GB670311A - Sheet handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

670,311. Endless belt conveyers. AETNA-STANDARD ENGINEERING CO. July 24, 1947. [March 10, 1947] No. 19924/47. Class 78 (i). Sheets held to the underside of a conveyer belt are conveyed in single file and thereafter released in groups which drop simultaneously onto a transverse conveyer positioned below, so that a plurality of columns of sheets are produced on the transverse conveyer. A stack of steel sheets 23, Fig. 2, is fed along a rollerway A onto an elevator 29 which raises the pile so as to maintain the top sheet at a fixed level in the feeder B, as described in Specification 670,384, [Group XVI]. The feeder B comprises a suction head 63, Fig. 8, which is moved between pull and chain line position by means of a reciprocating lever 64 pivoted at 65 to a sleeve slidably mounted on the conduit 62 leading to the head. A spring 63<SP>11</SP> between the head and the sleeve allows extra movement of lever 64 after the head touches the top sheet to be taken up by the sleeve sliding on the conduit. The sheets after being picked up by the head are received by nipping rollers and pass to the underside of a belt 79, Fig. 5, on which they are held by magnets 96, 961, 96<SP>11</SP> and 96<SP>111</SP>. The three latter magnets are permanently energized while the remainder are energized until the foremost sheet reaches a lever 103 which opens a switch 99 in the circuit. Switch 99 is mounted on a nut member which is traversible by means of a screwed shaft 101. By this means any desired number of sheets of any size extending between magnet 96<SP>111</SP> and lever 103 can be caused to drop simultaneously onto a transverse conveyer belt 98 having magnets 109 below the receiving point. Conveyer 98, Fig. 2, together with conveyer 79 is mounted on a carriage 21. Also mounted on the carriage is a doubles throw-out device E and a pickling machine F. The carriage is movable on rollers 22 to and from a coating unit G. The drive for conveyer 79 is taken from a motor on the feeder B through a removable coupling chain while the drive for conveyer 98 is taken from a motor on the coating unit which also drives the pickling machine and doubles throw-out device by means of chain couplings. This enables independent speed adjustments to be made to suit different sized sheets.