IMPROVE- MENTS IN PAPER FEEDING DEVICES FOR PRINTING PRESSES AND THE LIKE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Ellery, of Albany in the County of Albany and
State of New York, United States of America, for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
LETTERS PATENT to Charles Ellery, of Albany in the County of Albany and
State of New York, United States of America, for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PAPER FEEDING DEVICES FOR PRINTING PRESSES AND THE LIKE
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Ellery at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st May 1883.
CHARLES ELLERY of Albany in the County of Albany and State of New York,
United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PAPER FEEDING DEVICES FOR
PRINTING PRESSES AND THE LIKE
My invention relates to improvements in mechanisms for automatically feeding
sheets of paper to printing presses; and the objects of my invention are, first, to
provide an apparatus for mechanically feeding sheets of paper to a printing press
in an accurate, reliable, and expeditious manner; second, to effect the separation of
the sheets from a pile of paper in such manner that only a single thickness at a
time can be fed into the press; and, third, to provide a regulating device for
controlling the degree of vacuum that is produced in the lifting mechanism.
These objects I attain by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accom-
panying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1
is a side elevation of part of a printing press provided with my feeding apparatus;
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the upper portion of the same; Figure 3, a plan
view of Fig. 2 with part of one of the tape rollers removed for the purpose of
showing underlying parts; Figures 4 and 5, are respectively, an enlarged vertical
section and a rear elevation of one of my paper separators; Figure 6, an enlarged
vertical section of my vacuum regulator; and Figures 7 and 8, are skeleton
outlines of the trains of gear wheels for driving the tape-rollers of the feeding
mechanism.
As represented in the drawing A represents a press-frame: B, impression
cylinder; C, driving-shaft; D, gear-wheels for transmitting motion from driving
shaft to impression cylinder; and, E, feeding table; all of aforesaid parts,
belonging to an ordinary cylinder-printing-press, constitute no part of my invention.
The paper-lifting mechanism for my feeding apparatus consists of a movable

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cross-head, F. provided with a series of lifters. f. composed of open-ended sliding
tubes. each of which has an elastic cushion at its lower end for producing a close
joint with the sheets of paper; said lifters are provided with light spiral springs
for the purpose of pressing them downward and insuring a uniform bearing for the
tubes upon the top sheet of the pile of paper; said lifters are connected, by means
of flexible tubes f¹ (containing spiral coils for preventing a collapse of said tubes
when the air is exhausted therefrom) to a transverse metal tube f³, fixed to the
cross-head F; a stop-cock, f³, is inserted between each flexible tube f¹ and the
tube f, for the purpose of shutting off and throwing out of action any number of
the lifters that are not required for use at any time; the cross-head F is also
provided at each end with wheels f, or other suitable appliance, for moving on
guides found on the cheek-pieces G and arranged to control the movements of the
cross-head F in the proper directions. Bent levers H, pivoted, at h, to the cheek-
pieces G, are connected at one end, as at f³, to opposite ends of the cross-head F; at
the opposite ends of said levers is fixed a friction roller h', which rollers engage
with the cams I, secured on shaft 6 of the impression cylinder, for the purpose of
imparting motion, at the required times and in the proper direction, to the cross-
head F. An exhausting pump, J, is secured to the frame of the press, and its
piston is adapted to reciprocate, by means of the eccentric j, or other suitable
device, so as to make a complete double stroke (inwardly and outwardly) uniformly
with each revolution of the impression-cylinder B; a suction pipe K-provided
with a flexible portion k-connects the pump J with the tube f³ of the cross-
head F, and affords the required means for permitting the said pump to produce a
vacuum in the lifters f. For the purpose of adapting the paper-lifting mechanism to
use with all different kinds of paper-for it is obvious that thin and flimsy sheets
will not endure the same degree of strain that thick and stiffer ones will-it
becomes necessary to provide a device for governing and modifying the vacuum
formed by the exhausting pump J; and to this end I construct the vacuum
regulator shown in Fig. 6, which consists of an inwardly opening valve L, contained
in the casing and provided with a screw-stem l'; a spiral spring, 1, is interposed
between a collar (on the screw-stem )-and a shoulder formed on the inner
side of casing 1, and keeps the valve L up against its seat; openings 1, formed in
casing, admit air when the valve L is opened by the pressure of the atmosphere;
By means of the screw-stem, the resistance of the spring 12 can be increased or
diminished as occasion demands, so as to require a more or less perfect vacuum to be
formed beneath the valve before the pressure of the atmosphere will force said
valve open to admit sufficient air into the pipes to qualify the condition of the
vacuum therein.
The said vacuum regulator may be connected to the pipe K as shown in Fig. 1,
or to any other part of the apparatus where it will readily be affected by the
pump J. The feeding table E is fixed on the framing of the press, and the front
edge of said table rests against adjustable stops g, secured to the cheek-pieces G,
for the purpose of adjusting the front of the pile of paper in relation to the lifters f:
and at the front-edge of said table there is fixed a series of separators for preventing
the removal of more than one sheet at a time from the pile of paper on said table;
said separators as shown in Figs. 4 and 5-consist of a slotted bracket M-and a
sliding block, m, adapted to slide in the slotted opening of said bracket and
provided with a knife m², or other keen-pointed instrument, whose point will rest
upon the top sheet of the pile, close to the front edge of such sheet, and in such
manner that the point of each knife will cut a minute slit in the front edge of each
sheet as it is raised from the pile, and thereby the point of the knife will be
permitted to fall upon the second sheet of the pile so as to retain the latter sheet
in place while the top one is being separated and removed from the pile; a
weight m³ should be attached to each of the sliding-blocks m so as to insure
sufficient resistance to enable the knife m' to perform its work effectively. The
brackets M are adapted to adjust sidewise on the table E by means of the thumb
screws m², which slide in the slotted opening e in the under side of said table so as

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to permit each separator to be secured at any required point on the edge of the table.
Side-guides, N, for the sheets of paper, are secured on the table E by means of
thumb-screws n which slide in the slotted-warp e¹ formed in the upper face of said
table, so that said guides can be adjusted laterally to suit the width of the sheets,
-when it is required to print two, or more, narrow sheets at one time-the said
guides may be fixed at the outer edges of the outside piles and in the spaces
between the piles-and then (by closing the stop-cocks of such of the lifters f as
will not engage upon any of the sheets) the said sheets may be fed to the press in
a very regular and perfect manner. For the purpose of facilitating the adjustment
of the side guides Ñ a measuring rule should be inlaid in the surface of the table E
so as to be a permanent part of said table.
The sheets of paper raised by the lifters are fed forward to the printing
mechanism by means of tapes, or by tapes combined with cords, operated by the
following mechanisms: The lower tape pullies O are fixed on a shaft, o, driven by
the train of gear-wheels shown in Fig. 7, which train derives its motion from the
gear wheel b secured either to shaft 6 or impression cylinder B; and it must be
understood that, in order to produce a proper operation of my feeder, all the gearing
for driving the tape-drums and pullies must be so proportioned and arranged that
the said drums and pullies will be driven by positive motions, and have a uniform
rate of peripheral speed with the impression cylinder B: by means of an inter-
mediate gear wheel, indicated by the dotted circles, marked p in Fig. 8, and
pinion p¹, the tape drum P is rotated in the same direction as the impression
cylinder B. The lower endless tapes or cords Q pass around the pullies O, which
lie directly over the impressiou cylinder B, and from thence said tapes pass
rearwardly around the tape drum P. The upper endless tapes R pass around
pullies, S, secured to the shaft s driven, by gear wheels, from the shaft o; from the
pullies S the tapes R pass rearwardly in such manner that their under parts will
pass over the upper side of the drum P, from thence around guide pullies t-fixed
in the jaws of arms T, adjustably attached to the bar t' so that the positions of the
pulliest may be adjusted in relation to the drum P; after passing over the guide-
pullies, the upper part of the tapes R are carried forward over the upper side of
the tightening drum U to the point of beginning. The bearings for the tightening
drum U are formed in the adjustable arms u which are pivoted to the cheek-
pieces G, and secured in position by means of binding bolts u¹. For the purpose
of producing an audible notification of the completion of the operation of feeding
fifty, or any other prescribed number of sheets to the printing press, an automatio
gong-bell V, is attached to any convenient part of the structure, and connected by
any suitable mechanism to any moving part of the press or feeder that will produce
the required alarm on said gong.
The several parts of the mechanism being fixed in the positions herein shown
and described, and all the parts being adjusted in relation to each other so that
every sheet will reach the impression cylinder of the press at the moment the
nippers of said cylinder are ready to receive the sheet, a pile of paper is placed on
the feeding-table, so that the front edges of the sheets will rest against the
brackets M, and the knives m¹ of the separators will bear upon the top of the
pile, and then the operation of my feed apparatus is as follows:-
A vacuum is formed in the tubes and pipes, by means of the pump J, which
begins its outward stroke the moment the lifters f reach the top of the pile of
paper; the effect of this vacuum is to cause the uppermost sheet to adhere to the
lower end of the lifters f; at the same instant the cams I-through the levers H-
cause the cross-head F to move upward on the guides on the cheek-piece G, and by
this movement the top sheet of paper is raised up against the resistance of the
knives m¹ which cut minute slits in the front edge of said sheet, whereby the
points of the knives will be brought to bear upon the second sheet of the pile to
hold the latter while the upper sheet is being removed; the adhering sheet is
carried, by the action of the cross-head F, upward and slightly forward, so that its
front edge will enter the angles between the guide pulliest and tape-drum P,

page_text: where the sheet will be caught between the tapes Q and R, and by the motion of
said tapes the sheet will be fed forward toward the impression cylinder B, and the
front edge of the sheet will reach the said cylinder just in time to be caught by its
nippers to be carried over to receive the impression when the several parts of the
feeder are correctly adjusted each sheet will be caught by the nippers of the
impression cylinder at an unvaried distance back from the front edge, so as to
produce a uniform width of margin in all the printed sheets; After delivering the
sheets to the feeding tapos, as above described, the cross-head F is returned by its
gravity to its former position when the lifters f.will rest upon the top of the pile
of paper ready for a repetition of the operation just described.
I claim as my invention:
1. In a paper feeding device, the combination, with a paper-lifting mechanism,
wherein the paper is held in place on the exhaustible lifters by means of
atmospheric pressure, as herein described, of the described mechanism for feeding
forward, to the impression mechanism of a printing press, the sheets raised by the
lifting mechanism; the said feeding mechanism consisting of feeding tapes arranged
in relation to each other, and to the paper-lifters and impression mechanism as
herein specified.
2. In a paper-feeding device the combination with the exhaustible lifters f
exhausting pump J, and the intermediate pipes for connecting the said lifters and
pump substantially as described, of the feeding-tapes Q and R arranged in relation
to the lifters f and impression cylinder B, and to operate as herein specified.
3. The combination, with the cross-head F provided with exhaustible lifters f
constructed, and connected to the said cross-head and with the exhausting pump J,
as herein described, of the levers H and cams I whereby an up-and-down movement
only is imparted to said cross-head for the purpose of lifting the sheets of paper to
the feeding tapes as herein specified.
4. In a paper-feeding device, the combination, with an exhausting pump J, of a
cross-head, F, provided with a series of exhaustible lifters f connected, by means of
flexible pipes f, to the transverse tube f* as herein set forth; each of said lifters
being provided with an independant stop-cock f³ for the purpose of throwing any
number of said lifters out of service as herein specified.
5. In a paper feeding device, the combination, with the exhaustible lifters f, of
the feeding table E adapted, by means of adjustable stops g, to adjust inwardly
and outwardly in respect to said lifters, for the purpose of increasing and diminishing
the margins on the printed sheets as herein specified.
6. In a paper-feeding device, the combination, with exhaustible lifters f as
herein described, of a vacuum regulating valve constructed and arranged to operate
as herein specified.
7. The paper separators herein described, and consisting of a sliding-block m
provided with a pointed knife m¹ and adapted to operate as set forth for the purpose
of separating the sheets of paper in the manner herein specified.
8 In a paper-feeding device, the combination, with the paper-lifting mechanism
herein described, of a paper separator composed of a vertically sliding-block provided
with a knife or other sharp-pointed instrument adapted to slit the front edge of the
topmost sheet of paper for the purpose of separating the lifted sheet from the pile as
herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Ellery have hereunto set my hand and
cool this Eighth day of May in the year of our Lord 1882 Lic