US2092189A

US2092189A - Sheet fed printing machine

Info

Publication number: US2092189A
Application number: US720344A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stobb Anton
Original assignee: R Hoe and Co Inc
Current assignee: R Hoe and Co Inc
Priority date: 1934-04-13
Filing date: 1934-04-13
Publication date: 1937-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 1954-09-07

Description

Sep., 7, 1937. A STOBB SHEET FED PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ENVETJQQ.

Sept. 7, 1937. A STOBB 2,092,189

SHEET FED PRINTING MACHINE Filed April l5, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTY.

Sept 7, 1937. v A, STOBB 2,092,189

SHEET FED PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 7, 1937 SHEET FED PRINTING MACHllNE Application April 13, i934, Serial No, 720,344

2@ Claims. (Cl. lill- 410) This invention relates to gripper mechanism for transferring sheets in succession from a sheet supply to an impression cylinder of a rotary printing machine in such manner as to present each sheet to the cylinder in accurate register.

Various forms of sheet gripping mechanisms have been devised for rotary printing machines which have sheets fed thereto as the gripper members pass the sheet feeding mechanism, but

1 in the device according to this invention, a form of gripper has been devised which is adapted to reach out beyond the peripheral surface of the cylinder when approaching a sheet supply, then move into Contact with a sheet, pick it from the feed board or supply table and transfer to the surface of the cylinder.

One object of this invention, thereiore, is to provide a gripper and an abutment member which are normally positioned below the peripheral surface of an impression cylinder during a printing operation and are adapted to be moved outward beyond the cylinder, while said cylinder continues to rotate, to grip one edge of a sheet on a supply table and convey it from said supply table to the impression cylinder.

Another object is to control the movement of the gripper and abutment members so that a momentary rest period will be maintained when gripping the sheet and to accelerate same to so the speed of the impression cylinder rotation when conveying the sheet thereto.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a gripper mechanism of generally improved construction, whereby the device will be simple,

35 durable and inexpensive in construction, as well as convenient, practical, serviceable and eicient in its use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds,

40 the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts, and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is 50 illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein:

Figure 1 is an end elevation showing an impression roller in outline with fragmentary portions of a form cylinder, and a delivery cylinder,

55 and shows the gripper mechanism in full lines fil in sheet gripping position and in dotted lines in a sheet delivery position;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Figure 1, with parts broken away;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged view of a gripper member including the mounting therefor and a fragmentary portion of the impression cylinder, with parts in section;

Figure 4 is a front view of the gripper member and mounting looking in the direction of the arrow i of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a detail section through the gripper finger mountinfr taken along the line 5 of Figure 3.

Referring to Figure l, an impression cylinder is shown at ii with portions of a delivery cylinder l2 and a form cylinder l 3 which cooperate therewith. Adjacent the impression cylinder H, is a sheet registering table l5, and above said table is a sheet stop iii, which is adapted to limit the movement of sheets as they are ed thereagainst, previous to being taken by the impression cylinder. Any suitable mounting may be provided for said stop which may be raised clear of the sheet to allow the sheet to be conveyed from the table to the impression cylinder by means of a gripper mechanism indicated generally at l1.

The gripper members are preferably carried by a sleeve i8, which sleeve is rotatable within end bearings ESI-i9 and an intermediate bearing 2B, as shown in Figure 2. The end bearings l Q-i 9 are supported by walls 2 l-2l provided at each end of a pocket or gap 22 formed in the peripheral surface of the impression cylinder, while the intermediate bearing 2D is provided within an intermediate wall in the pocket 22. A plurality of grippers are employed and each gripper structure comprises a gripper support 23 with an abutment arm 2'! and is secured to the sleeve i8 by means of a cap 24, the latter having bolts therethrough which engage the support and provide a clamp around the sleeve. A gripper 25 is pivotally mounted upon a pin 2S held in the abutment arm 2l and has a ilattened tip 23 which is adapted to engage an abutment pad 29 secured to the outer closed end of the abutment arm 21 Said tip 28 is normally maintained in contact with the pad 2Q by means of a compression spring 3i, which is compressed between a lug 32 on said gripper, and a removable plug 33 in the support 23. The pin 26 is provided with an eccentric portion 3G to adjust the pivotal p0- sition of the gripper, and a nut 35 is provided to clamp the pin in an adjusted position.

Cil

A shaft 3l provided within the sleeve I8 is adapted to be rocked therein and has a groove 36 in the surface thereof. Referring to Figure 3, in which the groove 35 is clearly indicated, a ball 38 is shown within an opening 39 provided through both the sleeve i8 and the support 23, and also engages the gripper lug 32 and the shaft 3l. In the particular position shown in Figure 3, the ball 3% is shown in engagement with the groove SP5, and while iri this position the gripper is in a closed relation with abutment pad 29. If, however, the shaft 3l is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction, in Figure 3, the ball will ride over the end of the groove to the periphery of the shaft and will be forced against the gripper lug 32, the

action of which will swing the gripper about its pivot and cause the same to move to an open position away from the abutment pad 29.

Referring to Figure '2, the sleeve i8 is shown mounted within the end bearings lil-i9 and the intermediate bearing 2G, and extends beyond the left wall 2l of the impression cylinder, while the shaft 3l nts within the sleeve I8 and has one end extending beyond the right end thereof.

A segmental pinion il is secured to the extended end of the sleeve, which pinion meshes with the teeth of a segmental gear 2. Said segmental gear is pivotally mounted upon a stub shaft it extending outward from one end wall of the impression cylinder, and has a` cam roller la rotatably mounted thereon, which is adapted to engage a cam surface i5 indicated diagrammatically by the full line in Figure 1. Means is provided to hold said cam roller l against the cam surface, which comprises a rod d6 having one end secured to the segmental gear at 4l and the opposite end slidable within a block @i8 secured to the end wall of the impression cylinder. A spring llt, placed over said rod li and compressed between said block 48 and the opposite end of the rod, forces the cam roller M against the cam surface d5.

A rocker arm 5i is secured to the extended end of the shaft 3i and has a cam roller 52 rotatably mounted thereon, which engages a cam surface 53 indicated diagrammatically by the dotted line in Figure l. A rod 54 is secured to said rocker arm at 55 and is slidable within a block 5S extending from the end wall of the impression cylinder in the same manner as that previously described for the rod 6, and also has a spring 57 compressed between the block 56 and the opposite end of the rod. While the cam surfaces i5 and 53 are only diagrammatically shown, it will be understood that the sam-e are provided apart from the gripper mechanism and will be included as separate members which will be applied to the machine structure.

Gripper means is also provided in connection with the delivery cylinder i2, as indicated at 58 in Figure l, which may comprise any suitable arrangement adapted to receive each sheet after the printing operation has been completed. and move same to a dis-charge position.

In describing the operation of the gripper mechanism of this invention, a start will be made with the dotted line or delivery position of the mechanism shown in Figure l, which shows the gripper at a point where it releases its grip upon a previously printed sheet, to permit the sheet to be gripped by the delivery gripper means. 'I'he cams l5 and 53 are so formed that the gripper mechanism will be swung outward around the axis of the shaft 3l, while the impression cylinder is rotating, and the gripper abutment will follow a path substantially as indicated by the dot and dash line 59, which is shown up to the point of contact with a sheet on the feed table l5. The gripper finger 25 also moves outward, and the tip 28 follows a path indicated by the dotted lines Si., From the curvature of the lines 5S and (il, it will be observed that the gripper tip 23 will open at the point of sheet delivery, then both the finger and the abutment will move outward7 with the nger increasing its opening in relation to the pad port; n 29, then closing again during the preliminary movement thereof. Both the finger and the abutment will then continue to move in an equally spaced relation until they approach the sheet supply table l5, at which position the finger and abutment will be independently manipulated to move the abutment beneath the sheet of paper on the table l5, while the finger moves around and over the top of said sheet, whereupon both the finger and the abutment are brought together abruptly to grip the end of the sheet.

The entire movement of the gripper fingers and the abutments is unique in its principle and may be considered as the equivalent of a hand which is adapted to reach for a sheet, grip same with the fingers, and then withdraw the sheet. After gripping the sheet in this manner, the gripper mechanism is returned within the pocket 22 and the sheet is drawn over the surface of the cylinder.

Due to the particular shape of the cam surfaces or" each of the cam members d5 and 53, the segmental gear i2 and rocker arm 5i will be rocked thereby about their axes and will rotate the sleeve I8 and the shaft accordingly to move the support 223 and ngers 25 through the paths described. The segmental gear i2 controls the movement of the sleeve i8 and the supports 23 secured thereto, while the rocker arm 5i controls the movement of the shaft 3l, which rocks the grippers 25, and from the curve showing the path through which the fingers and pads travel, it will be observed that the said rocker arm 5l only functions to move the fingers away from engagement with the abutments 2S upon reaching the delivery position and again upon reaching a new sheet on the support i5.

By means of the formation of the cam 45, the motion of the segmental gear i2 is further controlled so that the grippers 28 and abutments 29 are actually in a stationary position momentarily when brought into gripping contact with a sheet on the support l5, which will occur at the moment a reversal in the direction .of the rotation of the segmental gear l2 and the pinion Iii takes place. After gripping the sheet the return of the gripper mechanism to its position within the pocket 22 is so regulated as to gradually accelerate the move-ment thereof to the speed of the cylinder and thereby avoid any abrupt pull on the paper.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without department from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, a sleeve extending through a pocket in said cylinder, and a shaft extending through said sleeve, a support member' secured to said sleeve and a cam actuated rocker member connected with said sleeve, a gripper carried by said support and positioned in operable relation with the shaft, and cam actuated means to rock the shaft. l

2. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, a sleeve extending through a pocket in said cylinder, and a sli-aft extending through said sleeve, a support member secured to said sleeve and a cam actuated rocker member connected with said sleeve, an abutment arm extending from said support and having a gripper abutment, a gripper including a tip portion, means to normally maintain the tip portion in gripped contact with the abutment, means operable by a movement of the shaft to release the tip Contact, and a cam actuated member secured to said shaft to rock same.

3. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder having a pocket formed in the peripheral surface thereof, a sleeve supported within said pocket, a shaft having a grooved portion thereon and positioned within said sleeve, means to rock said sleeve and means to rock said shaft, a supp-ort including an abutment member fixed to said sleeve, and a gripper carried by said support having portion thereof in operable relation with the grooved portion of said shaft, wheieby said abutment member is rocked by the movement of the sleeve and the gripper is operated by the movement of the shaft.

4A In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, a longitudinal shaft supported by said impression cylinder, a sleeve carried by said shaft, an abutment member associated with said sleeve, a gripperfmember associated with said shaft, means to rock said sleeve to move both the abutment and gripper, and means to rock said shaft to independently control the movement of the gripper with respectto the abutment.

5. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, a longitudinal shaft supported b y said impression cylinder, a sleeve carried by said shaft, a support including an abutment member fixed to said sleeve, a gripper member associated with said shaft, means to rock said sleeve to rock the support, and means to roch said shaft to rock the gripper.

6. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, two shafts each axially xed relative to the cylinder, each shaft having a gripper member opei'ably connected therewith, and means to separately actuate said shafts to thereby operate said gripper members.

7. In a printing machine, a rotatable impression cylinder, two shafts each axially fixed relative to the cylinder, an abutment member rotatably mounted on one of said shafts, a gripper member operably connected to the other of said shafts, means to actuate one of said shafts to move said gripper and abutment outward beyond the cylinder periphery, and means to actuate the other1 of said shafts to move the gripper member relative to the abutment member.

8. In a printing machine, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of rotatably mounted shafts axially fixed relatively to said cylinder, a gripper member operably connected to each shaft, and means actuated by rotation of said shafts to operate said gripper members to grip a sheet.

9. In a printing machine, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of rotatably supported shafts axially fixed relatively to said cylinder, cooperating sheet gripping members one being pivotally supported on the other, and means actuated by rotation of said shafts to move one of said gripping members relatively to the other.

l0. In a printing machine, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of rotatably supported shafts axially fixed relatively to said cylinder, cooperating sheet gripping members one being pivotally supported on the other, separate means to rock each shaft for cooperating operation to swing said gripping members relatively to said cylinder, and means to superimpose rocking movement on one of said shafts and vary its rocking movement to rotate one of said gripping members relatively to the other.

1l. In a printing machine, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of rotatably supported shafts axially fixed relatively to said cylinder, cooperating sheet gripping members one being pivotally supported onA the other, separate means to rock each shaft for cooperating operation to swing said gripping members relatively to said cylinder, and means between said shafts and operable by relative rotative movement between the same to swing one of said gripping members relatively to the other while said shaft rocking means is operating.

12. In a printing machine, in combination, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of cooperating sheet gripping fingers swingably mounted on said cylinder, said fingers being mounted for movement relative to each other to grip and release a sheet, means to receive a released sheet, sheet holding means from which a sheet is taken when gripped by said fingers, a first cam actuated means to swing said fingers in unison beyond the periphery of said cylinder, a second cam actuated means .o move one of said fingers relatively to the other, to release a sheet to said receiving means and to grip a sheet and remove it from said sheet holdimT means, and a camming surface for controlling each of said cam actuated means.

13. In a printing machine, in combination, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of cooperating sheet gripping fingers swingably mounted on said cylinder, said iingers being mounted for movement relative to each other to grip and release a sheet, means to receive a released sheet, sheet holding means from which a sheet is taken when gripped by said fingers, a rst cam actuated means to swing said fingers in unison beyond the periphery of said cylinder, a second cam actuated means to move one of said fingers relatively to the other, and a cam surface for controlling each of said cam actuated means, each of said cam surfaces being coordinated with the other to actuate said cam actuated means to cause, in sequence, separation of the fingers to release a sheet by one of said means before said fingers are swung beyond the cylinder periphery by the other, closing of the fingers together while being so swung, separation of the fingers adjacent the sheet holding means, moving of both fingers toward the sheet on said holding means to straddle the sheet, closing of the ngers together to grip the sheet, and then swinging of both fingers while gripping a sheet below the periphery of said cylinder.

14. In a printing machine, in combination, a rotatable cylinder, a pair of cooperating sheet gripping fingers swingably mounted on said cylinder, said fingers being mounted for movement relative to each other t0. grip and release a sheet, means to receive a released sheet, sheet holding means from which a sheet is taken when gripped by said fingers, a rst cam actuated means to swing said fingers in unison beyond the periphery of said cylinder, a second cam actuated means to move one of said fingers relatively to the other, a

first cam surface for controlling said rst cam actuated means, a second cam surface for controlling said second cam actuated means, said cam surfaces being coordinated to actuate said second cam actuated means to move one of said fingers relatively to the other to release a sheet 'to said sheet receiving means, to actuate said first cam actuated means to swing both of said iingers beyond the periphery of said cylinder, to actuate said second cam actuated means to move one of said iingers toward the other to grip a sheet in said holding means while actuating said rst cam actuated means to move both fingers toward said holding means to straddle a sheet thereon and then to actuate said iirst cam actuated means to swing said fingers below the periphery of said cylinder.

l5. In a printing machine, in combination, a rotatable cylinder, sheet holding means, sheet receiving means, a pair of relatively movable cooperating sheet gripping fingers on said cylinder, a cam actuated member operative to move one of said fingers relatively to the other adjacent said sheet receiving means to release a sheet gripped betweenl said fingers and to move said nger relatively to the other adjacent said sheet holding means to grip a sheet held thereby, a camming surface for actuating said member, cam actuated means to swing both of said fingers outwardly from the periphery of said cylinder intermediate said sheet receiving and holding means and to eiect a movement of said fingers toward a sheet on said holding means, when they are adjacent the same, to cause them to straddle the sheet, and a camming surface for actuating said cam actuated means.

16. In a printing machine, in combination, a rotatable cylinder, sheet holding means, sheet receiving means, a pair of relatively movable cooperating sheet gripping iingers on said cylinder, cam actuated means to swing both of said ngers outwardly from the periphery of said cylinder intermediate said sheet receiving and holding means and to eiTect a movement of said ngers toward a sheet on said holding means when they are adjacent the same, to cause them to straddle the sheet, cam actuated means to move one of ysaid iingers relatively to the other at said sheet holding and said sheet receiving means, and a camming surface for actuating each of said cam actuated means.

17. In a printing machine, a rotatable cylinder, a sheet gripping mechanism including a sheet abutment arm pivotally mounted on said cylinder, a sheet gripper, said armV and said gripper having cooperating sheet gripping surfaces, an eccentric pin by which said gripper is pivoted to said arm, said eccentric pin being rotatable to relatively adjust said sheet gripping surfaces, and means to secure said pin in its adjusted position.

18. In a printing machine, an impression cylinder, sheet holding means, sheet receiving means, said sheet holding and receiving means being spaced apart about said cylinder, a sheet gripper, a support for said gripper supported by cyl- I inder, an abutment arm extending from said support, means to rock said support to swing said arm beyond the periphery of said cylinder, and cam actuated means to move said gripper relatively to said arm at said sheet holding means and at said sheet receiving means.

19. In a printing machine, an impression cylinder, sheet holding means, sheet receiving means, said sheet holding and receiving means being spaced apart about said cylinder, a sheet;

gripper, a support for said gripper mounted upon a member pivotally mounted to said cylinder, an abutment arm extending from said support, means to actuate said pivotally mounted member to rock said support to move the arm beyond the periphery of said cylinder, and cam actuated means to independently move said gripper relatively to said abutment arm to grip a sheet at said sheet holding means and to release it at said sheet receiving means.

20. In a printing machine, an impression cylinder, sheet holding means, sheet receiving means, said sheet holding and receiving means being spaced apart about said cylinder, a sheet gripper, a support for said gripper mounted upon a member pivotally mounted to said cylinder, an abutment arm extending from said support, cam actuated means to actuate said pivotally mounted member to rock said support to move the arm beyond the periphery of said cylinder, and cam actuated means to independently move saidl gripper relatively to said abutment arm to grip a sheet at said sheet holding means and to release it at said sheet receiving means.

ANTON STOBB.