US1784854A - Paper deflector - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 16, 1930. L. R. TUFTS ETAL PAPER DEFLEC'IOR Filed July 16. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 16, 1930. L. R. TUFTS ET AL PAPER DEFLECTOR Filed July 16. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 HHHHUMH Dec. 16, 1930. L. R. TUFTS ETAL PAPER DEFLECTOR Filed July 1a. 1928 4sneezs-sheet f/fI/II/fllffflfl Dec. 16, 1930. L. R. -ru 'rs ET AL PAPER DEFLECTOR Filed July 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.5.

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Patented Dec. 16, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca LESLEY B. 'IU'ITS, OF EAST CLEVELAND, AND ANDREW OLSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE CLEVELAND FOLDING MACHINE COMPANY; OF CLEVELAND,

OHIO,-A CORPORATION 01 OHIO PAPER DEFLECTOE Application filed July 16, 1925. Serial No. 293,278.

This invention relates to improvements in paper deflectors, that is mechanism for directing into a pluralit of different courses the successive sheets 0 paper traveling in a iven path. The invention finds special utillty when employed in connection with folding machines where large printed sheets are handled, these sheets being cut into a plurality of parts and folded to make signatures or pamphlets which it is usually desirable to stack separately.

The princi a1 object of our invention, therefore, is t e provision of a sim 1e and effective deflector mechanism for directing successive sheets into different courses as the sheets are fed from a folding machine or other paper handling machine.

Another object is the provision of means located in each of the courses taken by the sheets, and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of the sheets themselves, for swinging or flipping the deflector, said two means being preferably interconnected whereby the actuation of one serves to set the other back into position to be actuated.

A further object is the provision of means for shifting or flipping the deflector before the rear edge of the sheet has passed the forward edge of the deflector, whereby the deflector is in position to properly direct the next succeeding sheet no matter how closely they are spaced, and in fact even though no space at all intervenes.

Still another object is the mounting of the movable shoes which are engaged by the paper in such manner'that they can yield slightly whenever the necessity arises, as for instance when an unusually thick sheet of paper travels past them.

A further object is the rovision of electrical means for shiftin t e deflector, such means being controlled y the travel of the sheets themselves.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as we proceed with the description of that embodiment of our invention which, for the purposes of the present application, we have shown in the accompanying drawin s in which:

igure 1.is a side elevational view of a sorting and stacking machine embodying the inventlon, a fra nent of a folding machine from which fol ed sheets may be delivered into the sorting and stacking machine being also illustrated. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partially in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a large scale vertical, sectional, detail view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 2, showing a sheet of aper traveling along the upper of two diiiiarent courses.

- Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the parts in the position they occupy when a sheet is traveling along the lower of the two courses.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the same nature as Figs. 3 and 4, but showing electrical means for flipping the deflector.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical connections for the apparatus shown in Fig. 5.

In the drawings we have shown at 10 fragments of the frame of a folding machine at the delivery end thereof. The final fold plate of this machine is indicated at 11 and the final pair of fold rolls at 12. 13 is a guide plate by means of which the folded sheets are directed into a pair of feed rolls 14. The latter are interconnected by intermeshing gears 15 and 16, which are driven by suitable gearing, as for instance by spur gears 17 and 18 and bevel gears 19 and 20, the bevel gear 20 being keyed to a driven shaft 21.

The sorting and stacking mechanism in whlch our invention is embodied is preferably mounted upon a separate frame 22, permitting the movement of the mechanism out of operative relation with the folding machine when not needed. Mounted upon a stub shaft 23 supported in the frame 22 there 1s an idler gear 24 which is adapted to mesh wlth the gear 25 pinned to the shaft of the lower feed roll 14. By this means motive power is transmitted to the sorting and stacking machine from the folding machine.

A fixed guide 26 is mounted in the frame 22 1n posltion to direct sheets delivered from feed rolls 14 into receiving feed rolls 27, 28 constltutlng partof the sorting and stack- [ill ing mechanism. These latter rolls are driven through the idler 24'by means of gears 29, 30.

The shaft of roll 27 carries on its rear end as viewed in Fig. 2, a gear 31 which meshes with an idler 32 rotatably supported on the outside of the frame. A gear 33, meshing with gear 32, is secured u on the end of a feed roll 34, the shaft of w ich is journaled in the walls of the casing 22. This roll is furnished with a series of rubber wheels 35 and constitutes one of the upper pair of feed rolls of the sorting mechanism. The other roll of this pair is an all-metal roll 36 which has end portions of reduced size journaled in the walls of the frame, one such end portion carry gears extending beyond the frame and having a gear 37 attac ed thereto which meshes with gear 33. The peripheral speeds of the wheels and the roll 36 are the same or substantially the same. Below the rolls 34, 36 there is another similar pair consistin of an allmetal roll 38 and a roll 39 with ru ber wheels 40. On the rear side of the machine, under gears 31 and 32 the shafts of rolls 38, 39

41, 42 respectively which intermesh, the gear 41 being driven from gear 37.

In front of the rolls 36, 38 and between those rolls and the feed rolls 27, 28, there is a movable deflector 43 of triangular shape in cross section which is mounted in the walls of the frame upon trunions 44, being adapted to be swung from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 4 and vice versa. Means are provided for flipping the deflector from one position to the other, and this means preferably comprises swinging shoes 45, 46 of identical form, the free ends of which extend into the proximity of the surfaces of rolls 36 and 38 respectively, so that they are adapted to be engaged by sheets of paper passing over the surfaces of those rolls.

The shoe is secured to the inner end of a spindle 47. This spindle has a curved bearing portion 48 mounted to turn in a bushing 49 that is carried in one end of a lever 50,

whereby a bearing and support for the inner end of the spindle is provided. The lever 50 is pivoted upon a pin 51 threaded into a portion of a bracket 52 which extends inwardly from the frame 22. The opposite end of the lever rests u on a coil spring 53 which bears against anot er portion of the bracket 52. The lever 50 is adjustable through a small angle by means of an adjusting screw 54 threaded into the bracket 52 and adapted to be held in any position of adjustment by a lock nut 55. Manipulation of the screw 54 raises or lowers the inner end of the spindle 47 and with it the shoe 45, as will be apparent. Near its forward end the spindle 47 has a second curved bearing portion 56 that is mounted to turn in a bushing 57 carried in the front wall of the frame. Outside the frame the spindle has attached thereto a crank 58.

shoe 45, for examp e, swin The shoe 46 is inverted and attached to a spindle 59 similar in every respect to the spindle 47 and similarly mounted, the inner end being'oscillatable in a bushing 60 which upon a pin 62 supported in a bracket The opposite end of the lever 61 is adjustable between a coil spring 64 and an adjusting screw 65 carried by the bracket 63 in a manner exactly similar to that employed in connection with the lever 50.

On the outer end of the s indle 59 there is a crank 66. The two cran s 58 and 66 are pivotally connected to a link 67 in which may be embodied means for varying some- I what the length of the link. By this connection it will be a parent that when the toward the right, or from the position 0 Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 4, the shoe 46 will swing toward the left as illustrated in the same figures.

The spindle 59 is provided with a second crank 68 extending 1n a direction substantially opposite to that of crank 66 and pivotally connected by a link 69 with a crank 70 attached to one of the trunnions of the deflector 43. Hence whenever the s indle 59 moves in one direction or the other t e deflector 43 swin accordingly.

The particu ar means employed for col-.

lecting and stacking the sheets traveling in the two different courses may vary in practice, but we have illustrated herein one arrangement which is suitable for the purpose. It includes an upper endless conveyor 71 mounted upon rollers 72 and 73 and driven at low speed by a train of reducing gears as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. This means also includes a lower endless belt 74 extending transversely of the belt 71 and carried upon rollers 75 and 76. The roller 75 has keyed thereto a worm wheel 77 with which meshes a worm 78 upon the forward end of the shaft of roll 38, and by this means the belt 74 is also driven at low speed. Folded sheets are delivered onto the belt 74 in a. direction transverse to the length of the belt, and means are provided for stopping their movement in the latter direction such, for instance, as a fence 79 carried by a rod 80 adjustably mounted in the frame of the machine.

In the ,form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5 the mechanism is similar to that above described except for the fact that there is no mechanical connection between the shoes and the deflector, the swinging of the latter from one position to the other being accomplished by electrical means. To this end there is mounted upon the link 67 a block of insulation 80 upon which is carried a metal finger 81 to which is attached a flexible wire connection 82 leading from an electrical main 83. The finger 81 is adapted, when at either extreme of its movement, to contact elec- 15 mounted in one end of a lever 61 pivoted mete.

trically,-with one of two sprin fingers 84 and 85. 'The finger84is connecte b an elec trio conductor 86 with one end 0 the coil of an electro-magnet 87, while the finger 85 is connected b a conductor 88 with one end of the coil 0 a similar electro-magnet 89. The ad'acent ends of the two coils are connected y a conductor 90 from which a condoctor 91 leads to the other main 92. The coils of the two magnets 87 and 89 are arranged in alignment, and they have a common armature 93 which is loosely attached to a crank 94 upon one of the trunnions 44 of the deflector 43 a pin and slot connection 95, as illustrated, bein suitable for the purpose.

Operation. olded sheets, as indicated at A and B, Figs. 3 and 4, move single file through the feed rolls 14 of the folding machine and thence through the feed rolls 27, 28 of the sorting and stacking machine. The sheet A strikes the upper side of the deflector 43 and by it, is directed between the rolls 35 and 36, these rolls being driven as heretofore explained. The front edge of the sheet, passing between the hard surfaced roll 36 and the shoe 45, causes the latter to swing toward the ri ht, that is from the position illustrated in ig. 3 to the position illustrated in Fig. 4. The sheet continues its movement and is delivered onto the belt 71 as indicated at A in Fig. 3.

Thmswinging of the shoe 45 to the right raises crank 58 and with it link 67 which in turn raises crank 66 on the lower s indle 59,

. thereby swinging shoe 46 to the le that is from its position illustrated in Fig. 3 to that illustrated in Fig. 4. The shoe 46 is thus placed in position to be actuated. At the same time the crank 68 swings downwardly to the position of Fig. 4, pulling downwardly on the link 69, which swings the crank 70 downwardly and rocks the deflector 43 upon iEts trunnions 44 to the position illustrated in The next succeeding sheet delivered from the feed rolls 27, 28 indicated at B in Fig. 4, strikes the lower side of deflector 43 and is directed downwardly between rolls 38, 39. The travel of the forward ed e of the sheet through these rolls causes the s ca 46 to swing toward the ri ht from the position illustrated in Fig. 4 to t at illustrated in Fig. 3. The sheet continues its travel and drops onto the belt 74 as indicated in dotted lines at B in Fig. 4. The swinging of the shoe 46 to the right acts through the cranks 56 and 58 and link 57 to swing the shoe 45 back again into the position of Fig. 3, in other words sets it for actuation by the next sheet traveling over the upper course. Thus the movement of one shoe is always transmitted to the other shoe in order to set the latter for the next operation.

The bearings for the inner ends of the spindles 47 and 59 may be adjusted independently by means of screws 54 and which work through the levers 50 and 61 to raise or'lower the inner ends of the s indles. The curved bearing surfaces 48 an 56 of the upper spindle and similar bearing surfaces on the lower spindle permit slight changes in the angular positions of the spindles, due to the adjustments mentioned and due also to any momentar the inner ends of the spind es caused by extra thicknesses of paper engaging with the shoes. "Such movements are ermitted by the resiliency of's rings 53 an 64 which, of course, immediately return the. levers 50 and 61 to their original positions after the obstruction asses.

Success1ve sheets delivered from the folding machine are thus directed in different courses onto the up er and lower belts 71 and 74 respectively. pamphlets or signatures are printed upon a single sheet and are cut apart and folded on the folding machine and transmitted to the present sorting and stacking machine, all of the pamphlets or signatures of one kind are caused to travel in one course onto the upper belt 71 and all of the other kind are caused to travel in the other course onto the lower belt 7 4. The belts 71 and 74 are of the slow moving type emplo ed in stackers and their functions and mo e of operation are well known in the art. While I have shown one of them arranged transversely to the other, such an arrangement is not at all essential, as they may both run in the same direction if deslred.

The deflector flipping mechanism illustrated in Fig. 5 functions similarly to that previously described, but the operation of the deflector itself is not dependent upon the force exerted by the moving sheet. This force must be strong enough only to shift the contact finger 81, whereupon electric current in the magnet 87 or 89, as the case may he, does the work of swinging the deflector. The flow of current through the magnets 87 and 89 alternately between the two sides 83, 92 of the electric mains, as the block 80 moves up and down with the link 67, will be obvious from a mere inspection of Fig. 6.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. In a paper handling machine, two pairs of feed rolls, each pair adapted to direct sheets into a separate course, a deflector arranged in front of said pairs, and means associated with each of said pairs and adapted to be set in motion b thetravel of a sheet therethrough for moving said deflector to direct a succeeding sheet into the other pair.

2. In a paper handling machine, two feeders, a deflector arranged in front of said feeders, and means associated with one ofsaid feeders and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet therethrough for bus where two differentmovements of I moving said deflector to direct the next succeeding sheet into the other feeder.

3. In a aper handling machine, two feeders, a de ector arranged in front of said feeders, and means associated with each of said feeders ada ted to be set in motion by the travel of a s ect therethrough for moving said deflector to direct a succeeding sheet into the other feeder.

4. In a paper handling machine, a aper feeder, a deflector arranged in front 0 said feeder, and means associated with said feeder and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet therethrough for moving said deflector to direct a succeeding sheet into a course away from said feeder.

5. In a paper handling machine, a paper feeder, a deflector arranged in front of said feeder, means associated with said feeder and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet therethrough for moving said deflector to direct a succeeding sheet into a course away from said feeder, and means acting to return said deflector to the first position.

6. In a paper handling machine, means for causing sheets to travel single file in a given path, and a deflector for directin sheets from said path into either of two iflerent courses, said deflector being triangular in cross section and movable to carry the forward end of the triangle across said path from one side to the other thereof, and means dependent upon said sheet travel independently of sheet thickness for swinging said deflector back and forth.

7. In a paper handling machine, a pair of sheet feeders each adapted to receive sheets moving in a given path, and a deflector for directing sheets from said path into either of said feeders, said deflector being triangular in cross section and movable to carry the forward angle of the triangle across said ath from one side to the other thereof, and means dependent upon sheet travel independently of sheet thickness for swinging said deflector back and forth.

8. In a paper handling machine, a pair of feed rolls, a deflector arranged in front of said feed rolls, a movable shoe associated with said feed rolls and adapted to be shifted by the forward edge of a sheet as it travels through said rolls, and an operative connection between said shoe and deflector for moving said deflector to direct a succeedlng sheet into a course away from said feed rolls.

9. In a paper handling machine. two pairs of feed rolls each adapted to receive sheets traveling in a given path, a movable deflector arranged in front of said pairs of rolls for directing sheets from said path 1nto either of said pairs of rolls, means associated with each of said pairs of rolls and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet therethrough for moving said deflector to direct the next succeeding sheet into the other pair of rolls, said twomeans being interconnected to cause the actuation of one means to set the other means into position for actuation.

10. In a paper handling machine, two pairs of feed rolls each adapted to receive sheets traveling in a given path, a movable deflector arranged in front of said pairs of rolls for directing sheets from said path into either of said pairs of rolls, a movable shoe associated with each of said pairs of rolls and adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet through the rolls, and an operative connection between each said shoe and the said deflector for moving the latter to direct the next succeeding sheet into the other pair of rolls, said shoes being interconnected to cause the actuation of one shoe to move the other shoe back into position for actuation.

11. In a paper handling machine, two pairs of feed rolls each adapted to receive sheets traveling in a given .path, a movable deflector arranged in front ofsaid pairs of rolls for directing sheets from said path into either of said pairs of rolls, a swinging shoe associated with each of said pairs of rolls and adapted to be swung by the travel of a sheet through the rolls, an operative connection between said shoes for causing simultaneous reverse movements thereof, and an operative connection to said deflector from said shoes for moving the deflector to direct the next sheet into that pair of rolls with which is associated the shoe that is then in operative position.

12. In a paper handling machine, two pairs of feed rolls each adapted to receive sheets traveling in a given path, a movable deflector arranged in front of said pairs of rolls for directing sheets from said path into either of said pairs of rolls, a swinging shoe associated with each of said pairs of rolls adapted to be swung by the travel of a sheet through the rolls, an operative connection between said shoes for causing simultaneous reverse movements thereof, an operative connection to said deflector from said shoes for moving the deflector to direct a sheet into that pair of rolls with which is associated the shoe that is then in operative position, and resiliently mounted bearings for said shoes whereby they may yield when subjected to {21158811115 from a thick sheet of paper or the 13. In a paperhandling machine, a sheet feeding carrier adapted to provide single file travel of sheets carried thereon, means located beyond the delivery end of said carrier for directing consecutive sheets into different courses, said means comprising a pivoted shoe for each course. each of said shoes being adapted to be swung upon its pivot by the travel of a sheet, means interconnecting said shoes for transmitting the moveall ment of either shoe to the other shoe in an opposite direction, a movable sheet deflector adapted to guide said sheets into one or the other of said courses, and an operative connection between said shoes and said deflector.

14. In a paper handling machine, sheet forwarding means. a plurality of feeders each adapted to receive sheets from said forwarding means. a deflector arranged in front of said feeders. and means associated with said feeders for moving the deflector to direct the sheets into the different feeders in regular sequence.

15. In a paper handling machine, sheet forwarding means, a plurality of feeders each adapted to receive sheets from said forwarding means, a deflector arranged in front of said feeders, and means adapted to be set in motion by the travel of the sheets through said feeders for moving the deflector to direct the sheets into the difl'erent feeders in regular sequence.

16. In a paper handling machine, means for causing sheets to travel in a given path, deflecting means movable across said path for directing sheets therefrom into either of two different courses, and means adapted to be set in motion by the travel of a sheet in one of said courses for moving said deflecting means to direct the next succeeding sheet into the other course, said movement of the deflecting means being completed before the rear end of the first sheet reaches the said deflector means.

17. In a paper handling machine, means for causing sheets to travel in a given path, a deflector movable across said path for directing sheets therefrom into either of two different courses, and means adapted to be set in motion by the travel of the forward edge of a sheet in one of said courses for shifting said deflector to direct a succeeding sheet into the other course, whereby the movement of the deflector is completed before the rear edge of the first sheet reaches the said deflector.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto atlix our signatures.

LESLEY R. TUFTS. ANDREW OLSON.

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