Improvements in Apparatus for Separating and Feeding Cards and Envelopes to Printing or other Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Mar., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 19th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 9th Feb., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Separating and Feeding Cards and
Envelopes to Printing or other Machines.
I, LOUIS FRANÇOIS ALBERT QUERNEL, of Gisors, in the Republic of France,
Tax Collector, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus for distributing cards and envelopes, applicable
to printing machines.
The distributing apparatus constructed according to my said invention is
substantially characterized by the simplicity and certainty of its operation, and by
the facility of its adaptation to various kinds of printing machines.
Moreover the improved apparatus which I have devised enables cards or
envelopes to be distributed indifferently by means of a removable device which will
hereinafter be described.
The accompanying drawings are given only by way of example and are designed
to enable the means employed for realizing my said invention to be clearly
understood.
In these drawings,
Figure 1 represents a front view of the distributing apparatus with its operating
device.
Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same.
Figure 3 shows a transverse vertical section of the apparatus in its application
to a platen machine, when the cards are ready to be distributed.
Figure 4 shows a similar view, the card being pushed upon the platen.
Figure 5 represents a plan, corresponding to the position of Figure 3.
Figure 6 show detail views of fingers hereinafter referred to.
The distributing apparatus is formed of an assemblage of parts constituting a
kind of supporting frame which is caused to oscillate being carried along by a
fixed bar a.
Upon this bar a I mount at each of its extremities, an arm b which is lengthened
or shortened by means of a spring attached to their front end by a rod c which
carries the two fingers d Figure 6, which are under the action of a spring and
serve to push each card in their downward movement.
These fingers d are articulated upon the bar c on which they can turn freely.
The lateral outer surface of each of the fingers rubs against an upright e having
on the interior a square portion.
с
The socket d' by which each finger articulates upon the bar c is made of such a
shape that it will engage partly with the face and partly with the square portion
of the uprights e, and a helical spring f placed upon the rod c and between the two
fingers keeps them apart and ensures a sufficient friction between their sockets and
these uprights for causing the fingers d to oscillate slightly in the two directions
according as they move upwards or downwards.
The cards put into a packet at å rest upon a tablet i whose edge adjacent to the
platen a' is hollowed out as shown in Figures 2 and 5, so that the cavities produced
have only two projections leaving between their extremity and the edges of the
uprights el only the space necessary for the passage of a single card at a time.
With regard to the tablet i these uprights e are adjustably fixed, which enables the

page_text: space between the projections and the edges e₁ of the uprights to be varied
according to the thickness of the cards to be printed.
For permitting this adjustment the uprights are fixed upon the tablet i by means
of a square e bearing upon this tablet; the whole turns about the screw ³ forming
a pivot, and consequently the edge e' may be caused to approach or recede by a
screw t traversing the supports p and engaging with the part e made in one piece
with the upright.
In order to maintain a perfect regularity in their position the cards will bear
upon a movable stop k represented in plan Figure 5.
This stop is fixed at will upon the table i by means of a simple screw k¹.
Moreover, the cards forming a packet are pressed against the uprights e by a plate
spring 1.
The parallelogram formed by the axis a, the two arms b with a telescopic
lengthening device having a spring, and the rod c receives its movement directly
from the machine.
The arrangement of this mechanism is optional but I have represented means
which I preferably employ and which consist in prolonging and bending the axis a,
the bend terminating in a counterweight m; upon this bend I fit the articulation
of a connecting rod n terminating in a fork between the branches of which
operates an eccentric pin o which is fixed by a disc actuated by the shaft of the
machine.
By transmitting this movement to the axis a, turning in the fixed supports p, the
rod n gives an alternating oscillatory movement this rod n causes the parallelogram
and consequently the fingers d to occupy the respective positions which I have
represented in Figures 3 and 4.
The operation is as follows, that is to say, the bar c being lowered with the
fingers d as shown in Figure 4, after having conducted a card upon the platen a¹
rises to its extreme position represented in dotted lines in Figure 3. The friction
of the sockets d' against the uprights e causes the fingers d to rise, as indicated
by the dotted lines, then the movement continuing and under the action of the
counterweight m, the bar c descends again and the friction of the sockets of the
fingers d upon the uprights taking place in the opposite direction these fingers are
lowered as shown in full lines in Figure 3 so as to bear by the spring catch upon
the upper edge of the first card to be supplied to the platen.
I have represented in Figure 6 the detail of the device which I preferably apply
to the fingers for forming the projection for carrying away the cards; it consists
in providing upon the face of each finger a notch in which is fixed a plate spring d.
the extremity of which forms a slight projection or catch at which corresponds
exactly to the thickness of the card.
The projection of this catch is adjusted by the tightening of one of the screws d³
which serves to fix the strip upon the finger d.
For enabling the card to be certainly taken in the downward movement of the
fingers I have formed an inclined planed below the catch so that, the finger coming
in contact by its inclined plane with the card to be pushed, this catch will bear
exactly against its thickness.
If instead of distributing cards it is necessary to distribute envelopes it will
be sufficient to make a slight modification which consists first in separating the
uprights e from the tablet i by acting upon the screw t as hereinbefore set forth.
By reason of the increased thickness which the gumming of the edges of the
envelopes produces, I fix upon the tablet i at a distance corresponding to the length
of the envelopes to be printed the two stops or abutments so that they corre-
spond to the extremities of these envelopes which have not received any gum.
These stops are placed in front of the projections s belonging to the uprights é
against which each envelope bears, ready to be pushed upon the platen.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant,

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Separating and Feeding Cards and
Envelopes to Printing or other Machines.
I, LOUIS FRANÇOIS ALBERT QUERNEL, of Gisors, in the Republic of France,
Tax Collector, 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:-
My invention relates to apparatus for distributing cards and envelopes, applicable
to printing machines.
The distributing apparatus constructed according to my said invention is
substantially characterized by the simplicity and certainty of its operation, and by
the facility of its adaptation to various kinds of printing machines.
Moreover the improved apparatus which I have devised enables cards or
envelopes to be distributed indifferently by means of a removable device which will
hereinafter be described.
In the drawings left with my Provisional Specification I have shown by way of
example how the said invention may be conveniently and advantageously carried
into practice.
In these drawings,
Figure 1 represents a front view of the distributing apparatus with its operating
device.
Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the apparatus applied to a platen
machine, when the cards are ready to be distributed.
Figure 4 shows a similar view, the card being pushed upon the platen.
Figure 5 represents a plan, corresponding to the position of Figure 3 and
Figure 6 shows a detail.
The distributing apparatus is formed of an assemblage of parts constituting a
kind of supporting frame which is caused to oscillate being carried along by a
fixed bar a.
Upon this bar a I mount, at each of its extremities, au arm & which is lengthened
or shortened by means of a spring attached to their front end by a rod c which
carries the two fingers d, Figure 6, which are under the action of a spring and
serve to push each card in their downward movement.
These fingers d are articulated upon the bar c on which they can turn freely.
The lateral outer surface of each of the fingers rubs against an upright e having
on the interior a square portion.
C
The socket d', by which each finger articulates upon the bar c, is made of such a
shape that it will engage partly with the face and partly with the square portion of
the uprights e, and a helical spring f placed upon the rod c and between the two
fingers keeps them apart and ensures a sufficient friction between their sockets and
these uprights for causing the fingers d to oscillate slightly in the two directions
according as they move upwards or downwards.
The cards put into a packet at rest upon a tablet i whose edge adjacent to the
platen al is hollowed out as shown in Figures 2 and 5, so that the cavities produced
have only two projections leaving between their extremity and the edges of the
uprights e only the space necessary for the passage of a single card at a time.
With regard to the tablet i these uprights e are adjustably fixed, which enables the
space between the projections c and the edges e' of the uprights to be varied
according to the thickness of the cards to be printed.
For permitting this adjustment the uprights are fixed upon the tablet i by means
of a square e hearing upon this tablet; the whole turns about the screw 2 forming
a pivot, and consequently the edge e' may be caused to approach or recule by a

page_text: screw traversing the supports p and engaging with the part c² made in one piece
with the upright.
In order to maintain a perfect regularity in their position the cards will bear
upon a movable stop k represented in plan Figure 5.
This stop is fixed at will upon the table i by means of a simple screw_k¹.
Moreover, the cards forming a packet are pressed against the uprights e by a plate
spring 1.
The parallelogram formed by the axis a, the two arms with a telescopic
lengthening device having a spring, and the rod c receives its movement directly
from the machine.
The arrangement of this mechanism is optional, but I have represented means
which I preferably employ and which consist in prolonging and bending the axis a,
the bend terminating in a counterweight m; upon this bend I fit the articulation
of a connecting rod n terminating in a fork n' between the branches of which
operates an eccentric pin o which is fixed by a disc actuated by the shaft of the
machine.
By transmitting this movement to the axis a, turning in the fixed supports p, the
rod n gives an alternating oscillatory movement; this rod n causes the parallelogram
and consequently the fingers d to occupy the respective positions which I have
represented in Figures 3 and 4.
The operation is as follows, that is to say the bar c, being lowered with the
fingers d as shown in Figure 4, after having conducted a card upon the platen a',
rises to its extreme position represented in dotted lines in Figure 3. The friction
of the sockets d' against the uprights e causes the fingers d to rise as indicated by
the dotted lines, then the movement continuing and under the action of the
counterweight m, the bar e descends again and the friction of the sockets of the
fingers d upon the uprights taking place in the opposite direction these fingers are
lowered as shown in full lines in Figure 3 so as to bear by the spring catch upon
the upper edge of the first card to be supplied to the platen.
I have represented in Figure 6 the detail of the device which I preferably apply
to the fingers for forming the projection for carrying away the cards; it consists
in providing upon the face of each finger a notch in which is fixed a plate spring o
the extremity of which forms a slight projection or catch at d² which corresponds
exactly to the thickness of the card.
The projection of this catch is adjusted by the tightening of one of the screws d³
which serves to fix the strip upon the finger d.
For enabling the card to be certainly taken in the downward movement of the
fingers I have formed an inclined plane d' below the catch so that, the finger coming
in contact by its inclined plane with the card to be pushed, this catch will bear
exactly against its thickness.
If instead of distributing cards it is necessary to distribute envelopes it will be
sufficient to make a slight modification which consists first in separating the
uprights e from the tablet i by acting upon the screw t as hereinbefore set forth.
By reason of the increased thickness which the gumming of the edges of the
envelopes produces, I fix upon the tablet i at a distance corresponding to the length
of the envelopes to be printed the two stops or abutments r so that they correspond
to the extremities of these envelopes which have not received any gum. These
stops are placed in front of the projections s belonging to the uprights e against
which each envelope bears, ready to be pushed upon the platen.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, declare that what
I claim is :-
In printing machines the employment of apparatus for automatically distributing
cards and envelopes or other pieces to be printed, characterized in principle by the
putting these pieces on a tablet pushed by the action of a spring against a guide
support placed in front and upon which slide operating pieces receiving a double

page_text: alternative upward and downward movement, receding from the tablet when they
rise and approaching the same for bringing the card upon the platen when they
descend again, these movements being such as to be transmitted by the mechanical
parts of the machine itself, as hereinbefore described and in the manner specified.
Dated this 19th day of December 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.