Improvements in Paper Feeding Devices.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1895
COMPLEIE DIEVITICATION.
Improvements in Paper Feeding Devices.
We HENRY BUCKLEY COOLEY of 10 Walnut Street and JOHN MADISON
NOBLE of 144 Albany Avenue citizens of the United States, and JAMES EDWARD
TREVOR of 37 Chestnut Street subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland,
all in Hartford in the County of Hartford and State of Connecticut, United States
of America Machinists do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to that class of paper feeding devices in which suction is
used to separate successive sheets from a pile of papers and has for its object to
increase the output of such devices by increasing the speed at which they may be
operated so as to make the feeding continuous and so avoid the necessity for
stopping the device to replenish the pile, as is now generally the case; also to
construct a more simple and efficient device with fewer parts than heretofore thereby
reducing the first cost and the cost of repairs. These and other objects are attained
by the mechanism which we will now proceed to describe, with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a device constructed according to our invention for
feeding envelope blanks a part of the supporting standards being broken away.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section along the line 2-2. Fig. 1, looking towards the
right.
Fig. 3 is a similar section on the same line 2-2, Fig. 1, looking towards the
left, this fig. being shewn drawn to a larger scale.
Fig. 4 is a plan of the feeding device, and
Fig. 5 is a detail of the upper feed roll.
A is a table supported upon side frames B, secured to the bed or platform C.
The table A is preferably inclined, as shown, so that the pile of paper which rests
thereon will have its front end so disposed over an aperture, or opening, D, in the
table that the front end of the bottom sheet may be readily drawn away from the
pile by the suction pipe E which is caused to reciprocate transversely to the axes
of two feed rolls, F. G. journaled in bearings in the frames, B, as hereinafter more
fully described.
At
The table, A, may be secured to the frames B, in any suitable manner, for
example, by bolts, h, passing through the said frames and through lugs provided
on the under side of the table; and the opening or aperture, D, in the table may
be formed by cutting away a portion, I, and bending the said portion downward so
as to form a tangent to the feed roll G, and so provide a guiding surface or apron
for the sheets of paper as they are drawn through the feeding rolls F and G.
the front end of the table A is a separator, J, preferably in the form of a fork with
a slotted shank or end, K, by which the said separator may be adjustably secured
in position on the table by a set screw, k, the forked end of the separator pro-
jecting over the opening in the table, and serving to support the front end of the
pile of papers.
L. L are guide posts which may be any desired shape in cross section, provided
with slotted projections, m, by means of which the said guide posts may be
adjustably secured to the table by set screws, l. The front set L of these guide
posts, extends downwardly through the opening, D, to keep the sheets of paper in
proper alignment as they are drawn downward by the suction pipe.
Journaled in suitable bearings in the standards C2 which support the bed or
platform C is a shaft, M, carrying a disk, N, provided with a cam groove, P, in

page_text: which travels a roller carried on one end of a link, Q, having its other end
connected to a lever, R, fulcrumed at a, to the underside of the bed or platform C
of the device, and pivotally connected by links, b, to the suction pipe, E. This
pipe communicates with the pump, T, which may be operated from the shaft, M,
by any suitable connections, such for instance as the crank disk, O, and rod, c.
The pump shewn in the drawing is a reciprocating pump but it will be understood
that any suitable air exhausting mechanism may be employed; and the pipe E
must be so connected therewith as to allow it to reciprocate towards and from the
bottom of the pile of papers.
Referring more particularly to the construction of the feed rolls and their
relation to the suction pipe, it will be seen in Fig. 5. that the upper roli, F,
consists of two parts, fand f', journaled in suitable boxes, a and y, mounted in
the side frames, B, and connected by a web, g, and having a space between them
sufficient for the passage of the pipe, E. This roll is recessed, as shewn at s, to
allow free passage of the blanks or sheets of paper therethrough, and is placed
diagonally above the lower roll, G, so that the axes of the two rolls may be in
different vertical planes for the purpose of having the path of motion of the pipe, E,
across the line of centres of the rolls. By this arrangement of the rolls, the suction
pipe will present the front end of the blank or sheet of paper, in its descent, fairly
upon the roll, G, when the said sheet comes tangent to this lower roll. The lower
roll, G, is also made in two parts, as shewn in Fig. 1, to allow the suction pipe, E,
to pass between the rolls. The edge of the recess in the upper roll forms the
grab
which in the operation of the device follows closely upon the receding
pipe, and grips firmly the edge of the sheet of paper to strip it from the pipe as
the latter brings the said sheet tangent to the lower roll.
66
"
The cam groove, P, in the disk, N, is preferably formed with a rest for a third
of a revolution at both the top and the bottom and with a rise and fall of one sixth
each on the sides so that the pipe in its extreme upper position will dwell a
sufficient time to allow the suction to act upon the paper when the pile is slightly
raised by the said pipe as it comes in contact therewith; while the similar rest
provided in the extreme lower position allows the feeding rolls to pass the sheet
which has been stripped from the pipe by the said rolls in the downward movement.
The feeding rolls are so timed that they complete two or more revolutions while
the suction pipe makes one reciprocation, thus securing an effective feeding for
each sheet or blank.
To insure the proper action of the suction upon the sheet, the end of the pipe, E,
is inclined, to the plane of the sheets this may be effected by cutting the said pipe
away, at an angle less than the angle or repose of the pile, as shown at d, so that
the heel of the pipe acts to slightly raise the pile from its support while the
suction effectively separates the front end of the sheet from the pile, drawing the
said front end through the forked separator.
The feed rolls may be driven from the shaft, M, by any suitable gearing,
as by a belt running from the pulley, Y, or they may be operated from any
suitable part of the machine to which our feeding device may be attached.
Although we have shewn our device adapted for envelope machines it is obvious
that it may be applied to any machines in which paper or other flexible material
is to be fed in successive sheets or blanks; and the form of the table, the shape and
number of guides, may be varied to suit different requirements without departing
from our invention; the means for effecting a reciprocation of the suction pipe is
also subject to the same conditions, we have however shown what we consider now
to be the preferable means for carrying our invention into practice.
From the foregoing description it will be clear that as the heel of the pipe, E,
comes in contact with and slightly raises the pile of paper, the suction which has
been previously established by the operation of the air pump will quickly draw
the front end of the bottom sheet away from the pile, which sheet closes the end
of the pipe and prevents further action upon the pile, the forked separator now
intervening to keep the rest of the pile întact; and as the pipe descends, the

page_text: upper feed roll will grip the sheet when it becomes tangent to the lower roll. thus
stripping it from the pipe, and acting with the lower roll, will draw the sheet
through and feed it to the point desired. Meantime the pipe will have reached
the extreme lower position and will dwell there until the said sheet has passed
through the rolls, when the operation will be repeated.
By feeding from the bottom of the pile the operation may be continuous, since
the pile may be constantly replenished without stopping the machine, which would
otherwise be necessary if fed from the top; and furthermore, the pressure of
the sheets above the one upon which the suction acts is utilized to keep the
same rigid and prevents the tendency to displacement of the sheets, whereby all
sheets are kept in alignment as presented to the feed rolls, while the work of the
suction pipe is decreased.
It will be observed that in making the path of motion of the suction pipe across
the line of centers of the feed rolls, we are enabled to dispense with the intervening
mechanism, usually employed for carrying the sheet after separation from the pile
to the feed rolls, while the presentation of the sheet by the pipe directly upon the
surface of the feed rolls secures a simple rotary feed for the sheets, without any
reciprocating motion whatever.
A device made in accordance with our invention possesses many advantages
over existing devices of the kind, and among these advantages we may state
that it has fewer parts, contributing to simplicity of structure and operation, and
consequent decrease in cost and expense of running and repairs. To replenish the
pile it is not necessary to stop the mechanism thus rendering the operation
continuous, and the speed at which it may run is materially greater, while the
whole results in a greatly increased output.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
1. A paper feeding device consisting of a table for supporting the pile of paper,
feeding rolls journaled in bearings below said table, the upper roll recessed for the
passage of the paper therethrough, and a reciprocating suction pipe passing
between said rolls and adapted to separate the bottom sheets of the pile, and carry
the same to the feeding rolls, and means for creating suction in said pipe, sub-
stantially as herein before described.
2. In a paper feed device, the combination with the inclined table for supporting
a pile of paper flat upon the surface thereof, of the reciprocating suction pipe, the
air pump, the feeding rolls journaled in bearings below said table, the upper roll
recessed for the passage of the paper therethrough, the edge of the recess adapted
to grip the sheet and strip it from the pipe as the said pipe descends, sub-
stantially as herein before described.
"
3. In a paper feed device, the combination with the inclined table for supporting
a pile of blanks, the feed rolls journaled in bearings on different vertical planes
below the table, the upper roll recessed for the passage of the blanks, the suction
pipe having its path of motion across the line of centres of the said rolls, a shaft
journaled below the table, connections between the said shafts and pipe for
reciprocating the same, substantially as herein before described.
4. In a paper feed device, the combination with the inclined table supporting the
pile, the feed rolls journaled in bearings below the same, the upper roll recessed
for the passage of the blanks, with the suction pipe and means for reciprocating
said pipe once while the feed rolls make two or more revolutions, substantially as
herein before described.
5. In a paper feed device, the combination with the apertured table, for supporting
a pile of blanks, with the separator at the front end thereof, of feed rolls journaled
in bearings below the table, the upper roll recessed for the passage of the blanks,
the vertically moving suction pipe, the rotating shaft below the table provided
with a cam controlling the movements of the said pipe, whereby the pipe is

page_text: brought in contact with the bottom sheet of the pile resting over the aperture in
the table, substantially as herein before described.
6. In a paper feed device, the combination with the table for supporting the
pile of paper, of the feed rolls rotating in bearings below the same, the upper roll
recessed for the passage of the paper, the suction pipe, the rotating shaft carrying
a disk having a cam groove in its surface, a lever fulcrumed at one end to a
fixed part of the device, and pivotally connected by links to said pipe at its other
end, and a link attached to the said lever with one end engaging the said cant
groove, whereby the said pipe is caused to reciprocate between said rolls, sub-
stantially as herein before described.
7. In a paper feed device, the combination with the apertured table for
supporting the pile, provided with guides for said pile, one set of which projects
through the aperture to guide the paper passing therethrough, the reciprocating
suction pipe, and the feed rolls journaled in bearings below the table, adapted to
strip the sheet from the said pipe in its descent, substantially as described.
8. A paper feed device consisting of an inclined apertured table supporting a
pile of blanks flatly upon the same and over the aperture, a separator projecting
over the aperture and supporting the end of the pile, a reciprocating suction pipe
adapted to pass by the separator and raise the pile in its ascent and successively
detach therefrom the bottom blank as it descends, with feeding rolls journaled
below the table, the upper feeding roll being recessed for the passage of the
blanks, substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 4th day of December 1894.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C., Agents.