IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING PAPER TO PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINERY, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Forster Waldo, of Southampton Buildings, London,
Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
SUPPLYING PAPER TO PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINERY, AND FOR SIMILAR
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 16th March 1877, and dated the 27th September 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Forster Waldo at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th September 1876.
CHARLES FORSTER WALDO, of Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING PAPER TO PRINTING
AND OTHER MACHINERY, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES."
My Invention relates to improvements in apparatus to be applied to printing and
other machinery to supply the same automatically with sheets of paper and other
material, and is chiefly designed to increase the efficiency of paper-feeding
apparatus of the class described in the Specification of former Letters Patent dated
December 3rd, A.D. 1873, No. 3974.
Although the said Invention is applicable in whole or in part to various other
feeders a great difficulty experienced in the operation of the feeders described in
the said Specification, and as hitherto constructed has in the application to some
classes of printing machines been found to consist in their inability to retain the exact
rogister" obtained at the front "lay," or stops, in consequence of which difficulty
a great part if not all of the benefit of mechanical feeding is lost; this difficulty is
entirely obviated by my Invention.
Another improvement heretofore greatly desired and which is effected by my
Invention is the enabling of mechanical feeders to manageably feed the sheets at
almost any height of pitch of the feed board or other surface over which the sheets
are fed. Another quality often needed is the capability of efficiently feeding small
sheets upon a feed board designed for larger sized sheets. These advantages and
also greater facility and economy in variously adapting the position of the feed
board are attained by my present Invention.
The said Invention is applicable in whole or in part to all machines required to
be fed or supplied with sheets of paper or other suitable material singly or one at a
time for any purpose.

page_text: The said Invention has for one of its objects to substitute for the human finger
mechanism capable of operating with like effect during the interval that in such
mechanical paper feeders after the sheet is fed and its register is completed exists
between the moment when the sheet commences to be left entirely uncontrolled in
its tendency to advance into the "grippers" until its seizure thereby, and the com-
mencement of the drawing away of the sheet by the grippers or other devices by
which it is held upon the cylinder or other surface, whereby the sheet is pressed
upon that from which the impression is to be printed. The effect of this mechanism
throughout that interval is to retain the sheet under perfect control in the position
in which it is left by the register, and more rapidly than when done by hand,
dispensing also with the ordinary special labor of one person heretofore employed
for that purpose.
This part of the said Invention is carried into practise by utlizing the localized
power conveniently afforded by the combined motion of the parallel register shafts
heretofore comprised in the subordinate gear of the said feeders, and operating
nearly in the same place where the boy puts his finger to arrest and hold the sheet
as adjusted; and in the employment of a mechanical rocking finger placed on one side.
of the said parallel shafts, and so constructed and rocked thereon that its extremity
at the lower throw of its vibration shall adjustably press with a sensitively yielding
pressure upon and sufficiently hold the arrested sheet in the same place, in a
manner and with an effect precisely similar to those of the boy's finger heretofore
employed for the same purpose. The other of the said combined parallel shafts
rotates in a converse direction near enough to the aforesaid shaft to operate a small
rotating heart cam, so timed that the " pressure" or holding extremity of the
rocking finger is lifted and kept clear of or out of contact with the sheet until the
precise instant when the "register" is completed, whereupon the said finger end
suddenly drops upon the paper or other sheet, and by its gravity excrts sufficient
pressure to securely retain it in the same position until, when firmly gripped upon
the cylinder, it begins to be drawn away by the grippers.
The pressure of this mechanism upon the sheet must be very accurately adjusted,
for if the sheet is too firmly held the sheet might in very many instances be torn
away either at the grippers or at the finger grip. I am aware that it has been
sought to obviate this difficulty by the use of holding apparatus provided with
complicated contrivances to raise the same from the sheet simultaneously with the
exact commencement of the sheet's withdrawal, but such complication of parts is
disadvantageous in the apparatus. I obviate this difficulty and obtain a yielding
pressure by the following very simple means, that is to say-I use a freely
revolving pad acting as a clip of suitable dimensions to render it sensitive to the
most delicate draught of the sheet whenever the pad's perimeter is resting thereon.
This revolving pad is hung upon the extremity of the rocking finger; the weight of
the pad and its consequent pressure are adjustable by means of a sliding weight or
other suitable means, so that while the rotation of the sensitive revolving pad
allows the sheet on which it is resting to be drawn away by the slightest pull, the
vertical pressure of the pad is yet sufficient to nip the sheet in that position firmly
enough to fully neutralize in it any tendency to move until actuated by the pull of
the grippers by which it is withdrawn.
The said Invention has for its object the application with the like effect to that
obtained by hand of mechanism to neutralise the momentum imparted to a paper
or other sheet when fed upon a feed board placed at a very steep inclination or
angle; the sheet in consequence of such momentum arriving at the front stops or
other device upon which the front edge of the sheet rests previous to its seizure by
the grippers with such an impetus as to cause it to "buckle" and fail to perfectly
register at the proper time." With this object the sheet immediately on the
complete arrival of its entire area upon the feed board is instantaneously brought
to a state of inertia and released therefrom, so that thence it is moved forward
from a state of rest solely by the force of its own gravity to the front "lay" or
"stops" or other rest employed. For this purpose I avail myself of the localized

page_text: power aforesaid in either of two ways; the most simple and preferable manner is
by direct connection with a lever rocked on a pivot placed above the guide mouth
frame over the feed board on either side. The other method is by connection with the
combined roller and roller disc shafts which also work in a parallel position, but at
the head of the feed board between, and by the action of which roller and roller discs
the sheet upon being delivered to them is fed upon and along the feed board at a
speed computed for the accumulative surface resistance of a low pitched incline.
When however the height is increased so much as to cause instead an accumulative
acceleration of the feeding speed at which the feed is ejected from between the
feed rollers and discs upon the feed board, the excessive momentum resulting is
neutralized and the sheet brought to a state of absolute rest by the contact of an
unyielding flat surfaced pad, whose action is so timed as to instantaneously and but
for an instant only clip upon the upper or tail part (the part nearest the said
roller) of the sheet at the moment when the entire area of the sheet becomes clear
of the roller and arrives upon the feed board, and then as instantaneously release it,
whereupon there remains only the force of gravity which moves it the remaining
distance to said front "lay or stops or other resting device.
"
In either form of this part of my Invention the required motion for the said
apparatus is primarily communicated from the rotating front register shaft by a
crank or cranks attached at either or at both of its free working ends, and provided
with connecting rods to transmit a reciprocating motion to a bell-crank lever, to
the longer arm of which the aforesaid pad is attached. In the one case this lever
rocks upon a fulcrum placed above what may be called the roof of the guide mouth
frame; in the other case such lever rocks upon the disc shaft, the direction of the
connecting motion being changed by an intermediate bell crank that rocks or
oscillates upon the roller shaft. To the longer arm of the last-named lever a similar
pad is attached, the results in either case being that upon its downward reciprocation
the pad upon the longer lever arm is forcibly pressed upon the sheet on the feed
board at the proper moment during the feeding of the said sheet, and the latter is
so held as to neutralise at that point its momentum. The return motion of the
said lever arm in either case is effected by a spring fixed either to a counterspur or
otherwise arranged in any convenient manner.
Another object of my said Invention is the transmission to a sheet of less width
or breadth than the feed board of the propelling force obtainable from the said
roller disc shaft after quiting the feed grip of the feed roller and its roller discs
combined as in mechanical paper feeders heretofore used, and continuously thence
until the fore edge of such sheet arrives at or sufficiently near to the front "lay," so
that if desired various sizes of sheets narrower than the feed board may upon
such feed board be mechanically fed up to the front "lay" instead of being fod
by hand.
For carrying into effect this part of my said Invention I utilize another localized
power furnished by the subordinato gear of the feeder to produce the motion
desired. The roller and the roller disc's parallel shafts rotate continuously in
converse directions at a higher speed than any other portion of the feeder gear, the
speed varying according to the size of the sheets intended to be fed; this speed is
sufficient within a given portion of the feeder's main shaft revolution to feed a
proportionate sheet across the breadth of the feed board, the least size hitherto
used being that called "demy," say a breadth of eighteen inches. The feeding
action can by this Invention be extended when desired nearly to the centre of the
feed board by the following or similar means:-Upon the disc shaft and
preferably near its centre I mount a rod of wood or other suitable material bossed
at each end for a comparatively wide bearing to receive a shaft freely passing
through the same. The opposite end of this rod supports a secondary shaft to
which are firmly attached two circular pads, one at each end rotating with it and
resting in the one case upon the surfaces of two like pads, and in the other case upon
the surface of the feed board; to these secondary pads the rotation of the disc shaft is
transmitted by a driving cord working on two pulleys fixed one upon the disc

page_text: shaft the other on the said secondary shaft. By thus utilising the surplus
transmitted power localized in the pairs of parallel shafts already employed in the
gear of the said feeder as now used, the additional motion for working this operating
portion of my Invention is easily and cheaply obtained.
The said Invention also has for its object such a construction of the feeder as to
connect the feed board directly therewith to form in effect part thereof, and at the
same time to connect the said feed board by means of an adjustable attachment by
which the feed board can be adjusted in elevation distance, and pitch relatively to
the feed roller without disturbing the connection of the feeder with the printing
machine to which it may be applied, instead of having it as heretofore rigidly
attached to the printing machine frame separately, whereby more or less alteration
of the latter is sometimes involved, and which separate attachment is often found
to be inconvenient and costly.
According to this part of my Invention I attach two vertical pivot holders by
slotted swinging parallel arms to the feeder frame near the roller shaft bearings, so
that such holder can be adjusted relatively to the roller, and constantly retain
a vertical position to receive the pivot ends of the supporting rod of the feed board.
A further object of my Invention is the combination with the feeder of a self-
acting stop to arrest at the desired time the action of the screw lift by which the
sheets to be fed are progressively raised to the starting level for the last sheet
supplied. For this purpose 1 attach to the ratchet pawl that actuates the lifting
screws, whereby the paper holder is automatically raised as the feeding of the
sheets progresses, a chain or cord made to pass over a pulley, a stud, a ring, or
other suitable device fixed upon the lift, bracket, or any part attached to the same,
which cord is attached by its other end to the base or other convenient part of the
firm fixture constituting the screw carrier frame usually called the "lift" con-
sequently as the said pulley or other device rises with the said bracket to which it
is attached it will at the point determined pull the cord passing over it, and
thereby lift the pawl away from the ratchet; whereupon the lifting action of the
screws will cease, while the rest of the machinery can continue to operate, I thus
provide means for mechanically obviating the danger of breaking any part of the
feeder apparatus because of said lifting action, and thereby obviate the necessity for
the vigilant watchfulness of an attendant to prevent accidents by ungearing the
pawl by hand before the highest point of the lifting is reached.
Another object of my said Invention is the construction of the base frame, the
rising tray holder, the exhaust trunk, the exhaust picking up fingers, and other
parts of such feeders hitherto made of wood, of wrought iron, cast iron, or other
suitable metal.
I prefer to use wrought iron rolled or otherwise worked to the requisite form in
combination with cast-iron corner pieces and joint pieces shaped to receive and
carry and firmly contain the said rolled or otherwise worked iron in the frame
shape designed. Wood though heretofore employed exclusively for the construction
of these parts is objectionable owing to its tendency unless very perfectly seasoned
to twist and warp, and thus throw out of truth the very accurately fitted
machinery necessarily constructed for the perfect working of the feeder. Wrought
iron and other metal may be readily worked into the requisite forms for the
exhaust trunk, the exhaust fingers, and the rising frame, the paper tray cr any
other heretofore wooden portions of the said feeder apparatus.
The said Invention further has for its object the combination of a self-acting
"guard" with the feeder gear to protect the flexible exhaust tubes when these
tubes are employed from destruction or injury by the friction of the gear and chain
wheels. This shield or guard has a sort of gallery of wire to control within certain
limits the pendant tubes of the said exhaust trunk by which the vacuation thereof
is effected, and which are often arranged to just clear on one side the speed gear
wheels, and on the other side the register wheel chains; between these wheels and
chains and the said tubes the "guard" is permanently interposed, receiving the
friction that would otherwise injure the flexible tubes, which for various reasons are

page_text: used in most cases in preference to rigid tubes of tin, zinc, or other metal, although
the latter are sometime employed.
Finally, the said Invention has for its object the combination of these improve-
ments or any of the same with the mechanical paper feeders described in the said
former Specification.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Forster Waldo in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
March 1877.
CHARLES FORSTER WALDO, of Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING PAPER TO PRINTING
AND OTHER MACHINERY, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES."
My Invention relates to improvements in apparatus to be applied to printing
and other machinery to supply the same automatically with sheets of paper or
other material, and is chiefly designed to increase the efficiency of paper feeding
apparatus of the class described in the Specification of former Letters Patent dated
December 3rd, A.D. 1873, No. 3974.
Although my said Invention is applicable in whole or in part to various other
feeders, a great difficulty experienced in the operation of the feeders described in
the said Specification and as hitherto constructed in their application to some
classes of printing machines, has been found to consist in their inability to retain
the exact register" obtained at the front "lay" or stops, in consequence of which
difficulty a great part if not all of the benefit of mechanical feeding is lost; this
difficulty is entirely obviated by my Invention.
"
Another improvement heretofore greatly desired and which is effected by my
Invention is the enabling of mechanical feeders to manageably feed the sheets at
almost any pitch of the feed board or other surface over which the sheets are fed.
Another quality often needed is the capability of efficiently feeding small sheets
upon a feed board designed for larger sized sheets. These advantages and also
increased facility and economy in variously adapting the position of the feed board
are attained by my present Invention.
The said Invention is applicable in whole or in part to all machines required to
be fed or supplied with sheets of paper or other suitable material singly, or one at
a time for any purpose.
Firstly. The said Invention has for one of its objects to substitute for the human
finger mechanism capable of operating with like effect during the interval that in
such mechanical paper feeders after the sheet is fed and its register is completed
exists between the moment when the sheet commences to be left entirely uncon-
trolled in its tendency to advance into the "grippers" until its seizure thereby, and
the commencement of the drawing away of the sheet by the grippers or other
devices, by which it is held upon the cylinder or other surface, whereby the sheet
is pressed upon the surface from which the impression is to be printed. The effect
of this mechanism throughout that interval is to retain the sheet under perfect
control in the position in which it shall have been left by the register, and more
rapidly than by hand, dispensing also with the ordinary special labor of one person
heretofore employed for that purpose.
This part of the said Invention is carried into practise by utilizing the localized
power conveniently afforded by the combined motion of the parallel register shafts
heretofore comprised in the subordinate gear of the said feeders, and operating
nearly in the same place where the operator puts his finger to arrest and hold the
sheet as adjusted. And in the employment of a mechanical rocking finger placed
on one side of the said parallel shafts, and so constructed and rocked thereon that
its extremity at the lower throw of its vibration shall adjustably press with a
Beusitively yielding pressure upon and sufficiently hold the arrested sheet in the

page_text: same place, in a manner and with an effect precisely similar to those of the human
finger heretofore employed for the same purpose. "The other of the said combined
parallel shafts rotates in a converse direction near enough to the aforesaid shaft
to operate a small rotating heart cam, so timed that the pressure or holding
extremity of the rocking finger is lifted and kept clear of or out of contact with
the sheet until the precise instant when the "register" is completed, whereupon said
finger end suddenly drops upon the paper or other sheet, and by its gravity exerts
sufficient pressure to securely retain it in the same position until when firmly
gripped upon the cylinder, it begins to be drawn away by the grippers.
The pressure of this mechanism upon the sheet must be very accurately adjusted,
for if the sheet is too firmly held, the sheet might in very many instances be torn
away either at the grippers or at the finger grip. I am aware that it has been
sought to obviate this difficulty by the use of holding apparatus provided with
complicated contrivances to raise the same from the sheet simultaneously with the
exact commencement of the sheets withdrawal, but such complication of parts is
disadvantageous in the apparatus. I obviate this difficulty and obtain a yielding
pressure by the following very simple means, that is to say, I use a freely revolving
pad acting as a clip of suitable dimensions to render it sensitive to the most
delicate draught of the sheet whenever the pad's perimeter is resting thereon. This
revolving pad is hung upon the extremity of the rocking finger, the weight of the
pad and its consequent pressure are adjustable by means of a sliding weight or
other suitable means, so that while the rotation of the sensitive revolving pad
allows the sheet on which it is resting to be drawn away by the slightest pull, the
vertical pressure of the pad is yet sufficient to nip the sheet in that position firmly
enough to fully neutralize in it any tendency to move until actuated by the pull of
the grippers by which it is withdrawn.
The improvements comprised under the first head of this Invention, that is to
say, the substitution of mechanism capable of operating with like effect for the
human finger to retain the sheet at the exact register obtained at the "front lay,"
are represented in detail in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, of Sheet 1, and
Figure 10, of Sheet 2, of the accompanying Drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2,
are opposite side views of one of the pairs of instruments herein called "the
controller" this instrument is made in pairs of right and left parts; Figures 1 to 4
represent a left part of this pair; Figure 3 is a top view; and Figure 4 is a rear
end view of the same.
Figure 5 represents in section the construction of the built up "pad" roller;
Figure 6 is a side view; and Figure 7, a top view of an accessory piece attachable
to the "controller" for the purpose of carrying a sliding weight for adjusting the
weight of the pressure of the "pad" upon the sheet.
Figure 8 is a face view, and Figure 9 an edge view of the cam that effects the
rise and fall of the controller.
Figure 10 is a side view of a right-hand part of a controller pair of modified form
and chiefly designed for heavy work.
The controller rocks at a upon the front register shaft, which extends across the
front beam of the feed board, and the position of which is indicated by the dotted
shaft lines a in Figure 3. This "front register shaft," carrying the front register fingers,
rotates in the direction indicated by the arrows, being actuated by spur wheels fixed
upon it and upon the register connection shaft b, which rotates in the opposite
direction, as also indicated by the arrows. It is by the gearing together of these
wheels that the rotation of the printing machine at every revolution is transmitted
in the usual manner to the front register shaft a. The connection shaft b at either
side extends only far enough upon the feed board to carry the said spur wheel, and
beyond them a mitre wheel to transmit its rotation by a corresponding mitre wheel
to the side register shaft upon the required side of the feed board. The relative
position of these different shafts being familiar to those conversant with the feeders
already used and being shewn in the said former Specification, the adaptation of the
controller shape, as seen in top view, Figure 3, requisite for that position, need

page_text: "
"
"
not be particularly described. On the connection shaft 6 is fixed the cam, as shewn
in Figure 8, rotating with the shaft in the direction of the arrow seen in said
Figure. The rotation of this cam, upon which runs a bearing bowl c sustaining the
"controller," communicates to the "controller' a reciprocating motion, as indicated
by dotted lines in Figure 1. The time of this motion is so adjusted that the roller
pad "is held clear of the feed board until the sheet is about to arrive at the front lay,
and at the precise moment when it is there arrested and its "register" obtained, the
'pad" descends by its weight upon the sheet and retains it in that exact position until
having been securely seized by the grippers, it is by them drawn away around the
cylinder, the yielding pressure resulting from the construction arrangement of parts
and application of the revolving "pad" and method of carrying it, this construction,
arrangement, and application affording a peculiarly sensitive holding touch upon the
sheet, which permits the slightest drawing away of the most delicate sheet to
release it from the "pad" by a duly regulated delivery. The accessory piece,
represented in Figure 6, fits by a slot d at one end upon the top in the position,
also marked d, Figure 3, of the rear cross over part of the "controller" frame, and
at its other end is attached by a screw through the hole e and a corresponding hole
in the position, also marked e, Figure 3, upon the roller pad holding jaw of the
controller. Upon the top edge of this accessory piece, when so attached, vertically
slotted weights of suitable shape are set, which weights by sliding forward or back
thereon adjust the weight or pressure at the pads perimeter at the point of contact
thereof to have its greatest or least effect.
The construction of the roller pad by building it up, as represented in Figure 5,
is an important element, as by reason of the slightness of the bearing surfaces upon
the spindle upon which the pad rotates, it adds greatly to the lightness and delicacy
of working of these pads.
Secondly. The said Invention has for its object the application, with the like
effect to that obtained by hand of mechanism, to neutralize the momentum imparted
to a paper or other sheet when fed upon a feed board placed at a very steep
inclination or angle, the sheet in consequence of such momentum arriving at the
front stops or other device upon which the front edge of the sheet rests previous to
its seizure by the grippers with such an impetus as to cause it to "buckle" and to
fail to perfectly register at the proper time. With this object the sheet immediately
on the complete arrival of its entire area upon the feed board is instantaneously
brought to a state of inertia and released therefrom, so that thence it is moved
forward from a state of rest solely by the force of its own gravity to the front
"lay" or "stops" or other rest employed. For this purpose I avail myself of the
localized power aforesaid in either of two ways. The most simple and preferable
manner is by direct connection with a lever rocked on a pivot placed above the
guide mouth frame over the feed board on either side; the other method is by
connection with the combined roller and roller disc's shafts, which also work in a
parallel position, but at the head of the feed board between and by the action of
which roller and roller discs the sheet upon being delivered to them is fed upon and
along the feed board at a speed computed for the accumulative surface resistance of
a low pitched incline. When, however, the height is increased so much as to
cause instead an accumulative acceleration of the feeding speed at which the sheet
is ejected from between the feed rollers and discs upon the feed board, the excessive
momentum resulting is neutralized and the sheet brought to a state of absolute rest
by the contact of an unyielding flat surfaced pad, whose action is so timed as to
instantaneously, and but for an instant only, clip upon the upper or tail part (the part
nearest the said roller) of the sheet at the moment when the entire area of the
sheet becomes clear of the roller and arrives upon the feed board, and then as
instantaneously release it, whereupon there remains only the force of gravity which
moves it the remaining distance to the said front "lay" or stops or other resting
device.
In either form of this part of my Invention the required motion for the said
apparatus is primarily communicated from the rotating front register shaft by a

page_text: crank or cranks attached at either or at both of its free working ends and provided
with connecting rods to transmit a reciprocating motion to a bell-crank lever, to the
longer arm of which the aforesaid pad is attached. In the one case this lever rocks
upon a fulcrum placed above what may be called the roof of the guide mouth
frame, in the other case such lever rocks upon the disc shaft, the direction of the
connecting motion being changed by an intermediate bell crank that rocks or
oscillates upon the roller shaft. To the longer arm of the last-named lever a similar
pad is attached, the result in either case being that upon its downward reciprocation
the pad upon the longer lever arm is forcibly pressed upon the sheet on the feed
board at the proper moment during the feeding of the said sheet, and the latter is
so held as to neutralize at that point its momentum. The return motion of the said
lever arm in either case may be effected by a spring fixed either to a counter spur
or otherwise arranged in any convenient manner.
The improvements comprised under the second head of this Invention, that is to
say, the application with like effect to that obtained by hand of mechanism to
neutr alize the extra momentum imparted to the sheet by too high a pitch of the
feed board is illustrated in details in Figures 11 and 12, Sheet 3 of the accompanying
Drawings. Premising that the feeder described in the said former Specification is
well known and does not need further description herein, I have selected the top of
the side edge of the well-known feed board and the standard bracket f that carries
the front register shaft a to exemplify in Figures 11 and 12, Sheet 3, this head of
my Invention. Both of these Figures represent the ordinary feed board g inclined
at a pitch of 39° or thereabout in both. R is the feed discharge roller; h is its
shaft; and D, the disc rollers and shaft in their ordinary positions, the converse
direction of the rotation of each being indicated by the arrows shown thereon.
The position of the usual superincumbent guide mouth-picces placed upon the
upper part of the top surface of the feed board is in each of these indicated by the
dotted lines i. Upon the free outer end of the front register shaft a, Figure 11, a crank
arm j is fixed having the small throw required for the purposes and attached to one
end of a connecting rod k, the other end of which is attached at l to the short arm
of a compound rocking lever having its fulcrum at m; this fulcrum consists of a
shaft resting upon and extending across the top or roof of the guide mouth-piece i,
the said shaft carrying at one of its ends the short arm l, and at its other end the
long arm p of the compound lever U. The extent of the reciprocation of the said
long arm p is indicated by the full and dotted lines shewn in Figure 11, it causes the
slightly rocking flat faced pad q borne at the extremity of the arin p to be brought
for that single instant of the revolution of the shaft a, actuating the lever that
moves it to this point firmly down upon the feed board. By timing this movement
to occur just as the tail end of the sheet being fed is clear of the grip of the
discharge rollers and discs, it will nip and arrest entirely the motion of the sheet
and bring it to a state of absolute rest or inertia just as its entire area has arrived
upon the feed board, thereby the accumulated or excessive momentum of the sheet
will be annihilated, and the further movement of the sheet forward from the
moment of its release will be only that due to its own gravity moving it from a state
of rest.
Figure 12 represents a modification of this part of my Invention by which a like
result is obtained by a different arrangement of the parts of the same. In this
modification a disc cam 7 is substituted for a crank arm upon the shaft a, the same
being connected by a rod K directly to one arm of a bell-crank lever rocked upon
the roller shaft ; the other arm v of said lever communicates by a connecting rod 8
its vibrations to a rocking arm p that is rocked upon the shaft of the disc D. The
effect of the counter vibration indicated by the dotted lines brings the pad q down
upon the feed board in like manner, and with like effect to that represented in
Figure 11 and above described.
Thirdly. Another object of my said Invention is the transmission to a sheet of
less width or breadth than the feed board of the propelling force obtainable from
the said roller and disc shafts after quitting the feed grip of the feed roller and its.

page_text: roller discs combined as in mechanical paper feeders heretofore used, and .con-
tinuously thence until the fore edge of such sheet arrives at or sufficiently near to
the front "lay," so that if desired various sizes of sheets narrower than the feed
board may upon such feed board be mechanically fed up to the front "lay" instead
of being fed by hand.
For carrying into effect this part of my said Invention I utilize another localized
power furnished by the subordinate gear of the feeder to produce the motion.
desired. The roller and the roller dise's parallel shafts rotate contiguously in
converse directions at a higher speed than any other portion of the feeder gear, the
This speed is
speed varying according to the size of the sheets intended to be fed.
sufficient within a given portion of the feeder's main shaft revolution to feed a pro-,
portionate sheet across the breadth of the feed board, the least size hitherto used
being that called "demy," say a breadth of eighteen inches. The feeding action
can by this Invention be extended when desired nearly to the centre of the feed
board by the following or similar means:-Upon the disc shaft and preferably near
its centre I mount a rod of wood or other suitable material bossed at each end for a
comparatively wide bearing to receive a shaft freely passing through the same.
The opposite end of this rod supports a secondary shaft, to which are firmly attached.
two circular pads, one at each end rotating with it, and resting in the one case upon
the surfaces of two like pads, and in the other case upon the surface of the feed
board; to these secondary pads the rotation of the disc shaft is transmitted by a
driving cord working on two pulleys fixed one upon the disc shaft, the other on the
said secondary shaft. By thus utilizing the surplus transmitted power localized in
the pairs of parallel shafts already employed in the gear of the said feeder as now.
used, the additional motion for working this operating portion of my Invention is
casily and cheaply obtained.
The improvements comprised under the third head of this Invention, that is to
Bay, the transmission of the discharge roller and discs, propulsion to smaller sheets-
than the feed board after having quitted their discharge grip, is illustrated in detail
in Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the accompanying Drawings, in which.
Figure 13 represents the portion of the regular feeder metal frame employed to
carry and work the disc shaft and discs D, and the roller shaft and roller R in the
usual manner. In connection with these and in relative position with respect to
these the feed board g is shewn placed at an ordinary pitch, which is much lower
than that shown in Figures 11 and 12. The feeder frame, a portion of whose shape
is represented in three other of the said Figures, is the same as that above described.
In all of them supporting and working in the same positions, the discharge roller R
and its shaft h, and the bearing block for same, and the discharge discs D and their
shaft, and the bearing block for same, and in all respects said frames are con-
structed in a similar manner, and must be understood to be the same, whether in
Figure 13 or in Figures 14, 16, 17, and 19.
Figure 13 is a side view and Figure 14 is a front view of one half part of the
first modification under this head of my said Invention. D* is a grooved pulley
fixed to and rotating with the shaft of the disc D, upon which is placed the
stem or "rod" bossed out, as shewn at Figure 14, to afford bearings of suitable
breadth to sustain it in carrying the transmission or secondary driving wheel T,
Figures 13 and 14, and its shaft u, to which said wheel T is firmly fixed; and this
wheel imparts to said shaft the rotation transmitted to it by the endless driving
cord X, Figure 14, running upon the pulleys D* and T, by the former of which
said cord is driven. The said shaft u passes at each end through a guide arm Y
carried upon the shaft of the disc D, and these ends are at their extremities sup-
ported by a pivoted upright standard Z at the pivot stud a', Figures 13 and 14.
The effect of the combination of the holding or guide arın Y with the upright
standard Z and the pivot a¹ is to secure a fixed position for the said transmission
standard u. The said pivot stud a¹ is firmly attached by a suitable stock plate to
the feed board frame side. The lower limb of said pivoted standard receives and
carries a subsidiary roller shaft 61, which shaft carries one or more subsidiary

page_text: rolling blocks 8 fixed upon the shaft b¹, and receiving corresponding rotation by the
surface grip or adhesion of the upper rollers rotated by the shaft u and fixed
thereon. Figure 14 also shews the relative position of the discharge roller R over
which the sheets when fed are passed under the guide mouth-pieces c¹, and upon
and along the feed board g. g*, g*, represent one of the feed board frame sides
which support and carry the entire feed board and its apparatus; d' indicates the
rear end of the right stanchion (partly shewn in dotted lines in Figure 13, Sheet 3),
of the feeder frame sustaining the disc shaft bearing block i¹, and the roller shaft
bearing block f₁, both shown in position in Figures 13 and 14. The ends of
the subsidiary shaft u received in the slot of the standard Z do not quite rest
upon the surfaces of said slots but are supported by the centres of the upper roller
blocks resting by surface contact on the subsidiary rollers S, thus contributing
by said surface contact a continuation of the feeding grip upon the sheet passed
between them.
Figures 15, 16 and 17 represent a further modification of my Invention under
this head, which may be substituted for the arrangement above described;
Figure 15 is a side view, and Figure 16 a front view of one half part illustrating
this modification; Figure 17 is a similar view in full breadth of a different arrange-
ment of the same.
The parts similar to those in Figure 13 are denoted by the same letters. D is
the disc shaft pulley; T, the secondary shaft pulley. In this modification the
secondary shaft u carries at each of its ends resting on the standard Z, or at one of
its ends where one is sufficient, a pulley Z, which by a cross band drives in con-
verse rotation an under shaft pulley h¹. Upon this under shaft are mounted at
convenient intervals rollers . The standard Z carrying the shaft is pivoted
upon the long arm K₁ of a bell-crank lever rocked upon the stud t fixed upon the
feed board g. The short arm 7 of this crank is attached by a connecting rod m¹ to
an arm of a similar bell-crank lever rocked on a stud n¹, which is secured by a
plate or otherwise to the feed board. The long arm K" of said bell-crank lever
carries another shaft, on which are fixed the rollers S, S. The short arm is reci-
procated by a connecting rod actuated by a heart cam upon the register shaft a, as
shewn in Figure 15. By said reciprocation actuating the short arins and k² the
long arms kand k with their pendant shafts are caused to so rise as to bring the
tops of the rollers j¹ and S sufficiently above the feed board for endless bands
running over the two sets of rollers to take hold of and carry along towards the
front lay, a sheet of paper passed upon the feed board slats F, F, Figure 17.
Figures 16 and 17 show different arrangements of the attachments of the levers,
the said levers being in one instance attached to the feed board, and in the other
instance to the feed board frame of this same modification.
Figures 18 and 19 represent a third modification under this head of my Invention,
and which may be substituted for the other forms and arrangements thereof above
described. In this modification two bell-crank levers L, L, of the same construction
as in Figure 15, and each carrying on its longer arm K¹ a roller shaft and on its short
arm La connecting rod m² moving both in unison are actuated by a connecting
rod p worked by a disc arm G, as shewn in Figures 18 and 19, rotated by the
register connection shaft b; said roller shafts carry respectively the rollers j¹ and 8.
The motion of these shafts derived by an outer roller J driven by an endless
band U run upon a first roller T upon the roller shaft R of exactly the same
diameter as the discharge roller R. This motion thus once transmitted to the first
under shaft u is communicated to the second under shaft v by secondary endless
roller bands, as shown at E. These in like manner, as before described, rise and fall
with the rollers as timed at the cam G, and while raised carry along the sheet being
fed; upon dropping they leave the sheet at rest at the front lay. In Figure 19 the
side pieces of the feed board frame * are shewn partly cut away in order to
uncover to view the beneath-arranged parts shewn in side view in Figure 18.
Figure 20 represents a plan of this modification of this head of my Invention.
R is the roller shaft; is the long arm; and l, the short arm of the bell crank;

page_text: m is the connecting rod extending to the second bell crank; p is the cam-throw
connecting rod; G is the cam; a is the shaft carrying the cam G; J, S, are the first
and second band rollers.
Figure 21 indicates the position of the bands when worked by the rollers, the
upper when carrying the sheet, the lower (in dotted line) when fallen away, leaving
the sheet on the slat g.
Fourthly. The said Invention also has for its object such a construction of the
feeder as to connect the feed board directly therewith, to form in effect part of it,
and at the same time to connect the said feed board to the feeder by means of an
adjustable attachment; by this attachment the feed board can be adjusted in elevation
distance, and pitch relatively to the feed roller, without disturbing the connection
of the feeder with the printing machine to which it may be applied instead of
being, as heretofore, rigidly attached to the printing-machine frame separately,
whereby more or less alteration of the latter is sometimes involved, and which
separate attachment is often found to be inconvenient, and in some instances very
costly.
According to this part of my Invention I attach two vertical pivot holders by
slotted swinging parallel arms to the feeder frame near the roller-shaft bearings, so
that the said holders can be adjusted relatively to the rollor and constantly retain a
vertical position to receive the pivot ends of the supporting rod of the feed board.
The improvements comprised under the fourth head of this Invention, that is to
say, those relating to the adjustable connection of the feed board directly to the
feeder, is represented in detail in Figures 22 and 23; Figure 22 is a side view;
Figure 23 is an edge view of the same.
The piece called the pivot holder H carries at each side in its hooked slot a a
pivot swivel of the feed board frame of the feeder. In this pivot holder H three
drilled holes carry three stud screw bolts, each of which bolts holds one of the three
parallel arms c, c, c; the opposite end of each of which arms is attached by a like
screw bolt through a corresponding hole to the portion of the stanchion d¹, Figure 13,
provided to carry it; each parallel arm is slotted, and the slots in connection with
their parallel swing allow considerable range of adjustment forward, backward, and
vertically to the pivot holders, while they always remain vertical, to receive in that
position the pivot swivel when adjusted, the slotted cross stay e being keyed up in
place with screw bolts, or otherwise secured at its ends upon the parallel arms, as
shewn in Figure 22, securely fixes and holds the pivot holder in its adjusted
position.
Fifthly. A further modification of my Invention is the combination with the feeder
of a self-acting stop to arrest at the desired time the action of the screw lift, by which
the sheets to be fed are progressively raised to the starting level for the last sheet
supplied. For this purpose I attach to the ratchet pawl that actuates the lifting
screws whereby the paper holder is automatically raised as the feeding of the sheet
progresses a chain or cord made to pass over a pulley, a stud, a ring, or other suitable
device fixed upon the lift, bracket, or any part attached to the same, which cord is
attached by its other end to the base or other convenient part of the "lift" fixture
constituting the screw carrier frame usually called the "lift," consequently, as the
said pulley or other device rises with the said bracket, to which it is attached, it
will at the point determined pull the cord passing over it, and thereby lift the pawl
away from the ratchet, whereupon the lifting action of the screws will cause, while
the rest of the machinery can continue to operate. I thus provide means for
mechanically obviating the danger of breaking any part of the feeder apparatus
because of said lifting action, and thereby obviate the necessity for the vigilant
watchfullness of an attendant to ungear the pawl by hand before the lifting has
been too long continued.
The mechanism comprised under the fifth head of this Invention, namely, the
self supporting of the lift action, is represented in Figures 24 and 25, which show in
combination with the lift screw, box, and ratchet and rocking lever one of the
side lifts so called, Figure 24 being a front view, and Figure 25 an edge view. The

page_text: "lift" L fixed to the base frame of the feeder carries the screw shaft shown in
Figure 24. The rotation of this screw shaft is effected by a worm upon the worm
shaft S working a worm wheel V upon the base of the screw shaft. By the rotation
of the screw shaft in the screw box B carrying the box bracket C, which bracket
is fixed to the tray lift frame of the feeder, the said bracket and with it the
said frame will be gradually lifted to the position shown in dotted lines, upon
reaching which position the lifting ratchet wheel must be stopped or the lift will be
broken.
The operation of this part of the machine has been heretofore carefully watched
and its stopping has been effected by hand. By the contrivance embodied in this
part of my said Invention its automatic or self stopping is effected without necessarily
stopping the other portions of the machinery. To the pawl P, by a transverse wire
at G, is attached a cord J which passing through an eye E at the top of the ratchet
lever F is thence led through a second eye N on the lower part of said lever, thence
through a third eye R attached to a part of the lift base upon the worm shaft
socket, and finally at K secured to the top of the screw box B. As the screw box B
rises, the cord is gradually drawn out of the slack position shown when the box is
down until the latter has attained the position shown by dotted lines, the said cord
is drawn taut and the pawl is pulled out of gear into the position shewn in dotted
line in Figure 24, and the action of the pawl consequently ceases and the rising of
the lift bracket is stopped. The desired object being thereby mechanically or
automatically obtained.
Sixthly. Another object of my said Invention is the construction of the base
frame, the rising tray holder, the exhaust trunk, the exhaust picking-up fingers,
and other parts of said feeders hitherto made of wood, of wrought iron, cast iron, or
other suitable metal. I prefer to use wrought iron, rolled or otherwise, worked to
the requisite form in combination with cast-iron corner pieces and joint pieces shaped
to receive and carry and firmly contain the said rolled or otherwise worked iron in
the frame shape designed. Wood, though heretofore employed exclusively for the
construction of these parts, is objectionable owing to its tendency, unless very
highly seasoned, to twist and warp and thus throw out of truth the very accurately
fitted machinery necessarily constructed for the perfect working of the feeder.
Wrought iron and other metal may be readily worked into the requisite forms for
the exhaust trunk, the exhaust fingers and the rising frame, the paper tray, or any
other heretofore wooden portions of the said feeder apparatus.
"
The improvements comprised under the sixth head of this Invention, that is to
say, the employment of iron or other metal in lieu of wood in the construction of
various parts of the aforesaid machines may be advantageously carried into practise
as follows, that is to say:-The said fingers I construct of stamped out "shaped
pieces of metal that when put together give the requisite pattern of made up finger.
The trunk is constructed of shaped and rolled sheet iron or other metal, or can be
built up from ready-made tubing of the market. For the base frame and lift frames,
and if desired the feed frames, I prepare rolled wrought iron as shown in Figure 26,
and with a section like that shown in Figure 26. These wrought-iron portions I
combine with corner pieces of cast iron or other suitable metal, and drill, rivet, or
otherwise secure them together to build up the frames as shewn in Figures 27
and 27º.
Seventhly. The said Invention further has for its object the combination of a
self-acting "guard" with the feeder gear to protect the flexible exhaust tubes when
these tubes are employed from destruction or injury by the friction of the gear and
chain wheels. This shield or "guard" has a sort of gallery of wire to control
within certain limits the pendant tubes of the said exhaust trunk, by which the
evacuation of the said trunk is effected, and which are often arranged to just clear
on one side the speed gear wheels, and on the other side the register wheel chains.
Between these wheels and chains and the said tubes the "guard" is permanently
interposed, receiving the friction that would otherwise injure the flexible tubes
which for various reasons are in many positions used in preference to rigid tubes

page_text: of tin, zinc, or other metal, although the latter in various circumstances are
employed.
°
The improvements comprised under the seventh head of this Invention are
represented in Figures 28 and 29, which show a tube guard A attached by the holes
and upon the ends of the main cam shaft and speed wheel stud of the feeder to
receive the flexible exhaust tube when used to pass within the wire gallery as shown,
and interpose an effectual shield to protect the tube against the chafing of the speed
gear wheels on the one side and the chain wheels on the other.
Eighthly and finally, the said Invention has for its object the combination of these
foregoing improvements or any of the same with the mechanical paper feeders
described in the said former Specification.
Figure 30 gives an illustration of the outline of one of the feeder frame stanchions
showing the relative position of one of these improvements, the "controller" in
combination with the feeder.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practise, I wish it understood that I
claim,―
The improvements set forth and comprised under each of the separate heads or
divisions, namely, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh head or
division of my Invention, and consisting of the devices or parts constructed as
shown in the Drawings, and combined with or forming part of an apparatus for
supplying paper to a printing press or for other like purposes, and operating as set
forth to effect the particular purpose or purposes of each part of my said Invention
as above specified.
Second. The combination in an apparatus for the purposes above specified of two
or more of the above described improvements with each other and with the other
parts of the said apparatus, as above described and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Forster Waldo, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
CHAS. F. WALDO. (L.S.)