Improvements in and relating to Self-feeding Apparatus for Ruling, Printing, Rolling, Lithographic, and the like Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 26th Feb., 1898--Accepted, 11th June, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Self-feeding Apparatus for Ruling,
Printing, Rolling, Lithographic, and the like Machines.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM VICKERY, of 14, Newcastle Street, Farringdon Street,
City of London, Ruling Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in and relating to self feeding apparatus
for ruling, printing, rolling, lithographic and the like machines.
For the purpose of my said invention a table or board is made adjustable to
suit the quantity of paper and to raise as the quantity diminishes, to keep the
top sheet always at the same height with the feed board.
In connection with such a table or board I employ a cellular or other sur-
faced sheet or sheets of any desired width or number which act as flaps to flop
down upon the top sheet of a pile and by a movement preferably from a rotating
shaft or the like the top sheet can be drawn from the pile on to a series of
travelling tapes or cords, or they may be rollers, set to travel diagonally and
so carry the sheet as delivered by the flop flaps onwards to any desired spot
for treatment such as for ruling, for printing, rolling or other purpose.
A guide or gauge plate against which the sheets in succession are caused to
impinge when moving diagonally causes them to assume a parallel or straight
position for entering the machine.
In practice the cellular surfaced flaps only engage and take away one sheet
from the pile at the time and should from any cause two sheets be dislodged a
roughened bar or a rough coated bar, say of coarse emery cloth, over which the
paper has to travel will check the onward motion of the under or second sheet
and hold it at the commencement of its travel until the next flop flap or flaps
move it from the pile and feed it to the tapes or cords.
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said F. W. Vickery.
Improvements in and relating to Self-feeding Apparatus for Ruling,
Printing, Rolling, Lithographic, and the like Machines.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM VICKERY, of 14, Newcastle Street, Farringdon Street,
City of London, Ruling Machine Maker, 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 improvements in and relating to self feeding apparatus
for ruling, printing, rolling, lithographic and like machines.

page_text: For the purpose of my said invention a table or board is made adjustable to
suit the quantity of paper and to raise as the quantity diminishes, to keep the
top sheet always at the same height with the feed board.
In connection with such a table or board I employ a cellular or other rough
surfaced sheet or sheets of flexible material say sheet rubber of any desired width
which by rotation of the carrying shaft acts as flaps to flop down upon the top
sheet of a pile and then by a drag motion draw it from the pile on to a series
of travelling tapes or cords or they may be rollers, set to travel diagonally and
so carry the sheet as delivered by the flop flap or flaps onwards to any desired
spot for treatment such as for ruling, for printing, rolling or other purpose.
A guide or gauge plate against which the sheets in succession are caused to
impinge when moving diagonally, causes them to assume a parallel or straight
position for entering a machine.
In practice the cellular or rough surfaced flaps only engage and take away
one sheet from the pile at the time and should from any cause two sheets be
dislodged, a roughened bar or a rough coated bar, say of coarse emery cloth,
over which the paper has to travel will check the onward motion of the under or
second sheet and hold it at the commencement of its travel until the next flop
flap or flaps move it from the pile and feed it to the tapes or cords.
My invention will be more particularly understood by reference to the
annexed drawings in which
Figure 1, shows a side elevation
Figure 2, a plan of an apparatus applicable to the paper feeding end of a
line ruling a printing, a rolling, a lithographic or like machine to which paper
in sheets can be fed automatically, each top sheet of a pile being taken in succes-
sion and drawn away and be fed on to a series of endless cords stretched between
two rollers set diagonally to an extent that the paper is carried along upon said
cords with a side travelling inclination to hear against and travel in touch with
a vertically arranged and adjustable guide or gauge for ensuring that the paper
is presented to the ruling printing or other machine in a straight even condition.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 represent a few forms or patterns of cellular surfaced
fabric of a limp character affixable at one end to a roller and having the
other end free to flop down upon the top sheet of paper of the pile and then by
the rotation of the roller to draw the top sheet away until the paper is fairly
deposited on the diagonally travelling cords and moved clear of the cellular
surfaced fabric, which now wraps itself upon the roller for a fall over flop action
on to the next top sheet of paper to draw that away from the pile and so pass it
along to the diagonally arranged cords, the previously despatched sheet having
been taken from the cords by the ordinary tapes or grippers of the machine
in which the line ruling, the printing or other operation is effected but which
forms no part of my invention.
In order that the top sheet of paper of the pile shall be about level with that
of the endless cords hinge the table usually termed the laying on tablo to the
back frame and support its front on a balanced or other lever preferably weighted
which exercises a lift of the free end of the table as the paper diminishes
in height and weight and so maintains the level of the paper at the desired
height.
A convenient way of fixing the flexible cellular surfaced fabric, preferably of
india rubber, to its roller is by making the roller in three long pieces of wood, one
the centre having the axle attached and the other two as slats grooved at one
edge of their inner faces into which groove the end of the flexible fabric can be
rigidly fixed when the two slats are screwed down upon the centre piece, the three
constituting an even faced roller whose axle can be adjusted in side bearings of
the frame on which it is held and be capable of rotation by gut bands or by gear
from the first motioned roller on the drive shaft which is driven by hand as for
a line ruling or rolling machine or from some moving part of a printing machine,

page_text: the rotation of the roller being so timed that the sheets of paper removed from the
pile do not overlap each other on the cords.
With a ruling or a rolling machine it is not essential that the paper should be
fed at regular intervals of time but it is the revorse as regards a printing
machine, there the paper is fed up to and retained by stops until the cylinder
grippers open by cam action to grip the paper and take it away in the cylinders
back rotation to convey it to the tapes which pass it round the printing cylinder
and upon the type in a well known manner, the stops by a cam action being
lowered clear of the paper as the grippers engage it and then rise up again to act
as stops for the next sheet brought forward by the cords and so on.
The cellular surfaced flexible fabric roller may have one, two or more sheets or
strips of cellular surfaced fabric affixed in its length or in its circumference to
suit the width and kind of paper composing the pile; in the drawing I have
shown two sheets or strips secured in the roller from opposite parts of the cir-
cumference, one sheet or strip of the fabric being shown as if it was just com-
pleting the withdrawal of its sheet of paper on to the cords and the other as a flap
just flopped down upon the next top sheet of the pile which the forward portion
approaches as the binding seam of the roller descends until the flexible cellular
surface of the fabric lays flat and obtains a full grip on the paper sheet to draw
or drag it away in a perfectly flat condition and carry it forward to deliver it
on the endless cords, which take it to the machine.
Directly under the cellular fabric carrying roller is a cross bar of the frame
with a slightly rounded top face on which a coarse glass covered strip or a coarse
emery covered strip is secured to retard and stop any sheet of paper that may
be drawn away with the top sheet from the pile by the cellular fabric such as
by surface contact of two sheets as is sometimes the case, which sheet is then the
next to be drawn away by the next falling flop flap of the cellular fabric if two
flaps be fitted or by the same flap if only one lie fitted to the roller.
A is the frame composed of uprights connected by cross bars B, B, and stays
or ties C the width of the frame being in accordance to the width of the machine
be it for ruling, printing, rolling or other operation against the end of which
my apparatus has to be affixed as an automatic feeder of sheets of paper thereto.
D is a roller in which one end of a sheet or strip or sheets or strips of a flexible
material E having cells in the face is or are secured by fitting in grooves of
slats F, F, screwed home to a centre piece G in which the axle G¹ is fixed to
rotate in adjustable bearings H.
I is a table hinged at J to the back frame cross bar B and having its fore or
free end supported by one end of a lever K the other end L having a weight
slidable along it for adjustment to balance the weight of a pile of paper M placed
on the table I the paper being either placed as a pile and approximately squarely
level or between gauge boards N, N, N, which are adjustable for varying sizes of
sheets of paper which have to be ruled, rolled printed or otherwise operated on,
the prescribed register for all the following sheets being exact and unvarying
so that where successive printings of the same sheet, as in colour printing,
becomes necessary, the register for each printing can be unfailingly secured.
P, P, are endless cords stretched diagonally over rollers Q, Q, and occupying
a position between the drawing away roller, to receive each sheet of paper in
succession and by the travel of the cords P, P, to convoy it along to the machine
tapes or to the stop as before explained.
The cellular surface of the flexible flop flaps may be of any pattern and of
which Figures 3, 4 and 5 are only examples, the cellular surface forms the under-
side of each flap to fall on to the top sheet of paper, the spaces between the ribs or
walls of the cells acting in conjunction as suction chambers by the confinement
of the air in the cells while in contact with the paper during the drawing forward
action, the release of the air being gradually effected by the uprising motion of
the flap as the roller rotates. The hollows or cells in the surface of the flaps are

page_text: preferably of a somewhat coarse character for the ready release of the air because
if of a fine character the suction is retained for too long a time and the end of
the paper will be, as found in practice, often lifted to travel up with the roller
to about one half its rotation when it will release itself and fall on to the travel-
ling cords P to obviate which a blade from some part of the frame could be set for
the forward end of the paper to pass under for deflecting it down upon the cords
as it leaves the drag roller flaps.
R is a rough glass or emery strip on the middle cross bar B to prevent the
lower of two sheets dragged by the roller flap from passing onwards to the
cords P.
I have mentioned that the apparatus can be operated by gear or hand power and
as an example of the latter I show on the drawing Figures 1 and 2 a couple of
receiving rollers S, T, in gear at land operable by the winch handle V, the motion
being transferred by a band from the upper roller S over the pulley groove W
of the cord carrying rollers Q thence to the pulley groove of the main roller D
to which the flaps E are secured the speed of travel being determined in relation
to that of the machine to be fed with the sheets of paper.
It will be understood that as the roller D revolves the flexible sheet or strap
rolls up and when passing the top vertical centre it gradually drags itself away
and its free end falls over with a flopping action on to the top sheet of paper of
the pile.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A paper feeding apparatus consisting of a cellular or other rough surfaced
flexible fabric affixed to a ruller for successively rolling on and its free end let fall
at part of the rotation with a flop action for large surface contact upon the top
sheet of a pile for withdrawing it, substantially as specified and shown.
2. In a paper feeding apparatus consisting of a cellular or other rough surfaced
flexible fabric affixed to a roller for rolling on and then for its free end to fall at
part of the rollers rotation with a flop action for large surface contact on to the
top sheet of a pile in combination with diagonally set endless cords substantially
as described and shown.
3. In a paper feeding apparatus consisting of a cellular or other rough surfaced
flexible fabric affixed to a roller for succesfully rolling on and then at a part of the
rollers revolution the free end of the fabric to fall with a flop action for large
surface contact upon the top sheet of a pile for withdrawing it and having endless
travelling cords set diagonally the hinged flap table which by weighted lover
always presents the top sheet of the pile as the pile diminishes, about level with the
delivery opening under the roller, substantially as specified.
4. In a paper feeding apparatus consisting of a cellular or other rough surfaced
flexible fabric affixed to a roller for successively rolling on and then for its free
end at a part of the rollers rotation to drop with flop action upon the top sheet of a
pile for withdrawing it and having diagonally arranged endless travelling cords
for conveying said sheet to a machine the hinged flap table which by lever is
gradually raised as the pile diminishes as aforesaid the roughened surfaced cross
bar directly under the fabric carrying roller to retard and stop an undersheet from
passing on to the endless travelling cords as specified.
1
•
1000
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said F. W. Vickery.