US1178563A - Sheet positioning and gaging mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

1. WHITE. SHEET POSITIONING AND GAGING MEC HANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, I9I2- Patented Apr. 11,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I WITNESSES INVENTOR Away W M 7 wfiif J. WHITE. SHEET POSITIONING AND GAGING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, IQIZ.

' Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1. WHITE. I SHEET POSITIONING AND GAGING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, I9I2- Patented Apr. 11,1916.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3. I

J. WHITE.

SHEET POSITIONING AND GAGING MECHANISM. APPLICATION men JUNE 29. 1912.

1 178,563. Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4- .W Vvzfg UNITED s'rAtrns PATENT OFFICE--- JOSEPH WHITE, OF PISCATAWAY TOWNSHIP, MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HALL PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF DUNELLEN, NEW JERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHEET POSITIONING AND G-AGING- MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Application filed June 29, 1912. Serial No. 706,547.

as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make use ofthe same. This invention rleates to mechanism for positioning sheets before they are presented to machines for operating on such sheets and particularly to devices for positioning the sheets so that they "will be printed in accurate register in printing machines.

My novel mechanism may be used in connection with any form of sheet handling devices, such as'sheet separating devices by which sheets of material are taken up from a pile and presented one by one to the machines or .in machines in which the sheets are cut from a web, or in hand fed machines. The devices which I have shown are intended to position the sheet longitudinally only, devices for positioning it laterally being no part of my present invention and therefore not shown.

In my .present invention I have provided means by which sheets may be presented to a cylinder or other sheet taking device with very great accuracy by simple and efficient mechanism and I have also provided means by which the'gages may be adjusted by the operator from any convenient part of the machine without stopping it. v

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation-of a rotary printing machine in more or less diagrammatic form. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged sectional elevation of a portion of my novel positioning and gaging mechanism. Fig- 3 represents a front elevation of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow 3 on Fig. 2. Fig. 4.

represents a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, with parts of Fig. 2' removed and with some of the moving parts 'shownin positions different from those in Fig.2. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the guide shown inFig. 4..

"The corresponding parts are referred to Boundbrook, New Jersey,-)

both in the drawings andthe following descrlptlon by slmllar reference characters.

represents an impression cylinder, and

the form cylinder ofa printing machine which I have chosen for purposes of illustration. The machine is provided with the usual inking arrangement and a delivery mechanism below the impression cylinder 9, and also with a feed cylinder 11. The feed cylinder 11 carries the usual set of grippers 12, these grippers being arranged to close on a sheet in the usual way and deliver a, sheet carried by them to the grippers of the impression cylinder 9. This cylinder 11 is usually made up of rings when used in connection with some of the positioning arrangements to be described hereafter.

13 represents a set of traveling tapes or belts on which the sheets are laid either by hand or by the usual automatic feeding mechanism and are carried thereby to a set of sheet supports 14 fixed to the shaft 15. The surfaces of these supports 14 are substantiallyv tangent to the feed cylinder 11. The tapes 13 are supported and moved by the pulleys 16, which are driven in a manner to be described hereafter.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, 17 is a shaft extending across the frames of the press and fixed therein.

18 is a bracket splined to the shaft 17. A bar 19 is slidably mounted in bracket 18 and is provided at itsfront edge with a front gage 20, fastened to the bar 19 by the screw 21, the gage 20 being provided with a slot to permit its vertical adjustment on the bar 19. The bar 19 is provided with a lip 22 extending below the gage 20, for a purpose to be hereafter described. The bar 19 is held in the bracket 18 by the beveled edges shown more clearly in Fig. 5, and is normally held rearwardly or' to the right of Fig. 4 by a spring 23.

24: and 25 represent shafts rotatably mounted in the frame of the machine and also in a bracket 26 supported at the middle of the machine, as shown in Figs, 8 and 4:. The shafts 24 and 25 are in alinement and therefore practically constitute one shaft divided at themiddle of the machine. The shaft 2 1 is provided with an eccentric portion 27, arranged to bear'against the bar 19 '55 Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, 9

to move the gage 20 forward. It will be understood that, preferably, the gage 20' and its supporting and operating mechanism are duplicated on the front side of the machine, the shaft 25 being provided withan eccentric portion corresponding to the eccentric 27. On the ends of the shafts 24 and 25 are provided worm wheels 28, 29, respectively, and engaging with these worm wheels are worms 30 and 31 attached to shafts 32 and 33, respectively.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 34 is a. bracket attached to the frame of the machine to support the shaft 33, and 35 is a slotted bracket through which passes one end of a shaft 36 connected to the shaft 33 by a universal joint 37 The bracket 35 is slotted so that the shaft 36 can be moved up and down therein. The shaft 36 provided with a hand wheel 37 and also with a spiral gear 38 meshing with another spiral gear 39 attached to a shaft 40Jcarrying a hand wheel 42 and extending across the machine and carrying another spiral gear, similar to 39, on the opposite side of the machine 41 is a spring arranged, through suitable mechanism, to hold the shaft 36 upwardly and the spiral gears 38 and'39 in mesh.

The shaft 32 extends along the opposite side of the machine, supported in suitable brackets, and carries a spiral gear similar to 38, meshing with the spiral gear similar to the gear 39 and on the opposite end of shaft 40.

The mechanism which I have just dc scribed enables me to shift either or both of the front gages 20 in either direction from a convenient part of the machine, such as, for instance, in the form which I have chosen for the purpose of illustration, a position adjacent to the delivery pile-of the press. It will be understood'that when a new form is placed on a press, the gages are adjusted as nearly correct as possible and after the machine is started, if the sheets are not exactly in register, it becomes necescary to shift these ages. Without the means which I have illustrated, it would be necessary to stop the machine and to reach in to the gages to adjust them, as is usually done. With the mechanism which I have illustrated, it is possible for the pressman to stand at the delivery pile and, while observing the sheets as they come out of the press, adjust his guides in accordance with the requirements of the work without leaving his position at the delivery pile. This is accomplished by a rotation of the hand wheel 37 to adjust the gage on the sideof the press shown in Fig. 1 or by rotatingfthe hand wheel 42- to adjust the gage on the otherside of the press. With the mechanism illustrated, in order to adjust only the gage on the side shown in Fig. 1, for instance,

the operator grasps the wheel 37 and pushes- 'for purposes of illustration.

downward to disengagethe spiral gears 38 and 39. The rotation of the wheel 37 will turn the shaft 25 and the gage will be moved forward or backward, according to the direction of rotation of the wheel 37. If it is desired to move the gage on the opposite side of the press, the spiral gears 38 and 39 are similarly disengaged and the hand wheel 42 is rotated, which rotates the shaft 40 and through the spiral and worm gears on the other side of the press, the shaft 24, thus causing the gage 20 to be shifted. If it is desired to move the side gages simultaneously, in the samedirection and the same other convenient place, according to the convenience of the operator and the kind of machine. It is also obvious that many different arrangements of the mechanism for communicating motion to the gages may be made Only one hand wheel could beused, with a clutch to connect it to either one or both of the gages. The adjusting devices could also bereadily adapted to a set of gages which move when the sheet is taken, instead of the stationary. ones I have chosen F or many purposes the cross shaft 40 and its gearing and the universal joint 37 may be omitted. The arrangement on one side of the machine will then be the exact duplicate of that on the other side of the machine. With this arrangement, each gage is adjusted independently of the other at-all times.

One of the difficulties which has been experienced in feeding sheets automatically to front gages is that the sheet, moving at a high speed, strikes such gages and is liable to rebound or to curl up so as to spoil the register of that sheet. I have provided a novel mechanism to prevent this, which mechanism is shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Above-the plane of the tops of the sheet supports 14 and adjacent to the gage 20, which projects above the supports 14, I arrange an overgui'de 43 in the form of a strip of spring metal held at one end in an arm 44 attached to a non-rotatable shaft 45. Preferably, the overguide 43, when in operative position, has one end resting on top of the gage 20 and extends substantially parallel with the tops of the sheet supports 14 for a distance back from to the arm 44 is a lever 46 pivoted at 47 and carrying a cam roller 43 and a feeding roller 49. In order to posltion the roller 49 as near the gage 20 as desirable, I constru ct the feed cylinder 11 so that the roller The lever 46 is provided with a projection through which extends a bolt 50,'fastened to the spring overguide 43 and provided with a head to act as a stop for the overguide. The bolt 50 is threaded so as to provide an adjustment to position the guide 43, in relation to the supports 14, according to the thickness of the sheets being fed. One of the rings 51 of the feed cylinder 11 has its periphery cut away, as shown par ticularly in Fig. 4, to provide a cam surface on which the roller 48 runs. This cam surface carries two levels, 54 and 55, each struck on an are from the center of the feed cylinder 11 and at different distances therefrom. Below the roller 49 is a roller 52 mounted on a rotating shaft 53, the periphery of the roller 52 being preferably tangent to the plane of the sheet supports 14. The rollers 49 and 52 are arranged in the same vertical plane and form a supplemental feeding device for the sheets. The overguide 43 and its supporting and operating mechanism and the feed rollers 49'-52 are preferably duplicated on the opposite side of the machine.

The operation of the mechanism which I have just described is as follows: A sheet is moved along the supports 14 by the tapes 13 until its edge strikes between the rollers 49 and 52, which at this time are in contact, the cam roller 48 running on the cam surface 55 of the ring 51, allowing the spring 46 to throw the lever 46 downward and carry the roller 49 into cont-act with the roller 52. This also permits the overguide 43 to spring down so as to be only slightly above the sheet moving along the supports 14, and to have its end in contact with the gagev20. When the edge of the sheet is carri ed between the rollers 49 and 52, these rollers serve to grasp it frictionally and.

move it slowly against the gage 20.. When the edge of the sheet strikes the gage 20, its

. normal. tendency would be to move upward by reason of the crowding actionof the feeding rollers 49 and 52 and of the tapes 13, but this movement is prevented by the overguides 43. Any tendency of the sheet tobuckle between the gage 20 and the roller 49 is prevented by the short distance between the roller and gage and also by the overguides 43. After the edge of the sheet is-placed against the gage 20, the ring 51 arrives at such a position that the roller 48 travels on the cam surface 54, swinging the lever 46 a distance sufficient to move the roller 49 from contact with the roller 52, to stop the feeding action, but not a distance suflicient to raise the overguide 43 by bringing the head of bolt 50 in contact with the lever 46. If side gaging devices are used, they could now operate, since the sheet is free to be moved sidewise. Further travel ofthe ring 51 causes the roller 48 to travel on the periphery or maximum diameter of the ring 51, which swings the lever 46 farther and causes it to move against the head of the bolt 50 to lift the overguide 43. Just as this latter action occurs, the grippers 12 close on the sheet held against the gage 20. It will be seen, therefore, that the sheet has been moved against the gage 20 by the rollers 49 and 52 while it is held so vthat it cannot buckle nor slide up or down the gage 20, and that the overguiding may be continued until the sheet is taken. This mechanism enables me to get correct register. I

The front guide 20 might be one of any usual construction and particularly one in which the guide would be removed from in front of the sheet by rotation of the shaft 17. I prefer,.however, to use the specific form which I have shown and which, of course, may be used in connection with thefeeding of a sheet taking device other than that which I have illustrated in the drawings' The guide 20 is not removed when the sheet is taken by the grippers 12, but instead, I have arranged the feed cylinder -11 and the grippers 12 thereon in such relation to the gage 20 that a sheet positioned .againstthe gage 2O willbe taken by the grippers 12 and lifted above the gage 20.

This method of operation avoids any possible disturbance of the sheet by the move ment of the gage 20 before the grippers 12 close on it, and in order that the grippers 12 shall disturb the sheet the minimum amount, I arrange the gage 20 so that it projects only slightly above the sheet pathway formed by the guides 14 and the tops of the bars 19. Disturbance of the sheet by the grippers 12 is also minimized by arranging the supports 14 so that the top of the sheet is as close as possible to the feed cylinder 11. An inspection of Fig. 4 will show that the top of the sheet placed against the gage 20 is nearly in contact with the;

periphery of the feed cylinder-ring 51 so that when the fingers 12 close on, the sheet,

they lift it upwardly onlythe amount which .I the gage 20 projects into the sheet. pathway.

This amount preferably is varied according to the thickness of the sheet being fed, so that it is only slightlygreater than the thickness of the sheet being fed. It then serves as a stop for the overguide 43, so that the latter will be positioned slightly above the sheet. As a convenient means of measuring this distance, I provide the lip 22 beneath the gage 20, so that by loosening the screw 21 and placing a sheet of the paper being fed between the gage 20 and the lip 22, moving the gage 20 down until the paper is held, and then tightening the screw 21, the gage 20 will be adjusted to the correct position in proportion to the thickness of the sheet to be fed. That is to say, the gage will thus be caused to project farther above the bar 19 for a thick sheet than for a thin sheet by an amount equal to the difference in thickness of such sheets.

The sheets brought to the feeding point by the belts or tapes 13 are usually not square with the feed gages. That is to say, one side of the front edge of the sheet will be farther advanced than the other. It is desirable to straighten the sheet before the front edge is. engaged by the feed rollers 4952, since after the edge is once engaged by these rollers, it is difficult to straighten it more than a small amount. For this straightening, I provide a pair of continu ously rotating chain belts 56 engaging with sprockets fastened to the rotating shaft 53 and sprockets on a fixed shaft 57. A bracket 58 made up of two arms attached to a common hub, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, is provided. with hubs bearing on the shaft 53 and the fixed shafts 57 and 59, the whole bracket with the gearing and the roller carried between the hubs thereof being movable laterally across the machine by the screw 60 to bring the chain 56 and the roller- 52 in correct lateral position without disengaging the gearing by which they are driven. The chain 56 carries a stop 61, which is provided with an upper and a lower guide 62 and 63, respectively, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. The length of the chain 56 is such and the gearing which drives the shaft 53 is so proportioned, as to cause the stop 61 to come into operative relation to the grippers .12. each time the latter come into operative relation to the gage 20. It is obvious that it is immaterial whether or not the stop 61 passes the feed gage 20 more than once for each sheet taken by the grippers 12, and the chain 56 might also be lengthened so that two or more such stops on each chain would be required. It will be understood that the bracket 58, the roller 52, the chain 56 and the gearing and sprockets therefor, are duplicated on the other side of the machine, as shown in Fig. 3. It is obvious that the sprockets for the chains could be positioned farther to the right in Figs. 2 and 4, so that the stops 61 would leave the sheet before the edge thereof would contact with the rollers 4952. It

would then be particularly desirable to remove the stops as quickly as possible from in front of the sheet when the stops begin to move out of the path of the sheet. My arrangement will accomplish this, since the stops are not on the pitch line of the chain but above it.' The stops, therefore, travel at one lineal speed when moving between the sprockets and at a higher lineal speed when they begin to turn around the sprocket.

The shaft 53 is driven by a gear 64 engaging with a gear 65 on the feed cylinder 11, the pitch diameter of the latter in the arrangement I have chosen for purposes of illustration, being less than that of the feed cylinder, and of the former greater than that of the feed rollers 52. The gear 64 is attached to the shaft 53, and therefore rotates it continuously while the feed cylinder 11 is turning. The sprockets on the shaft 53 are smaller than the gear wheel 64 and the speed of the chains 56 and the'stops 61 is therefore less than the surface speed of the feed cylinder 11. The stops 61 are raised above the pitch line of the chains 56 a distance sufficient to bring them into the sheet pathway formed by the bars 14, when the stops are traveling between the sprockets. At such time, they move at the same speed as the pitch line of the chains. The diameter of the tape rollers 16 carrying and driving the tapes 13, in the arrangement I have illustrated, is the same as that of the feed rollers 52 and therefore less than the pitch diameter of the gear 64. Consequently, in the arrangement illustrated the tapes 13 travel at a speed less than that of the surface of the feed cylinder 11. The feed rollers 52 are loosely mounted on the shaft 53 and are attached to gear Wheels 65, also loosely mounted on the shaft 53. The gears 65 engage with the gears 66, loosely mounted on the shaft 59 and attached to a gear 67 engaging with a gear 68 fastened to the shaft 53. The rotation of the shaft 53 therefore causes the rollers 52 to rotate but at. a speed, in the arrangement illustrated, approximately onehalf that of the surface of the feed cylinder 11, because of the ratio of the gearing, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. It will be understood that these relative rates of travel of the surface of the feed cylinder 11, the feed rollers 52, the stops 61, and the tapes 13 may be widely varied, although it is essential, in order that the stops 61 shall properly function, that they travel slower than a sheet carried by the tapes 13, and that the rollers 52 turn relatively slowly, so as to bring the sheet gently against the gages 20.

The complete operation of my gaging devices is as follows: A sheet carried by the tapes 13 is moved thereby against the stops 61, which are traveling at this time in the sheet pathway formed by the supports 14 but at a speed slower than that of the sheet.

most advanced is first stopped by contact with its stop, and the other side of the sheet continues forward until it strikes its stop. lVith most devices of this character, this gaging is quite inaccurate, because whenthe sheet is stopped by thestop 61, the edge thereof has a tendency to slide upward or downward along the stop, which, of course, tends to incorrect feeding. By providing the flaring over and underguides 62 and 63, I prevent this, since the edge of the sheet is guided into the apex of the angle formed by these guides, which is traveling in the sheet pathway and the edge can move neither up-.

ward nordownward to cause a false positioning of the sheet. The sheet now having been straightened, the front edge thereof is delivered between the two sets of rollers 49-52 simultaneously on either side of the machine. The front stops 61 move quickly out of the way, since they begin to turn around the center of the shaft 53 at. this time. Just before the edge of the sheet reaches the rollers 49- 52, the cam rollers 48 will have dropped to the cam surfaces 55 on the rings 51, so that the 'overguides 43 will be down and in contact with the gage 20 and the rollers 49 will be in contact with the rollers 52.. The edge of the sheet will thereforev be tucked between the rotating rollers 49-52 and be moved at a slow speed against the gages 20. When the edge strikes these ages 20, the rollers 49 should be removed rom the rollers/52 in order to stop further feeding. 'It is obvious, however, that this cannot be absolutely controlled, but I obviate any possibility of the edge of the sheet riding up the gages 20 by locating the rollers 4952 as close as possible to the gages 20 and by also providing the overguides 43. It

will be seen, byan inspection of Figs. 2 and 4 that it is practically impossible for the s set to buckle or for the edge of the sheet to slide up the gages 20. with the parts positioned as they are at this time. When the front edge of the sheet reaches the gages 20,- the'cam rollers 48 will have passed to the cam surfaces 54 on the rings 51 and the rollers 49 will'have been disconnected from the rollers 52' and further feeding stopped. The overguides 43, however, are still down in place. This is the condition illustrated in Fig. 2. The grippers 12 at this time are about to close on the sheet, and just as this closing occurs, the rollers 48 will run from 1 "the cam surfaces '54 to the periphery of the rings 51, raising the overguides 43 and enabling the grippers 12 to lift the edge of the sheet above the gages 20 and take the sheet out of the sheet pathway.

It will be understood that all of the parts are adjustable crosswise of the machine to' bring the various gages and rollers into cortures of my invention which I have dis closed. Indeed, many of the features of my invention may be used separately and in variouskinds of machines in which the feeding of sheets is involved.

While I have shown the positioning devices located beneath a feed cylinder, it is obvious that the various gages and rollers may be readily reversed to place them above such a cylinder, and the same maybe applied to a machine in which sheets are fed directly to an impression cylinder and at any point thereof, or to a machine with any kind of sheet' taking mechanism. It is also obvious that the sheet supports 14 may have many equivalents, according to the form of sheet carrier used and according to the position of the feeding point in relation to the carrier. For instance, if the sheet is fed to the top of the cylinder, the surface of the cylinder itself, or of strips held in the cylinder, might serveas sheet supports.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows 1. A sheet gageand movable sheet gripping means, said gage and said means being constructed and arranged to cause said means to first move the edge of a sheet positioned against said gage, out of the plane of said gage, and then'the sheet past said gage.

2. A sheet front gage, a pair of substantially parallel members adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, said gage extending into the 'space'between said members, sheet gripping said support, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet along said support and toward said same direction that it was moved by said sheet propelling roller. a

4. A. sheet front gage, a sheet support adjacent said gage, said gage extending above said support, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move a gage and a sheet carrier arranged to takethe sheet from said gage while said gage is 'jacent' said gage, said gage extending above in gaging position and carry the sheet inthe sheet along said support and toward said gage, a sheet carrier arranged to take the sheet form said gage while said gage is in gaging position and carry the sheet in the same direction that it was moved by sa1d sheet propelling roller, and means to disengage said roller befor the sheet is taken by said sheet carrier. 5. A sheet front gage, a sheet support adjacent said gage, said gage extendlng above said support, an overguide adjacent said gage and removed from said support a d1stance greater than the thickness of a sheet, sheet propelling means adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet along sa1d sup port and toward said gage, and sheet gr p-- pers arranged to take the sheet from sa1d gage while said gage is 1n gaging position one of said guides and also said propelling roller, an adjustable connection between said propelling roller ad acent s and said gage,

and carry the sheet in the same direction that it was moved by said sheet propelling means.

6. A sheet front gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, sheet propelling means adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet between said guides and toward said gage, means to disengage said sheet propelling means from thesheet after it is in position, sheet taking means arranged to take a sheet from said gage while it is in gaging position and carry the sheet in the direction it was moved by said sheet propelling means, and means to move onesaid sheet guides, before the operation of said sheettaking means, to permit the re-- moval of the sheet.

7. A sheet gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet between said guides and toward said gage, a lever carrying one end of one of said guides and also said propelling roller and means to turn said lever to move said roller and guide into and out of operative position.---

8. A sheet gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet between said guides and toward said gage, a lever carrying one end of lever and said guide to permit said guide to be brought into proper relation to the other of said guides and means to turn said lever to move-said roller and guide into and out of operative position. f

9. A sheet front gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gagespaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, a sheet aid gage and ar- .,ranged' to move a sheet betweensaid guides. a levercarrying one end of 1,17e,5ee

one of said guides and also said propelling roller, an adjustable connection between said lever and said guide to permit said guide to be brought into proper relation to the other of said guides, means to turn said lever to move said roller and guide into and out of operative position, said connection being constructed and arranged to cause said roller to be moved out of operative position before said guide is moved, when said lever is turned.

10. A sheet support, a gage extending across said support, a sheet carrier including a plurality of sheet taking devices, and movable pastsaid gage to take a sheet positioned there against, a sheet propelling means adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet along said support and toward said gage, said sheet propelling means being located at thatportion of the path of said devices at which they operate to take a sheet. 11. A sheet support, a gage extending across said support, a sheet carrier composed of rotating members having sheet taking devices arranged to take a sheet from said support, a sheet propelling means adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet along said support and toward said gage, said sheet propelling means being located between a pair of said rotating members and inside the cylinder determined by the path of said sheet-taking devices.

12. A sheet support, a gage extending across said support, a sheet carrier including a plurality of sheet taking devices, and movable past said gage to take a sheet positioned there against, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move a sheet along said support and toward said gage, said sheet propelling roller being located at that portion of the path of said devices at which they operate to take'a sheet.

13. A sheet support, a gage extending across said support, a sheet carrier including aplurality'of sheet taking devices, and movable past said gage to take a sheet positioned there against, a sheet propelling roller adjacent said gage and arranged to move 'a sheet along sa1d support and toward said gage, said sheet propelling roller being lo .cated at that portion of the patch of said devices at which theyoperate to take a sheet,

and means to move said roller into and out fof engagement with a sheet on-said support.

15. A sheet support, a sheet gage extending across the plane of said sheet support, a support for said gage to which said gage is adjustably held, said gage and said support being constructed and arranged to permit the insertion of a sheet of the material to be gaged therebetween, whereby the distance which said gage projects across the plane of said sheet support may be varied in accordance with the thickness of the sheet to be gaged.

16. A sheet front gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, sheet moving means to move a sheet between said guides and toward said gage, supplemental means located adjacent said gage and adapted to engage the head of said sheet and move the edge thereof against said gage and sheet taking means arranged to take a sheet lying between said guides and positioned against said gage, and carry it in the same direction that the sheet was moved by said sheet moving means and said supplemental means.

17. A sheet front gage, a pair of sheet guides adjacent said gage and spaced apart to permit a sheet to pass between them, said gage extending into the space between said members, one of said members having one of its ends resting on said gage when said member is -in operative position and means to move said member into and out of operative position, said gage being adjustable in a direction across the space between the members, todetermine the width of the space between said members, when they are in operative position.

JOSEPH WHITE.

Witnesses GEORGE F. SoULL, LEON A. RING.

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