US1911884A

US1911884A - Sheet feeder

Info

Publication number: US1911884A
Application number: US573206A
Authority: US
Inventors: James M Darbaker
Original assignee: American Sheet and Tin Plate Co
Current assignee: American Sheet and Tin Plate Co
Priority date: 1931-11-05
Filing date: 1931-11-05
Publication date: 1933-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1950-05-30

Description

May 30, 1933.

J. M. DARBAKER 1,911,884

SHEET FEEDER Filed Nov. 5, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 fi'wefl/for: mf /WES J7. DHEBHKEE,

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May 30, 193 J. M. DARBAKER SHEET FEEDER Filed Nov. 5, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 17112821107: JQMES M DHEBHKEE fl/f rnqys.

Patented May 30, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I JAMES M. DARIBAKER, OF NEW (J'ASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO AMIEZRICAN SHEET AND TIN PLATE COMPANY, CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY SHEET FEEDER Application flled li'ovember 5, 1931. Serial 110 573,206.

This invention relates to sheet feeders, one of the objects being to rapidly feed piled sheets, particularly metal sheets, one at a time. Other objects will become apparent.

Having reference to the accompanying drawings which show one form of a machine constructed according to the present invention;

Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2 is a top plan.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-section, taken from the line IIIIII in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail from Figure 3.

Figures 5 and 6 are'enlarged details from Figure 1.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail from Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of Figure 7. Figure 9 is a modification of the structure shown in Figure 4.

Figure 10 is a partial cross-section taken from the line XX in Figure 1.

Figure 11 is a partial cross-section taken from the line XI-XI in Figure 1.

In detail, under one end of a frame 1 is extended a track 2 carrying a truck 3 loaded with a pile of metal sheets 4. This truck is loaded when at a point beyond the frame with the aid of upstanding sheet loading guides 5, one of which is laterally adjustable by a crank handled screw 6.and the other hinged so the truck can travel thereby, when loaded, to a point beneath the frame. A bar 7 locks this lunged member 1n gu ding poslf p one f the Sheets the push rod ing longer, pushing the center of this sheet tion.

This loaded truck butts into a vertical sheet guide 8 when rolled beneath the frame 1, and a second vertical sheet guide 9'is placed against its rear. The latter guide is horizontally adjustably carried by a gate 10, thus vallowing for the entrance and exit of the truck. The drawings show the loading guides 5 much closed to this gate than they actually are in order to'keep the scale as large as possible.-

When between the guides 8 and 9, the truck is directly over a hydraulic hoist 11 which enables vertical lifting of the piled- 59 sheets 4. Horizontally adjustable side guides 12 prevent lateral movement of the top sheets when and while being lifted.

At the top of the rear sheet guide 9 is a horizontally corrugated substantially flat faced electromagnet 13. When the machine is in operation the hoist 11 raises the piled sheets 4 until the upper ones are somewhat above the bottom of the face of this magnet, as indicated by dotted lines, this magnet then serving to aline the sheets and to retard the feeding of doubled sheets.

A pair of horizontal bars 14 are positioned along the top of the frame 1 and slidably carry an arrangement which picks the sheets 4 up one-by-one for feeding. A hand wheel operated screw 15, fixed in a journal 16 on the frame 1 is in engagement with this arrangement for regulating its movement. 7

This sheet pick-up arrangement specifi cally consists of a crank 17, driven by an electric motor 18, which operates a doubly jointed connecting-rod 19, this rod having a short cross-head 20 atits first joint engaging cam surfaces 21 and a longer cross-head or shaft 22 at its end engaging cam surfaces 23. The shaft 22 mounts brackets 22"- which vertically slidably. carry a pair of depending rods 23 having suction cups 24 on theirlower ends'and a centrally located longer push-rod 25-, these members being in each instance urged downward by springs 26. c When the crank 17 is rotated by the motor 18 the suction cups 24 will engage the downwardly and causing the whole to assume a bent form which will'impart .a substantial rigidity to it. The

cam surfaces

21 and 23 are shaped sothat the sheetis first lifted vertically across the face of the magnet 13, whose attractive force will pull off any second sheets accidentally carried by counteracting the suction between-the two, and then moved at an upward incline. The corrugated face of the magnet servesqto jar the sheets lifted thereby and aids inbreak- 'ing the suction between them. Preferably,

a counterbalance 27 vis arranged in connection-with the crank 1'8. to prevent undue vibration when these various parts are reciprocated.

The crank 17 is arranged to operate a pair of cam operated

poppet valves

27 and 28, these being in connection with the crank 17 and respectively constructed and arranged to create a vacuum in the suction cups 24 just prior to their approach to the top one of sheets 4, and to hold this until the

crossheads

20 and 22 have reached their uppermost movement, when the vacuum is broken and atmospheric pressure admitted.

In order to prevent overheating of the magnet 13 and waste of current, a commutator segment 29 and brushes 30 may be arranged in connection with the operating mechanism of the

valves

27 and 28 and in circuit with this magnet, these parts being timed so that the magnet is energized only during the vertical movements of the

crossheads

20 and 22.

A conveyor comprising a plurality of pinch-rollers 31, driven by a motor 32 through chains 33, is positioned on the frame 1 so that the first pair of rolls will engage one of the sheets 4 when lifted thereto by the arrangement just described, this latter having been longitudinally adjusted by the sore 15 to hold the sheets near their ends remote from this conveyor so that they may have their ends thrust towards the same. When the sheet is once engaged in the pinchrolls it is carried forward by them and onto a belt conveyor 34 which carries" them to a stand of cold rolls, 35, this conveyor preferably being mounted on a swinging support 36 so that it may be folded back, as indicated by the dotted lines, to permit access to the rolls. Cold rolls are provided generally with a billy roller 37 and it has been found preferable to feed the sheets substantially tangentially thereto by inclining the belt conveyor 34 at the roll end.

Although the magnet 13 is generally effective in removing second sheets it does not under all conditions do so and cannot, of course, prevent the feeding of sheets having bent corners or lefective edges. As a safety precaution, therefore, the second pair of rolls is arranged in connection with a micrometric switch 38 operating a sheet deflector 39 by means of a solenoid 40 levered thereto. This deflector is located in the path of the sheets as they leave the third pair of rolls, as shown in the drawings, these being reduced in size at their center and the defiector having a finger 41 which lies in this reduced portion.

When the sheet pick-up arrangement accidentally feeds two sheets the switch 38 will energize the solenoid 40 and throw the deflector 39 into deflecting position. The moment the back ends of these sheets leave the second pair of rolls the solenoid will be deenergized but this will not matter as the deflector will simply fall on thesheets and then back into its normal position upon complete passage thereof. A chute 42 carries these deflected sheets to a hand truck 43.

In the event of sheets having bent corners or defective edges the switch 38 would not be energized sufficiently long to hold the deflector up to properly deflect the sheet, the rolls operating this switch being therefore constructed to contact only the central por tion of the sheets so as to normally be operated only by double sheets. To prevent the feeding of sheets of the character above described the last stand of rolls are made to contact the sheets throughout their length and to operate a pair of trip switches 44 arranged in connection with the motor 32 to stop it. When this happens the defective sheets may be manually removed from the belt conveyer 34 to prevent damage to the cold rolls. These switches, as wellv as the switch 38, are set differently for differently gaged sheets. 1

As sheets are removed from those piled on the truck 3 the hydraulic hoist 11 must be operated to maintain the sheets at the proper point on the face of the magnet 13. This is accomplished by controlling the motor 11 operating the pump of this hoist, by a button switch- 45, one of the rods 23 carrying a finger 46 on its upper end for contact therewith. The end of this finger is preferably provided with a vertical adjustment which is fixed so that the switch 45 is closed when the suction cup on the end of this rod falls below the level where the sheets should be. This switch may be arranged to operate the motor for a predetermined interval of time, raising the level of the sheets so that the switch 45 will not be again closed until more sheets have been removed.

The drawings illustrate the switch 45 in circuit with an electromagnetic switch 45 which controls the current to the motor 11 which is driving the hydraulic pump for the lift 11. The brushes 30 of the contact commutator segment 29 are also arranged in circuit with an electromagnetic switch 30* to energize the magnet 13 through a power line thus controlled. Other arrangements than these may prove preferable in actual v I claim: 1-. A sheet feeder including spaced vacuum cups having respectively inclined holding faces and means for moving said cups in a vertically straight line direction.

2. A sheet feeder for apile of sheets including a magnet having a substantially flat horizontally indented face positioned next to and extending above the edges of the upper sheets of said pile, and means for vertically lifting sheets from said pile.

3. A sheet feeder for a pile of sheets ineluding means for lifting a sheet from said pile, an electroma'gnet arranged with a face proximate the top of said pile and means for energizing said magnet when said first named means is adjacent thereto and for deenergizing the same when this means is 0 remote therefrom.

4. A sheet feeder for a pile of sheets, including the combination of a frame, sheet en a 'n means carried b said frame sheet raising means arranged under said frame for movement towards said sheet engaging means, tracks registering with said sheet raising means and leading from said frame,

a gate arranged on said frame over said tracks, a vertical sheet guide carried by said gate, and a magnet constructed and arranged for carriage by said gate above said vertical sheet guide to present its attractive face to sheets lifted vertically-thereby.

5. The method of vertically removing sheets from a pile of the same consisting in edgewisedly dragging the removed sheets over a corrugated surface to jar them loose from any adhering thereto.

6. A sheet feeder including the combination of a vertically movable holder for piled sheets, electrically operated means for moving said holder, vertically lifting resilient means recip-rocably mounted and arranged for the removal of sheets from said holder, a finger resiliently carried by one of said lifting means, and a switch positioned for contact by said finger and arranged in circuit with said electrical means for moving said holder.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

I JAMES M. DARBAKER.