US1920295A

US1920295A - Sheet feeding mechanism

Info

Publication number: US1920295A
Application number: US285617A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward F Dudley
Original assignee: Miehle Printing Press and Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Miehle Printing Press and Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1928-06-15
Filing date: 1928-06-15
Publication date: 1933-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 1950-08-01

Description

Aug. 1`, 1933. E. F. DUDLEY 1,920,295

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM FiledJune 15,A 1928 "5 sheets-sheet 1 l l y ward/vnd@ l @mm3 ly.

Augl, 1933- E. DUDLEY 1,920,295

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June l5. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 hz/eff-- l fda/ard @Maw M @m ugl 1933- E. F. DUDLEY 1,920,295

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June l5, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug..y 1, 1933 SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Edward F. Dudley, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to the Miehle Printing Press & Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a Corporation of Illinois Application June 15, 1928. Serial No. 285,617

15 Claims.

This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism, particuiarly adapted for printing presses, and more specifically relatesl to means commonly known in the art as pluralsheet detectors operative to indicate when more than one sheet is fed to the printing couple, or to stop the press under such conditions.

While the invention is not limited to the use in connection with any particular type of machinery, I have chosen to illustrate it as applied to a printing press having a so-called stop gripper mechanism, which type of mechanism, as isJWell known in the art, functions to engage a registered sheet while at rest on a registering table and thereupon transfers it at an accelerating speed to a rotating impression cylinder or the like. In order to maintain accurate register of a sheet while it is being transferred from the registering table to the cylinder, it is essential to impart to the stop grippers such acceleration that at the time when the sheet is being taken over by the cylinder grippers, it will have attained the surface speed of the cylinder. y

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide plural sheet detector mechanism which can be readily applied to stop gripper mechanism and which can be adjusted to a large number of predetermined positions within given limits, in order to accommodate any thickness of stock' within such limits.

To accomplish this and other objects, which will be apparent from the following description and .appended claims, I have provided a simple and positively operating mechanism, one preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a. plan View taken across that portion of the sheet feeding mechanism to which my invention is applied;

Figure 2 is an elevation taken from the right as viewed in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fractional cross section `taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure A4 is a fractional view of a detail;

Figuresv 5 and 6 are views in elevation showing the stop gripper mechanism in'twodifferent positions of its sheet transferring movement; while Figures 7 and 8 show one preferred form and arrangement of pneumatic means whereby the operation of the press is interrupted when a sheet is not in proper register.

Referring rst to Figure 3 of the drawings, the stop gripper mechanism 10, which'extends substantially over the entire width of the press, is shown in that position in which it is at rest, i. e.

in which a sheet is presented to the stop grippers and ready to be transferred in a known manner at an accelerating speed from the sheet registering means to the impression cylinder C or the like of the press.,

As will be seen, with reference to Figure 3, the sheets ll are advanced in the direction indicated by the arrow, over a series of rotary rollers 12, some of which rollers cooperatewith balls 13,

loosely mounted within sockets 14, carried by side y registering mechanism, which latter also is of a known construction. By the cooperation of said balls 13 with rollers 12, the sheets are moved laterally against suitable side stops for the.A purpose of side registering the sheets prior to reaching the front guides by means of which tneleal-l ing edge of the sheet is registered in a wellL-'mown manner.

Accordingto the preferred form of construef. tion, the front guides or stops 15 are carried 15 the stop gripper mechanism. The latter is also provided with air ducts 16 which communicate with suitable pneumatically controlled mechanism whereby the operation of stop gripper mechanism andfpreferably also the operation of the press itself, is interrupted in the event that a sheet is not advanced against the front register` ing guides, and does not seal the air ducts 16.

According to my invention, I provide a plate 17 which is secured to a pivoted shaft 18 by 85 means of suitable brackets or the like, not shown, so that it may be rocked with said shaft. The latter also carries, preferably at each end, brackets 19 at the free ends of which are mounted cam rollers 20 cooperating with adjustable cams 90 212 As clearly shown in Figure 3, the cams 2l are formed with notches or steps 22 which correspond to the various positions into which the plate 1'7 is to be adjusted. By presenting to the roller 20 the notch which corresponds to the par- 95 ticular thickness of stock to be fed, the gap between the surface 23 of the stop gripper mechanism and the surface of the plate 17 is determined, that is to say, said gap is adjusted to accommodate the thickness of the stock to be handled.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the free end of the shaft 24 on which the cams 21 are mounted carries an adjustable ldisc 25 which is loose on the shaft 24. Said disc is formed with a recess 26 which cooperates with a withdrawable plunger 27 carried by the handle 28, which latter is keyed to the shaft 24. The disc 25 furthermore is formed with holes 29 adapted to be brought into alignment with a.

threaded bore provided in the frame 30 of the machine. In order to secure said disc in the required position, a thumb screw 3l is provided which passes through the respective hole 29 and screws into the threaded bore in the frame. The number of holes 29 correspond with the number of notches or steps 22 of the cam 21.

The operation of the mechanism just described is as follows: Assuming that the gap required between the face 23 of the stop gripper mechanism and the surface of the plate 17 corresponds wth the highest stop of the cam 21, the thumb screw 31 is passed through the uppermost hole indicated by the numeral 5 in Figure 2, and the disc is adjusted by bringing the hole 5 into alignment with the threaded bore provided in the frame and the thumb screw 31 is tightened up to securely hold the disc 25 against the frame 30. DuringA such adjustment, the plunger 27 is held out of engagement with the recess 26 provided in the flange 25. After the disc 25 has been secured in the required position, the plunger 27 is released and the handle 28 is moved until the plunger engages the recess 26, thereby locking the cam 21 in its position where it will present its highest stop to the roller 20.

It will be readily understood that the gap provided by this adjustment Will accommodate only one sheet of the respective thickness at one time, and therefore, if a plurality of superposed sheets happens to be fed towards the front guides 15, the sheets will be prevented from passing into the gap between the face 23 and plate 17; consequently the sheets will jam in front of the air ducts 16, leaving them unsealed, thereby causing the actuation of the pneumatically controlled mechanism and interrupting the operation of the press in a well known manner.

As hereinbefore referred to, automatic means of any suitable design may be provided for interrupting the operation of the transfer gripper mechanism or for stopping the press itself in the event that the air ducts 16 remain unsealed after a sheet should have been fed into register with the front stops 15.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the manner in which the sheets, after having been properly registered against the stops 15, are transferred from the sheet registering means, i. e. plate 17, to the cylinder C of the press. Preferably the stop gripper mechanism is mounted on a rock shaft 36 to oscillate between the sheet registering means and the cylinder of the press. Any other preferred form, however, could be adopted for the purpose of supporting and oscillating the stop gripper mechanism.

Figure 5 shows the position of the stop gripper arm 10 at that time when a sheet 11 has been engaged by the stop grippers 37 just prior to the commencement of the transfer movement. It will be seen that `when a sheet is in proper register with the stops 15 and engaged by the grippers 37 the air ducts 16 remain sealed during the transfer movement, thereby rendering said automatic means ineffective. As hereinbefore indicated, the latter is timed so that if the ducts 16 do not become sealed by the sheet of material at the moment when the transfer movement of the stop gripper mechanism should commence, said mechanism will automatically become locked against any movement.

Iny Figure 6, the stop gripper arm 10 is shown in its position after the sheet 11 has been transferred to the cylinder grippers 38. The speed of the stop gripper mechanism is accelerated during the transfer movement of the sheet, so that at the instant when the sheet is released by the grippers 37 and taken over` by the cylinder grippers 38 the surface speed of the arm 10 is equal to the surface speed of the cylinder C. Thereby accurate register of the sheets to be fed to the press is maintained.

The means for oscillating the stop gripper mechanism and for accelerating the speed thereof, and they means for actuating the

grippers

37 and 38 may be of any suitable design.

Figures 7 and 8 show a preferred form of means whereby the operation of the press is interrupted when a sheet is not properly presented to the front stops, that is to say, when a sheet is not in proper register. While I show an arrangement according to which the transfer or stop gripper mechanism 10 is held inoperative by means of a pneumatically controlled mechanism, it is obvious that without departing from the principle of my invention, means could be provided whereby the press itself can be stopped when a sheet is not properly fed thereto.

The air ducts 16 in the arm 10 are connected by suitable tubing to the nipple 39 of the pneumatic mechanism, shown in Figure 8. Another connection leads from the nipple 40 to a vacuum pump or the like, not shown. Within the vacuum box 41 is arranged a diaphragm 42, which during normal operation of the press is held in the position indicated by the broken lines in Figure 8 by means of a spring 43. The diaphragm 42 is operatively connected with the plunger 44 by means of a stem 45, lever 46, and stern 47 of the plunger 44.

As shown in Figure 7, the means for oscillat ing the transfer. gripper mechanism comprises a gear sector 48 mounted on the rack shaft 36, which carries the arm 10 of the transfer gripper mechanism. The sector 48 meshes with another gear sector 49, which is pivotally supported on the machine frame at 50. The sector 49 is formed with a laterally extending arm 51 to the extreme end of which is pivoted an operating rod 52, the free end of which is slidably supported in any suitable manner. A coil spring 53 embraces the rod 52 and acts to push the arm 51 upwardly and thereby the roller 54 against the cam 55, which is keyed to the impression cylinder shaft 56, so as to rotate with the cylinder during the operation of the press.

When the roller 54 rides from the high portion of the cam 55 towards the low portion of said cam, the sector 49 will be moved to the right by the spring 53, and as viewed in Figure 7, swing the sector 48 upwardly, thereby swinging the transfer gripper arm 10 in an anti-clockwise direction.

The sector 48 is formed with the recess 57 in order to receive the plunger 44 of the vacuum mechanism which is controlled through the air ducts 16 in the arm 10.

While the plunger 44 is withdrawn as shown in Figure 8, the sector 48, and therewith the transfer gripper mechanism, is free to oscillate between the feed board of the press and the impression cylinder C.

When a sheet does not reach the front guides on the transfer gripper mechanism, or when a sheet is not properly registered therewith, the air ducts 16 will remain open and consequently the air will not be exhausted from the vacuum box 41, and the spring 43 will force the plunger 44 outwardly so that it will enter the recess 57 when presented in alignment therewith during the reciprocation of the transfer gripper arm 10 and sector 48 which moves therewith.

At that time the high portion of the operating cam 55 will be in position opposite to that illustrated in Figure 7, and the sector 49, which meshes with the sector 48, as hereinbefore described, will have been moved to the left due to the cooperation of the roller 54 with the cam 55. Therefore duringk the continued rotation of the cylinder shaft 56, to which the cam 55 is secured, the roller 54 will be held out of engagement with the cam55.

Under certain conditions, such as for example, when tissuepaper or any `other extremely thin stock is handled, the adjustment of the plate 17 relatively to the face 23 of the transfer gripper mechanism is suchthat the gap, which remains between the plate 17 and said face, is so small that the ducts 16 become practically sealed, resulting in the operation of the press being interrupted. In order to avoid such conditions, I provide in the edge ofthe plate 17 a' number of slots 32 corresponding with the air ducts. 16, so that under any circumstances air can freely pass between the plate 17 .and the face 23 of the stop gripper mechanism.

In known types of printing presses, provision is madewhereby the feeding mechanism, together with the' cooperating registering mechanism, can be swung out horizontally and away from cooperative relation with the transfer mechanism. In order to adapt my invention for. `use in connection with such presses, I provide locking bolts`\ 33 whereby the feeding mechanism and associated parts may be locked against lateral movement. Preferably, the inner portion of said `bolts is formed with a rack 34 which is in mesh with gear teeth 35 provided on the shaft 24 as shown in Figure 4. In order to permit the lateral removal of the feeding mechanism, etc., it will be necessary to swing thehandle 28 down until the bolts 33 are withdrawnfrom their locking engagement with the press frame, and therefore the plate 17 will also be swung down so that it will not interfere with any parts of the press ywhen the feeding mechanism is moved out horizontally.

I claim:

1. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of oscillating sheet transfer gripper means adapted to convey a sheet of material to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said sheet transfer means to interrupt the operation of the latter when more than one sheet at a time is presented to said member.

2. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, sheet transfer gripper means arranged between said registering means and the printing members of the press, to convey a sheet of material from said registering means to said printing member, and a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said sheet transfer means to interrupt the operation of the latter when more than one sheet at a time is presented to said member.

3. In sheet feeding mechanism of a-'printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, oscillating sheet transfer gripper mechanism adapted to grip and convey a sheet of material from said registering means to the printing couple of the pressfand a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said gripper mechanism to interrupt the operation of the press whenmore than one sheet at a time is presented to said member.

4. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means comprising a series of rollers cooperating with one or morespherical members to control asheet, sheet transfer gripper means adapted to oscillate between said registering meansand the printing couple of the press to grip and convey a sheet of material from said registering means to said printingcouple, and a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said` sheet transfer means to interrupt the operation of the latter when more than one sheet at a time is presented to said member.

5. In `sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means comprising `a series of rollers cooperating with-,one or more spherical members to side register a sheet, reciprocating sheet transfer gripper means adapted to convey a sheet of material from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector-member `operatively associated withsaid sheet transfer means to interrupt the operation VAof the latter when more than one sheet at a time .is presentedto said member.

6. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, sheet transfer gripper means reciprocating between said registering means and the printing couple of the press to convey a sheet of material from said registering means to said printing couple, and a plural lsl'ieet detector member operatively associatedv with pneumatically controlled means to interrupt' the operation of said sheet transfer gripper means'when more than one sheet is presented at a time to said detector. l

7. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, a reciprocating sheet carrier adapted to transfer a sheet of material from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member adapted for adjustment to any desired nu'mber of positions Within given limits and operatively associated with said reciprocating sheet carrier to interrupt the operation of the latter when more than one sheet is presented at a timeto said detector member.

8. In sheet feeding mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, a reciprocating sheet carrier adapted to engage a sheet while at rest and to transfer it from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member adapted for adjustment to any desired number of predetermined positions within given limits and operatively associated with said reciprocating sheet carrier to interrupt the operation of the latter when more than one sheet is'presented at a time to said detector member.

9. In sheet feeding` mechanism of a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, a reciprocating sheet carrier adapted to engage a sheet while at rest and to transfer it from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member adapted for adjustment to any desired number of predetermined positions within given limits and operatively associated with pneumatically controlled means to interrupt the operation of said reciprocating sheetcarrier when more than one sheet is presented at a time to said detector member.

10. In a printing press or the like, the" combination `of sheet feeding means, sheet registering means, a reciprocating sheet carrier adapted to engage a sheet While at rest and to convey it from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member operatively'associated with said sheet carrier.

1l. In a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet feeding means', sheet registering means, an oscillating sheet transfer gripper member adapted to engage a sheet while` at rest and to convey it from said registering means to;i the printing couple of the press, and a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said gripper member and adjustable relatively thereto.

12. In a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet feeding means, sheet registering means, an oscillating sheet transfer gripper member adapted to engage a sheet While at rest and to convey it from said registering means to the printing couple of the press, a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said gripper` member; means for adjusting said detector member relatively to said gripper member, and means ,to move said detector member out of cooperative relation with said gripper member.

:13. In a printingpress or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, an oscillating sheet transfer gripper mechanism adapted to convey a sheet of material from said registering means to the printing couple of the press and comprising a sheet engaging member extending completely across the leading edge of a sheet of material for preventing buckling of said edge, and a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said sheet engaging member.

14. In a printing press or the like, the combination of sheet registering means, an oscillating sheet transfer mechanism adapted to convey a sheet of material from said registering means to the printing coupleof the press, a plural sheet detector member operatively associated with said transfer mechanism, means for adjusting said detector member relatively to said transfer mechanism, means tor move said detector member out of cooperative relation with said transfer mechanism, and locking means associated with said `detector member, to hold said sheet registering means in cooperative relation With said sheet transfer mechanism, said locking means being held in its locked position when said detector member is in its operative position, but when 4the latter is moved out of cooperative relation with said transfer mechanism. said locking means is withdrawn. Y

15. In a printing press, the combination of sheet feeding means, an impression cylinder, oscillating sheet transfer means arranged to engage a sheet while at rest on said sheet feeding means to convey it to said cylinder, and pneumatically controlled mechanism operatively associated With said transfer meanswhereby the operation of the press is interrupted When a sheet is not in proper register.

EDWARD F. DUDLEY.