315,226. Wormser, A. July 9, 1928, [Convention date]. S h e e t separators, carriers, and registering-devices; pile tables and supports. - A mechanical sheet separating and forwarding device is constructed to work on the same principle as is employed in the hand-separation of sheets, which consists in seizing a stack of sheets with both hands between thumb and forefinger and alternatively releasing the pressure of one thumb and at the same time giving the sheet a rocking or forward movement by the other thumb and forefinger and gripping the stack firmly by both thumbs after the desired displacement of the top sheet. In the simplest form of device, which may be used to assist hand separation of sheets, a pile of sheets is clamped between spring- pressed upper jaws 2, 4, Fig. 1, and lower jaws 1. 3. and in addition to means for alternately opening and closing the jaws, the jaws 3, 4 can oscillat-e about an axis 5, which may be arranged in the mid plane of the pile, or in the plane of the bottom of the pile, or in a plane below the pile. The nile is released by the jaws 1, 2 while gripped by the jaws 3, 4, which act to fan out the sheets so that their outer edges are separated. The jaws 1, 2 may also be given oscillating movements and act to fan the sheets when the pile is released by the clamping jaws 3, 4. A construction of the clamping jaws 3, 4 is shown in Fig. S. The lower jaw 3 is attached to a circular disc 6 and the upper one 4 is free to move up and down for opening and closing. The disc 6 is displaceable on guides 7, 8. The jaws 3, 4 oscillate about an adiustable pivot 11 which is oscillated by a lever 13. The pivot 11 is carried by a slide 10 which can be moved radially in a slot 9 in disc 6 by reciprocating a bearing 14 in a vertical direction by means of a lever rocked by a cam. The pivot 11 may be reciprocated laterally instead of vertically. The clamping devices, when used to feed sheets entirely by automatic action, act on parts of piles which are already in fanned-out condition. Such a pile may be obtained by an automatically raised inclined pile table B, Fig. 18, from which the sheets are guided by curved guides 37, 38, to a table of parabolic form in conjunction with which the clamping devices are arranged. Alternatively the clamping devices 17 may act on a pile 16, Fig. 15, of partially fanned-out sheets, and co-operate with weighting devices 21, 22 to produce a pile 15 of sheets which are separated to such an extent that a reciprocating gripping device 43, 45, Fig. 19, can seize the most advanced sheet without seizing the next one also, and can forward it to the front stop 40. The side-registering devices 42 are arranged near the forward position of the fanned-out pile. When a new pile 16 is to be introduced, the pile carrier 18 is lowered to receive it, and as it is raised an abutment 19 on it raises the rear end of the pile 15 so that the new pile can be placed in under the old pile to ensure continuity in action, or the carrier 18 may be stationary and a movable abutment 19 employed. In a further modification, the pile 15 may be raised by steel tapes which are run out under it and then raised to permit the insertion of the pack 16. The gripper for advancing the sheet may be constructed of a support 50, Fig. 20, coacting with a roller 52 carried by levers 48, 47 respectively operated by toggle levers 51. The grippers grip the sheet while the preceding sheet is still in contact with the front stop, and before the rear edge of the sheet has passed the gripper. The feeding forward of the gripped sheet is thus assisted by the advance of the previous sheet. The action of the sheet-separating and pile-advancing means is controlled automatically by rollers or feelers resting on the pile. Fig. 28 shows diagrammatically a number of controlling devices, some of which are shown individually in Figs. 21, 22, and 24, and the controls comprise a pile-raising means for the inclined platform 150 including a roller 151 with lever-and-link connection with a masking device 147 for controlling the pawl 146 of the raising mechanism. This mechanism is operated by a cam on a shaft 119, which is fitted with a crank 120 and connecting rod 121 for operating the reciprocating grippers 122. In Fig. 21, a roller 55 resting on the pile controls by a mechanical relay a bell-crank lever 64 with a fork 65 which operates to reciprocate the clamping jaws, or control their rocking movement. The roller 55 is carried by a lever 57 connected by a link 58 to a spring-controlled lever 59 fitted with knife edges 60, 61 for connection to a curved double lever 62 which is oscillated by an eccentric 63 or by cam mechanism. A spring-controlled notched lever 67 normally holds the lever 64 in its central position. The rocking lever 59 may receive a magnified movement from rollers 68, 69, Fig. 22, resting on the pile, and when resting on an oblique pile the level difference between the rollers 68, 69 causes a tilting of lever 70 which presses on a lever 72 pivoted to the yielding slide 71 in which the support for the rollers 68, 69 is pivoted. The movement of rocker 59 can also be controlled by a pivoted detector lever 81, Fig. 24, carried by a slide 80 arranged against the forward longitudinal edge of a plate 78 hinged to a slide 76 carried by a lever 75. When the lever 81 under the action of spring 93 slides off the end of the uppermost sheet 94 a rocker 103 is operated by a lever 102 and cam 101, and movement is transmitted to the rocker 59. In the complete machine, Fig. 28, a pile similar to that shown in Fig. 18 is acted on by a side lay 116 which is adjustable laterally for sheets of different sizes. The control devices 117, 118 described act centrally of the sheet and need only be adjusted longitudinally for sheets of different sizes. The device 118 is a detector for the near end of the sheet as shown in Fig. 24, and 117 is a detector which varies the motion transmitted to the clamping device 114, which is a pushing device and is arranged near a similar clamping device 113 which is a rocking device. The clamping devices are operated by lever-and-link mechanism from a cam on shaft 119, and their action is controlled automatically. Springs 139 control the pressure of the clamping jaws, and by means of a lever 140 the jaws can be raised for the insertion of a new pile.