 and 144 with
the slotted crank-arm 136 and rock-arm 128 respectively for connecting hood 125
...

page_text: with rock-shaft 135. 145 is a rod pivoted at 146 to crank-arm 136 and projecting
148 is
rearwardly through a guide bracket 147 secured to the frame piece 130.
a spiral spring surrounding the rod 145 and confined between a collar 149 and the
bracket 147 for holding the hood and its connected operating parts in normal
position.
150 is a guide bracket bolted to the angle-iron-frame piece 5, and 151 is a square
vertically sliding gage-rod sliding in bearing openings formed in the bracket 150
and frame-piece 5. 152 is an adjustable head or collar clamped to the rod 151
by screw bolt 153. 154 is a pitman or connecting link pivoted at its upper
end 155 to the hood or shield 125 and pivoted at its lower end 156 to the head 152
secured to the rod 151. 157 is an adjustable collar secured to rod 151 and adapted
to engage the frame-piece 5 for limiting the downward movement of the rod 151.
158 is a bracket adjustably secured to the angle iron frame-piece 5 and 159 is a
.bell-crank-lover pivoted in ears 160 of the bracket 158 and formed with an
integral dog 161 on its vertical arm and having an anti-friction roller 162 freely
journaled in the bifurcated lower end of its other arm. 163 is a notch cut in the
forward face of gage-rod 151 in which the dog 161 is adapted to engage for pre-
venting the downward movement of the gage-rod and holding the guard or shield
in position to prevent the operation of the table elevating mechanism. The opera-
tion of this table governing mechanism will be clear from the following explana-
tion:
As long as the top surface of the pile of paper is at the proper elevation the
dog 161 will engage notch 163 and hold gage-rod 151 and hood 125 in normal
position and the tappet 141 on the rearwardly-extending rod 138 will be out of
reach of the head 139 carried by rock-arm 111 which is constantly oscillated by
its operating can. In this position of the parts the hood 125 will hold pawl 119
out of engagement with the teeth of ratchet 110 and the height of the pile will
not be changed. Just as soon, however, as sufficient paper has been fed off to
lower the surface of the pile far enough to disengage dog 161 from notch 163 (by
lowering of rock-arm 159) the gage-rod 151 will fall to the limit of its stop and
allow spring 148 to shift hood 125 rearwardly and thereby uncover the teeth
of ratchet 110 to the pawl 119. The rod 138 carrying tappet 141 will also be
moved rearwardly when the hood is shifted, thus throwing tappet 141 into the path
of head 139. The forward stroke of the pawl having partially rotated ratchet 110,
the rock arm will move back and cause head 139 to engage tappet 141 and shift
rod 138 forwardly which, through the connections described, will shift hood 125
forwardly and raise gage-rod 151 against the action of spring 148. Now if the
partial rotation of ratchet 110 has been sufficient to elevate the pile of paper to
the required plane the dog 161 will be ready to slip into notch 163 as soon as
gage-rod 151 is raised, but if the paper is not high enough the spring 148 will
cause hood 125 and gage-rod 151 to again shift with the succeeding forward
movement of pawl 119, the tappet 141 following head 139 rearwardly into position
to be again engaged by said head. This operation again uncovers the ratchet teeth
to the action of the pawl. These steps are repeated till the paper is elevated
sufficiently high to hold dog 161 in notch 163, which holds the pawl 119 out of
engagement with ratchet 110 and tappet 141 out of reach of head 139 and does
not interefere with the regular oscillation of pawl carrying arm 111 under the
action of its cam.
In addition to the air blast nozzles 77 supported at the rear of the pile as
described, I provide an air nozzle 165 at each side of the pile of paper for directing
currents of air under the top sheet of paper at the sides and more completely
separating it from the pile. The air nozzles 165 connect with flexible branch
pipes 74 and are supported in positions by brackets 166 from the frame-piece 5
in the same manner that the air nozzles 77 are supported.
As soon as the top sheet of paper has been buckled and partially separated from

page_text: the pile by the devices above described, it becomes necessary to feed the sheet for-
ward from the pile without twisting or turning it in order that it will pass squarely
to the printing press, folder or other machine and require the least possible
registering. To accomplish this I provide two sets of feeding-off devices, one
adjacent to each side of the machine and each comprising a reciprocating carriage
The construc-
carrying two feeding-off fingers arranged oue behind the other.
tion of these devices will now be described
170 is a track bar bolted at its forward end to a bracket 171 (of peculiar con-
struction, hereinafter more fully explained) which is adjustably mounted upon the
forward angle frame-bar 2, and at its rear end to a bracket 172 having sliding con-
nection with the angle frame-bar 5. 175 is the feeder-off carriage formed with
integral lugs 176 which embrace the bar 170 and allow the carriage to slide thereon.
177 are vertically extending guide arms or lugs depending from the carriage 175
and formed with vertical guide grooves in which are supported the vertically
sliding rods or plates 178, said rods being confined in the grooves by the plates 179
secured by screws 180. The lower ends of the depending guide arms 177 are
formed with bracket arms 181 in which are pivotally mounted the feeding-off
fingers 182, said feeding-off fingers having the rubber surfaced feed-rolls 183
rigidly secured in their forward bifurcated ends 184. Projecting rearwardly from
the journal portion 185 of each of the feed fingers 182 is a heel 186 having a pin 187
with which the lower slotted or bifurcated end 188 of one of the rods or plates 178
engages. There is lost motion or a loose joint between each pin 187 and rod or
plate 178 to allow the springs of the feed fingers more freedom and for forcing
the feed fingers down into engagement with the surface of the paper to insure
the proper frictional engagement of the fingers with the paper whether the paper
is soft and gives considerably or is stiff and unyielding. This feature is a very
important one.
189 is a pivot rod or journal pin secured to and projecting from the hub por-
tion 185 of the feeding-off fingers through one of the bracket arms 181 and
provided with a head 190 at its end. 191 is a spiral spring surrounding the
rod 189 and engaging the head 190 at one end, and one of the bracket arms 181
at its other end for the purpose of causing the feeder-off fingers to be pressed
against the surface of the paper wih a yielding pressure. Formed integral with
the upper
end of each of the rods or plates 178 is a bifurcated portion 192 in
which is journaled an anti-friction roller 193.
As above stated each feeding-off carriage supports two feeding-off fingers con-
structed as just described. The anti-friction rollers 193 bear upon the lower sur-
face or cam face of a rack-bar 194 which is formed with two longitudinally
extending slots 195, the rack teeth 196 on its upper surface, and the semi-circular
recesses 197 in its lower or cam surface. The semi-circular recesses 197 are
arranged the same distance apart as the anti-friction rollers 193 in order that
said rollers may enter said recesses when the rackbar is in the proper position
and thereby allow both of the rods or plates 178 to move upwardly in their bearings
at the same time to permit the springs 191 to throw both of the feeder-off fingers
down into operative engagement with the surface of the sheet being fed off.
178 is a wire spring supported centrally upon a screw 175 secured to the feeder
carriage, and having its opposite ends engaging the shoulders formed near the
upper ends of rods or plates 178 by the bifurcated portions 192. The purpose
of the spring 178 is to keep the rollers in contact with the lower surface of rack-
bar 194 Embracing the rack-bar 194 are the lugs 198 which are integral with
the feeder-off carriage 175 and extend upwardly upon the opposite. faces of the
rack-bar. 199 are anti-friction rollers working in the longitudinal slots 195 of
the rack-bar and journaled between the integral lugs 198 of the feeder-off carriage,
the purpose of said lugs 198 and rollers 199 being to confine the rack-bar- within
proper limits upon the feeder-off carriage.

page_text: 200 is a lug depending from the feeder-off carriage 175 and 201 is a connecting
link pivoted to lug 200 at one end and to the lower end of the operating lever 202 at
its other end, which operating lever 202 is pivotally supported at its upper end 203
from the rearwardly curved horn or bracket-arm 204 projecting from and forming
part of the casting or bracket 205 which embraces and is supported upon, the
channel-bar 3. The bracket or casting 205 is adjustably mounted upon the
frame-piece 3 as will be hereinafter more:: fully explained. 206 is an operating
rod or pitman pivoted at 207 to the lever 202 and formed with a guide-loop 208
at its forward end which guide-loop embraces the main-shaft 115 upon one side of
the cam 209. 210 is an anti-friction roller journaled upon pin 212 upon the
rod 206 at the outer end of the guide-loop 208, said anti-friction roller being
engaged by the cam 209 for moving the rod 206 and lever 202 forward against the
tendency of a spring 26 for imparting the necessanty reciprocating motion to the
feeder-off carriage 175. 213 is a rod pivoted at 214 to lever 202 and projecting
forwardly through a guide opening in bracket 215 secured to and extending up
from the casting 205. 216 is a spiral spring surrounding rod 213 and confined
between bracket 215 and an adjustable collar 217 on rod 213 for holding, the anti-
friction roller 210 in contact engagement with the cam 209.
It will be clear from the description of the parts of the feeding-off devices as
far as gone that should the rack-bar 194 remain in normal position with
rollers 193 resting in recesses 197 that the friction blocks 183 of the feeder-off
fingers 182 would be in constant engagement with the surface of the sheet to be
fed off. This would be objectionable not only on account of the fact that it would
be impossible to correct the position of or registry of the sheet which has started
forward slightly out of position, but because the friction of the blocks 183 upon
the surface of the paper during the backward movement of the carriage would be
so great that it would interfere with the movement of the sheets forward out of
the machine.
In view of this, means have been devised for automatically shifting the rack
bar 194 to lift the friction blocks 183 from the surface of the paper as soon as
they have fed the sheet forward to the proper point and for holding said friction
blocks elevated during the movement of the carriage backward. These means
comprise a dog or pawl 220 journaled upon a pin 221 projecting from the horn
or bracket arm 204 and confined by the adjustable collar 222, a spiral spring .223
surrounding rod 221 and engaging the dog 220 for throwing it normally into
engagement with rack 194, an armature 224 formed integral with the dog 220,
and an electro-magnet 225 adapted to be excited by the electric current under
the control of suitable contact devices actuated by the sheet of paper as herein-
after described for holding the dog normally disengaged from the rack-bar and
allowing it to drop into engagement therewith when the circuit is broken. The
electro-magnet 225 is supported from the casting 205 upon a bracket 225.
230 is a bracket arm having a right-angled projection 231 formed with a
threaded head 232 at its forward end in which head is adjustably mounted a
small receptacle or cup 233 of metal containing a small quantity of mercury.
234 is a bracket arm extending from bracket 230 and 235 and 236 are two arms
of a contact device secured to a hub portion 237 which is pivotally mounted upon
pointed screws 238 adjustably mounted in brackets 230 and 234. 239 is a
strengthening rib extending between arms 235 and 236. 240. is a pin depending
from the forward end of arm 235 and dipping into the mercury contained in the
metal cup 233. The lower forward end of arm 236 is turned or bent slightly 5
and the bent end rests in a shallow. groove 241 formed on the upper face of the
plate 242 of fibre or other insulating material secured alongside of the casting 243
which supports the lower block 244 of the separator. Circuit wires 245 lead
from the contact devices to the main circuit wires 247 and 248 leading from the
small generator 249, the circuit wire 245 including the electro-magnet 225 above 5

page_text: referred to.
The contact device is normally in position to close the circuit through
the electro-magnet 225 causing said magnet to attract the armature 224 and
hold the dog 220 out of engagement with the rack 194. As soon, however, as the
forward edge of the sheet of paper comes in contact with the arm 236, said arm
will be lifted, causing the circuit to be broken between pin 240 and mercury in
cup 233 which will de-energize the magnet 225 and allow the dog or pawl to drop
into engagement with the rack-bar and hold it against movement with the feeding-
off carriage 175, said carriage continuing in its movement and thereby causing
relative movement between the carriage and rack-bar which will force the
rollers 193 out of the recesses 197 and into engagement with the straight faces of
the rack-bar, causing the rods or plates 178 to be forced downwardly and eleva-
ting the feader-off blocks from the surface of the paper.
In addition to the automatic control of the feeding off fingers as just explained,
the movement of the carriage will bring the ends of the rack-bar 194 into engage-
ment with suitable stops at the limit of the forward and backward movements to
insure the proper position of the feed fingers for their backward and forward
movements respectively. The angle bar 5 constitutes the stop for engaging the
rack-bar 194 at every rear stroke of the carriage for shifting the rack-bar and
throwing the feeding-off fingers into engagement with the pile in readiness for the
succeeding forward stroke." An adjustable stop 170 adjustably mounted upon
track bar 170 engages the rack-bar 194 at the completion of the forward stroke of
the carriage, unless the rack bar has been previously engaged and shifted by the
automatically controlled dog 220. The rack-bar is shifted by stop 170° or
dog 220 at or before the completion of every forward stroke to insure the lifting
of the feed fingers from the pile preparatory for the succeeding rearward stroke.
When the machine is operating properly the rack-bar will be shifted by the
engagement of dog 220 on nearly every forward stroke, but it sometimes happens
that a sheet fails to reach registered position before the end of the forward stroke
of the carriage, and in this case the dog 220 will not be tripped by the sheet-
actuated device and the rack-bar will therefore be shifted by coming into
engagement with stop 170. It will be clear that the rearward movement of the
carriage (with rack-bar 194 shifted as shown in Figure 9) will draw the rack-bar
beneath the dog 220 till the dog rests upon the smooth part of the rack-bar, in
which position said dog will allow a slight forward movement of the rack-bar upɔn
the carriage when the rack-bar engages the rear stop 5. Figure 9 of the drawings
shows the position of the parts at the completion of a forward stroke, the fead
fingers having been elevated by the operation of dog 220 upon the rack bar.
To further obviate the possibility of two sheets being fed forward from the
pile, two sets of sheet separators are arranged at the forward or delivery end of
the machine, each set of separators comprising a lower retarding bed 244 sup-
ported in a casting 243 disposed in front of the delivery end of the machine in the
plane of feeding, and an upper vertically movable horizontally reciprocating
friction-pad or block 260. The retarding bed 244 is preferably formed of hard
rubber but it may be formed of other suitable hard material and in separating
some qualities of paper it may be advisable to apply to the top of the bed a sheet
of sand paper or emery paper or other similar rough surfaced material which will
present sufficient friction to prevent the forward movement of a sheet of paper
which may have followed the top sheet in its forward movement from the pile.
Bolted to the opposite faces of the sliding brackets 171 and 172 is a track-bar 261
which supports the horizontally reciprocating carriage 262 which carries the
friction-pad 260. The carriage 262 is formed with integrágs 263 which
embrace the track bar 261 and confine the carriage thereon. 264 a wear plate
supported by adjustable screws 265 between the upper face of the trk har 261
and the inner face of the integral flange 263 of the carriage. This te 264
5 takes up
the wear of the carriage and by means of the screws 265 the freed of

page_text: motion of the carriage can be properly regulated. 266 is an integral head depend-
ing from the carriage 262 and formed with guide lugs 267 forming a slide in which
is supported a vertically movable bar 268 having a lower forwardly projecting
right-angled extension 269. The forward end of the extension 269 is pivoted
between the integral lugs 270 of the upper separator block or friction-pad 260
upon a pivot bolt 271. 272 is an integral lug projecting up from the back of the
separator block 260 formed with a vertical slot 273 through which passes an adjust-
able screw 274 which is seated in a suitably threaded opening in the extension or
arm 269. By means of the pivotal connection at 271 and the adjustable con-
nection at 274 the upper separator block 260 can be adjusted upon the arm 269.
275 is an integral lug depending from carriage 262 in which is journaled a
rock-shaft 276, having secured to one end a rock arm 277 which projects forwardly
from the rock shaft and is provided with a longitudinal slot 278 which. engages a
pin 279 on the vertically movable sliding bar 268 of the separator. 280 is a
rock-arm mounted upon the opposite end of the rock. shaft 276 and adjustably
secured thereto. by means of a set screw 281. 282 is a pitman or connecting link
pivoted at its forward end to the upper end. of the rock-arm 280 and at its rear
end to the lower end of the driving lever 283 which is pivotally supported at 284
to the end of the bracket arm 285 formed integral with and projecting from the
adjustably mounted casting 205. The bracket arm or horn 285 is of the same
shape as the bracket arm or horn 204 both of said arms being supported upon or
formed integral with the same casting 205. 286 is a driving rod pivoted at 287
to a lever 283 and formed at its forward end with a guiding loop 288 which
embraces the power shaft 115 and has anti-friction rollers 290 and 291 journaled
upon it at the opposite ends of the guide loop. 292 is a cam for imparting an
intermittent oscillatory motion to the driving lever 283. 308 is a guide rod
pivoted at its forward end to the driving lever 283 and sliding in a bracket 309
secured to bracket 205. 310 is a spiral spring surrounding rod 308 and confined
between bracket 309 and an adjustable collar 311, the purpose of the spring 310
being to hold the parts in proper normal position to cause the anti-friction rollers
to operate properly upon the cam.
295 are integral lugs projecting from the sliding carriage 262 and 296 are
adjusting screws seated in threaded opening in said lugs 295 and provided with
clamp nuts 297. It will be observed that the inner projecting ends of screws 296
are adapted to engage the opposite edges of the crank-arm 280, said. screws being
properly adjusted to allow sufficient movement of the rock-arm and rock-shaft
to throw the upper separator block 200 down upon the surface of the paper. This
action of lowering or elevating the upper separator block precedes the movement
of the separator carriage either forward or backward and is caused by the engage-
ment of the rock arm 280 with one of the screws 296. 315 is a pin projecting
from the inner face of carriage 262 through a longitudinal slot 261 of the track-
bar 261. 316 is a brake block supported upon the pin 315 and 317 is a spiral
spring confined upon pin 316 to cause it to have the proper frictional engagement
with the side of the track-bar to resist the initial tendency of the carriage to move
forward or backward upon the movement of the driving lever 283 for the purpose
of giving time for the operation of the rock-arm 280, rock-shaft 276, rock-arm 277
and sliding bar 268 in throwing the upper separator block 260 down upon or
elevating it from the surface of the paper.
It will be observed from the drawings that each set of feeding-off devices, is
arranged behind and adjacent. to one set of separators in order that the separator
will be in the best position to take the sheet from the feeding-off devices. This
relative position between the feeding-off devices and separators should always be
the same and yet it is essential to provide means for adjusting said devices trans-
versely upon the machine to suit the varying requirements of the machine in
handling different sized sheets of paper. To facilitate said adjustment, without
interfering with the proper relation of the devices, I have arranged the devices
in groups which are adjustable as a whole as will now be explained.

page_text: As already described, the track bars 170 and 261 are both supported from the
sliding brackets 171 and 172 which are respectively mounted upon the angle
frame bars 2 and 5. The bracket arms 204 and 285 carrying the operating devices
of the feeding-off and separator mechanisms are formed integral with the sliding
bracket or casting 205. The bracket 171 has an integral portion 171" projecting
rearwardly from it which is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the forward
vertical face of casting 205 thus causing the brackets 171, 172 and 205 to move as
a single structure transversely of the machine. Referring to Figure 13, it will
be observed that the main driving shaft 115 is formed with a spline groove 115"
extending from end to end. 300 is a sleeve formed with reduced ends and
bored longitudinally to fit loosely upon the shaft 115. 301 is a feather-key formed
integral with the sleeve 300 and engaging the spline groove 115" of the power
shaft. 302 are annular flanges forming an annular groove between them with
which engages a semi-circular fin or flange 303" of the plate 303 projecting up
from and formed integral with the casting 171, 171". The cams 209 and 292 are
adjustably keyed to the reduced ends of sleeve 300 while the loop guide ends 208
and 288 of the driving rods 206 and 286 respectively embrace the reduced portions
of the sleeve 300 and are confined against sidewise motion thereon between their
cams and the adjustable collars 304 which are secured to the reduced ends of
sleeve 300. The bracket or casting 205 has bolts 305 extending through it and
It
engaging in longitudinal slots 306 formed in the channel bar 3 of the frame.
will therefore be observed that by loosening the bolts 305 the whole set or group
of feeding-off devices, separating devices and their operating mechanisms can be
adjusted as a single structure transversely of the machine.
A description will now be given of the automatically controlled governor which
arrests the movement of the machine in case more than the maximum number
of sheets have been fed forward by the devices above described.
Loosely journaled upon the outer end of the main driving shaft 115 is a large
power gear 320 which has secured to it or formned integral with it a clutch disk 321
having a radial notch 322. Keyed to the outer end of the shaft 115 adjacent to
the clutch disk 321 is a similar disk 323 secured by means of a key 324 and formed
with a radial notch 325. Pivoted upon a pin 326 supported in the lug 326 pro-
jecting from, and formed integral with, the aforesaid clutch disk 323 is a clutch
dog 327 having an engaging tooth 328 which is adapted to engage in the radial
notches 322 and 325 of the clutch discs when said notches register or correspond
in position. 329 is a pin projecting from one side of the dog 327 and 330 is a
rod pivoted to pin 329 and projecting through a guide lug 331 projecting from
the disk 323. 332 is a spiral spring confined upon the rod 330 between the lug 331
and collar 333 for holding the dog 327 against the peripheries of the clutch dises
and forcing the tooth 328 into the notches 322, 325 when they assume proper
position. 334 is a head or enlarged lug formed integral with the clutch disk 323.
336 is a heel portion formed integral with the clutch dog 327 said heel portion
projecting over the enlarged lug or head 334 into the plane of the disk 323 for
engaging it to arrest the motion of the machine.
337 is a bracket secured to the side frame bar 1 and 338 is a pin supported upon
said bracket. 339 is a sliding head having two arms 339" and 339b projecting from
it and sliding upon pin 338 and provided with a guide strap 340 on the arm 339"
which embraces a guide pin 341 projecting from the main frame. 342 is a rock-
shaft journaled in bearings 343 of the main frame and 344 is a rock arm secured
to one end of the shaft 342 by means of set screw 345. The lower end of the
rock-arm 344 is forked or bifurcated at 346 to engage the arm 339b of the sliding-
head 339. 347 is an arm keyed to shaft 342 and 348 is a pin mounted in the outer
349 is a head loosely
end of the arm 347 and extending parallel to the shaft 342.
journaled upon shaft 342 between the arm 347 and the collar 350. 351 is an armi
projecting from head 349 and carrying a weight 352 at its outer end. 353 is a
heel or shoulder formed upon the head 349 and 354 is an armature mounted at
one end upon a lever 355 pivoted upon bracket 356 and provided at its other end

page_text: with a hook or dog 357 which engages with the heel or shoulder 353 of the loosely
journaled head 349. 358 is a spiral spring surrounding a rod 359 projecting up
from the armature lever 355 through an arm 360 supported from the main frame.
The spiral spring 358 is confined between the armature lever 355 and bracket 360
for holding the dog 357 into engagement with heel or shoulder 353. 361 is an
electro-magnet supported upon bracket 362 in position to attract the armature 354
when an electric current passes through it.
Operating in conjunction with the clutch mechanism just described an electric
contact device is provided which is adapted to be operated by more than the
maximum number of sheets for closing the circuit and dropping the weighted
arm 351 to throw it into engagement with the pin 348 to cause the shifting of the
sliding head 339 which will throw the arm 339" into the path of the heel 336 of
dog 327 disengaging the tooth 328 from the rotary notches 322 and 325, and
allowing the power gear 320 to rotate and arrest the driving shaft of the machine
by the engagement of said arm 339" with the head or dog 334.
This paper
operated electric contact device is supported adjacent to the central line of the
machine at the delivery end and is clearly illustrated in Figures 14 and 14 of the
drawings. Depending from the forward angle frame bar 2 of the machine is an
arm 365 having a forwardly projecting lower bend end 366. Pivoted beneath
the bent end 366 is a lever 367 pivoted upon screws 368 seated in bracket 369.
370 is a spiral spring supported upon a pin 371 between the forward end of
lever 367 and the bottom plate of bracket 369 for holding the forward end of
lever 367 in close proximity to the bent end 366 of arm 365. 372 is an adjustable
stop for regulating the proximity of the lever 367 to the end 366 of arm 365.
373 is a bracket carrying one of the contact pins from which extends the circuit
wire 374. The other circuit wire 375 leads from the lever 367 and passes to
the electro-magnet 361 and from there to one of the main circuit wires 247. The
wire 374 is connected with the other main circuit wire 248. When more than the
maximum number of sheets are forced between the lever 367 and forward bent-
end of arm 365 by the feeding instrument, the lever will be moved sufficiently
far on its pivot by the pressure of the several thicknesses of paper to make contact
at point 373, which will energize the magnet 361 and release the automatic
weighted arm 351, which in turn disengages the clutch and arrests the operation
of the machine as already explained.
450 are adjustable brackets provided with set screws 451 and mounted upon the
frame bar 452 at the delivery end of the machine. 453 are rods having rear
beveled ends 454 and secured to the brackets 450. A number of rods 453 are sup-
ported upon the bar 452 in the plane of the paper being fed off, their purpose
being to support the paper after it passes from the drop rollers. 445 is a bar sup-
ported above the plane of the paper, and 456 are adjustable brackets carrying
rods 457 which have their rear ends 457" upturned as shown. 458 are set screws
in the brackets for holding them in any desired adjusted position on the bar 455.
The rods 453 and 457 confine the sheets of paper below and above and prevent the
air blasts from blowing them out of their proper path.
It will be observed that the clutch mechanism just described is located at the
forward right hand corner of the machine. The main driving shaft 115 extends
across the machine and is provided with suitable mechanism, such as shown in
Figure 16, for conveying motion to the several parts of the machine. Keyed to
the outer end of the main shaft 115 is a worm cog gear 380 which meshes with a
similar worm gear 381 keyed to the shaft 382 extending longitudinally of the
machine and supported in bearings 383 and 384. 385 is a bevel gear adjustably
splined to shaft 382, and 386 is a bevel gear meshing therewith and keyed to the
end of the buckler operating cam shaft 29. 387 is a bracket bearing supported
upon shafts 29 and 382 and sliding upon shaft 382 for confining the bevel
gears 385 and 386 in proper position, and causing gear 385 to be adjusted on
its shaft by the movement of the heads 25, shaft 29 and bar 27, which support
the bucklers. By this means the buckler operating mechanism is driven.

page_text: Inside of the gear 380 a sprocket gear 390 is keyed to the power shaft 115, a
sprocket chain 391 leading from said sprocket gear to a similar sprocket gear 392
on a stationary journal 393 supported from the side frame. 395 is a stationary
shaft supported in the side frame of the machine and projecting upon both sides
of the side frame. 396 is a cog-gear loosely journaled upon the outer end of
shaft 395 and receiving motion from the sprocket 392 through large gear 394.
This gearing is shown in Figures 16 and 16*. The sprocket wheel 392" is a ten-
sion guide for sprocket chain 391. 397 are rock-arms loosely journaled concentric
to gear 396 upon the stationary journal shaft 395 and upon a similar bearing (not
shown) at the opposite side of the machine. Journaled in the forward bear-
ings 399 of rock-arms 397 is the drop-roller shaft 400 having a gear 401 at one end
meshing with gear 396 and carrying the drop rollers 402 which co-operate with the
lower feed-rollers 403. The feed rollers 403 are journaled upon bearings which
support their upper surfaces in the horizontal plane of feeding. 404 are rock-
arms loosely journaled upon the bearings 395 and having anti-friction rollers 405
at their upper ends which run upon the peripheries of cams 406 keyed to the main
shaft 115 inside of the main bearings 115 of the main frame. 397 is a head or
box formed integral with each of the hub portions 397" of rock-arms 397. The
heads 397b have integral lugs 407 in which are seated the adjusting screws 408
which bear upon the opposite edges of rock arms 404 for adjusting the relative
position of rock arms 404 to rock-arms 397. In the ordinary operation of the
machine, cams 406 normally support the drop rollers 402 above the feed-rollers 405
and allow them to drop at intervals to catch the forward edge of the sheet of paper
and feed it off from the machine.
To prevent the momentum of the drop rollers feeding a sheet from the machine
after the clutch has been automatically thrown out and during the moment just
before the machine is brought to a full stop, the rock-arms 4.10 are journaled upon
brackets 411 and each carries a lug 412 which is adapted to engage a similar
lug 413 upon bracket arms 397 for supporting the drop-rollers in elevated position.
The rock arms 4.10 are connected through rods 415 with the rock arms 416 keyed to
a shaft 417, which shaft is journaled in bearings 418 and has bevel gear connec-
tions 419, 420 with the shaft 342 so that the movement of said shaft 342 for operat-
ing the clutch will move rock-arms 4.10 for holding the drop rollers in elevated
position. For the purpose of enabling the throwing out of the machine by hand,
I provide the rock-shaft 417 with hand levers 417.
In the brackets 425 are seated the adjustable set-screws 426 having clamp
nuts 427, which screws are adapted to engage the journal ends 399 of rock
aims 397 for regulating their downward movement.
In Figure 17, an improved device for gearing the feeding machine to a folder is
represented. 430 is the frame of the folding machine. 431 is a bar having a
dove-tailed or T-groove 431" formed in one face, which bar is journaled upon the
main driving shaft 115 and is provided with a bolt 432 which operates in the seg
mental groove 433 formed in the plate 434 which is also formed integral with the
bearing 115", the segmental groove 433 being concentric with shaft 115. The dove-
tailed or T-groove 431° is adapted to receive the journal bolts 431b formed with
T-heads and upon which the gears 435, 436 are journaled. The gear 435 is in
mesh with the main driving gear 320. By loosening the nut of bolt 432 it will
be observed that the slotted bar 431 can be shifted to any angle to suit the height
of the driving gear of the folder or other machine to which the feeder is geared
and by properly arranging the gears supported in said slotted bar the folder can
be driven at any desired relative speed.
The operation of the improved machine as a whole is substantially as follows:
The rear corners of the top sheet of the pile are first buckled by the operation
of the buckling devices, the pressure upon the holding-down fingers being released
while the corners are being buckled and being applied immediately after the
corners of the sheet have been withdrawn from under them. As soon as the
corners of the sheet have been buckled the air blasts blow currents of air under

page_text: the sheet from the rear and sides. The feeding-off devices then come into play to
engage the sheet and move it from the pile, the friction brake blocks resting
on the top sheet and the exposed rear edges of the sub-adjacent sheets to assist in
holding back the under sheets in cases where more than one sheet has been acciden-
tally started by the bucklers and air blasts. The holding-down blocks or shoes
engage the pile just after the rear edge of the top sheet being fed off passes from
beneath them to further assist in separating any under sheets which may have
been moved, and to further assist in keeping the pile intact. When the feeding-
off fingers start on their forward movement, the rack-bar which controls them is in
normal position with the curved notches in engagement with the small rollers
carried by the bars which control the feed fingers. As soon as the forward edge
of the sheet reaches the electric contact devices, the electric circuits are broken
and the pawls or dogs are dropped down into engagement with the teeth of the
rackbars holding said rack-bars against further movement while the feeder-off
carriages continue to the end of their stroke, thus causing the elevation of the
feed fingers from the paper. Each set of feeding-off devices is independently con-
trolled by the electric contact controlling device directly in front of it, and the
sheet is thereby squared and registered at its front edge. The feeding-off fingers
will be held in elevated position until the end of the return stroke when the
rack-bars will be engaged by a suitable stop, the angle. bar 5, for shifting them
into normal position, allowing the feed fingers to again drop upon the surface of
the paper.
If two or more sheets have been fed forward to the separator the
circuits controlling the electro-magnets will continue to be broken by the inter-
position of the sheets, allowing the dogs to remain in engagement with the rack
bars and thus causing the feed-fingers to be immediately lifted when the carriages
again start forward, and preventing the feed of another sheet until the previous
sheets have passed the separators. In case no sheet has been fed forward by the
feeding-off devices to operate the electric contact devices, the rack-bars will engage
the stops at the front of their stroke causing them to shift and elevate the feeding-
off fingers from the paper for the rearward stroke of the carriages.
The feeding-off devices deliver the front marginal edge of the top sheet of paper
part way onto the rear portions of the retarding beds 244, in which position the
movements of the feeding-off devices are arrested by the electric contact control-
ling devices. While the sheet is assuming this position, the reciprocating friction-
pads or blocks 260 are moving to their rearmost elevated position, and immedi-
ately after the feeding-off devices are elevated from the paper, the said friction
pads descend upon the aforesaid front marginal part of the advanced top sheet
and obtain a friction hold upon the sheet and move forward pushing said sheet
over the retarding bed, and thereby separating any under sheets which may have
adhered, delivering said top sheet to the drop rollers which feed it out of the feed-
ing machine to the folder or other machine designed to receive the sheet. It some
times happens that the feeding-off fingers advance two or more sheets simulta-
neously from the pile to the separators. Under these circumstances, the portions
of the sheets which have become interposed between the top sheets (engaged by
the movable friction-pads) and the retarding beds are prevented from further
following the top sheet by the friction between the beds and said under sheets,
which is greater than the friction between the several sheets. Hence my separa-
tors effectually prevent the feeding machine from delivering more than one sheet
at a time.
During the operation of the several feeding devices, the height of the pile of
paper is automatically regulated by the governor as described, and the operation
of the whole mechanism automatically arrested when the operations are not per-
fect, or by hand when it is desired to stop the feeding operation.
It has been heretofore proposed to construct paper feeding machines with a lower
stationary separator plate and an upper movable separator friction-pad or block
which, in addition to separating the top sheet from the next underlying sheet, or
sheets, serves to feed the sheets off from the pile of paper; and it has also been

page_text: proposed to provide a paper feeding machine with feeding instruments without.
the paper separators; but it has never been proposed to provide a machine with
sheet separators at the delivery end of the machine in combination with inde-
pendent feeding instruments which start the sheet from the pile and deliver its
front edge to the separator; nor has it ever been proposed to combine with such
machines buckling devices or preliminary separating devices for separating the
top sheet at the rear before it is started from the machine by the feeding instru-
ments. Such combinations are claimed to be broadly new in the present patent.
The results of such combinations are vastly superior to the results of all other
machines, the chief advantage lying in the fact that the independent feeding
instruments engage the sheets to the rear of their forward edges (leaving the for-
ward edges free to move over the separator bed) and never fail to push the forward
marginal edge of the top sheet onto the lower separator retarding bed in position
to be subsequently taken hold of by the upper movable friction-pads of the sepa-
rators, while in all other machines the movable separator block also feeds the
paper from the pile to the retarding bed and the forward edges of the sheets are
constantly crowded against the edge of: lower separator bed (on account of the
necessary downward pressure of the blocks upon the extreme forward edge of
the sheets when the sheet is started from the pile) and tend to curl or bend down-
wardly under the action of the upper movable separator blocks and very frequently
catch against the separator bed and cause the rumpling up and destruction of the
sheets and sometimes even the breaking of the machine if the operation is not
quickly arrested.
By the expression used in the claims "feeding devices having a normally active.
frictional engagement with the sheets on their forward stroke," it is meant to
cover such feeding instruments which take a positive frictional hold upon the
surface of the top sheet of the pile on their forward stroke to cause the single
sheet to move positively forward with the feeding instruments the whole distance
of their stroke while in engagement, as distinguished from combing devices
which do not have a positive frictional hold on the sheets but slip or slide over
the surface of the top sheet and move a number of sheets.
In this case is also claimed, broadly, the combination of means for moving
the top sheet of a pile, mechanism for operating the sheet-moving means, a
tripper suspended in the path of the top sheet and adapted to be operated thereby,
a rack carried by the sheet moving means, and a device controlled by the tripper
adapted to engage the rack and arrest the operation of the sheet moving means.
In said Specification of British Patent Application No. 30,406 of December 23,
1897, for improvements in paper feeding machines, is claimed the combination
of a sheet retarding bed at the delivery end of the machine, a feeding. pad
operating upon the top of the front portion of the pile of sheets and over said
retarding bed to carry the top sheet onto said bed and separate it from any
underlying sheets which may have been fed with it, an auxiliary feeding pad
operating upon the pile at the rear of the front feeding pad to assist the travel
of the sheets, and sheet delivering mechanisms to convey the advanced separated
sheet from the machine. The two feeding pads in said British patent operate
simultaneously under the control of an automatic device. The feeding
and separating instruments of the present case operate upon al radically
different principle, in that the forward friction pad operates solely as a separator
pad and does not come in contact with the pile but engages the sheet only
after it has been fed upon the retarding separator bed by the feeding-off instru-
ments operating in rear of it upon the pile; and further the feeding-off
instruments operating upon the pile are operated and controlled independently
of the separator pad for moving the sheet onto the retarding separator bed and
registering its position thereon before the separator pad comes into operation
upon the sheet. The claims on the feeding and separating features of the pre-
sent machine are therefore distinguished from the structure covered by said
British Patent Application No. 30,406 of 1897 by these important particulars:
viz., that the feeding-off and separating instruments in the present case operate

page_text: independently and come into play alternately and the separating instrument
operates solely as a separator and does not come into contact with the pile;
whereas the feeding off and separating instruments in said patent operate
simultaneously, and the separator also operates as a feeding instrument as it
comes into contact with the sheet above the pile. In this connection, it should
be understood that by the "alternate action of the feeding devices and sepa-
rating devices it is meant that they are brought into operative engagement with
a sheet successively in order that the sheet may first be pushed onto the retarding
bed by the feeding devices before it is engaged by the separating devices, and
the term
alternately" used in this connection in the claims is intended to
cover the successive engagements of the sheet by said devices whether. the
feeding devices disengage the sheet when the separating devices take it, or
continue in operation during a part or the remainder of their stroke after the
separator has come into play.
One of the most important combinations of elements in the above described
feeding machine is the combination of the buckling mechanism for effecting a
preliminary separation of sheets, the feeding off mechanism for feeding the
sheet from the pile, and a sheet separating mechanism for separating the top
sheet from any chance underlying sheet which may have passed forward from
the pile with the top sheet under the actions of the buckling mechanism and
feeding-off mechanism. The broad claim in the present case for this combina-
tion is intended to cover said combination of elements whether the feeding-off
mechanism operates alternately with relation to the separator as specifically set
forth and claimed in the present case, or operates simultaneously or in unison
with the separator as set forth and claimed in the Specification of British
Patent Application No. 30,406 of December 23, 1897.
The auxiliary frictional device described in combination with the sheet
buckling mechanism may be employed to advantage in combination with a hold-
ing-down finger or clamp arranged at the rear of the pile from which the
successive top sheets are drawn out by the regular feeding-off instruments. One
or more of the claims on this part of the invention is broad enough to cover
this structure though it is not though necessary to illustrate the modified
structure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
and devices for feeding sheets of paper therefrom, with a sheet buckling device
comprising a reciprocating carriage, a spring-pressed buckling finger journaled
upon the carriage, a rock-arm also journaled upon the carriage and engaging
the buckling finger, a stop lug on the carriage limiting the movement of the
rock-arm, and an operating lever connected with the rock-arm, substantially as
set forth.
2. In combination with a paper feeding machine, a sheet buckling device
comprising a reciprocating carriage, a guide way or track on which the carriage
reciprocates, a spring-pressed buckling finger journaled upon the carriage, a
rock-arm also journaled upon the carriage and engaging the buckling finger,
a stop lug on the carriage limiting the movement of the rock-arm, an operating
lever connected with the rock-arm and adapted to move it on its journal for
raising and lowering the buckling finger and throwing the rock-arm into engage-
ment with the stop, and a friction brake upon the carriage engaging the way
or track for arresting the initial tendency of the carriage to move to give the
buckling finger time to move, substantially as set forth.
3. In combination with a paper feeding machine, a sheet buckling device
comprising a reciprocating carriage, a guide way or track on which the carriage
reciprocates, a pin projecting from the carriage, a brake block loosely supported

page_text: upon said pin in engagement with the way or track, a spring confined upon said
pin in engagement with the brake block, a sheet buckling finger journaled upon
the carriage; a rock-arm also journaled upon the carriage and engaging the
buckling finger, a stop upon the carriage with which the rock-arm engages,
and an operating lever connected with the rock-arm, substantially as set forth.
4. In combination with a paper feeding machine, a sheet buckling device
comprising a sliding plate or carriage, a supporting frame having guide flanges
forming a guide way or track in which the plate or carriage reciprocates, a pin
projecting from the plate or carriage through an elongated slot of said supporting
frame, a brake block loosely supported upon said pin in engagement with the
face of the supporting frame, a spiral spring confined upon said pin in engage-
ment with the brake block, a journal pin projecting from the plate or carriage,
a bell-crank rock-arm or lever loosely journaled upon said pin, a sheet buckling
finger loosely journaled upon said pin alongside the rock-arm, a spring confined
upon said pin and engaging the pin at one end and the buckling finger at the
other end, an extension of the rock-arm projecting beneath the buckling finger,
a stop on the carriage with which the rock-arm engages, an operating lever
connected with the rock-arm, and a cam engaging said operating lever, sub-
stantially as set forth.
5. In combination with a paper feeding machine, a sheet buckling device
comprising a suitable supporting frame, a vertically movable spring-pressed
holding down finger supported in the frame, a vertically movable head engaging
the spring of the holding down finger and free to move independently of said
finger, an operating lever connected with the head adapted to operate it for
removing the pressure of the spring from the holding down finger without
elevating said finger, a reciprocating spring-pressed buckling finger, and means
for reciprocating the buckling finger, substantially as set forth.
6. In combination with a paper feeding machine, a sheet buckling device
comprising a suitable supporting frame, the spring-pressed holding down finger,
a rocking lever journaled in the frame, a cam shaft, a cam on said shaft engaging
said rocking lever, a head connected with said lever and engaging the spring
of the holding down finger, a reciprocating carriage sliding in the supporting
frame, a spring pressed buckling finger journaled upon said carriage, a rock-arm
also journaled upon the carriage and engaging the buckling finger, a stop on
the carriage, an operating lever connected with the rock-arm, and a cam on said
cam shaft engaging said operating lever, substantially as set forth.
7. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a support for a pile of
sheets, a holding-down or pile retaining finger arranged near one edge of the
pile, a frictional sheet buckling finger operating away from the edge of the pile
for withdrawing sheets from under the holding-down finger, and an auxiliary
frictional device of less frictional capacity than the buckling finger, said auxi-
liary device being supported adjacent to the holding down finger and frictionally
engaging the pile behind the inner edge of the holding-down finger in readiness
to engage the edges of the under sheets to prevent more than one sheet being
buckled at one time, as set forth.
8. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a support for a pile of
sheets, a frictional sheet buckling finger, a holding-down or pile retaining finger,
and an auxiliary friction device, of less frictional capacity than the buckling
finger, arranged to frictionally engage the pile adjacent to the holding-down
finger while the buckling finger is buckling a sheet and adapted to prevent more
than one sheet being buckled at one time, as set forth.
9. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a support for a pile of
sheets, a sheet buckling finger, a holding-down or pile retaining finger, means
for forcing the holding-down finger against the pile and releasing its pressure
upon the pile, and an auxiliary friction device resting constantly upon the pile
adjacent to the holding-down finger and exerting sufficient friction upon the

page_text: under sheets when the top sheet is buckled to prevent the buckling of more than
one sheet, as set forth.
10. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a support for a pile of
sheets, a reciprocating sheet buckling finger, a spring pressed holding-down
finger, means for removing the spring pressure from the holding-down finger, to
allow a sheet to be buckled, and an auxiliary frictional device resting constantly
upon the pile adjacent to the holding-down finger in readiness to engage the
edges of the under sheets to prevent the buckling of more than one sheet at one
time, substantially as set forth.
11. The combination of a support for a pile of sheets, a holding-down finger, a
reciprocating frictional buckling finger, and an auxiliary frictional holding device
of less frictional capacity than the buckling device provided with a light spring and
resting constantly upon the surface of the pile with a yielding pressure, adjacent
to the holding-down finger in readiness. to engage the edges of the under sheets
to prevent buckling more than one sheet, as set forth.
12. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a pile of sheets, a buckling
finger, a holding-down finger, and an auxiliary frictional device supported by
the holding-down finger and adapted to rest constantly upon the pile in readiness
to engage the edges of the under sheets to prevent buckling more than one sheet
at a time, substantially as set forth.
13. The combination in a paper feeding machine, of a pile of sheets, a buckling
finger, a holding-down finger, and an auxiliary friction device provided with a
small pad of soit rubber which rests constantly upon the pile of sheets adjacent to
the holding-down finger, substantially as set forth.
14. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
and suitable feeding-off devices, with one or more long narrow resistance blocks
resting constantly upon the top of the pile at or adjacent to the rear. edge and
oxtending longitudinally of the pile, substantially as set forth.
15. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a supporting bar above the table, a bracket adjustably
mounted upon the supporting bar, a rock-arm journaled in said bracket, a rubber.
faced resistance block mounted upon said rock-arm, and a suitable spring for
forcing the rock-arm downwardly and holding the resistance block constantly upon
the surface of the paper, substantially as set forth.
16. In a feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table, suitable.
feeding off devices, and a paper holding device comprising. a supporting bar and
a rotary shaft above the paper table, a bracket adjustably mounted upon the bar,
a vertically movable rod supported in a suitable bearing in said bracket, the holding
down shoe or block adjustably mounted upon said rod, a spring for forcing the
rod and shoe downwardly, a cam on the shaft, a bracket journaled upon the shaft
upon opposite sides of the cam, said shaft bracket being secured to the bracket.on the
bar, a lever pivoted to the shaft bracket and engaged by the cam, and a tappet on
the rod engaged by the lever, as set forth.
17. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
a suitable supporting frame, feeding-off devices, the track bars 13, heads. 25 sliding
upon bars 13, the bar 27 connecting heads 25, shaft 29 journaled in heads 25,
suitable means for rotating shaft 29, means for adjusting the heads 25 simul-
taneously longitudinally of the machine, and the buckling devices, retarding
brakes, and paper holding devices supported upon said bar 27, whereby all of said
devices can be adjusted as a single structure, substantially as set forth.
18. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeeding-off devices, a rotary table-elevating shaft provided with a driving
ratchet, an arm carrying a pawl adapted to operate the ratchet, a hood or shield.
embracing a segment of the ratchet and adapted to hold the pawl out of engage-
ment therewith, a suitable device controlled by the height of the pile of paper
for holding the hood or shield in position to disengage the pawl from the ratchet,
and automatic mechanism engaging the hood or shield and adapted to auto-

page_text: y move the shield for uncovering the ratchet, when the shield is releaseḍ
by said device, to allow the operation of the pawl substantially as set forth.
19. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a rotary table elevating shaft provided with a driving
ratchet, an arm carrying a pawl adapted to operate the ratchet, an oscillatory hood
or shield embracing a segment of the ratchet and adapted to hold the pawl out
of engagement therewith, a suitable device engaging the hood or shield and giving
it a normal tendency to uncover the ratchet to the action of the pawl, suitable
means for moving said hood or shield against its normal tendency, throwing it
into position to disengage the pawl from the ratchet, and a device controlled by
the height of the pile of paper for holding the hood or shield in position to keep
the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet, substantially as set forth.
20. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table elevating shaft having a ratchet wheel, a suitably
supported operating pawl adapted to intermittently engage and rotate the ratchet
wheel, an oscillatory hood or shield embracing a segment of the ratchet wheel, a
vertically movable rod connected with the hood or shield, and a pivoted dog con-
trolled by the varying height of the pile of paper and adapted to engage the rod
for holding it in elevated position, and the hood or shield in position to hold the
pawl out of engagement with the ratchet, substantially as set forth.
21. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
a paper elevating shaft having a ratchet wheel, an oscillating pawl adapted to
engage said ratchet wheel, a hood or shield embracing a segment of the ratchet
wheel, a vertically movable rod connected with the hood or shield, a dog controlled
by the height of the pile of paper adapted to hold said rod in elevated position,
and means for oscillating the hood or shield and elevating and lowering the rod
when the dog, is disengaged therefrom; whereby the pawl is allowed to operate
till the paper is elevated sufficiently to throw the dog into engagement with the
rod, substantially as set forth.
22. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table elevating shaft having a ratchet wheel, an
oscillatory lever carrying an operating pawl, an oscillatory hood or shield embracing
a segment of the ratchet, a vertically movable rod connected with the hood or
shield, and a pivoted lever provided with a dog at one end and a freely journaled
roller at the other end, said dog being adapted to engage the rod for holding it
in elevated position when the surface of the pile is at the required height, sub-
stantially as set forth.
23. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table elevating shaft having ratchet wheel, an
oscillatory lever carrying an operating pawl, an oscillatory hood or shield embracing
a segment of the ratchet and adapted to be operated by the pawl carrying lever,
and a device controlled by the height of the pile of paper for holding the hood
or shield in position to disengage the pawl from the ratchet, substantially as
set forth.
24. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table elevating shaft having a ratchet wheel, an
oscillatory lever carrying an operating pawl, an oscillatory hood or shield embrac-
ing a segment of the ratchet, a suitable spring device engaging the hood or
shield and giving it a normal tendency to uncover the ratchet to the action of
the pawl, a suitable device operated by the pawl carrying lever and engaging
the hood or shield and adapted to move it against the action of the spring device,
into position to disengage the pawl, and a device controlled by the height of the
pile of paper for holding the hood or shield in position to disengage the pawl
from the ratchet substantially as set forth.
25. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper support-
ing table, suitable feeding-off devices, the table elevating shaft pro-
vided with a ratchet wheel, an oscillatory lever supporting a driving

page_text: pawl, means for oscillating the said lever, an oscillatory hood
or shield
embracing a portion of the teeth of the ratchet wheel, a vertically movable
rod connected with the hood or shield and formed with a suitable notch or recess,
a pivoted bell crank lever formed with a dog at its upper end and bearing with
its lower end against the surface of the pile of paper, said dog adapted to engage
in said notch or recess for holding the rod in elevated position and the hood or
shield in position to prevent the engagement of the pawl with the ratchet, a
rock-shaft having rock-arms at its opposite ends which are connected respectively
with the oscillatory hood or shield and the oscillatory pawl carrying lever through
suitable rods, whereby said hood or shield will be oscillated and the vertically
movable rod moved up and down when it is released by the dog, substantially as
set forth.
26. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table elevating shaft having a ratchet wheel, an
oscillatory pawl-supporting arm, and a pawl pivoted to said arm, an oscillatory
hood or shield embracing a segment of the ratchet, a suitable rock-shaft, a rock-
arm upon said shaft connected with the hood or shield through a suitable link,
a second rock-arm keyed to the opposite end of said rock-shaft, a rod pivoted
to said second rock-arm and extending through a head attached to the lower end
of said pawl-carrying lever, a tappet mounted upon said rod and adapted to be
engaged by said head, means for operating the pawl-carrying arm, a suitable
spring for holding the hood or shield in normal position, and means controlled
by the height of the pile of paper for holding the hood or shield in position to
prevent the operation of the pawl in which position the tappet on the rod will
be out of 'engagement of the head upon the pawl carrying arm, substantially as
set forth.
27. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, a table-elevating shaft having a ratchet, an oscillatory
arm carrying a pawl adapted to operate the ratchet, a cam mounted upon a shaft,
an operating rod connected with the pawl-carrying arm and engaged and driven
by the cam, a spring actuated rod holding the operating rod in engagement with
the cam, an oscillatory hood or shield journaled upon the table-elevating shaft
and embracing a segment of the ratchet, a suitable rock shaft connected with said
hood or shield through a rock arm and rod, a spring actuated rod engaging the
rock-arm and giving the hood or shield a normal tendency to uncover the ratchet
to the action of the pawl, a second rock-arm keyed to the rock-shaft and a rod
extending therefrom through a head carried by the pawl-carrying arm, a tappet
on said rod adapted to be engaged by said head, a vertically movable gage rod
connected with the 'hood or shield, and a dog controlled by the height of the pile
of paper adapted to engage the gage rod and hold it in elevated position, sub-
stantially as set forth.
28. The combination, in a paper feeding machine, of true frictional feeding
devices having a normally active frictional engagement with the top sheet of a
pile on their forward stroke, and means for imparting a uniform feeding stroke
to the feeding devices, with automatic controlling devices operated by a passing
sheet and controlling the feeding devices to arrest the feeding action of the feed-
ing devices in accordance with the position of the sheet being fed off and without
reference to the uniform forward and backward stroke of the feeding devices,
substantially as set forth.
29. The combination, in a paper feeding machine, of two independent sets of
true frictional feeding devices having normally active frictional engagement
with the top sheet of a pile on their forward stroke, and arranged transversely of
the line of feed, mean's for imparting a uniform stroke to said 'feeding devices,
and two sets of automatic controlling devices also arranged transversely to the
line of feed and controlling respectively the independent feeding devices, said
controlling devices being operated by a passing sheet for arresting the feeding

page_text: action of the feeding devices without interfering with their uniform motion, sub-
stantially as set forth.
30. In a machine for feeding sheets of paper from a pile, the combination of means
for moving the top sheet thereof, and mechanism for operating said sheet moving
means, of a tripper suspended in the path of the top sheet and adapted to be
operated thereby, a rack carried by the sheet moving means, and a pawl adapted
to be operated by the tripper to engage said rack and thereby arrest the operation
of the sheet moving means.
31. In a machine for feeding sheets of paper from a pile, the combination of
means for advancing the top sheet thereof and mechanism for operating said
advancing means, of a tripper adapted to be operated by the top sheet, and means
controlled by the tripper and adapted to engage the advancing means and arrest
the operation of said advancing means upon the sheet, substantially as described.
32. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of means for advancing a
sheet on a pile, a tripper arranged in the path of and operated by the advanced
sheet, means controlled by said tripper adapted to arrest the operation of the
sheet advancing means, and means for withdrawing the sheet from the tripper
to allow it to assume its normal position, substantially as set forth.
33. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of means for advancing a
sheet on a pile, a tripper arranged in the path of and operated by the advanced
sheet, means controlled by said tripper adapted to arrest the operation of the sheet
advancing means, and paper feeding devices adapted to take the sheet from
the pile and thereby release the tripper from the engagement of the sheet, sub-
stantially as set forth.
34. The combination, in a paper feeding machine, of a suitable feeding-off
finger having a normally effective frictional engagement with the top sheet of a
pile on its forward stroke, means for separating the top sheet from the pile and
operating alternately with the feeding-off finger, and means controlled by the
advance edge of the sheet being fed off for automatically arresting the feeding
action of the finger upon the sheet, substantially as set forth.
35. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a sheet-retarding bed at
the delivery-end of the machine, a frictional separating pad operating only upon
the sheets of paper over the aforesaid bed to carry the top sheet over said bed,
an independent auxiliary feeding-off instrument operating upon a pile of sheets
at the rear of the front separating-pad to feed off the top sheet from the pile
onto the retarding bed before said sheet is engaged by the separating pad, and
sheet-delivering mechanisms conveying said advanced sheet from the retarding
bed, substantially as set forth.
36. The combination, in a paper feeding machine, of a suitable feeding-off
finger having a normally effective frictional engagement with the top sheet of a
pile on its forward stroke, means for preliminarily separating the top sheet
from the pile, and means, controlled by the advance edge of the sheet being fed
off, for automatically arresting the frictional engagement of the finger with the
sheet, substantially as set forth.
37. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a support for a pile of
sheets, suitable sheet-buckling mechanism for effecting a preliminary separation
of the sheets, suitable sheet-advancing means for feeding the successive sheets
from the pile, and a sheet-separator at the delivery end of the machine comprising
a lower separator bed and an upper feeding and separating pad, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
38. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a support for a pile of
sheets, a sheet-buckling mechanism for effecting a preliminary separation of the
sheets, two sets of sheet-advancing devices arranged transversely of the machine,
means controlled by the sheet for throwing said sheet-advancing devices into
and out of operation independently, and a separator at the delivery end of the
machine comprising a sheet-separating bed and a separating and feeding pad,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 39. In a machine for feeding sheets of paper from a pile, the combination
of a support for a pile of sheets, -suitable sheet-buckling mechanism for effecting
a preliminary separation of the sheets, a separator at the delivery end of the
machine comprising a sheet-separating bed and a separating pad operating over
the bed, and a resiliently supported sheet advancing instrument adapted to feed
the sheets from the pile to the separator bed, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
40. A paper feeding machine comprising a sheet separating bed at the delivery
end of the machine, a main feeding and separating pad over the aforesaid bed,
and an auxiliary frictional feeding instrument supported to the rear of the main
pad and having an independent vertically yielding motion with relation to the
main pad to allow it to effectively engage the sheet, substantially as set forth.
41. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, driving mechanism
connected with the carriage, a plurality of spring-pressed feeding instruments,
pivoted to said carriage one to the rear of the other, and suitable means adapted
to throw the feeding instruments into and out of operative relation with the
top sheet of the pile, substantially as set forth.
I
42. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, driving mechanism
connected with the carriage, a plurality of spring-pressed feeding instruments,
pivoted to said carriage one to the rear of the other, and an automatically con
trolled bar movably mounted upon the carriage and adapted to throw the
feeding-instruments into and out of operative relation, with the top sheet of
the 'pile, substantially as set forth.
.. 1
1.
43. In a paper-feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating, carriage, spring-pressed
feeding fingers pivoted to said carriage, a bar movably mounted in said carriage
and adapted to raise, or lower the feeding fingers and means thrown into opera-
tion by the movement of the carriage for controlling the position of the bar in
the carriage to cause said bar to throw the feeding fingers into or out of operative
position substantially as set forth.
44. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting, table,
with feeding off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, spring pressed
feeding fingers pivoted to said carriage, a rack bar movably mounted in' said
carriage and adapted to raise or lower the feeding fingers, a pawl. upon a
stationary support adapted to engage the rack, and means operated by the sheet
being fed off adapted to throw the pawl into engagement with the rack, sub-
stantially as set forth.
45. In a paper feeding machine, the combination with sheet-buckling
mechanism operating upon the rear portion of the pile of paper to be fed, sheet-
retarding beds at the delivery end of the machine, separating-pads operating,
only upon the front portions of the sheets of paper over the retarding, beds to
carry the top sheets over the same, auxiliary feeding-off instruments operating
upon the pile of paper at the rear of the aforesaid front pads and independently
of said front pads to feed off the top sheets from the pile and onto said beds,
and sheet-delivering mechanisms removing said advanced sheet from the retard-
ing beds, as set forth.
46. In combination with the feeding' devices advancing the top sheet partway
upon the pile, sheet separating and. propelling devices located at the delivery-
end of the machine and operated alternately with said feeding devices to receive
the front margin of the advanced sheet and impart a secondary forward impulse
to said sheet and at the same time separate it from the underlying sheet while
the top sheet is liberated from the feeding devices, as set forth.
47. A paper feeding machine comprising sheet buckling devices, sheet feeding
devices advancing the buckled sheet partway upon the pile, and sheet separating
and propelling devices located at the delivery-end of the machine and operating

page_text: alternately with the said feeding devices to receive the front marginal portion
of the advanced sheet and impart a secondary forward impulse to said sheet
and simultaneously separate the same from the underlying sheet while the feed-
ing devices are carried out of contact with the top sheet, as set forth.
48. In a paper feeding machine, the combination with the paper-feeding
instrument advancing the. top sheet partway from the pile, of a sheet separator
consisting of a bed disposed in front of the delivery end of said machine to
receive upon it the front margin of the top-sheet advanced by the aforesaid
feeding-instrument, and a friction pad reciprocating over said bed and moving
vertically at the ends of its strokes to press the advanced marginal portion of
the top sheet upon. the bed during the forward motion of the pad, and thereby
impart a secondary advancing impulse to the top-sheet and separating. the same
from the underlying sheet, as set forth.
49. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a sheet retarding bed at
the delivery end of the machine, the frictional separating pad operating upon
the sheets of paper over said retarding bed to carry the top sheet over said bed
and separate it from any underlying sheets, an independent auxiliary frictional
feeding-off instrument operating upon a pile of sheets in rear of the retarding
bed and separating pad to engage and feed off the top sheet from the pile onto
said retarding, bed before said sheet is engaged by the separating pad, and an
automatic controlling device actuated by the sheet fed off and adapted to render
the feeding instrument inactive when the sheet reaches registered position on
the retarding bed, substantially as set forth.
50. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a sheet retarding bed at
the delivery end of the machine, the frictional separating pad operating upon
the sheets of paper over said retarding bed to carry the top sheet over said bed
and separate it from any underlying sheets, two independent frictional feeding-
off instruments arranged transversely of the line of feed and operating upon a
pile of sheets in rear of the retarding bed and separating pad to engage and feed
off the top sheet from the pile onto said retarding bed before said sheet is
engaged by the separating pad, and two independent automatic controlling devices
arranged transversely of the line of feed and actuated by the sheets fed off and
operatively connected with the respective independent feeding instruments for
rendering them inactive independently as the part of the sheet in front of cach
instrument reaches registered position, whereby the successive sheets are accu-
rately squared, registered and fed singly from the machine, substantially as set
forth.
51. In a paper-feeding machine, the combination of a paper feeding instru-
ment advancing the sheet partway from the pile, and a sheet-separator consisting
of a bed disposed in front of the delivery-end of the machine and in a plane
to receive the front marginal portion of the sheet advanced by said feeding-
instrument, a guide parallel with said bed, a friction-pad supported movable
longitudinally on said guide and operating alternately or successively to the
feeding instrument, and mechanism imparting to said pad a reciprocating motion
combined with a vertical. motion to and from the bed respectively at the rear
and front ends of its strokes, as set forth.
52. In a paper feeding machine, the combination with the feeding-instruments
advancing the. top sheet from the pile, of beds in front of the delivery end of
said machine and disposed to receive upon them the front marginal portion of
the advanced sheet, longitudinal guides parallel with said beds, slides riding on
said guides, levers pivoted to the slides, friction-pads connected to said levers
and carried thereby vertically to and from the aforesaid beds, stops on the
slides limiting the oscillations of the levers and causing the same to impart
reciprocating motion to the slides, and mechanism transmitting motion to the
said levers, as set forth.
53. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of suitable. feeding devices
arranged to advance the top sheet: partway from a pile of paper, with sheet

page_text: separating and propelling devices disposed at the delivery end of the machine
and adapted to receive the front margin of the sheet from said feeding devices
and impart a secondary forward impulse to it and at the same time separate
from any underlying sheet or sheets, means for automatically controlling the
feeding devices to arrest their action before the separating and propelling
devices come into play, and suitable means for feeding the sheet out of the
machine, substantially as set forth.
54. In combination with the independently operating feeding-off instruments,
a sheet-buckling device over the rear portion of the pile of paper, a sheet-
separating bed at the delivery end of the machine, a reciprocating frictional
separating-pad operating above said bed, sheet-supporting rollers at said end of
the machine, drop-rollers over said supporting rollers, and mechanisms impart-
ing rotary motion to said drop-rollers, and intermittently elevating and dropping
them, as set forth.
55. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, spring-pressed
feeding fingers pivoted to said carriages, vertically movable bars or rods engaging
the feeding-fingers, a bar movably supported in the carriage in engagement
with the vertically movable bars or rods and formed with recesses into which
said bars or rods project, and means for changing and controlling the position
of the bar in the carriage, substantially as set forth.
56. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, spring-pressed
feeding fingers pivotally mounted in the carriage, the vertically movable bars
or rods engaging the feeding fingers at their lower ends, and carrying anti-
friction rollers at their upper ends, a longitudinally movable controlling bar
formed with a lower cam face engaging said anti-friction rollers, means for con-
fining said bar upon the carriage, and means for changing and controlling the
position of the bar in the carriage, substantially as set forth.
57. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
a reciprocating feeding-off carriage, a rack-bar movably supported in the
carriage and formed with a lower cam face, feeding fingers pivotally mounted
upon the carriage, vertically movable bars or rods engaging the feed fingers at
their lower ends and carrying anti-friction rolls at their upper ends which
engage the lower cam face of the rack-bar, a pawl or dog adapted to be thrown
into engagement with the rack-bar, and means for automatically controlling the
pawl or dog, substantially as set forth.
58. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
with a feeding off device comprising a reciprocating carriage, the spring-pressed
feeding-fingers pivotally mounted upon said carriage, the heels projecting from
said fingers, the vertically movable rods loosely engaging said heels, the rack-
bar movable in the carriage and formed with a lower cam face engaging the
upper ends of the vertically movable rods, an automatically controlled dog
adapted to engage and hold the rack-bar, and suitable stops adapted to engage
and shift the rack-bar in the carriage at the ends of the stroke of the carriage,
substantially as set forth.
59. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
a reciprocating feeding-off carriage, a pair of spring-pressed feeding fingers
pivotally mounted in the carriage and provided with heels, the vertically movable
rods engaging the heels of the feeding-off fingers, the bar formed with a lower
cam face engaging the upper ends of the rods and movably mounted in the
carriage, and means for automatically shifting and controlling the bar in the
carriage for elevating and lowering the feeding fingers, substantially as set forth.
60. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
a reciprocating feeding-off carriage, a pair of spring-pressed feeding fingers
pivotally mounted in said carriage one in front of the other, the vertically mov-
able rods engaging the feed fingers, the rack-bar movable in the carriage and

page_text: dog
formed with a lower cam face engaging the vertically movable rods, a.
mounted upon a stationary support and adapted to engage the rack-bar, an
armature carried by the dog, an electro-magnet, and an automatic contact con-
trolling device regulating the action of the magnet and actuated by the moving
sheet of paper, substantially as set forth.
61. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of the main frame having
transverse bars, a paper supporting table, adjustable brackets mounted upon
the transverse bars and connected together, a track-bar secured to and extending
between two of said brackets, a reciprocating feeding carriage mounted upon
said track bar, an operating lever connected with said carriage and journaled
to one of the adjustable brackets, a cam shaft, a cam adjustably mounted upon
said-shaft, and arranged to actuate the operating lever, and a fin or flange
extending from one of the brackets and engaging the cam, whereby all of said
parts can be adjusted as a single.structure, substantially as set forth.
+
62. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of the main supporting
frame having transverse bars 2, 3 and 5, the brackets 171 and 172 adjustably
mounted upon the bars 2 and 5, the track bar 170 secured to and extending
between said brackets, the bracket or casting 205 adjustably mounted upon
transverse bar 3 and secured to the bracket 171, the bracket arm 204 extending
from bracket 205, the shaft 115, the sleeve 300 adjustably keyed to said: 'shaft
and formed with an annular groove, a fin or flange extending from one of the
castings and engaging said annular groove, a reciprocating paper feeding
carriage mounted on the track. bar 170 and carrying feeding-off.devices, an
operating lever pivoted to bracket-arm 204 and connected with the feeding
carriage, a cam secured to collar 300, and a driving rod or. link connected with
the operating lever and supported in operative engagement with. the cam, sub-
stantially as set forth.
63. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding-off devices, and a paper separator comprising a stationary rubber
surfaced block supported in the plane of feed at the delivery end of the machine,
a reciprocating carriage, a vertically moving bar sliding in suitable guides in
said carriage and supporting a vertically moving reciprocating block, a rock
shaft journaled in the carriage and having a rock-arm at each end, one of said
rock-arms engaging the vertically sliding bar, an operating lever connected with
the other rock-arm, and stops on the carriage adapted to engage one of the
rock-arms for limiting the oscillation of the rock-shaft, substantially as set
forth.
64. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
and a vertically movable paper feeding and separating device comprising a track-
bar, a reciprocating carriage sliding thereon, a rock-shaft journaled in the
carriage and provided with rock-arms on its ends, the feeding and separating
block connected with one of said rock-arms, and adapted to be moved vertically
thereby, an operating. lever connected with the other rock-arm, stops on the
carriage adapted to engage one of the rock-arms for limiting the movement
of the rock-shaft, and a brake block carried by the carriage and engaging the
track bar, substantially as set forth.
65. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a suitable main frame
having transverse bars 2, 3 and 5, a paper supporting table, the brackets 171
and 172 adjustably mounted upon bars and 3, the track bars 170 and 261
secured to and supported between said brackets, the feeding carriage 175 sup-
ported on track 170, the separator carriage 262 supported on track 261, the
bracket or casting 205 adjustably mounted on the transverse bar 3 and secured
to bracket 171, the bracket arms 204 and 285, extending from bracket 205,
operating levers 202 and 283 pivoted to the arms 204 and 285 respectively a and
connected with the carriages 175 and 262 respectively, the shaft 115, the
sleeve 300, adjustably keyed to the shaft and formed with an annular groove,
a fin or flange extending from bracket 170 and engaging said annular groove,

page_text: cams secured to said adjustable sleeve, and driving rods operated by said cams
and connected with the operating levers 202 and 283, substantially as set forth.
66. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table;
paper feeding devices for feeding sheets from the pile, sheet separating and pro-
pelling devices operating alternately with the feeding devices and located at
the delivery end of the machine in position to receive sheets from the feeding
devices, operating mechanism for the machine embracing an automatically con-
trolled clutch, and an automatic controlling device located at the delivery end
of the machine in position to be operated by the sheets being fed off and adapted
to actuate the automatic clutch for arresting the operation of the feeding. devices
and separating and propelling devices, as set forth.
67. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
sheet buckling devices for effecting a preliminary separation of the sheets,
paper feeding devices for feeding sheets from the pile, sheet separating and
propelling devices located at the delivery end of the machine in position to
receive sheets from the feeding devices, operating mechanism for the machine
embracing an automatically controlled clutch, and an automatic controlling
device located at the delivery end of the machine in position to be operated
by the sheets being fed off and adapted to actuate the automatic clutch for
arresting the operation of the sheet buckling devices, feeding devices and
separating and propelling devices, as set forth.
68. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table;
paper feeding devices for feeding sheets from the pile, sheet separating devices
located at the delivery end of the machine, drop-roller delivery machanism
adjacent to separating devices, means for operating the machine embracing an
automatically controlled clutch, an automatic controlling device located at the
delivery end of the machine in position to be operated by the sheets being fed off
and adapted to actuate the automatic clutch for arresting the operation of the
feeding devices, separating devices and drop-roller delivery mechanism, as set
forth.
69. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
and paper feeding devices, with a main driving shaft geared to the feeding
devices, a power gear loosely journaled upon the driving shaft, a clutch member
connected with said power gear, a second clutch member keyed to the driving
gear and formed with a projecting head, a clutch dog supported upon the second
clutch member adjacent to its head, and a movable clutch-actuating device adapted
to disengage the clutch dog from the clutch members and positively engage the
head of the second clutch member for positively arresting the operation of the
feeding devices, substantially as set forth.
70. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
paper-feeding devices, a driving shaft geared to the feeding devices, a power
gear freely journaled upon the driving shaft and carrying a clutch member, a
second clutch member fixed to the shaft and formed with an enlargement or
head, a clutch dog pivoted to the clutch member adjacent to its head and formed
with a heel which projects into the plane of the head, and a movable, clutch
actuating device supported upon the machine frame and adapted to be shifted
into the path of the head and engage the heel of the clutch dog and the head
for disengaging the clutch and arresting the feeding devices, substantially as
set forth.
71. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
paper feeding devices, a driving shaft geared to the feeding devices, a power
gear journaled upon the driving shaft and carrying a clutch member, a second
clutch member fixed to the shaft, and formed with an enlargement or head, a
pivoted clutch dog mounted upon the second clutch member, a sliding head 339
having arms 339 and 339b, pins 338 and 341 supporting said sliding head, an
oscillatory shaft 342 journaled in suitable bearings and carrying a rock-arm 344

page_text: wich engages arm 55 of the siding head, and means for operating the oscil-
latory shaft substantially as set forth.
72. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a supporting table, paper-
feeding devices, a driving shaft geared to the feeding-devices, a power gear, a
clutch between the power gear and driving shaft, a movable clutch operating
device, an oscillatory shaft connected with the clutch operating device, a weighted
arm journaled upon said oscillatory shaft, an electro-magnetic device engaging
the weighted arm for holding it in elevated position, a rock-arm keyed to the
oscillatory shaft adjacent to the weighted arm and adapted to be engaged thereby
when said weighted arm is released, and a paper actuated contact device for
controlling the electro-magnetic device, substantially as set forth.
73. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
paper feeding devices, a driving shaft geared to the feeding devices, a power gear
freely journaled upon the driving shaft and carrying one clutch member, a
second clutch member keyed to the driving shaft, a clutch dog, a sliding head
adapted to disengage the dog from the clutch members, an oscillatory shaft
carrying a rock-arm engaging said sliding head, શ rock-shaft provided
with operating hand levers and suitably connected with said oscillatory
shaft, a weighted lever freely journaled upon said oscillatory shaft, an arm keyed
to the oscillatory shaft adjacent to the weighted lever, and adapted to be engaged
thereby when released, an electro-magnetic device controlling the weighted lever
and a paper operated contact device controlling the circuit of the electro-magnetic
device, substantially as set forth.
74. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding devices, suitable driving mechanism, the drop rollers mounted
upon a suitable shaft geared to the driving mechanism, rock-arms supporting the
drop roller shaft, means for intermittently elevating and lowering the shaft and
drop rollers, lugs on the rock-arms supporting the drop roller shaft, pivoted
arms or levers carrying similar lugs adapted to engage the lugs on the rock-
arms, and means for operating said pivoted arms or levers for holding the drop
rollers out of operative position, substantially as set forth.
75. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable feeding devices, suitable driving mechanism, a clutch mechanism
gearing the driving mechanism to the feeding devices, clutch operating mechan-
ism, the drop rollers mounted upon a suitable shaft geared to the driving
mechanism, rock-arms supporting the drop roller shaft, means for intermittently
elevating and lowering the shaft and drop rollers and suitable mechanism con-
nected with the clutch operating mechanism and adapted to raise the drop-
rollers into inoperative position and hold them out of operation when the clutch
is disengaged. substantially as set forth.
76. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
feeding instruments for feeding sheets of paper from the pile, and paper separat-
ing devices disposed at the delivery end of the machine and adapted to separate
the top sheet from the underlying sheet or sheets, with one or more resistance
blocks or brakes resting constantly upon the paper at or adjacent to the rear
edge and adapted to exert a frictional resistance to the under sheets of the
pile while the top sheet is being fed off, substantially as set forth.
77. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable buckling devices for effecting a preliminary separation of the rear
corners of the sheets of paper, suitable feeding instruments for feeding the
separated sheets from the pile, and paper separating devices disposed at the
delivery end of the machine with one or more resistance blocks or brakes resting
upon the pile of paper at or adjacent to the rear edge, substantially as set forth.
78. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable buckling devices, and feeding-off devices, with one or more holding
down blocks supported above the pile of paper, and operating means adapted to
force the holding-down blocks or blocks into engagement with the pile of paper

page_text: :
just in rear of the back edge of the top sheet being fed off, substantially as set
forth.
79. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
suitable buckling devices, paper separating devices disposed at the delivery end
of the machine, and feeding-off devices, with one or more holding-down blocks
supported above the pile of paper, and operating means adapted to force the
holding down block or blocks into engagement with the pile of paper just in
rear of the back edge of the top sheet being fed off, substantially as set forth.
80. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper-supporting table,
suitable buckling devices, one or more resistance blocks or brakes resting upon
the top of the pile of paper at or adjacent to the rear edge, and feeding-off
devices, with one or more holding-down blocks supported above the pile of
paper, and operating means adapted to force the holding-down block or blocks
into engagement with the pile of paper just in rear of the back edge of the top
sheet being fed off, substantially as set forth.
81. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
suitable buckling devices, paper separating devices disposed at the delivery end
of the machine, one or more resistance blocks or brakes resting upon the top
of the pile of paper at or adjacent to the rear edge, and feeding-off devices,
with one or more holding-down blocks supported above the pile of paper, and
operating means adapted to force the holding-down block or blocks into
engagement with the pile of paper just in rear of the back edge of the top
sheet being fed off, substantially as set forth.
82. The combination, in a paper feeding machine of a support for a pile of
sheets, a pile-retaining finger arranged to engage and hold the pile intact, a
frictional sheet-moving instrument adapted to engage the top sheet of the pile
and move it out of the engagement of the pile-retaining finger, and an auxiliary
frictional device, of less frictional capacity than the sheet-moving instrument,
arranged to frictionally engage the pile adjacent to the pile-retaining finger
and prevent any under sheet or sheets moving from beneath the pile-retaining
finger with the top sheet under the operation of the sheet-moving instrument,
substantially as set forth.
83. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, driving mechanism
connected with the carriage, a plurality of spring-pressed feeding instruments
pivoted to a suitable support upon said carriage, one to the rear of the other,
and an automatically controlled bar mounted upon the carriage and movable
with relation to the feeding instruments and adapted to throw the feeding-
instruments out of operative relation with the top sheet of the pile, substantially
as set forth.
84. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a paper supporting table,
with feeding-off devices comprising a reciprocating carriage, spring-pressed
feeding fingers pivoted to a suitable support upon said carriage, a bar mounted
in said carriage and movable with relation to the feeding fingers and adapted
to raise the feeding fingers, and means thrown into operation by the movement
of the sheet passing from the machine for changing the relative position
of the bar and feeding fingers to cause said bar to throw the feeding fingers
out of operative position, substantially as set forth.
85. In a paper feeding machine, the combination with the sheet feeding and
separating instruments, and a sheet separating bed at the delivery end of the
machine receiving the front feeding and separating instrument over it, of two
sets of sheet delivery rollers arranged at the delivery end of the machine adjacent
to the separator bed and adapted to receive the separating sheet between them,
one set of said delivery rollers being movable toward and away from the other
set to engage a sheet, and suitable operating means for said delivery rolls,
substantially as set forth.
86. In combination with the paper feeding instruments and a sheet-separating

page_text: bed at the delivery end of the machine receiving the front feeding instrument
over it, paper-supporting rollers at said end of the machine, drop-rollers over said
supporting rollers, a shaft carrying said drop-rollers, a gear-wheel journalled
to the side of the machine, arms carrying said shaft at opposite sides of the
machine and pivoted to swing in arcs concentric to the axis of the aforesaid
gear-wheel, a pinion attached to the end of the roller-carrying shaft and meshing
with said gear-wheel, and mechanism intermittently lifting the drop-rollers, as
set forth.
Dated this 12th day of September 1898
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.