321,887. Weber, C., C. J. Jan. 29, 1929. Sheet-separators; sheet - car - riers.-Sheets are separated from an automatically raised pile 19, Fig. 1, by means of buckling members acting on the rear corner of the pile and intermittently rotated friction rollers 80 acting on the front portions of the pile adjacent to continuously rotated feed-rollers 92 which advance the separated sheets. The rollers 80 are rotated intermittently by means of a ratchet wheel 82 and a pawl 84 on an oscillating arm 86 operated by adjustable linkage 88, 90 from an oscillating shaft 8, which is operated by a lever arm 9, connecting-rod 10, and crank disc 7. The arm 9 is also adjustably connected by linkage to a lever arm 16 on a shaft 5 which is oscillated to operate the sheet-buckling devices. The shaft 5 and its associated parts are carried by adjustable side frames 3 which are set in accordance with the size of the sheets. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the shaft 5 reciprocates, by means of an arm 30 keyed to slide on the shaft, a slide 22 guided on a block 20 pivoted on the shaft, and a roller 70 on the slide acts on a cam 68 on a pivoted arm 62 to which an inclined presser finger 64 of semicircular crosssection is adjustably attached. The roller 42 is mounted at one end of a double-armed lever 36 pivoted on the block 20, and is provided with a ratchet wheel 44 engaged by a pawl 46 on a pivoted arm 48 connected by a rod 50 to the arm 30. On the return of the arm 30 the roller 42 is rotated by the ratchet gear and buckles the sheet in conjunction with the presser finger 64. The lever 36 is provided with an adjustable cam 51 acted on by a roller 52 on the slide 22 to move the roller into and out of contact with the pile. After the top sheet is buckled bv the roller 42, a presser finger 21 carried by the block- 20 is moved to grip the sheets below the top one while the latter is being forwarded by the rollers 80 to the rollers 92, when the roller 70 returns to the right and leaves the cam-surface 68 and a spring 66 raises the arm 62 so that the weight of the block 20 is transferred to the finger 21. The rear edge of the pile is also acted on by a spring-pressed presser member pivoted freely on the shaft 5 and acted on by an arm on the shaft 5 to raise it from the pile periodically. In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the roller 42 is prevented from rotation by a pivoted blade 112 as the slide moves to the left. A cam 116 on the lever 36 engages a roller 118 on the block 20 to lift the roller 42 from the sheet after it has been buckled. Both presser members 64<a> and 21 are freely mounted on the shaft 5, and are operated by cams and rollers. In the modification shown in Fig. 7, an additional presser member 138 is used to limit the size of the bulge in the sheet, and is fitted to an arm 139 of a double-armed lever pivoted to an extension 142 of the block 20. The lever is actuated by a cam 152 and a second double-armed lever 146. The ratchet wheel 44 of the roller 42 is actuated by a pawl 46 pivoted to a pin 154 on the block 20. In the modification shown in Fig. 9, the block 20 consists of two plates pivoted to the shaft 5 and connected by a pin 34 on which are pivoted the lever 36 and also a lever 162 carrying the inclined pressed member 64. These levers are actuated, by cams 170, 172 respectively on a sleeve 174 which encircles the shaft 5 and is held by a groove 32 in the shaft. The block is held in adjusted position on the shaft 5 by engagement of a ball catch on a resilient arm on the block in an annular groove in a clamping-ring adjustable along the shaft. Pile supports. - The pile table is raised by racks 198, Fig 1, operated by pinions 202 geared to a shaft 206 which is rotated intermittently by a ratchet wheel 216 and a pawl 214 on an oscillating arm 210 freely mounted on the shaft 206 and operated from the crank disc 7. The pawl 214 is controlled by the height of the pile, and when the pile is low and needs raising the fall of the, rollers 82 actuates linkage 228, 230, controlling a lever 226, 218 fitted with a nose 234 which acts on the arm 232 of a lever 232. 220 and causes the pawl 214 to be put into action.