EP0464578A1

EP0464578A1 - Paper feed device

Info

Publication number: EP0464578A1
Application number: EP91110426A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hirohisa Inoue
Original assignee: Hamada Printing Press Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hamada Printing Press Co Ltd
Priority date: 1990-06-29
Filing date: 1991-06-25
Publication date: 1992-01-08
Also published as: JPH0429534U

Abstract

A paper feed device having a linearly reciprocable kicker (17) for feeding one by one a plurality of stacked blanks (A) to a blank processing unit, a crank mechanism (20) for causing the linear reciprocating motion of the kicker, and movable member (4) supporting the kicker and the crank mechanism and movable in the same direction as the direction of the linear reciprocating motion of the kicker. It may have a drive shaft (30) extending in the direction of movement of the movable member and adapted to be rotated synchronized with a main shaft (32) in the blank processing unit and a gear (34) axially slidably mounted on the drive shaft. In such a case, the movable member is provided with a gear transmission mechanism (40) through which the rotation of the gear is transmitted so as to actuate the crank mechanism, and a support means (35) for moving the gear in the axial direction of the drive shaft together with the movable member.

Description

This invention relates to a paper feed device for feeding blanks having a predetermined size such as cardboard blanks to a blank processing unit such as a printing unit by use of the straight reciprocating motion of a kicker.
One prior art paper feed device of this type is shown in Fig. 3. This device comprises a pair of vertically aligned feed rollers 50, a housing 52 located behind the feed rollers 50, a rail 52 mounted on the bottom surface of the housing 51, a reciprocating carriage 53 slidably mounted on the rail 52, bearings 54 provided at both ends of the carriage 53 and a threaded shaft 56 rotatably supported between the bearings 54. A nut member 58 provided on the bottom surface of a kicker 57 is in threaded engagement with the threaded shaft 56, so that the kicker 57 will be moved by a predetermined distance back and forth together with the reciprocating carriage 53 driven by a crank mechanism 60 provided under the housing 51. Thus the blanks A piled up can be fed by the kicker 57 one by one from below to the feed rollers 50.
The crank mechanism 60 comprises a shaft 61, a crank arm 62 pivotably mounted on the shaft 61, and a link 63 having its one end connected to the free end of the crank arm 62 and the other end to a coupling member 64 secured to the underside of the reciprocating carriage 53. The crank arm 62 is pivoted through a predetermined angle by a driving means (not shown).
Behind the housing 51, there is provided a spline shaft 65 adapted to be turned by a handle 66 secured thereto. The rotation of the spline shaft 65 is transmitted to the threaded shaft 56 through gears 67 in meshing engagement with each other to move the nut member 58 in threaded engagement with the threaded shaft 56 along the threaded shaft 56 so as to adjust the position of the kicker 57 according to the size of the blanks A.
In such a paper feed device, since the reciprocating carriage 53 supporting the kicker 57 in an adjustable position is long and heavy, its inertia and movement tend to be large. This will cause severe wear on the parts such as the threaded shaft 56 and the nut member 58, which may develop plays. Further, this will make it necessary to increase the size of the crank mechanism 60 for reciprocating the carriage 53 at high speed. Thus, the motor for driving the crank mechanism is required to have a large capacity.
An object of this invention is to provide a paper feed device which obviates the abovesaid shortcomings and is simple in construction and economical.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a paper feed device comprising a linearly reciprocable kicker for feeding one by one a plurality of stacked blanks to a blank processing unit, a crank mechanism for causing the linear reciprocating motion of the kicker, movable member supporting the kicker and the crank mechanism and movable in the same direction as the direction of the linear reciprocating motion of the kicker, a drive shaft extending in the direction of movement of the movable member and adapted to be rotated synchronized with a main shaft in the blank processing unit, a bevel gear axially slidably mounted on the drive shaft, a gear transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the bevel gear to the crank mechanism, and a support means for moving the bevel gear along the drive shaft together with the movable member.
In the abovesaid arrangement, when the main shaft of a blank processing unit is driven, the driving shaft will be driven synchronously and its rotation is transmitted to the crank mechanism through the gear transmission. The crank mechanism causes the kicker to make a linear reciprocating motion, thus feeding blanks one by one to a blank processing unit.
Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of one embodiment of the paper feed device according to this invention;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the support portion of the bevel gear of the same; and
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a prior art paper feed device.
Fig. 1 shows the embodiment of the paper feed device according to this invention.

As shown in the figure, a plurality of blanks A are stacked on the top of a table 1 at the front end thereof with their front edges abutting a front positioning plate 2. A gap is defined by the bottom end of the front positioning plate 2 and the top surface of the table 1 to allow one blank A to pass. The blanks A that have passed through this gap are fed to a blank processing unit (not shown) through a pair of feed rollers 3 disposed one above the other.
Under the table 1, a movable member 4 is provided. Wheels 5 are mounted on the bottom of the movable member 4 at front and rear thereof. Rails 6 are laid on the floor to support the wheels 5.
The rails 6 extend in the same direction as the direction of feed of the blanks A to support the movable member 4 so that it will be movable in the direction of feed of the blanks A.
A nut member 7 is mounted on the bottom of the movable member 4 and is in threaded engagement with a threaded shaft 8 provided in parallel to the rails 6.
The threaded shaft 8 has both ends thereof rotatably supported by bearings 9. Bevel gears 11 are provided at the end of the threaded shaft 8 nearer to the blank processing unit and at the bottom end of a control shaft 10 extending perpendicular to the threaded shaft 8 so as to be in meshing engagement with each other.
By turning the wheel 12, the control shaft 10 rotates and its rotation is transmitted to the threaded shaft 8. Thus, the position of the movable member 4 can be adjusted with respect to the direction of feed of the blanks A.
A support frame 13 is secured to the top of the movable member 4. On the support frame 13 is mounted a bracket 14 provided with a rear positioning plate 15 for holding the rear edge of the blanks A in position. Further, the support frame 13 supports both ends of a guide shaft 16 extending in the direction of feed of the blanks A. A guide block 18 provided on the underside of a kicker 17 is slidably mounted on the guide shaft 16.
The kicker 17 is located at the same level as the table 1 and is adapted to reciprocate along the guide shaft 16 to push out the lowermost one of the stacked blanks A one by one toward the feed rollers 3.
The kicker 17 is reciprocated linearly by a crank mechanism 20 mounted on the movable member 4.
The crank mechanism 20 includes a crank arm 21 having its lower part pivotally connected to the movable member 4 by a pin 22, and a lever 21 a having its lower end coupled to the pin 22 and its upper end connected to the guide block through a link 23. The crank arm 21 is formed with a longitudinally extending pin hole 24 in which is inserted an eccentric pin 26 provided on a gear 25 supported by the movable member 4, so that the crank arm 21 will pivot about the pin 22 by a predetermined angle as the gear 25 rotates.
The crank mechanism 20 is driven by turning a drive shaft 30 which has both ends thereof rotatably supported by bearings 31 and has its one end nearer to the blank processing unit connected to one end of a main shaft in the blank processing unit through a shaft coupling 33.
A bevel gear 34 is unrotatably but slidably mounted on the drive shaft 30. The rotation of the bevel gear 34 is transmitted to the gear 25 having the eccentric pin 26 through the gear mechanism 40 supported by the movable member 4.
In order to unrotatably but slidably support the bevel gear 34, the drive shaft 30 is in the form of a spline shaft and the bevel gear 34 is formed on its inner periphery with teeth adapted to engage the teeth on the spline shaft. But any other means may be employed for this purpose. For example, an axially extending key groove may be formed in the drive shaft 30 while a slide key may be formed on the bevel gear 34 so as to be slidable along the key groove.
The bevel gear 34 is moved along the drive shaft 30 by a supporting piece 35 provided on the movable member 4 when the latter moves.
When the main shaft 32 rotates, the drive shaft 30 rotates. The rotation of the drive shaft 30 is transmitted to the gear 25 through the bevel gear 34 and the gear transmission 40. As the gear 25 rotates, the eccentric pin 26 will cause the crank arm 21 to pivot around the pin 22. Thus, the kicker 17 will reciprocate along the guide shaft 16, feeding the blanks one by one toward the feed rollers 3.
Although in the preferred embodiment the crank mechanism 20 is driven by the drive shaft 30, it may be driven from a motor through the gear transmission 40.

Claims

1. A paper feed device comprising a linearly reciprocable kicker for feeding one by one a plurality of stacked blanks to a blank processing unit, a movable member movably supporting said kicker and movable in the same direction as the direction of the linear reciprocating motion of the kicker, said movable member being provided with first gear means and a crank means for converting the rotary motion of said gear means into the linear reciprocating motion of said kicker, a drive shaft extending in the direction of movement of said movable member and adapted to be rotated synchronized with a main shaft in said blank processing unit, second gear means unrotatably but axially slidably mounted on said drive shaft for for transmitting the rotation of said drive shaft to said first gear means, and a support means provided on said movable member for moving said second gear means together with said movable member.