GB1309602A - Apparatus for assembling stacks of sheets - Google Patents

Abstract

1309602 Delivering sheets into stacks ORDIBEL SPRL 29 July 1970 [8 Aug 1969 18 June 1970] 36686/70 Heading B8R An apparatus for assembling stacks of sheets which are to be arranged in a particular order in the stack comprises in succession, an intake conveyer for receiving sheets delivered singly to the apparatus, an inverting device for at least partially inverting the sheets, a distributing conveyer and a cabinet, the sheets being distributed to various shelves of the cabinet via a series of deflectors operatively associated both with the shelves and a plurality of control means, each means including a sheet actuated portion downstream of its respective deflector and responsive to the passage of a certain number of sheets to a respective shelf to control sheet accessibility to that shelf. The intake conveyer may comprise two, four-strand belt conyers (T 1 ), (T 2 ), Fig. 4 (not shown), of different slope having co-operating pressure rollers (20) (20<SP>1</SP>) and (42) to (50), the sheets being elevated by the belts and rollers to an inverting device comprising a four-strand endless belt conveyer 69-72 having co-operating pressure rollers (74), (76), Fig. 5 (not shown), and a four-strand endless belt conveyer 98-101 which abuts the end of the conveyer 69-72 so that sheets are carried by conveyer 98-101 round the end of conveyer 69-72 and deposited, inverted, on to a receiver comprising a smooth, sloping platen 62 having longitudinal slots in which a pair of conveyer belts 114, 115 run in the direction of arrow 251. Deposited sheets slide down platen 62 as far as a front stop (122), Fig. 5 (not shown), which aligns them and operates a microswitch causing rollers 123, (124) to drop and press the sheets into contact with the recessed belts 114- 115 thereby conveying the sheets to the nip of belts 129 and 130-149 which transport each sheet in turn down to the distributing conveyer 140, comprising opposed sets of spindles 154- 157, and 166-169, Fig. 8, each spindle, e.g. 154, having a number of rollers 150 mounted thereon with a number of deflecting fingers 191-198 between them, the descending strands 149 of belt 130-149 passing between the opposed rollers of each set of spindles and the sheets being conveyed down between these strands 149 and rollers 162, 163, 164, 165. With printed sheets, the ink-facing rollers may be knurled to minimize surface contact. In operation, all the deflecting fingers are initially raised, as shown in Fig. 8, to an operative position, a sheet conveyed down belt 149 being diverted, by the first set of fingers 191-198, in between inclined guides 226, 227 of a shelf of the cabinet. The sheet activates a shelf microswitch (252), Fig. 18 (not shown), which operates an electromagnet (228), Fig. 14 (not shown), disengaging a lever (230) from a cam (235) on finger spindle 188 allowing the fingers 191-198 to drop to an inoperative position such that the next sheet is deflected by the next set of fingers, on spindle 189, to the next cabinet shelf and so on. Thus printed sheets can be paginated into the shelves. Alternatively a plurality of sheets may be collected before the fingers 191-198 are rendered inoperative. The shelves (261)-(263), Fig. 9a (not shown), are of adjustable size and are closed by spring fingers (271). When all deflecting fingers have been rendered inoperative, they can be returned to operative position by a single, vertically movable lever (275), Fig. 21b (not shown) either manually or automatically. In an alternative embodiment, Fig. 22, sheets are fed downwardly via intake conveyers T3, T4, to a curved guide 283 which partially inverts the sheets and directs them upwardly to a roller 284 and corresponding pressure rollers, not shown, in a distributer conveyer D, the sheets then being conveyed upwardly in the distributer between spring biased rollers, e.g. (310)-(317), Fig. 25 (not shown), driven by a toothed belt, 292, and larger diameter rollers, e.g. (297) to be deflected to shelves, as before, by fingers, e.g. (334)-(340) which are raised to an inoperative position by electro-magnetically operated levers activated by photo-electric cells (421) at the ends of the shelf sheet guides, e.g. (415). Alternative sheet paths, Figs. 30a, 30b (not shown), may be used. The cabinet may be movable on rails and comprise several columns of shelves, an empty column being automatically moved into register with the distributer guides at the end of a distributing cycle or when each shelf of a column is full. The deflecting fingers may be activated by a mechanical clutch arrangement and a suction converting device may be provided.