US1999292A - Offset counting device - Google Patents

Description

April 99, 1935.. s, HALVQRSEN 1,999,292

OFFSET COUNTING DEVICE Filed July lla,v 1929 5 sheets-sheet 1 pril B, M93. s. HALvoRsEN y l,999292 OFFSET COUNTING DEVICE Filed July 18, 1929 l '5 sheets-sheet 2 @file/75071' 1 AWM mi; 13- v s. HALVRSEN 1,999,22.

OFFSET COUNT ING DEVICE Filed July 18. i929 3 Sheets-Shee'fI 3 v www..

Patented Apr. 30, 1935` PATENT ortica y OFFSET COUNTING DEVICE Severin Halvorsen, Chicago, lll., assigner to The Newspaper Stuiiing Machine Company, Seattle, Wash., a corporation of Washington Application-July 18, 1929,.Serial No. 379,139

15v Claims.

This invention relates to a counting device as used more particularly in connection with newspaper stuiing machines, magazine cover binders and ysuch like articles, Where one article out of a certain predetermined number may be oiiset from a pile delivered toa piling or stacking device at the end of a sturing machine; the purpose of so offsetting the one is for automatically and visually indicating the arrival of the proper number of articles to the pile at the delivery or stacking end of the machine.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce a device of this character which will be reliable in its operation. l Another object of Vthe invention is to produce a device of this character which will not damage the articles so acted upon.

Another object Aoi the invention is to produce a device of this character which will be interconnected with the mechanism of the delivery device of' the machine, and operated thereby, but controlled by the actual presence or arrival of an article to be counted.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device of this character which will be capable ci accurately counting articles `of Various thicknesses Without making any changes or adjustments to any part or parts. of the counting device.

in the drawings: v e,

Figure 1 is a side View of the end of a machine equipped with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail View of the counting associated devices.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 with the parts shown in a changed position.

Fig. e is a detail 'View of aratchet tooth vvvheel with its associated pav/l. Y

Fig. 5 is an end view of the parts of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1. f,

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but with the parts in changed position.

Fig.'7 is a detail View of the offsetting mechanism.

and

Fig. 8 vis a plan view oi thel parts shown inV is in theY path of a cam 3G mountedl on a rotating ing machine, having the v usual; nal transfer platform A onto which the papers are conveyed and from Which they are propelled (by means not shown) to Vthe receiving and stacking device here shown. 5v

The side frames i--l support` the various mechanisms including the shaft 2 which is journalied in these frame members, and has the Ysprocket 3 keyed thereto. A chainY #l drives the sprocket 3 and is to be understood asconnected to any i() moving shaft of a stufngv machine (not shown).

It may be understood that at'each rotation of the shaft 2 va paper" unit is delivered to the platform A, thence tothe stacking'table Where the units are stacked, and Vat certain predeter- 15 mined intervals a unit is offset from the boundary line o thestack to mark or indicate the accumuiation of a predetermined number, which in this case and for purposes of illustration is twenty-live papers, that is the twenty-fifth pa- 20 per unit being oiiset or protruded from the general line of the other units in the stack and so facilitating the counting of the total machine output, and also enablingY the operator to take from the machine'a bundle containing a certain known number of units each time.

In my copending application, Serial No. 370,- 244, I show in detail some of the mechanisms for stacking the paper units; for instance, the verticallymoving table I li Vwhich is actuated by the rock-shaft Il through the arms l2, the connecting links I3 and the lever iii which is mounted for rocking the shaitll by the cam i5 on theV shaft 2; also the rock-shafts It--lli which carry the arms I'i-l'i forfrretracting the supporting members it-IB which allow each incoming paper 'unit tobe added tothe bottom Voi the paper stack Which is here indicated at le in Fig. 5.

VThe parts which are the subject of the present invention are those which offset the twenty-fifth paper unitA as previously stated, and include the Wings 3l) and 3l and their mountings which are disk 3l. YUpon each revolution of the disk 3l the cam 35 encounters the tappet 35 and causes the Wings 3U and 3| to move from the position shown in. Fig. 8 to theV position shovvn in Fig. 9. This movement of the Wings causes the paper unitA B 55 then resting on the table IG to shift from the location indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9.

The disk 31 is mounted on and rotated by a shaft 45 journalled in a bearing box 45a; the means for rotating the shaft and thereby the disk 31 consists of a connecting rod 4B having one end mounted by means of a wrist pin 4 l, which is adjustably secured in a slotted crank device 42 keyed to theY shaft 2. v The other end of the rod 45 is pivoted at 43 to a lever 44; this lever is loosely mounted on the shaft 45 and is oscillated by the movement of the member 42. Rigidly secured to this shaft 45 is a ratchet-tooth wheel 46 (which has in this casej twenty-five teeth); the lever 44 carries a pawl or ratchet 44arranged to engage the teeth to rotate the shaft 45 to the extent of one tooth at each revolution ofthe shaft 2.

Thus it will be seen that at every revolution of the Y'shaft'Z which is so related to the stuffing machine devices (not shown) that a papier unit will be added toY the stack and that the shaft 45 through Vthe'medium of the ratchet and pawl will cause the cam 36 to operate the wings 3B and 3l at every twenty-'fifth revolution of the shaft 2.

It is conceivable that the mechanism that delivers the paper units to the stacking device might not be loaded to full capacity and not carry a unit as expected, notwithstanding that the ratchetwheel would be advanced one tooth at every'revolution of the operating shaft 2, and in the absenee'of provisions to the contrary the counting device would thus'be thrown out of time; so to insure that the vpawl 441L will not drive the Wheel 46 unless a paper unit is present, there is provided the tracker Wheel 5G (see Figs. 2 and 3) in the path'cf the units and is mounted at one end of a short lever arm 5I which is keyed to a rock shaft 52 which carries the arm 53, having the link 54 pivoted at the upper end thereof at 55, and the lower end pivoted at 56, to a bell crank lever 51 mounted on the side frame at 5S.

This bell-crank lever 51 has an extension 59 v which overlies the extension 44u of the pawl 44a. A paper unit,V in passing over the platform A will raise the tracker roll 56 and` thereby operate the ymembers v53, 54 and 51 so that the extension 59 of the bell crank 51 will not interfere with the operation of the pawl 44a so'that the wheel 4S may be rotated thereby; but when no unit is present under the roller 50, the extension 59 will Contact the extension 44b of the pawl 44a and it will swing the pawl about itsfulcrum V44c out of possible engagement With the teeth of the wheel 46 and the shaft 45 will remain dormant even though the shaft 2 continues to rotate and the parts will remain in that position until another paper unit arrives and restores the pawl so that it may operate the Wheel 46. lWhen the twentyfifth paper is t0 be acted upon, it is desirable to increase the rotative travel of the Wheel 45, and this is accomplished by mounting a second wheel 46a alongside of the ratchet wheel and supplying a secondary pawl 44U1 which is attached to the pawl 44a.

It will be noted that the peripheral travel of the pawl 44a is considerably in excess of the pitch of the teeth on the Wheel 46, and this overtravel is utilized by so locating a notch 46f inthe' second wheel 46a that the pawl 44d will engage it when it arrives andwill leave the wheel 46 in such position that the pawl 44ia in its extreme idling travel will drop into a tooth that will cause a rotative travel equal to approximately one and one-half teeth, thus prolonging the contact between the tappet 35 and the cam 36, thereby insuring a full travel and the'proper functioning of the Wings 36 and 3! during the travel of the member 44. By allowing pawl 44a to fall into notch 46f to rotate 4tiL it can rthus be easily seen that a further distance of rotation is secured than is possible withpawl 441L and ratchet 44. It may further be explained that the wing 30 is soshaped and positioned that the point 35e contacts the paper unit V,for shifting it in the manner described, and that the part 3|d of the wing 3| acts as a limit guide for the paper so shifted. The vertical extent of these wings is calculated to be sucient to allow them to fully shift the paper unit while the table -l is travelling upward, a distance equal to their vertical height.

After any oneV of the papers has passed the tracker roller 5B and before the next succeeding one has arrived, the lever 53 in the absence of provisionsto the contrary would be free to drop and cause the pawl 44a to become disengaged from the'wheel 46 and the shaft V45 would then stop, with the result that in the event the cam 35 is in a position to engage the Wing controlling tappetv 35 the wings 30 and 3| would'not travel far enough .to fully offset the paper on the table l5 or complete the movement of the operated parts. To guard against this, and insure sufficient movement and complete travelof the lever 4S provision is made to hold'the lever 53 in a raised position; this is accomplished by providing a Ycam 1D which is mounted on and operated by the shaft 2 arranged to contact a roller 1| on the lever 12. This lever is fulcrumed at 13 to the frame l and acts to operate a wedge 14 at the upper end of a lever arm 15 fulcrumed at 15 to the main frame l. 'A retracting spring 11 is attached at 18 to the lever 15 and a stop 15J on the frame arrests the action thereof. The spring 12X retracts the lever 12. f

Upon each revolution of the shaft 2 the cam 1B contacts the roller 1l on the arm 12, and thrusts the wedge 14 between the arm 53 and an adjustable stop 53f mounted in a bracket 53h, the bracket being secured to the main frame I.

While the roller 1l dwells on the face of the cam 1Q, the wedge 14 will remain in the position to maintain the pawl 44a in driving relation With the wheel 46.

It will be understood that the camj 10 on the shaft 2 operates the lever 12 at every revolution thereof, and thereby tends to 'thrust the wedge 14 in the position above described (see Fig. 10) whether a .paper is to be counted or not, andif no paper has passed the tracker roller 5D, it is of Course not desirable that the wheel 46 beV advanced, andunder these circumstances the arm 53 will not have been raised; the wedge 14 then will encounter astop notch 53e which will limit the movement thereof; toprovide for: this, the lever 15 which carries the wedge' 14 is yieldingly actuated bya spring 12a, so that vwhen the parts are in the position indicated in` Fig. 11 with Ythe wedge 14 against the stop notch 53e, no harm will result totherparts. f Y

The member 53f is made adjustable as shown, to insure the proper positioningof the lever arm 53; the member 15 is made of relatively light and ductile material to permit of its being readily formed to operate as indicated.

Toy accommodate for different thicknesses of paper units, the tracker roller 50l is adjustably mounted on the shaft 52, by means of a set screw 5|finthehub ofthearm 5|.

The paWl 46g is mounted in a bracket 46h on the frame I, and is arranged to engage the teeth in the Wheel 46 to insure its rotating in the proper direction.

It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made Without'departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a stacking table having vertical movement, of means for offsetting units to be counted, said means mounted adjacent said table and arranged to operate during the'vertical travel of the said stacking table.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a stacking table with offsetting means mounted on the sides thereof for counting the stacked paper units, and means for prolonging the operating period of the offsetting means.

3.' In a device of the character described, the combination of a stacking table with counting and offsetting mechanism, the counting device advancing step by step, in equal increments, until the offsetting count is reached, and means for increasing that step for prolonging the operative period ofthe offsetting mechanism. s

4. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, a ratchet VWheel for operating said means, said Wheel arranged to rotate evenly for each unitv to be counted, and means for increasing the rotative travel of the said Wheel at the instant of the operation of the offsetting means.

5. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, means for rendering the counting means operative, said means including a tracker roller in the path of the units and operated thereby, and supplemental means for maintaining the counting means in operative positi-on, after the tracker roller ceases to control the said counting means.

6. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, means for rendering the counting means operative, said means including a tracker roller in the path of the units and operated thereby, and supplemental means for maintaining the counting means in operative position, after the tracker roller ceases to control the said counting means, said supplemental means including a wedge and a cam, said cam adapted to intrude said Wedge in position toretain the said counting means in operative position.

'7. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, a ratchet Wheel for operating said means, an oscillating` arm and a ratchet mounted thereon for driving the ratchet wheel, means for imparting equal oscillation to the said arm, and means for imparting unequal angular movement to the said ratchet wheel during the same equal oscillations of the said arm and ratchet. Y

8. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, a ratchet Wheel for operating said means, an oscillating arm and a ratchet mounted thereon for driving the ratchet wheel, means for imparting equal oscillations to the said arm, and means for imparting unequal angular movement to the said ratchet wheel during the same equal oscillations of the said arm and ratchet, said last mentioned means including a compound ratchet.

9. In a device of the character described, including a receiving platform, said platform mounted for vertical reciprocation; offsetting mechanism associated With the platform, and means for operating the offsetting mechanism during the upward travel of the said platform.

10. In a device ofthe character described, including a receiving platform',v said platform mounted for vertical reciprocation; offsetting mechanism associated with the platform, said offsetting mechanism arranged to operate during the upward travel of the said platform, said offsetting mechanism consisting of shifting wings on opposite sides of the said platform and of such vertical height as to insure the proper functioningl thereof While the platform is travelling.

1l. In a device of the character described, the combination `of a stacking table With counting and offsetting mechanism, the counting device advancing step by step, in equal increments, until the offsetting count is reached, and means for increasing that step for prolonging the operative period of the offsetting mechanism, said offsetting means vmounted above said table and adapted tobe driven from said counting device.

l2. In a device of the character described, including a receiving platform, said platform mounted for vertical reciprocation, counting and offsetting means associated therewith, pawl and ratchet means for operating said counting and offsetting mechanism and means associated therewith for stopping the operation of said ratchet wheel when no unit is received on said platform.

13. In a device of the character described for counting units comprising a support for receiving units, means for feeding the units in a stack upon the support, means for counting the units, means for offsetting a unit to indicate a predetermined number of units in the stack, and means adapted to render the counting means inoperative When feeding of the units to the support is interrupted.

lll. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, a rotatable device for operating said means, means arranged to rotate the rotatable device evenly for each unit to be counted, and means for increasing the rotative travel of the rotatable device concomitantly with the operation of the osetting means.

l5. In a device of the character described, counting and offsetting means, means arranged to move the counting means evenly for each unit to be counted, and means for increasing the movement of the counting means concomitantly With the operation of the offsetting means.

vSEVERIN HALv'oRsEN.

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