US1611479A - Sheet feeding and marking method and machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 21 1926.

' C. B. MA'XSON SHEET FEEDINGJAND HARKING METHOD AND MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1923 vm r.-

Q@ o b\\ .f/ l QH@ l Dec. 21 1926. y 1,611,479

, C.' B. MAXSON SHEET FEEDING AND MARKING METHODAND MACHINE l Filed Sept. 25, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 2 1 192e. 1,611,479

C. B. MAXSON SHEET rFEEDING AND MARKING METHOD AND MAQHINE Filed Sept.4 25, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 #im/zey yParenteel Dee. 21,' 1926;

UNITED STAT-Es 1,611,479 PATENroFFlcE.

cHAEL'EsD. .MAxsoN, oE-wEsTERLY, EHoDE IsLAND, AssIGNoE or' ONE-HALE To JULIAN W. MAxsoN, or WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND.

- SHEET EEEDING AND MARKING METHOD AND MACHINE.

Appueatien med september as, 1923. serial No. 664,775.

The present `invention relates to methods of and machines for'feeding anddelivering such articles as sheets of. paper, and its chief object is to provide an f improved method.'

l and machine formarking or separating the vsheets so delivered into bundlesor reams, each containing a predetermined number of the sheets. O ther objects will appear hereinafter, andwill be pointedcut in the claims.

The invention will be fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in -which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in side elevation and partly in longi- 'tudinalsection, of a paper-sheet-cutting t machine ofl welllmown constructiom-with the present invention attached thereto; Fig. -2 is a rear view of a stackfof sheetsI as delivered into the lay-boy shown in Fig. 1, -I

marked in accordance with' the present in- 20A vention'; 3 is aside elevation of a portion of the operating mechanism of the tagfeeding devices, the view being enlarged with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, and the parts being shown in the relative positions occupiedby them when the tag-feeding devices are ineective Fig. 4 is asimilar view, with the parts in relative 4positions such as to renderv the tag-feedingdevices eiective tol feed the tag; Figs- 3at and 4 are similar of a portion of the said operatingmechanism, the section being taken generally upon the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a plan of .a' preferred, intermittently operating tag-feeding` device and associated parts,- shown enforillustrative purposes, shown applied toYV a paper-sheet-cutting-and-feeding machine employed in paper mills to sever the rlls 2 of paper, Fig. 1, that are produced in\ the paper-making machines, into individual sheets, and to feed and `stack the severed' sheets into layfboys 4. Any desired, conviews,v showing further steps in theA opera.l tion; Fig. 5 isa section, upon the same-scale,.

6j Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of a pre` of well known' type, such as is commonly' venientfnumber ofl rolls 2 of paper may be operated upon simultaneously in the same machine. Three such rolls are illustrated diagrammatically inFig. 1. The webs 3 of paper from the rolls 2 are led together to 00 feed rolls 6, by which the paper is advancedJ to disk cutters 8, which sever the'pa-per into longitudinal strips of the desired width, The severed strips are then advanced by feed rolls 10 and 12 to rotary cutters' 14 65 and 16 by which the strips are severed into sheetspf the desiredflengtl.l Tapes 18 and then .feed the sheets into'the lay-boys 4L,x which are automatically lowered from time to time to, maintain'approximately uniform 70 the level of thel sheets 'that are ,stacked d a-predetermined number ofs the sheets. It

is customary to separate them into reams of 48() or 500 sheets According to present' practice, this separation vis effected during the sheet-stacking process in the lay-boys by Vgirls or other operatives who stand in front of the lay-boys, at 22,. Fig. 1, and mentally count the sheets, one by one, as they are delivered. The girls place a paper tagbetween two adjacent sheets7 at the completion of each count. e' These tags are inserted from 85 the front of the stack, at 22'. The completed stack visthus supposed toabe separated by these tags into reams or. bundles of any desired ,number ofsheets. The accuracy of 4 the count, however, depends uponl an in 90 herently inaccurate or undependable mental in theory), or unsuited to the -needs of the particular machina-they, have not proved .to be satisfactory, so that the girls are still 10 universally employed, and it isstill impos- 'sible to tell, in advance, howmany sheets a mentally-counted ream really contains.

-Accordingto thepresent invention, the sheets are counted automatically, as they are `delivered into the lay-boy- 11, by an accurate nachine that is not dependent upon a failing, human, counting.` memory; and thin, .paper tags 24, 1 and 2, are autmatically inserted between adjacent, predetern -K mined sheets at the completion of each count; so that the vreams or bundles thus counted and marked contain-just the desired number of sheets, and neither more nor less.

Not only are accuracy and efficiency vthus attained, but the cost is considerably re. duced, since the girls areno longer needed, and may be employed to betterv 'advantage elsewhere.

. end of which is spring .pressed at 42 to4 The end 38 of thel paper strip, is thus intermittently advanced, at the proper time, and becomes inserted between adjacent sheets 104 and 106, Fig. 1, of -the stack and, after it is severed by the knives 30 and 32, constitutes a tag 24. The feed roll 26 is mounted upon an end of a bell-crank lever 40, intermediately pivoted at .41, andthe other cause the feed roll 26 to maintain the paper vided with meshing gears, as shown. To

. gearing 128.

4advance the strip 34, therefore, it is necessary to rotate intermittently the feed roll 26 only. the feed roll 27 being' positively driven by its gear from the feed roll 26,l

and the two rolls positively pulling the strip 34 through between them.

The feed rolls 26 and 27 are situated at the rear end of the guide 28, at a point just to the rear of and 'just below the upper sheets of the stack of sheets in the lay-boy, and the knife4`32 is situated at the other end. A shaftu44, situated to the rear of the guide 28, is provided with a gear 126, keyed theretov at 220, which drives the feed rolls 26 and 27 throughia train of The train of gearing 128 makes it possible to position the feed rolls 26 and 27 properly, at a distancefrom their driving shaft 44. By feeding the strip at a point so close to the stack, there is no tendency for the strip to buckle or sag.'

in the guide 28. This obviates "danger of the strip getting stuck in the guide. which would prevent the strip from being ad- .Vanced at all. Alever 31, pivoted at 33,l by its own weight presses the strip 34 against a seat 35 ,in the bell-crank lever, just to the rear of the lfeed rolls 26 and 27, the-better to guide the strip. y The shaft 44 is'intermit-tently rotated by a continuously rotating pawl- 46, Figs. 3, 4` 3a, 4a and 5, when the latter engages the Vwalls of a recess 48 provided upon a 4normally stationary collar member 50 that is fixed to 'the shaft 44. The recess 48 is thus, in effect,

that is keyed at to a gear .wheel 56. The

' 'ear' wheel 56, with the collar l54 that is.

eyed thereto, is loosely mounted upon the vshaft 44A Thengear wheel 56 is driven by a gear' wheel 58, Fig. 8, from a gear wheel that is mounted upon a 'shaft 62,. Gear wheels 59 are'v interposed, as a' convenient Amedium pf properly determining the directo'in and speed of rotation of the gear wheel 56.. The shaft 62 may be driven from the shaft of the. rotary cutter 16 in any well known manner, as, for instance, in tbe manner illustrated in a copending application, Serial No. 563,274 tiled May 24, 1922, of which the present application is a continuation in part. The rotation of the shaft 62 is therefore a measure of the number of sheets that are cut by the knife 16 and delivered intothe lay-boy. Thecollar 54, that carries the awl 46, is thus continuously rotated loosely 1n a circular path about the shaft 44, from the shaft of the cutter 16, or in any desired manner, so long asthe pawl 46 does not engage the walls of the recess 48. lVhen the pawl 46 does engage the walls of the recess 48, however, it will actuate the recess-carrying collar 50; and the shaft 44, to which the recess-carrying collar 50 is secured, will obviously rotate also, causing the feed rolls 26 and 27 to feed Ithe end 38A of the strip 34 between two adjacent sheets 104Mand 166 ofthe stack, as is illustrated in l. The feeding of the strip 34 is therefore controlled'by the continuously rotating pawl 46. Rotation of the shaft 44 in the wrong direction is prievented by one or more pawls 69 operating, with graduated effect, upon one or more ratchet wheels 71y (one only is illustrated in Fin. 1o). I

she pawl 46 is normally prevented from entering the. recess'48 by a gate 70, Figs. 3, 4, 3, 4a and 5, that is provided upon a collar 72 that is loosely mounted upon the reduced end 74y of the shaft 44. In the position normallyl occupied byithe collar 72 upon the shaft-44, the gate overlies or covers the forward Wall 49 ofthe recess 48, asv-.shown in Fig. 3, inthe path of the pawl 46.- So long as the gate 70 overlies this forward wall 49 of the recess 48,'the continuously 'rotating pawl 46 can not engage this wall 49, but rides idly over the gate.

Upon the gate. becoming displaced from 'the position of Fig. 3 -to thatof Fig. 4, the pawl 46, during its next journey around the shaft v44, will be pressed into the recess 48 by a spring 76. lThe pawl 46, continu'ng its rotation, will now carry the recess-containing collar 50 with it, and the latter, be-ng secured to the shaft 44, will cause'the feed rolls 26 and 27 to advance' the end 38 of the strip 34, as above described. y Upon lreaching the wall 7 8,Fig. 4, of the gate 70. the pawl 46 `will ridel out of the recess 48, as shown in Fig.` 3, whereupon the shaft 44 shown in full lines,in Fig. 4, whereas it now the gatel() is vactuated from the will cease rotating', and the strip will be no longer advanced. `The forward wall 49v ofthe recess 48 will thus be' left behind the gate 70, in the dotted-line position of Fig.

3a. The pawl 46 will'jthen again continue, ously rotate'idly, as before.' l It should ;be" noted thatwhen the pawl-46 leaves the for.-4 ward wall 49 of vthe recess 48 behind-the gate 70, as just describe-d,the-.shaft 44"lias not quite completed a revolution', 4for t ef recess 48 occupied originally fthe Ipt JsI-tionl :recess 48, and vthus permit the pawl 46 to actuate the feed rolls 26 and 27 by engag, ing the forward wall 49 of vthe recess 48. The gate 70 is provided with a pin 80 that projects into an elongated opening 82, Fig.

8, provided at one end of a lever 84. The

lever 84 is intermediately pivoted at 86, and its other end 88 rides along a cam track 90 of a cam disk 89 that is rigidly-secured to a counting disk (not illustrated) so as to rotate therewith. The cam disk 89 is shown mounted upon `a shaft 189.- As is explained.

in the abovenamed application, eachrevolution of the shaft ofthe 'cutter 16 may e'ect an angular movement of theeam`disk 89 corresponding` to any convenientA desired 'number of sheets.; but further description ll l) of this feature will be omitted as not necessary-to an understandingr of the present in-. vention. The camtrack 90 is provided with 96,.a gradually inclined shoulder 98 and an intermediately disposed v wall 100. The counting disk (not shown) and the cam disk 89 are.1otatedstep by step, as vis described fully in the saidapplication, in thedirection of the arrow, Fig. 8,`as a`unit,. and the cam disk 89 will be regarded in the` present ap,- plication as typifying a counter. When the sharp abrupt shoulder 96 reaches the end 88 of the lever 84, a spring 102 .will move the lever 84 to cause vthe end 88 of the lever to engagethe wall 100 of the recess 94. The

other end downward,- s viewed in Fig.' 8. causing the pin to be moved downwardalso. The `col1ar72 will therefore be rockedfr'om the the lever 84 will-.thus be moved position of Fig. 3to that of Fig. 4, causing the gate 70 to uncover the recess 48. The pawl 46 will then beenabled to-cause actuy.ation of the feed rolls 26 and 27, as above described; The downward movement of the lever 84 is` of course., timed to take-place at-the end of a cycle of operation' of the counter, sayraftei a rean has been deliveredand counted. It isl not essential thata the marker be operated once to every revolution of the cam disk 89, for cam disks 89 hav-; ing a plurality of recesses-94 may be em-S ployed, the location of/the recess 94, in each ease, controlling the operation of the 'mai-ker..

It has beenv pointed outabove that the pawl 46 willfleavethe recess 48 at a time when 'the latter is in the and beforethe shaft-44 has ngade a complete revolution. .This nearly complete revolution of the shaft 44 is ,effected in about half the ,time required to'fmake one delivery into the -f lay-boy.A During v this nearly complete revolution. of'the shaft '44, the -end38 of the strip 34 has been rapidly fed from thel rear `'of the stack, in' a direction at a substantial angle to the ,hbrizontai direction of feed of the sheets, shown nearly vertical in Fig. 7, intothe. path of feed of thenext following sheet, which constitutes the first sheet 106 of the next ream. If the end'38 ofthe strip were. fed horizontally forward, or at -an sol angle not sufficiently far from the horizontal, being constituted of thin paper, it might strike the rear of the Astack of sheets, and

not enter betwen adjacent sheets at all, thus falling to the floorl andfailing to mark the separating line between the reams. If fed at an angle so near tothe horizontal, furthermore, the tags, if it issucceededun getting 'them inserted between `the sheets, are frequently carried by the sheet 106 so far in between `the sheet 104 and the sheet 106 that'it islo'st to view, and its function as a marker becomes lost. It is therefore desirableto feed the end 38 of the strip 34 a' substantial` enough angleV to the direction of feed,'so as to avoid havingzthe strip enfbetween sheets of the stack. If fed at such angle' into the path of feed of the sheet 106,l

`acter of the strip` 34. All possibility of the -end 38 of the strip 34 becoming displaced is thus avoided.v It is furthermoreunnec`.

Agage the rear ofthe stack or to become #lost i a recess 94 having asharp abrupt shoulder essary to time accurately 'the moment when the end of thelstrip is fed upward, asfwould be theJ case V,if-it, were fed horizontally, or "nearly so, which *timing 1t is necessary to adjust for sheets of di'erentlength. In' `-order to insure feeding the str1p at such. angle, au intermediate portion of the guide:

28 is curved.`as shown, so as to rise-nearly vertically, as illustrated in Fig. 7 at 29.

a distance sufficiently great so as to make sure'fthat it will rise abovefthe top sheets f tlstackand Vinto the path of travel of the -by the sheet4 106 f upon the' sheet 104,. it is still too earlytosever it .from the rstrip 34,

ist!

-i as the severing process might pull it out-of wall 100 of the' recess 94. The' cam disk place It is 'preferable towait until a numso as to provide a very'effective, shearing berl of .sheets have been fed forward overfcut. Thel rollfc'am 118 is mounted upon. a the sheet 106' their combined weight then shaft 123 having a gear'124among the same serving -to hold the end 38 of. thev strip 34 vtrain of gearing 128 that drives the feed in place while it jis severed. vThe number rolls 26 and 27from the 'shaft 44. The knife of sheetsthat shall so be fed forward for is thus pperated in timed relation to the this purpose depends upon the length of the operation of thel feed rolls 26 and 27 by the shaft 44, which first operates through nearly 89 continuing to rotate, as the counter con-l a complete revolution to cause the feed rolls tinues to count the additional sheets'V so' fed .to feed the strip 34, and then remains lis . line position of Fig. 3, as explained above.,

controls the feed roll 26 to insert the end 38 with the stationary knife 32,`by a lever 110, .one'end of, which is pivoted at 114 and to `50 from the .position of Figs. 3 and`4 to' -of this revolution, the knife 30`will actuate 120 to move the knife 30 upward, as seen in forward, the end 88 of the lever- 84 will ultimately leave the wall 100 and vride upon the inclined shoulder 98 of tlie recess 94. The otlier end of the lever 84 will then be returned upward -to its normal position,

Astationary until the desired nulnber 0f sheets have been fed over the sheet 106, and which finally operates through the remainder of its revolution to cause the roll cam 118 to engage thetlever 110,'thereby causing the knife to shown in Fig. 8, carryingfthe pin'80 upsever the end 38' from the strip 34. The ward with it. This will have the effect of knife is returned to normal position before returning the gate 70,- from the position of .the shaft 44 comesto rest. The cam roll 118 Figs. 4 and 3 to that of Figs. 3 and 4, unis adjustable to adjust the time of operation covering the forward wall 490f the recess ofthe knife 30.. A partition 134 separates 48, which at this time occupies the dottedthe train of gearing vfrom the guide 28 to pxevent the paper 'strip 34 binding between the gears and clogging the machine.

Upon the retreat of the movable knife 30, the new end 38 of the strip y34 is left underthe stationary knife 32. Owing to the substantially if'ertical direction of feeding the position of Fig. 3, ,Upon the recess 48 movement ofthe end 38 of the strip, there being thus returned to the position of Figfuvould be a tendency for the strip to strike 3, the gate 70, occupying now the position against the knife 32, and prevent further shown in Figs. 3 and 4a, will agaimcause the advance of the end of the strip, at the next pawl 46 to leave the recess 48, and the pawl feed movement of the feed rolls 26 and 27. 46 will again continue to rotate idly, as To prevent this, happening, a lever 37 is before. This completes the revolution of adapted to pivot, Lby its own weight, about the collar 50 and, therefore, of the shaft44 a pivotal point 39, soas to enter between to which it is secured. Upon the completion the two knives 30 and 32, as is illustrated in Fig. 7 thereby engaging the end 38 of the strip and pushing it forward, beyond and between the knives. The next forward feed movement of 'the feed rolls 26 and 27 will therefore result in advancing'the end 38 of the strip in a nearly'vertical direc tibn, as before described, and as illustrated more particularly in Fig. 7,'"to one side of the cutter 32, The lever 37 is forced out of the way of the movable knife 30, ateach upward movement of the same, in any de During the next cycle of rotation of` the pawl 46 about the shaft 44, therefore, it will engage the forward wall 49 ofthe recess 48, and thus actuate the recess-carrying disk to sever the end 38 from the strip 34, the severed end constituting one of the tags 24. The lever 84 is thus adapted to occupy two positions successively, in one .of which it of the strip 34 between adjacent sheets of the stack, and in the other of which it causes the knife 30 to sever'the end 38 of the strip, these two positions being controlled by the cam disk 89. Thel mechanism for operating.- the knife 30 will now be described.

The knife 30 is adapted to be reciprocated in a vertical plane in guides 108, to cooperate the inner face of the knife 30 that is adapted to engage' thev lever .37 when the knife is moved upward, and that-is adapted to becomel disengaged from the lever 37 on the the other end of which the knife is connected downward movement of the knife; The use at 112. An intermediate portion 116 of the .of the said cam 141 is, in practice, found to lever `110 is adapted to be engaged by a be unnecessary, as the knife 30 may force the rotary cam '118. llhen the recess 48 is lever 37 out of the way by direct engagemoved by the pawl 46 from the position of ment 'with itsprojecting upper portion. *If Figs, 3a and 4 to the. position of Fig. 3, the the lever 37 is constitutedof soft metal like lever 110 isactuated by the cam 118, in oplead, it will not dull or otherwise injure the position to the force exerted vby a spring knife. The return gravity movement of the lever is limited by an integral projection 53 Figs. 7 and 9, causing the end 38 to become that is adapted to engage the rear of the severed from the strip 34. It will be noted, knife 32.

from Figs. l6 and 9, that the knives 30 and According to the present invention, then,

sired manner, as by means of y'a cam 141 upon y the end 38 ,of the strip is automatically advanced into position in a direction nearly first sheet 106 of each new ream and laid dat thereby Ibetween adjacent sheets 104 and 106 of ad]acent reams, and it is then severed from the strip34, the tag 24 being thusleft in placer to mark the boundary between the two reams. It has been explained that the severing mechanisms for the strip 34 are cgntrolledA by the end A88 of the lever- 84, through thel recess 94 in the cam disk. 89 rthat is secured-,to rotate 'with a counting disk '(not shown). The operation of the counter will not be described herein because unnecessary to an understanding of the present inf vention, and because any counteroperating in .any well known manner, may equally "well be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. It will be clear from the above description that any desired number of feed rollsl 26 and 27 and associated mechanisms may all becontrolled by the same shaft 44. Three lay-boys 4 are ^illustrated -in ther above- Y of the three markers are controlled by the same shaft 44, a single counter sullibes for all three lay-boys. As manylay-boys as are attached to the machine may each be pro-v The markers, as explained above, are controlled by the counter.

500 sheets or of 480 sheets. Using the duplex type of paper-cutting-and-feeding machine shown diagrammatically in Fig. -1 it is possible to employ r'two counters, one controlled by the -cutter 16, as above described, and the other controlled by the cutter 14.

The two counters maybe mounted at opposite sides of the machine. The 'operationof the counter that is controlled by the cutter 16 has already been described. The other counter may Lbe driven from the cutter14.- As has been` explained above, the lever 84 controls, through ,the pawl46, the operation of-the shaft 44, this shaft, in turn, controlling the feed wheels 26 and 2 7. 'A' similar lever (ot shown, but illustrated in the above-referred-to application), operated b the said other counter, may control, throng 1 a similar pawl, the operation of a shaft 122. T0 operate themarker from the shaft 122, thekey`220, Fig. 7, is removed, so as to render the gear 126 loose upon the shaft 44, and a gear 224, that is loose when :the gear 126 is keyed Ivto the shaft-44, is ke ed at 222 to :the shaft 122, instead.: Rotatlonv of the shaft 122,- through .an idler gear 125, -will 'thus drive the feed rolls 26'and 27 through Ordinarily, it is .desired to count and mark reams either of the same trainl of gearing 1.28, the gear 126 now rotating idly onlthe shaft 44. The idler ear 125 enablesthe gears 124 and V126 to rive the feed rolls-26 and 27 in the same direction. The feed 'rolls 26 and 27 are thus 10 operated to yfeed the-strip 34 in th/e same manner as before described, except that they -are new operated from'the shaft 122 instead of fromf the shaft 44; andthe knife-control- I -ling-Cain wheel 118 still operates to control 75 1 successive operations of the feeding and Iot limited to the exact embodiment that is herein illustrated and described,` and is su'bject to modification and change by persons All such modifications skilled in the art. and changes are considered to be within the spirit of the invention, and the lscope of the invention is dened/by the appendedclaims.

What Vvis claimed is: e.

1. The method of feeding sheet material that comprises feeding a sheet, and interposing a'strip in the direction of'feed of the sheet at a'substantial angle to vthe direction of feed, whereby the head of strike the strip and deflect it.

2. The method of feeding and stacking sheet materialY and marking the stacke sheets that comprises feeding a pluralityof sheets, land interposing a tag in the path of 95 feed ofv one of the sheets at a substantial angle to the direction of feed, whereby the head ofthe said one sheet will strike thetagand deflect it towards a prior-fed Sheet. f

'3. The method of feeding and stacking 100 sheet material and marking fthe' stacked s'heets'that comprises feeding apluralityof sheets in a substantially horizontal direction 1nto a lay-boy, and feeding a tag in a substantially vertical direction into the ath of lo?,

feed of one of the sheets whereby the `ead of the said one sheet will strike the tag and lay it against a prior-fed' sheet.

4. The method of feeding and searing sheet material and marking the stacked sheets that comprises feeding a plurality of sheets in a substantiallyf horizontal direction uinto a lay-boy, and intel-posing` a tag inthe path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just to the rear of and just below the upper sheets of the, stack-at a substantial angle to the direction of feed so as to avold striking the stack, whereby the head of the said onesheet will strike the tag and lay it against a'prior-fed sheet.

5. The method of feeding and staking sheet material andf marking .the stacked sheets that comprises feedinga plurality of sheets into a lay-boy, feedin the end of a flexible strip into the path o feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to the direc- .tion -of feed of lthe sheet, whereby the head of the sheet will--strike th'e endv of the strip and lay it against a prior-fed sheet, and severing the end vof the strlp.

Lthe sheet will 90 lao 6. The method of feeding and stacking sheet material and marking the stacked sheets that comprises feeding a plurality of sheets in a substantially horizontal direction into-a lay-boy, feeding'the end ofa iiexible strip into the path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just to the rear and just below the upper sheets of the stack in a substantially vertical direction so .as to avoid striking the stack, whereby the head of the saidgone sheet will 'strike the end of thestrip and lay itl against/ a prior-fed sheet, continuing to feed sheets into the lay-boy, and severing the end of the strip upon a predetermined i.' number of additional' sheets havinr been fed into the lay-boy.

7. machine of the class described hav-.

ing, in combination, means for feeding a` sheet, and means for interposing a strip in the direction offeedof the sheet atfa substantial angle tothe direction. of feed, whereby the head of the sheet will strike the strip and deieotit.

8. A machine of the class describedhaving, in combination, means for feeding a plurality of sheets, and means for interposinga tag in the path of feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to the direc-- tion of feed, whereby the head of the' said one sheet will strike the tagand deiect it towards a prior-fed sheet.

9. A machine of the classdescribed having. in combination, a lay-boy, means. for feeding sheets into the lay-boy, and means for feeding a tag into the path of 'feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to' the direction of feed of the sheets, 4wherey by the tag is adapted to, be struckl by the said one sheetas it is fed into th-lay-boy and laid by the said one sheetvupon a priorfed sheet. ff

10. A machine of the class described'haying, in combination, a lay-boy` "means for feedingsheets in a substantially horizontal direction into the lay-boy, and means -for f 12, A machine of the class described having, in combination, a lay-boy, means for `feeding sheets in a substantially horizontal direction into the lay-boy, and means for interposing a tag in the path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just to the rear of and just below the upper sheets of the stack at a substantial angle to the direction of feed so as to avoid striking the stack, whereby the head of the said one sheet will' strike the tag and la)1 it against a prior-fed sheet.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a lay-boy, means for feeding a plurality of sheets in a substantially horizontal direction into the f lay-boy, means for feedingthe end of a flexible strip into the path of feed of one of the sheets from a position just to the rear and just below the upper( sheets of the stack in a substantially vertical direction so as to avoid striking the stack, whereby the head of the said one sheet willlstrike the end of the strip and lay yit against a prior-fed sheet, and 'means for severing the end of the strip 11p- `on the feeding of an additional predetermined number of sheets into the lay-boy.

14. A. machine of the classj described having, in combination, means for feeding a plurality of sheets,`m'eans for interposing the end of a strip in the path of feed of one of the sheets at a substantial angle to the direction of feed, .whereb the head of the said one" sheet will strike t e tag and deflect it towards a prior-fed sheet, and means timed to operate with the feeding means for severing the end of the strip. tu-In testimony whereof, I havehereunto subscribed my name thisfth day of Septenber, 1923.

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