GB243130A - Improvements in sheet feeding mechanism for printing machines and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

243,130. Cleathero, E. T. Oct. 14, 1924. Sheet separators, carriers, and guides.-Sheets are fed to a printing or like machine by a machine which enables the sheet to be fed directly to the top or bottom of the impression cylinder, or to be fed in a backward direction to back stops, and then reversed to be forwarded face-side downwards to the printing or like machine. The machine is adaptable for dealing with sheets of different sizes. The top sheet is separated from the pile by means of a series of suction separators 1, Fig. 4, mounted on a tube 2 carried by arms 3 pivoted to links 4 pivoted at 6 to an adjustable slide 7, Fig. 1. The arms 3 are also pivoted to links 21 connected to oscillating arms 20 on a shaft 19. The separators 1 act on the rear edge of the pile, and as the arms 20 moved in a clockwise direction the separators increase their inclination to the top of the pile. thus bending up the rear edges of the sheet, until screws 5 contact with the links 4. when further movement of the arms 20 raises the separators from the pile. By adjustment of the screws 5, the machine may be set to deal with sheets of different thicknesses. The separation of the top sheet is assisted by an air blast from a tube 29, and the remaining sheets are pressed, while the top sheet is removed, by a holder 9 mounted on the lever 11 oscillated by a cam 13 and spring-controlled rod 14. As the holder 9 moves to the pile a spring 24 depresses it, but a fixed runner 26 and cam 25 keep the holder 9 raised as it moves from the pile. The front edge of the sheet is engaged by a suction separator 57, Fig. 1, actuated by parallel links to feed the separated sheet to rollers 34, 52. These rollers may be arranged in conjunction with tapes to feed the sheet to the underside of a printing-machine, or direct to the top of a printing-machine. As shown in Fig. 10 the sheet may be fed to the upper feed board 40 to backstops 36, and the sheet is then reversed and advanced by a second set of suction separators 57, or, as shown in Fig. 1, the board 40 may take the form of an oscillating set of laths with pulleys 41, which bring the sheet into contact with pulleys 39 acting in conjunction with tapes and pulleys 39<a> to reverse the sheet and advance it to the printing-machine.