US1943500A - Apparatus for handling sheets and the like - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 16, 1934. wlNKLER r AL 1,943,500

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 23 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l for/19f Jan. 16, 1934. v wm ET AL 1,943,500

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEETS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 25; 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 11 yea fors fl red Wink l6! and Max JJLZ/z/zebzer Patented Jan. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SHEETS AND THE LIKE Alfred Winkler and Max 'Dunnebier, Neuwied,

, Germany Application August 23, 1930, Serial No. 477,258, and in Germany October 2, 1929 8 Claims. (Cl. 9393) This invention relates to apparatus for hanor counting wheel connected with a cam, in part dling single or folded or multiple folded sheets side view and in plan view and also shows the or the like, and for counting and assembling means for changing the cam; Fig. shows infront and stacking such sheets. view the device which serves for assembling the In printing, inserting, assembling and similar difierent stack parts to the main stack or pile. 60 machines the work delivered by themachine must For the sake of greater cleamess, a number of be taken from the machine and counted by hand gears, sprocket wheels and the like are indicated at short intervals, so that the operator has to only by dotted lines in the drawings and some give his whole time to this task alone; or the work parts which are not essential for an understandis collected upon a conveying belt and even in ing of the invention are omitted altogether.

that case the sheets or groups of sheets must be In Fig. 1 the delivery device of a printing, foldcounted individually by hand. ing or other machine for newspaper or other work One object of the present invention is to prois shown, this device serving to convey the sheets vide apparatus whereby the sheets from one of or pieces from the machine to the improved anthe above types of machines are accumulated unparatus and consisting of a circular table or disc til acertain number are grouped together after I mounted on a vertical axle and having g p which they are automatically moved as a whole 2 otat with the d s These pp are $0 and are assembled in a main stack or pile. A controlled by cam means concealed under the further object is the provision of means whereby h 3 t t he pe 2 a the r ght-hand s d 20 the number of sheets or the like accumulated or in the drawings is lifted oil the disc 1 in order grouped together may be varied, and after ast p t t i t du ti of e piece mi fr m sembly in the main stack the groups form inthe machine. After the piece has been received dividual stack portions that are easily distingushupo the d 1 the pp 2 des so that able from each other bytheir difierent positions, the p e moves with the further rotation of the 25 so that the main stack may be built up to a condisc. At the pr p r tim th ripp 2 is s a a siderable extent before removal of the sheets or a d ea theliiece that it 0911 be received the like therefrom, and the individual stack porby fipp mtus. tions thus indicate the number of sheets or the In this apparatus a Shaft 5 i5 Op d m t like assembled in the stack, said machine in properly timed relation thereto,

3 still further abject, f't invention i the and so that it makes one revolution for each sheet provision of a cam with a feed gear wheel which or other D 80 received by the apparat By is operated by a pawl swinging in timed relation means of the bevel 8 pairs 7 and 8, 9, t to the machine and which can engage the feed shaft 5 drives the shaft 4 of the machine and on gear wheel only when a, sheet lea e the ma hine, this shaft 4 distributing discs 10 are carried. En-

35 while in the absence of a sheet, engagement of gagin h d 0 is a n l r 11 fr y on the feed gear wheel is prevented, and consequentmounted in a lever 1 2 carried by a shaft 14 D- ly the number of the teeth engaged by the pawl ported by a frame 13, so that the rollers 11 may be always coincides accurately with the number of swung towards or from the discs 10. The raising sheets leaving the machine and after forming a and lowering of the counter-rollers 10 is effected 40 Stack p t w t a Dmdeberminad number 0f. in properly timed relation to the operation of the sheets: an equal number of teeth has been machine, so that each time a sheet, newspaper or engaged on the feed gear wheel. other piece is fed by the delivery device 1--3, into i other objects m e the the space between the discs 10 and the counterventlon consists in the novel construction and arrollers 11, the said counteb'muers descend upon 45 range'ment hereinafter described ilustrated inthe the piece which is then fed between the discs 10 loo z g g fiz gg gggg gigfig z g g gg g and the rollers 11. For raising and lowering the that various changes in the structural details may rollers 11 cam 15 is mougted shaft and be made without departing from the spirit of the and 1 and invention or Sacrificing any of the advantages shaft 14 effects a partial rotation of this shaft there f 14 and thus raises the counter-rollers 11. An ad- 1 t drawings; ditional lever 1g is secured on the shaft 14 and Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section through part engages a r0d'19 h h is acted upo by a comr the apparatus; Fig; 2' is a side view of the press sp s n sed in a housing 20. thus apparatus; Fig. 3 shows details of the feed gear p n t yh dl s h 1 0! the nnecting rod 16 against the cam 15 and serving to lower the rollers 11 at the proper time.

The piece discharged between the discs 10 and its counter-rollers 11, as a result of the velocity imparted to it, first hits the stationary stops 21 and then falls down flat upon the assembling plate 22 or upon the piece previously received. The assembling plate22 also has stationary stops 23, while oscillating or floating stops 24 and 25 are mounted on shafts 26, 27 and are adapted to ensure uniform stacking of the pieces. The stops 24 receive their movement from a cam 28 on the shaft 4, by means of a roller on a lever 29 which is secured on the shaft 26 carrying the stops 24. The shaft 26 also carries an additional lever 30 which is acted on by a tension spring 30' by which the roller of the lever 29 is kept in contact with the cam 28. The movement of the stops 24 is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The stops 25 carried on the shaft 27 are moved by means of the shaft 26 through a roller on a lever 31 carried on the shaft 26 and which roller engages a fork-shaped lever 32 secured on the shaft 27 so that the movement of the shaft 26 is transmitted to the shaft 27.

For counting the pieces received from the machine and reaching the distributing plate 22, the following means are provided.

On the shaft 4, which, as already mentioned, runs in proper timed relation to the machine, an additional cam 33 is secured and by means of this cam a double armed lever 35 is caused to swing freely upon a shaft 34. One arm 36 of this lever carries a roller 36' engaging the cam 33 and the other arm 37 carries a pawl 38, while a tension spring 44 acting on the arm 37 keeps the roller 36 in contact with the cam 33. By means of the pawl 38 a toothed gear wheel 39 is turned to the extent of one tooth each time, the cam 33 being so arranged-that the movement of the lever 35 takes place within the period during which a piece would normally be located between the discs 10 and their counter-rollers 11. In order to ensure that gear wheel 39 is moved by one tooth only with the actual discharge of a piece from the discs 10 and their counter-rollers 11, a feeler 41 is carried by a rocking shaft 40, and is balanced by a counter-weight 42, so that it swings upwardly above the periphery of the discs 10, so long as there is no newspaper or other piece between the discs 10 and their counter-rollers 11. In the upper position of the feeler 41, a tail piece 43 secured to said shaft 40 projects into the path of a swinging arm 38 connected with the pawl 38 so that during the next movement of the angle lever 35, the pawl 38 is disengaged from the feed gear wheel 39, and the pawl 38 is thus prevented from imparting feed movement to the wheel 39. If, on the other hand, a piece is passing between the discs 10 and their counter-rollers 11, the feeler' 41 is depressed by the piece itself, so that the tail piece 43 swings out into the dotted line position,

and the arm 38' of the pawl 38 is not engaged by the tail piece 43, and the pawl 38 therefore engages with the teeth of the feed gear wheel 39, so that the latter is turned by one tooth. A counter-pawl 38" insures the proper positioning of the feed gear wheel 39 after each feed movement. From the foregoing it will be" understood that each feed movement of the wheel 39 corresponds to the delivery of a sheet or other piece to the 95+ sembling plate 22.

When a predetermined number of pieces have been accumulated each time on the assembling plate 22, this accumulation is removed as a whole from the said plate. For this purpose the assembly plate 22 with the stationary stops 23 secured thereon is adapted to shift horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the pieces between the discs 10 and rollers l1. Brackets 45 on the plate 22 are mounted on a cross-bar 46 which is carried between slide pieces 47 adapted to move in slide guides 48. In Fig. 2 the right hand position of the plate 22 is shown by dotted lines. This displacement of the plate 22 is effected by a lever pair 49 having forked ends embracing the cross-bar '46, which latter are attached to a rocking shaft 50, operated in the following manner. The shaft 5 operated in proper timed relation to the apparatus carries a crank 51 which-by means of a connecting rod 52continuously imparts swing movement to a lever 54 loose on the rocking shaft 50. On the said shaft 50 is secured a segment 56 which has a notch or gap on its circumference. When a pawl 53carried by the lever 54-engages the said notch, the segment 56 and the axle 50 receive the partial right-hand turn necessary for the displacement of the plate 22, while the return of the distributing plate 22 into the piecereceiving position is effected by an extension 57 which is provided on the pawl 53 and extends over the segment 56.

For timing the displacement of the distributing plate 22 so that it is effected only after a definite number of pieces have accumulated thereon, the following means are provided.

A cam or rim 58 is provided on the feed gear wheel 39 and has the form of an annular ledge projecting laterally from the said wheel. In this 59 can be closed by insert-pieces 60 fastened therein by means of screws 61, so as to divide the teeth of the wheel 39 into groups each having a number of teeth corresponding to the number of sheets to be accumulated on the plate 22. If for example-15 pieces are to be accumulated each time on the distributing plate 22 and removed from. it together, four indentations 59 must be left open thus subdividing the feed gear wheel 39 into four times fifteen teeth. On the surface of the cam 58 runs a roller 64 which is mounted on the lever 63 which is fixed on a shaft 62 and is affected by a spring 65 which is connected to a lever 66 also fixed on the shaft 62 so that the roller 64 is kept in engagement with the cam. When fifteen teeth of the wheel 39 have been fed each time, the roller 64 enters one of the indentations 59, and the lever 66 then assumes the position shown in the drawings in dotted lines. This lever 66 is connected by a tie rod 67 with a segment 68 loosely mounted on the axle 50, which segment is thus swung into the dotted line position. The segment 68 is arranged close alongside of the said feed segment 56 carrying the notch 55 these segments 56 and 68 have the same radius. The pawl 53 is of such a width that it bears on the circumference of both'segments and the arrangement is such that the segment 68 laterally covers up the notch 55 of the feed segment 58 in the full line position Fig. 2, while it exposes this notch whenturned into the dotted line position. So long as the roller 64 of the lever 63,

bears on the raised surface of the cam 58 therefore, the permanently swinging pawl 53 cannot d enter the notch 55 of the feed segment 56; a this engagement is possible only when the roller 64 has entered one of the indentations 59 and the segment 68 has been swung out into the dotted line position. This position is retained during one revolution of the shaft 5 and during this period the pawl 53 swings the feed segment 56 and thereby displaces theassembling plate 22 for removing the sheets accumulated thereon and also efl'ects the return of the assembling plate 22 into the sheet or piece receiving position. At the beginning -ofthe next revolution and assuming that the next piece is being properly conveyed to the assembling plate 22, the roller 64 leaves the indentation 59 and the segment 68 has returned to the position shown so that the pawl 53 during its continued oscillations again slides without effect over the circumference of the segment 68 until the roller 64 enters the next indentation of the cam 58.

The accumulated pieces moved in the above mannerare received in the first place by a drum 69 which has a rubber cover on its circumference and by the roller 70 likewise provided witha rubber cover. The drum 69 runs loosely on the shaft 5 and turns in the opposite direction to said shaft. This drum 69 is driven by a gear 71, solidly connected with it through the medium of intermediate wheels '72 and 73 from the gear 74 secured on the shaft 5. The roller 70 is driven by means of a gear 75 on its shaft, through the medium of an intermediate wheel 76 from the said gear 71 connected with the drum 69.

The drum 69 and the roller 70 convey on to a table 76 the accumulated, pieces received by them from the plate 22. The table 76 is attached to 9. depending stem 78 vertically displaceable in a frame 77 and is adapted to add these accumulated sheets s (Fig. 4) to the main stack S which latter rests on two supporting plates 79 and 79 which can be swung inwardly and outwardly. Each tkme that a group of pieces s is fed to it the table 7 must execute vertical up-and-down movements in proper timed relation to the operation of the other parts of the apparatus and these movements are efi'ected in the following manner.

The said shaft 50 has secured thereon a lever 80 carrying a pin 81 at its free end. Beneath the shaft 50 there is mounted a rocking shaft82 from which a lever 83 extends upwardly. This lever 83 carries a small double-arm pawl lever 85 adapted to rotate on a bolt 84 andbearing,underthe action I of a torsion spring 86, with its lower arm against a stop pin 87 on the lever 83, while the end of its upper arm projects into the path of the pin 81 on the lever 80'. On the shaft 82 is attached a second lever 88 which is connected to a tension spring 89 which pulls it against a stop pine 90.

When the assemblingplate 22, after having delivered a group of pieces to the drum 69 and roller 70, moves back again into the piece receiving position and t'ie lever 80 passes from the dotted-line into the v ull-line position, the pin 81 engages the upper end of the lever 85 and swings the lever 83 towards the right (Fig. 2) until the said pin disengages said lever, whereupon the spring 89 again brings the lower lever 88 into engagement with the pin 90. This swinging of the lever 88 is transmitted, through a tie rod 91 to a tripper 92v of a one-revolution coupling 93 of any suitable or well known type, thus causing the shaft 94, after its release, to execute one revolution and to then come to rest again. The shaft 94 is driven in this connection through the medium of the gear 93' on the one revolution coupling and of the intermediate wheels 95- and 96, by the gear 97 on the shaft 5; the example drawn being in the ratio of 1 to 8, so that eight revolutions of the machine cause one revolution of the shaft 94. A toothed segment' 101 is mounted to turn about and swinging movement is imparted thereto by a crank 98 on the shaft 94, through the medium of a connecting rod 99 connected with it. This segment 101 is in mesh with a gear 103 on a shaft 102, which in the drawings (Fig. 2 coincides with a' second gear on the same shaft. The latter engages the stem 78 of the table 76 which stem is made as a round rack throughout a part of its length, so that the swinging movement of the tooth segment 101 causes the stem 78 and the table 76 borne by it to move upwardly and downwardly.

The adding of the accumulated pieces s to the main stack S during the upward movement of the table 76 is efiected in the following manner.

. The main stack is carried by the said supporting plates '79 and 79' which'are attached to arms 104 and 104' reaching under the longitudinal edges of the pieces. The arms 104 and 104 are mounted to swing on shafts 105 and 105 in the frame 77. When the table 76 is raised so far that the piece lying uppermost on top of it has arrived in a position close under the supporting plates 79 and 79, the arms 104 and 104 carrying the latter are automatically swung out, so that the "main stack S is placed on top of the pieces s carried by the table 76; and during the further upward movement of the table, the main stack S then participates in this movement together with the newly 'added pieces s. After the table has reached its highest position, the arms 104 and 104' with the supporting plates 79 and 79 again swing in under what is now the main stack,

whereupon the table 76 again moves downward.

The supporting plates 79 and 79' carry recesses 106 (Fig. 2) which project from their free longitudinal edge as far as the first bend visible in the drawings, and the parts remaining between these recesses reach, when the arms again swing inwardly, into corresponding recesses provided in the table 76, so that the supporting plates 79 and 79' can swing in unhindered in the highest position of the table 76.

For the swinging of the arms 104 and 104', which must always take place during the upward movement of the table 76, two shafts 107 and 168 are mounted on the frame 77. The shaft 107 is driven, through the medium of a sprocket wheel 109, a chain 111 and a sprocket on the shaft 94, from this shaft 94. A bevel gear 112 on the 'shaft 107 drives a bevel gear 112 of equal sizeon the shaft 108 which moreover carries an adjustable cam 113. The ratio is so chosen that one revolution of the shaft 94 results in one revolution of the shaft 108. On the shaft 105' of the arm 104' is secured an angle lever 114 which on one of its two arms carries a roller 115 which is held against the surface of the cam 113 by a tension spring 116 connected to the other arm or said lever. On the shaft 105 of the arm 104,-is seemed an angle lever 117 one of whose arms 5 has a slot at its freeend for engagement by an extension of a bolt 118, by means of which the said roller 115 is carried on the lever 114. I The other arm-of this angle lever 117 is connected to a. tension spring lllf. The roller 115'therefore acts on both arms 104 and 104 which are swung inwardly with the supporting plates 79 and 79' beneath the main stack, as long as the roller bears on the low portion of the cam 113, so that the inward swinging of the arms-where no resistance of any kind has to be overcome-is effected under the action of the two tension springs 116, while the outward swinging is positively effected by the action of the cam 113 when the roller 115 passes from the low to the high portion of said cam where it is necessary to overcome the pressure of the main stack resting upon the plates 79, 79.

The inward swinging of the arms 104 and 104' always takes place when the table 76 is at the highest position, while the outward swinging, on the other hand, is variable and is governed by the height of the group of pieces s resting on the table 76 at any one time. This must take place, with any height of the pieces s whenever its uppermost piece, during the upward movement of the table, has reached a point close under the supporting plates 79 and 79. For that reason the cam 113 is made in two parts, of-which the part 113 controlling the passage from the high to the low portion and therefore effecting, together with the tension springs 116, the inward swinging of the arms 104 and 104', is solidly or permanently secured to the shaft while the other part 113" which controls the passage from the low to the high portion, for the outward swinging of the arms 104 and 104, is free to turn on the shaft 108, or on the hub of the, part 113' and can be secured by a screw 119 to suit the height of the group of sheets s being handled at any one time.

Means are also provided whereby each group of sheets 3 added to the stack may be turned to a position opposite to that of the preceding group 8. This is advantageous with folded newspapers and the like, if only for the reason that these are thicker at the side having the cross folds than at their other sides. The arrangement according to this invention is such that each time a group of sheets s is to be added to the main stack the group s is received upon the table 76, and each alternate group is turned through 180 degrees in the plane of the sheets so that the cross folds in the groups alternately lie on opposite sides of the main stack S. To effect this turning movement the stem 78 secured to the table 76 extends through a sleeve 120 mounted on the frame 77 and having a helical cam surface 122 extending through 180 degrees and adapted to engage a pin or roller 123 projecting from the side of the stem 78, the cam surface 122 being formed so as to cause the stem 78 to turn through 180 degrees during its upward movement, but to allow a short vertical movement-without rotationat the beginning and at the end of the upward movement of the stem.- The pin or roller 123 traverses the cam surface 122 and effects the turning of the stem 78 when the sleeve 120 is in the proper position. In the position shown in Fig. 2, the next upward movement of the stem 78 would take place with a simultaneous turning through 180 degrees, since the pin 123 on the stem 78 bears on the lower end of the cam 122. A suitable gap is formed in the sleeve 120 so that the stem 78 is not rotated during its subsequent downward movement. After the next upward movement of the table 76 the sleeve 120 is turned through 180 degrees, in the same direction as that ,of the table, the said sleeve 120 being turned through 180 degrees after every second upward movement of the table 76 by means of the following mechanism. The shaft 94 makes one revolution for each upward and downward movement of the table 76 and has a gear 124 in mesh with a gear 125 of equal size on the shaft 126. The gear 124 has teeth only on such a part of its circumference that its full revolution only results in exactly one half revolution of the gear 125 and of the shaft 126, which latter carries the roller wheel 127 of a Maltese gear, and one full revolution of the wheel 127 imparts to the Maltese cross 129 on the shaft 128 movement through 90 degrees. On the shaft 128 of the Maltese cross 129 there is provided a gear 130 and this is twice as large as a gear 132 which meshes therewith and is secured on a shaft 131. One quarter of a turn of the Maltese cross 129 therefore results, each time, in half a revolution of the shaft 131, whichlatter carries a spiral gear 133 which drives a similar gear 121 secured on the said sleeve 120.

Considering the above mechanism in the position shown at Fig. 2 it will be understood that during the next complete revolution of the shaft 94 the table 76 is caused to rise with a simultaneous turn through degrees, the shaft 126 and the roller wheel 127 turn through half a revolution in a clockwise direction, during which the roller 12,7 reaches the diametrically opposite position shown by dotted lines without imparting movement to the Maltese cross 129. After the completion of the revolution of the shaft 94, the

pin 123 of the stem 78, is located at the right hand side, since the table 76 during its upward movement has turned through 180 degrees. The pin 123 therefore no longer bears on the lower extremity of the cam surface 122, so that during the next revolution of the shaft 94 the vertical movement of the table 76 takes place without a simultaneous turning movement, but the roller 127' of the roller wheel 127 moves from the dotted into the full-line position so that during the second half of its half revolution the roller 127 turns the Maltese cross 129 through ninety degrees, so that the sleeve 120 is turned through 180 degrees in the same direction as the table was previously turned, so that the pin 123 of the stem 78 again engages the lower extremity of the cam surface 122. Since only half the revolution of the roller wheel 127, (on account of the partial toothing of the gear 124) only takes place during the descent of the table 76 and the movement of the Maltese cross 129 moreover only takes place in the second 1' half of the half revolution of the roller wheel 127, the turning of the sleeve 120 commences only after the table 76 has made one half of its downward movement; the sleeve can therefore be turned through 180 degrees without hindrance.

With reference to the action of the said lever 80 on the shaft 50 of the means for releasing the one-revolution coupling 93 by swinging the lever 88, it should be understood that movement of the lever 88 is effected only when the assembling plate 22 moves back into the sheet-receiving position, that is to say, when the lever 80 passes from the dotted to the full-line position, Fig. 2, since with the opposite movement of the lever 80 its pin 81 merely swings the small pawl lever 85, which turns it on its bolt 84. Before the lever 80 has reached the dotted line position, however, the pawl 85 again slides off the pin 81 and the torsion spring 86 brings it again into contact with its stop-pin 87.

Although the drawings and the above specification disclose the best mode in which we have contemplated embodying our invention, we desire to be in no way limited to the details of such disclosure for in the further practical application of our invention, many changes may be made in the form and construction as circumstances require or experience suggests without departing from the spirit of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus of the character described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising an assembling member, means for delivering the sheets to such member, means for conveying the assembled sheets on said member, a toothed counting wheel operated by the delivery of the sheets to the said member, variable cammeans on said wheelfor controlling the conveyance of the assembled sheets, and means for receiving the said sheets.

2. Apparatus of the character described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising a sheet receiving member, means including a toothed wheel for counting and feeding the sheets to said member, means for imparting lateral movements to said member on accumulation of a predetermined number of sheets, a cam rim onsaid wheel for controlling said lateral movements, and means for feeding from said member the sheets so accumulated.

3. Apparatus of thecharacter described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising an assembling plate, means for feeding the sheets to said plate, means including a toothed wheel for counting said sheets, means for displacing the plate with said sheets when a predetermined number have been accumulated, a plurality of recesses in'said wheel, means engaging said recesses for controlling said plate displacing means, and means for receiving said accumulated sheets.

4. Apparatus of the character described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising a plate for receiving the sheets from a printing or other machine, means including a toothed wheel for feeding, counting and accumulating the sheets, means for laterally displacing the sheets when a predetermined number have been accumulated, and a rim on the said wheel, a plurality of recesses said rim, a swinging member adapted to enter said recesses to control the sheet displacing means, a reciprocating table for raising the sheets into contact with the lower extremity. of a main stack of sheets, and means .for supporting said sheets in said main stack.

5. Apparatus of the character described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising means for counting and accumulating the sheets. means for receiving the accumulated sheets, means for transferring the sheets from the accumulating means to said receiving means, movable plates for supporting a main stack of sheets above the accumulated sheets on said receiving means, swinging arms carrying said plates, cam mechanism for operating the said plates to receive the accumulated sheets, and means for adjusting the saidcam mechanism to suit the height of the accumulated sheets.

6. Apparatus of the character described for handling and stacking sheets and the like comprising means for accumulating and counting the sheets including a ratchet counting wheel with a cam rim thereon, a table for receiving .he accumulated sheets, means for feeding the sheets from said accumulating means to said tab. J, comprising a-swinging member, means for operating the same in proper timed relation to the operation of the apparatus and means cooperating with the cam rim on said counting wheel for 0011-, necting the swinging lever with said feeding means on the accumulation of a predetermined number of sheets.

7. Apparatus of the character described for handling sheets and the like comprising means for accumulating the sheets, means for receiving the accumulated sheets, means for conveying the accumulated sheets from the accumulating means to said receiving means, swinging members for supporting a main stack of sheets, means for raising the accumulated sheets towards the main stack of sheets, cam means for operating said swinging members to receive the said accumulated sheets, and adjusting mechanism 'to modify the action of said cam means to suit the height of the accumulated sheets.

8.. Apparatus of the character described for counting and stacking sheets and the like comprising a counting wheel, a series of indentations therein, a slide plate for the accumulation of the sheets, means for raising accumulated 5 sheets to a main stack, rotary means for feed ing the accumulated sheets to said raising means from the said plate, a member for engaging one of said indentations after the accumulation of a predetermined number of sheets on said plate, 20 cam mechanism controlled by said member for sliding the said plate to deliver the accumulated sheets to said rotary sheet feeding means, and control mechanism cooperating with said cam mechanism for the control of the said means 5 for raising the accumulated sheets to the main stack, and means for closing any desired number of indentations to vary the number of sheets in each accumulation on the said plate.

ALFRED WINKLER. mx mmmnama.

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