GB561072A - Improvements in or relating to method of and apparatus for conveying sheets from oneprocessing machine to another - Google Patents

Abstract

561,072. Feeding and delivering sheets. STEVENS, A. H. (Miller Printing Machinery Co.). June 27,1941, No. 8146. [Classes 100 (i) and 100 (ii)] In a machine for conveying sheets from one processing machine to another, the sheets are moved sequentially at a, substantially constant speed and thereafter the sheet is first accelerated and then retarded until it is finally urged forwards at a very low speed. The sheets are transferred from a printing or other machine A Fig. 15, to a similar machine B by means of conveyers arranged in conjunction with a delivery board 14 and a feed board 15, which can be moved about a pivot 21 to the positions shown in dotted lines to facilitate access to the machines, the conveyers being constructed to include perforated traction belts 48, 93 adapted to pass over a series of suction ports 50, 95 with apertures which register with the perforations in the belts, and by means of a rotary valve the suction is applied in succession to the ports 50, 95 so as to cause the leading edge of a sheet to be attracted continuously to the belt 48 or 93. The belt 48 is driven at constant speed which is the same as that of the machine A, or slightly faster, and the belt 93 is driven at a variable speed by a chain-and-sprocket mechanism driven by crank mechanism adapted to drive the belt 93 at the same speed as the belt 48 while the leading edge of a sheet is being transferred thereto, then to accelerate, and finally to decelerate to a minimum speed while the sheet is being side-registered and gripped by the grippers of the machine B. A crank-mechanism for driving the belt 93 at variable speed is described in Specification 561,073. During the last phase the traction belt is caused to grip the sheet lightly as the suction is then controlled by a cam-operated piston valve which first connects the last suction port 95 direct to the suction pump, and then to this pump and to an air inlet. Finally the sheet is released when the last port 95 is connected to air. The belts 48, 93 act in association with unperforated belts on each side, and the tops of the sheets are controlled by belts 56, 93a driven from the shaft of the same pulley 26 which drives the traction belt. This pulley is driven by sprocket gearing, and a spring-actuated clutch is used to control the drive which is declutched when the feed and delivery boards are moved to inoperative position. The belts are all maintained under tension by tensioning rollers as 54, 57, Fig. 2A. The sheets are side-registered by reciprocating rods 135 operated by an oscillating bell-crank 137, link 138, and cam-operated lever 140. In a modification, the traction belts are arranged to grip the upper sides of sheets such as cardboard sheets, the belts 48, 93 being in this case arranged above the feed and delivery boards. , In another form, the boards 14, 15 are pivoted at one side and can be moved about this side by hydraulic mechanism to permit of access to the machines. In this form, the driving- connection to the tractor belts comprises universal joints. Specifications 561,079, 561,080, 561,099 and 561,100 also are referred to.