Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 21st Oct., 1899
A communication from abroad by GEORGE W. FACKLER, of 120, Broadway, New
York City, New York, United States of America, Gentleman.
I, JOHN CORRY FELL, of the Firm of Fell and James, of 1, Queen Victoria
Street, in the City of London, Consulting Engineers and Chartered Patent Agents,
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: -
The present invention relates to mechanism for successively feeding indi-
vidual sheets of paper, or sheets of similar material, from the bottom of a pile
of superimposed sheets, so that they can be readily delivered to printing, fold-
ing and wrapping mechanisms, or other mechanisms or devices adapted to
operate upon them.
The object of the invention is to provide a simple mechanism by which the
individual sheets can be separated and delivered from the pile with rapidity,
ease and precision, and in a smooth or unwrinkled condition for whatever use
they may be adapted.
An important feature of the invention relates to the parts which support the
pile of sheets and to the changeable relative positions vertically of their sheet-
supporting surfaces, by which the weight or downward pressure of the pile is
shifted from one supporting surface to another during the feeding of each indi-
vidual sheet, with the result that the bottom sheet is largely relieved from its
frictional contact with the pile and can be fed forward by the application of a
slight force and without liability of tearing or crumpling the sheet while the
remaining sheets of the pile are securely held in place during the feed of the
bottom sheet and the return of the moving parts to their normal positions.
Stated generally, the present invention consists in the devices and combina-
tions of devices hereinafter set forth and specifically pointed out in the claims.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one form and construction of mechanism
embodying the present invention and by the operation of which its objects are
attained, in which-
Figure 1 is a cross section along the broken line 1-1 of Fig. 2, the cam
wheel being broken away to show certain parts beyond.
Fig. 2 is an end elevation seen from the left-hand of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a top view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. 4 is a cross section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the construc-
tion, arrangement and operation of the vertically movable parts, some of the
parts located on each side of the section being shown.
Fig. 5 is a cross section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing the starting
feed roll and adjacent parts.
Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the feed rolls and adjacent parts; and
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are longitudinal central sections, showing the movable parts
in various positions during the feed of a sheet.

page_text: Referring to the mechanism shown in the drawings, A represents the base
and B the standards which support a table C and the various devices mounted
thereon, as sheet-containing receptacle 1), sliding carrier E, starting roll F,
vertically-movable supports, as heel pieces G and toe pieces H, and feed rolls I.
W represents the driving wheel of the mechanism fixed to a main or driving
shaft S.
The receptacle D is provided with an open top and preferably with an open-
ing in one of its sides for feeding in the sheets, and is supported on or above
the table C by any suitable means so that its forward lower edge is sufficiently
above the table to permit the carrier E to move between it and the table and
leave a space between this edge and the carrier for the travel of the bottom sheet
on its way to the feed rolls I, which are preferably located so that their bite
will be in a horizontal plane with the fed or bottom sheet. The rear lower
edge of the receptacle D is shown as raised above the table C to permit of the
free movement of the jointed tops of the arms of the levers which are connected
to the moving parts, as hereinafter more fully described, but this edge is pre-
ferably slightly lower than the opposite or forward edge to provide an abutment
for the lower sheets of the pile.
The bottom of the receptacle on which the pile of sheets X is supported or
rests, is composed of movable surfaces, viz.: A reciprocating-sliding carrier E,
a starting roll F, heel pieces G and toe pieces H, and the relative positions of
the supporting surfaces of these parts, when at rest or in their normal posi-
tions, are seen in Fig. 7, in which the upper surface of the carrier E and the
roll F are in substantially the same horizontal plane, while the upper surface
of the heel piece G and the. toe piece H are in a lower plane than that of the
carrier and roll, the upper surface of the toe piece H being lower than that of
the heel piece G, so that the weight of the pile of sheets in the receptacle is
sustained or rests mainly upon the carrier E and the roll F, and not at all, or
only very slightly, on the heel pieces G or upon the toe pieces H. By referring
to Fig. 3, it is seen that the carrier E occupies a central position of the width
of the receptacle D at its forward end, and that the toe pieces H are located on
either side of it; also, that the heel pieces G are located at the rear of the recep
tacle, and that the slide which operates the carrier E moves between the heel
pieces, while the roll F is located above and across the path of the slide and
between the carrier and the toe pieces on its one side and the heel pieces on its
other.
The special construction and arrangement of the several important opera-
tive parts of the mechanism and their connections to the main shaft for giving
them their desired movements are as follows:
The carrier E, having its supporting surface coated with sand-paper or other-
wise sufficiently roughened and its forward end preferably made thin, is mounted
upon a piece I, constructed and arranged to slide in ways E2 lengthwise of the
table C, its range of reciprocation being seen by comparing the positions shown
in Figs. 7 and 9. It is moved forward and backward through suitable jointed
connections with the top of vertical arm E³ of a bell crank lever, arranged to
rock on a stationary shaft K, whose lower arm is controlled by a cam groove in
cam wheel E fixed to the main shaft S to which it is connected by a cam roller,
the shape of the groove (not shown in the drawings) being such as to give a
forward and backward throw to the upper end of lever arm E3 sufficient to give
the desired sliding reciprocation to the carrier at each rotation of the wheel E.
The starting roll F, having its peripheral surface covered with sand-paper,
or otherwise provided with a suitably roughened surface, is journalled in sup-
ports on table C, and is arranged to be rotated in opposite directions through
a gear wheel F2 fixed to its shaft and actuated by a rack arm which is jointed
to the upper end of vertical arm F of a bell crank lever arranged to rock on
stationary shaft K, while its other arm F5 is provided with a cam roller con-
trolled by a cam groove in wheel F6 fixed to the main driving shaft S of the

page_text: machine. The cam groove (not shown in the drawings) is so shaped as to give
the arm F4 and rack F3 a forward and backward throw sufficient to cause the
roll F to rotate forward and backward about one-half of its circumference to
each rotation of the cam wheel F. The rack is held to its proper position
on the gear wheel F2 by a suitably mounted friction roller F.
move-
The heel pieces G and the toe pieces H have a vertically-reciprocating
ment, the former being located on either side of the slide E¹ and the latter on
either side of the carrier E. They are conveniently formed in two pieces or
halves, each containing a heel piece and a toe piece, the former mounted on a
backward and laterally extending branch G¹ and the latter upon a vertical and
laterally extending branch G2 of a common shaft or stalk G³, and when these
halves are inserted into position through openings in the table C they are secured
together by screws M, or other suitable means, passing through their shafts or
stalks and clamping them to an intermediate post N which is arranged to slide
up and down in ways O in a downward projection P of the table C, this con--
struction and arrangement being shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 7 of the drawings..
The necessary vertical reciprocation of these parts is given by connecting the
post N to cam wheel G fixed to driving shaft S through a cam roll G5 which is
controlled by a cam groove (not shown in the drawings) in the wheel so shaped
as to give the desired upward and downward movement to the parts G and H
at each rotation of the wheel. The upper or sheet-supporting surfaces of the
heel and toe pieces are in horizontal planes, but the heel pieces, as before stated,
are in a somewhat higher plane than the toe pieces and their upper surfaces
are preferably roughened.
The feed rolls I are located slightly in front of the receptacle D, the lower
one being journalled in standard I fixed to the table C, while the upper one is
journalled in pillow blocks and is adjusted by a spring 12; the lower roll is driven
through sprocket wheels 13 and I and chain I, and the upper one by connect-
ing gear wheels I. These rolls are made, or cut away centrally of the length
of their shafts, to provide an opening Q for the entrance of the forward thin
end of the carrier E, and the rolls preferably have a speed equal to that of the
carrier in its forward movement.
In advance of the feed rolls is shown an endless belt R, onto which the sheets
may be fed and by which they may be delivered to other mechanisms. This
belt, however, constitutes no part of the present invention, and any other deli-
very device may be substituted therefor which will operate to deliver the sheets
to any special mechanism or device adapted to operate upon them for any purpose.
A rounded bar or roll T located slightly in rear of the carrier E and mounted
in standards may be used to advantage to control the drag of the loosened rear
part of the sheet and to keep it from wrinkling as it is moved forward by the
carrier E.
Starting
The operation of the mechanism described and shown is as follows:
with the parts in their normal positions of rest, as shown in Fig. 7, where the
weight of the pile of sheets is mainly supported by or rests upon the carrier E
and the starting roll F, and not at all, or only slightly, upon the heel pieces G,
the rotation of the roll F in a forward direction, while the carrier E is stationary,
causes, through its frictional contact with the bottom sheet, the rear end of this
sheet to be moved forward and away from the heel pieces G, the loosened part
of the sheet being looped or buckled between the roller F and the rear of the
carrier E, or the bar T if used, as seen in Fig. 8. Immediately the rear end
of the sheet has passed beyond the heel pieces they begin to rise, lifting the pile
from the roller F and leaving the rear part of the bottom sheet free to be carried
forward by the forward movement of the carrier E, which begins as soon as
the heel pieces have received the rear weight of the pile and feeds the sheet bodily
forward through its frictional contact therewith and carries its forward end into
the bite of the feed rolls I, the heavy contact of the next sheet of the series with
the raised heel pieces effectually preventing that sheet from moving forward or.