Improvements in Apparatus for Adjusting Sheets of Paper while being Fed to Folding Machines or the like.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 15th Dec., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by TALBOT CHAMBERS DEXTER, of Pearl River
Village, County of Rockland, and JOSEPH CLARENCE WILLETT, of 49, Wall
Street, New York City, both in the State of New York, United States of
America, Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Apparatus for Adjusting Sheets of Paper while
being Fed to Folding Machines or the like.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to the class of devices which are employed for auto-
matically registering or adjusting to proper alignment sheets of paper in process
of being fed to a paper folding machine or other machine designed to operate on a
single sheet at a time.
It has hitherto been found very difficult to provide a registering device of
sufficient sensitiveness in its action to operate with the necessary accuracy on sheets
paper of different grades or qualities, and fed irregularly or which may be carried
out of proper alignment in their transit in the machine.
of
The object of this invention is to overcome the aforesaid difficulty by automatic
and reliably operating means, and to that end the invention consists in the novel
construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and specifically set
forth in the claims.
In the annexed drawings
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a paper folding machine equipped with my invention,
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same,
Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the registering mechanism, Fig. 4 is a top
plan view of the same,
Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section on line X X in Fig. 4,
Fig. 6 is a view of the opposite side of said registering mechanism,
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the carriage of said mechanism with the lower parts of
the mechanism connected thereto,
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the arm which carries the presser-roller of the
registering devices,
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the cam which actuates said arm and Fig. 10 is an
outer end view of the arm in connection with said cam.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
ff and ff are the tapes or conveyors which carry the paper across the top of
the folding rollers L L and to the stop or end-gage g which arrests the movement
of the paper so as to cause it to lie with the center of its length under the folding-
blade O.
The paper usually requires registering and adjusting in its position after it has
been carried to the end-gage o, in order to bring the desired folding line of the
paper in line with the folding blade, and for this purpose I employ my improved
registering mechanism, which is constructed as follows:
Transversely over the conveyors f¹f I support horizontal guides BB which
are rigidly secured to a pedestal B₁ mounted upon the side of the frame A.
Upon the said guides is mounted a longitudinally movable carriage F which is
adjustably confiued in its position by means of a horizontal screw E which is

page_text: parallel with the guides B B and journaled in the pedestal B' and is provided at
outer end with a hand-wheel E, and has its inner end passing through a nut N
affixed to or integral with the carriage F.
In bearings on the underside of said carriage is journaled a shaft 6 disposed at
right angles to the guides or parallel with the conveyors f1 f1 and to this shaft is
fastened the roller R which has the top of its periphery protruding through an
opening in the top of the carriage so as to be in proximity to the passage of the
paper, and is revolved toward the side of the machine or laterally from the line of
travel of the paper.
The roller R receives its rotary motion from the actuating mechanism of the
paper conveyors ff by means of a spiral gear 1 fastened to the shaft band
meshing with a spirally toothed pinion 6" attached to a shaft a which is at right
angles to the paper conveyors or parallel with the carriage F and journaled at its
inner end in a hanger a¹ fastened to one of the guides B, and at its outer end in the
pedestal B¹, and has attached to it a gear F¹ which meshes with one of the gears
of the usual train employed on the folding machine.
Over the roller R and parallel therewith is another roller R' pivoted to a suitable
vertically movable support which allows it to be raised sufficiently for the paper in
transit to pass freely between the two rollers, and subsequently fall upon the said
paper and press the same upon the lower roller R which by its frictional contact
therewith draws the paper into proper alignment with the folding rollers and
blade.
For this purpose I provide the lower roller R with a facing of rubber or other
suitable material adapted to obtain the necessary frictional hold on the paper.
The upper roller is revolved simply by its frictional bearing on the paper moved by
the lower roller. The aforesaid vertically movable support I preferably form of
an arm C pivoted at one end to a rock-shaft c journaled in a bracket F secured
to the top of the carriage F. The presser-roller R' is pivoted to the free end of
the arm C.
The rock-shaft c receives its motion by a miter pinion c" fixed thereto and
meshing with a similar pinion d¹ attached to the rock-shaft d which is disposed at
right angles to the line of paper conveyors f¹ f¹ and has an arm G attached to its
outer end. This arm is connected by a rod e¹ to the upper end of another rock-
arm I which is pivoted intermediate its length to the frame A and has pivoted to
its lower end a roller by which it bears on a rotary cam H. The arm I is held
in its bearing on said cam by a rod e connected to the arm above its pivot or
fulcrum and passing freely through a rigid stud ell attached to the frame A and
having affixed to it a collar i between which and the stud ell is a spiral spring
surrounding the rod and bearing on said collar and stud and thereby forcing the
rod toward the rock-arm I, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.
The heel or pivoted end of the roller-carrying arm C has projecting from its
side a shoulder C' upon which bears a cam c fastened to the rock-shaft c, the
motion of which latter thus alternately lifts and drops the arm C and causes the
roller R¹ to rise and allow the paper to pass between it and the lower roller R and
subsequently drop upon the paper and press the same onto the lower revolving
roller which shifts the paper laterally to the side-gage as aforesaid.
To arrest the said lateral movement of the paper immediately after it has been
registered by the side-gage, I employ an electrically operated stop-motion, which
obviously is susceptible of many variations in the details of its construction.
Hence I do not wish to be limited specifically to the construction hereinafter
described.
The construction shown in the annexed drawings for an exemplification of such
stop-motion is as follows:
On the bracket F" are mounted electro-magnets DD connected to an electric
circuit in which S denotes the battery. The armature D' is affixed to a lever D¹
which is fulcrumed or loosely mounted on the rock-shaft c_ and is thus pivoted
axially in line with the pivot of the roller-carrying arm C. The inner end of the

page_text: lever D is extended under the arm C so as to engage the same from beneath and
lift the same as hereinafter described.
I preferably provide said arm with an adjustable set-screw; by which it bears
on the lever D as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 of the drawings.
To cause the lever D" to alternately lift and drop the arm C, I employ a
circuit making and breaking lever consisting of a movable side-gage k in the path
of the paper shifted by the rollers R R².
This lever is pivoted to a hanger k¹ on the carriage F and is held normally in its
circuit breaking position by a weighted arm connected thereto in a suitable
manner, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, in which it is connected to another
arm k extending laterally from the pivoted end of the lever.
'
On this lever is mounted an insulated block provided with a binding-post/1
and having extending from it the metallic spring-finger m which constitutes one of
the electric terminals. A hanger n is attached to the carriage F and insulated
therefrom, and to the foot of this hanger is connected an adjustable vertical set-
screw n which serves as the other electric terminal. Said set-screw being under
the free end of the finger m so as to come in contact therewith when the lever k is
tilted outward as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The hanger n is electrically
connected with one of the magnets D by wire e. The other magnet is connected
directly with the battery S by wire e'. The finger m is electrically connected with
the battery by wire of attached at one end to the binding-post and at the
opposite end to a metallic bracket p fastened to and insulated from the carriage F
and having extending from it a metallic finger r from which extends a wire of
the battery S.
to
The operation of the described registering mechanism and its electric stop-
motion is as follows:
During the travel of the paper to the end-gage g, said paper becomes aligned
by its encounter with said gage, the arm C with the roller R' is lifted by the
cam c' of the rock-shaft c pressing down the shoulder C¹ of the aforesaid arm.
The lifting of said roller allows the paper to pass between it and the lower
roller R.
The motion of the rock-shaft c is so timed with the motion of the conveyors f*
that the cam c¹ relieves the shoulder C' from the downward pressure and allows
the arm C to drop and cause the roller R¹ to press the paper upon the lower
roller R which is in constant motion and by its frictional hold on the paper draws
the same laterally into alignment with the folding roller. In this movement the
edge of the paper comes in contact with the free end of the circuit making and
breaking lever, and pushes said lever into its circuit-making position, as represented
in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The magnets becoming thus energized causes the
armature to be attracted, and in this motion the armature lever D" lifts the arm C
sufficiently to relieve the paper from pressure of the roller R¹. The lower roller R
thereby loses its frictional hold on the paper and consequently the motion of the
paper is arrested.
It will be observed that inasmuch as the circuit-making and breaking lever k is
Dearly balanced by the weighted arm l, it requires only a very slight pressure of
the paper upon said lever to tilt it into its circuit making position. Hence the
described electric stop-motion is very sensitive and reliable in its action.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, 1 declare that what I claim is:
1. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, a roller revolving
with its top toward the side of the machine and engaging the underside of the
paper arrested by the end-gage, and a presser-roller over the paper and parallel
with the lower roller and movable vertically to and from the same, as set forth.
2. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, a vertically revolving
roller at right angles to said conveyors and in contact with the underside of the

page_text: paper arrested by the end-gage and moving with its engaging face toward the side
of the machine, a vertically oscillatory.arm over said roller, and a presser-roller
pivoted to said arm directly over the lower roller and intermittently pressing the
paper upon the same, as set forth.
3. A paper-registering apparatus comprising conveyors feeding the paper to the
machine, a gage arresting the advance movement of the paper and aligning the
same, paper-shifters moving the arrested and aligned paper laterally, an electrically
operated stop-motion arresting the movement of said shifters, and a movable side-
gage operated by the laterally shifting paper and controlling said stop-motion.
4. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, paper-shifting
mechanism drawing the paper laterally, an electric circuit, electro-magnets in said
circuit, the armature adapted to arrest the action of the aforesaid shifting mechanism
upon the paper and a circuit maker and breaker actuated by the shifting paper as
set forth.
5. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, a revolving shaft
under the passage of the paper and parallel with the conveyors, a roller fixed to
said shaft and having its periphery engaging the underside of the paper in transit,
a roller over said paper parallel with the lower roller and mounted on a vertically
movable support, an electric circuit, magnets in said circuit, the armature adapted
to lift the aforesaid support, and a circuit maker and breaker actuated by the paper
moved by the aforesaid rollers as set forth.
6. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, a revolving shaft
under the passage of the paper and parallel with the conveyors, a roller fixed to
said shaft and having its periphery in proximity to the underside of the paper in
transit, a vertically movable arm extending with its free end over the passage of
the paper, a roller pivoted to said end of the arm, and disposed parallel with and
vertically over the lower roller, an electric circuit, magnets in said circuit, the
armature adapted to lift the aforesaid arm, and a circuit maker and breaker actuated
by the paper moved by the aforesaid rollers as set forth.
7. In combination with the paper-conveyors and end-gage, a roller disposed
axially parallel with the conveyors and with its periphery in proximity to the
underside of the paper in transit and revolving with its upper portion toward the
side of the machine, a presser roller directly over the aforesaid roller and parallel
therewith and mounted on a vertically movable support, an electric circuit, magnets
in said circuit, the armature adapted to lift the roller-support, and a circuit making
and breaking lever in the path of the paper moved by the aforesaid rollers and held
normally in its circuit breaking position, as set forth.
8. In combination with the paper-conveyors, end-gage and mechanism actuating
said conveyors, a shaft under the passage of the paper parallel with the conveyors
and geared with the aforesaid actuating mechanism to receive continuous rotary
motion, a roller fixed to said shaft and having the top of its periphery in proximity
to the passage of the paper, an arm pivoted axially parallel with the aforesaid
shaft and having its free end over the aforesaid roller, à presser roller pivoted to
said end of the arm and in the same vertical plane with the lower roller and
pressing the paper upon said roller, an electric circuit, magnets in said circuit, the
armature fixed to a lever fulcrumed intermediate of its length and engaging at its
free end the aforesaid roller-supporting arm to lift the same by the attraction of
the armature to the magnets, and a circuit making and breaking lever in the path
of the paper and sustained normally in its breaking position, as set forth.
9. In combination with the paper-conveyors, end-gage and mechanism actuating
said conveyors, the shaft a at right angles to the conveyors and receiving rotary
motion from the aforesaid mechanism, the shaft b at right angles to the shaft a and
geared to partake rotary motion therefrom, the roller R fixed to the shaft b and
having the top of its periphery in proximity to the underside of the paper in
transit, the arm C pivoted to swing with its free end vertically over the roller R,
the roller R¹ pivoted to the free end of said arm and pressing the paper upon said
lower roller, an electric circuit and magnets D in said circuit, the armature D', the

page_text: lever D" fixed to said armature and pivoted intermediate of its length axially in
line with the pivot of the roller-carrying arm and engaging at its free end said arm
from beneath the same, and a circuit making and breaking lever in the path of the
paper moved by the rollers, as set forth.
10. In combination with the paper-conveyors, mechanism for operating the same,
paper end-gage and the roller R under the passage of the paper and revolving with
its top in contact with the paper and laterally from the travel of the paper, the
rock-shaft c, cam c¹ fastened to said shaft, the arm C mounted loosely on the same
shaft and having affixed to it the shoulder C' bearing on the underside of the cam c¹,
and the roller R pivoted to said arm, as set forth and shown.
11. In combination with the main frame, paper-conveyors, mechanism for
operating the same, paper end-gage and the roller R under the passage of the
paper and revolving with its top in contact with the paper and laterally from the
travel of the paper, the rock-shaft d at right angles to the aforesaid conveyors,
miter pinion d attached to said shaft, the shaft c at right angles to the shaft d, the
pinion on the shaft c meshing with the pinion d', the arm C mounted loosely on
the shaft c and provided with the shoulder C', the roller R¹ pivoted to said arm,
the cam c fixed to the shaft c and bearing upon the shoulder C¹, the arm G secured
to the shaft d, the cam H rotated by the actuating mechanism of the paper-
conveyors, the lever 1 pivoted to the main frame, the spring-rod e holding said lever
in contact with the cam, and the rod e¹ connecting said lever to the arm G,
substantially as described and shown.
12. In combination with the main frame, paper-conveyors and gage arresting the
movement of the paper, lateral guides mounted on the frame, a carriage mounted
on said guides and sustained adjustably lengthwise thereof, lateral paper-shifting
mechanism supported on said carriage, an electric circuit, electro magnets on the
aforesaid carriage, the armature adapted to arrest the action of the aforesaid
paper-shifting mechanism, and a circuit maker and breaker actuated by the shifting
paper as set forth.
ALL CLO
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.