US1895124A

US1895124A - Folding mechanism

Info

Publication number: US1895124A
Application number: US580930A
Authority: US
Inventors: Curtis S Crafts; Harless Charles Alonzo
Original assignee: GOSS PRINTING PRESS CO Ltd
Current assignee: GOSS PRINTING PRESS Co; GOSS PRINTING PRESS CO Ltd
Priority date: 1931-12-14
Filing date: 1931-12-14
Publication date: 1933-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 1950-01-24

Description

1933. v c. s. CRAFTS ET AL 1,895,124

' FOLDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 14. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 24, 1933. CRAFTS ET AL 1,895,124

v C ANISM Dec. 14.

' Fil Ja V 40 Patented Jan. 24, 1933 assent!) UNITED-STATES TENT oFF1cjETi' CURTIS s. cw'rs Ann CHARLES ALOINZO Hnn nsS, on A1: Penn, ILLINOIS, nssienons TO THE GOSS PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, or GI I AGO, ILLINOIS, A CQRPORATIONOF ILLINOIS FOLDING mnicnAN sn Application filed December. 14; 1931. Serial No. 580,930.

The invention relates to new andcus'eful lmprovements 1n sheet gripping devices, and

in certain aspects thereof more particularly to improved spring grippers or folding aws especially adapted for use in printing presses.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized andattained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described. 1 The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting apart hereof, illus trate one embodiment of the invention, and

together with the'descriptiomserve to ex-' plain the principles of the invention.

F ig. 1 is a fragmentary view showing. in elevation a gripper embodying our invention;

- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing in elevation a somewhat different form of gripper embodying the invention; f- Fig. 3 is a plan'corresponding to Fig. 1; Fig.4 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on line 55 of Fig. 6 showing in elevation a folding jaw embodyingthe invention; and

Fig. 6 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 5. The invention is directed to providing novel and improved sheet taking instrumentalities, operating by a gripping or clamping action, either medianly or on the edge, of a sheet or group of sheets, as in feed ng or folding; and in its main features being capac tated for use either in a grip-per finger mechanism or a folding jaw mechanism. The invention provides as a gripping or clamping device, a resilient Jaw or finger comprising a plurality of laminated spring leavesgradually increasing in length from the shaft or like support forwardly toward the free end, the engaging pressure being exerted by said resilient forward end. Preferably also the entire laminated spring de vice is maintained under. initial. tension,"

which is immediately imparted tothe sheet or sheets at the moment of contact, and prior to. any additional pressure that may be ap.

plied through further movement of "*the mechanism; J 1

In accordance with certain features of the invention, these devices are mounted and operated as a plurality of fingersor the like, mounted side by side on an actuating.sup.-

port, such as a rockable shaft, the variolis members thus exerting an individual resilient gripping or. jaw action when engaging the sheet or sheets, but' the entire mechanism movingtogether between open to closed p0.-

slt on. I

The present preferred embodiment, in its main features, comprises a shaft, or'like sup port, upon which the resilient sheet-engaging and holding instrumentality is mounted; the shaft being rocked through a small angle to effect the opening and closing movement, and

this may be done .by a cam mechanism of standard or-other'suitable form. In either the gripper or folding jaw mechanism, there is preferably employed a plurality'of sheet engaging individual members, of laminated resilient spring material, and mounted u on the shaft or equivalent support, wherebyt ey have common opening and closing movement but each member has independent or individual resilient action when'engaging-the. Sheet or sheets. Further, in saidzpreferableform, each of the individual resilient sheeti-engag ing members is constructed and mounted as a unit, and in addition means are incorporated for imposing upon. each resilientsheetengaging member an initial tension. All of the foregoing features conduce tosimplici-ty and efficiency in manufacture, assembling and operation.

asolid strip or bar of metal; is softer and "more flexible in its action, "and does not hit the cylinder with a hammer iblow, but with a cushion blowwhich does not loosen the gripper on the shaft, "or loosen or disintegrate the shaft and its bearings. Furthermore, the

laminated gripper, being very flexible, Will i take a wide variation thickness of prod- *ucts without the necessity of resetting, as is the case with stiff, non-flexible gripping members, and permits of side-by-side handling of a product or products of various thicknesses. The gripper can be made relatively-small and light with respect to the imposed duty, which greatly eases the strain The proper tension is also held on the. sheet at all times when the gripper is in contact I with it, and the sheet is released instantly upon a very. small movement of the shaft;

that is, there is no lag and unnecessary movement of the shaft tobuild up tension and ordisintegrate the cam mechanism is obviated. -The folding plurality of members opening and closing together,but having individual resilient actionrduring the folding operation. The individually. resilient jaw will hold products varying relatively greatly in. thickness, and it will be. found unnecessary to reset the jaw incase products 'ofdifi'erent thicknesses are 1 run side-by-side.

Inlthe employment of the invention, either as a gripper or folding jaw, devices are provided for imposing. on'each individual member initial spring tension, an. instantaneous preliminary pressure of predetermined magnitude the moment the gripper finger or folding jaw engages the paper, and 'it is unnecessary to havean 1ncreasedmovement of the shaft. or like support to; build up this tension. This gives a uniformtension Wltll'fi. minimum amount of throw." v C q Referring. now in detailto the present preferred' embodiment. of the invention illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, a form. of' double gripper mechanism, such. as isfrequently employed on cylinder sheet-fed presses, is shown in Fig. 1. The cylinder structure is indicated at 1, anda pair, of gripper supporting and actuating shafts v2 and 3- are shown mounted in the cylinder. These shafts are periodically rocked. through a small angle, .manner,,and this may be donebyany standard, well-known, or other suitable mecha- ,As so embodied, for each of the individual gripper fingers, a plurality of apertured sup- ,ports 10 are mounted on the

shaft

2 or 3, the supports being spaced along-the shaft (Fig.

EThesesupportsare split, are-slipped on the shaft, and have two

lugs

11 and 12 facing-at either side of thesplit, both; of

;which lugs have internal screw-threadedap on the cam motion.-

jaw may beformed' ina which gives in the usual ertures. A bolt 13 is screw-threaded into the lugs, its position upon the shaft. gaging member comprises a laminated, superposed leaf springs. 14,

which are mounted upon a support 15, and

abut against a lu'g 22, both preferably formed as a part of the supporting member 10. An upp'eror outside retaining member 16 rests upon the springs and also preferably abuts against lug 22, and the gripping finger and supports are held together by suitable'means such as a rivet 17. The laminated leaf springs .14 are of graduated length, increasing forwardly toward'the front or sheet-engaging .end. The means for placing the gripper finger under initial tension-is preferably a partof the supporting member 10, and-as shown, a projection ing toward the laminated spring finger 1 1, whereby the gripper finger is under a desired initial tension between the

parts

16 and 21, and a corresponding pressure is immediately'transmitted to thesheet or sheets as soon as it is, engaged by the gripper finger.

In Fig. 2 a similar construction is shown,

mounted on supporting and actuating shaft 3, and'operating as an auxiliary gr pper, co-

' identical with similar parts in Fig. '1.

The invention as embodied in a folding jaw is exemplarily shown in Figs. 5 and 6, mounted on a cylinder orllike member 32.. The sup-1.

porting and opening and closing means is I 21,is formed in the forward end of the member 1,5 projectfi shown comprising a shaft 31, mounted in the cylinder 32, by means of ball bearings 33. The shaft 31 is actuated by anysuitable means, such as a standard cam mechanism, or other mechanism as'found convenient or desirable. Thegripper jaw preferably comprises a'plurality of side-by-side, spaced-apart resilient members, each comprising a plurality the front of-the folding j awl, The resilient jaw members 34 are mounted on a supporting member structure is fastened together by, a

of superposed laminated. spring members. 34 i ,of graduated length from the back toward rivet 37. The entire device .isseated in a re- 7 cesssin shaft 31 and the rear end of the device abuts on the rear wall of the recess, and it is .he i rlaqe y eeh e b l 38. P ssi therethrough and screw-threaded into the shaft 31.

In the embodied form of means for placing the various folding jaw members under initial spring tension, the forward end 41 of the plate 85 is projected upwardly so as to slightly flex the spring members 34 between the part 41 and the top plate 36. The support 35 may be integral longitudinally, and to afford the individual resilient action and regulation, plate 35 may be slotted, as shownat 42, between the respective spring members 34, and these may be individually bent slightly to vary the initial spring tension on the various members. A folding jaw 49 is shown, mounted on cylinder 32, and this may be of any known or suitable form or construction, and may be provided with any desired adjustments. A suitablefolding blade is indicated at 50.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What we claim is 1. A gripping device including in combination a laminated leaf spring jaw and means for moving it between open and closed positions. a

2. A gripping device including in combination a shaft, a gripping device mounted thereon and comprising a plurality of laminated spring leaves of graduated length, and means for rocking the shaft to effect the gripping action.

3. A gripping device including in combination a gripping member comprising a plurality of spring leaves of graduated length, a support for said gripping member, and means for moving it between gripping and non-gripping positions. 7

4. A gripping device including in combination a laminated leaf spring gripping member, means for imparting initial tension to said member, and means for moving it between gripping and non-gripping positions.

5. A gripping device including in combination a jaw comprising a plurality of laminated leaf springs of graduated length forwardly, a cooperating aw, means for effecting opening and closing movement, said laminated jaw having gripping contact near its forward end. 7

6. A gripping device including in combination a longitudinal support, a plurality of independently resilient. sheet engaging and holding devicesmounted on the support, means for moving the support and inseparate laminated spring gripping devices mounted on the support, and means for moving the support and spring devices together between gripping and non-gripping positions. I 8. A, gripping device including in combination a shaft, a jaw member comprising a plurality of laminated leaf springs of graduated length forwardly, means for imposing preliminary tension on the laminated spring jaw member, and means for rocking the shaft. p

9. A gripping device including in combination a shaft, a rigid support mounted thereon, and a jaw member comprising'aplu- 1 .rality of laminated leaf springswof gra'duated length forwardly, means on the support for imposing preliminary spring tensionon the laminated spring jaw member, and means for rocking the shaft.

10. A gripping device including in combination a'shaft, a plurality of spaced apart lng initial spring tension independently on the various sheet holding members, and

means for moving the shaft and sheet hold- .sheet holding membersmounted on the shaft, 7

ing members between open and closed position.

12. A gripping device including in combination a shaft and a plurality of gripping means mounted thereon, each comprising a plurality V of spring leaves of graduated lengths with their sheet-engaging ends in close proximity to each other and means for rocking the shaft to effect the gripping action, said device permitting the running of widely different sizes of products without adjustment. i

13. A gripping device including in combination ashaft, means for rocking the shaft, and a plurality of laminated spring leaf grippers mounted on said shaft, said grippers permitting the different sized products to be run side by side without change of adj ustment.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification.

CURTIS S. CRAFTS. CHARLES ALONZO HARLESS.

dependently resilient devices together be-