US2133262A

US2133262A - Machine for separating, counting, and delivering sheet material

Info

Publication number: US2133262A
Application number: US165887A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wolff Otto Edward
Original assignee: PAUL S BAUER
Current assignee: PAUL S BAUER
Priority date: 1937-09-27
Filing date: 1937-09-27
Publication date: 1938-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1955-10-11

Description

O. E. WOLFF Oct. l1, 1938.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL 15 snee-t-sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1957 ATTORN EY oct. l1, 1938. O. E. Awom- Fr 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL E Filed Sept. 27, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Maza' *s* f fm INVENTOR ATTORNEY oct. 11, 1938. Q E, WQLFF 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 f 13 Shee'tS-Sheet 3 f77 n INVENToR ATTORNEY Oct. l'l, 1938. Io. E. woLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR` ATTORNEY O. E. WOLFF Oct. l1, 1938.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 www L I I I l l i .I .l I \NON. um f v W1. new m1 H I Il 4/ 9.9@

ATTORNEY oct. 11, 1938. E WOLFF f 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 19.37

13 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR .w25 e. W

ATTORNEY O. E. WOLFF Oct. ll, 1938.

Filed Sept. 27, 1937 Y 13 Shets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR -llllvwllllYl/ ATTRNEY Oct. 11, 1938. Q E, WOLFF 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1957 l5 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. l1, 1938. o. E. woLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1938. o. E. woLF-F 2,133,262 MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING. AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 13 Sheets-Sheet l0 3 INVENToR BY /MW MMM/Q4 ATTORNEY- ocr. 11`, 193s. o, E WOLFF 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed sept.v 27, 1937 15 sheets-snee; 11

ATTORNEY INVENTQR Oct. 11, 19138- I. Io. E. woLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 12 r www5.

ATTORN EY Oct. 11, 1938. O. E WOLFF 2,133,262

MACHINE FOR lSEPARATING, COUNTING, AND DELIVERING SHEET- MATERIAL Filed Sept. 27, 1957l l5 Sheets-Sheet 15 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. Il, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR SEPABATING, COUNTING.

AND DELIVERING SHEET MATERIAL Application September 27, 1937, Serial No. 165,887

53Claims.

The present invention relates to means for handling sheet material. and more particularly to such sheet material as newspapers and periodicals.

As newspapers, for example. are delivered from the press, they are collected into bundles containing the proper number to be forwarded to the various newsdealers, and the bundles are then usually wrapped in preaddressed wrappers. These operations have heretofore been performed partly or wholly by hand.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new machine for automatically performing several or all of the various operations of separating the newspapers or other sheet material, counting them out, delivering the counted objects to a wrapper, and addressing the wrapper.

A further object is to provide novel mechanism for performing any or all of the above-described operations.

'I'he present invention relates also to counting machines, and more particularly to machines for counting newspapers, or other sheets, particularly when fed in lapped relation from one point to another.

It is desirable, in newspaper printing, to count automatically the number of papers actually reaching the mailing room from the press room. Such proposals as have heretofore been made for automatic counting of the newspapers, in the condition that they reach the press room, have not, however, proved satisfactory, so that they are still counted by human attendants. This is inaccurate and relatively slow.

Another object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a new and improved counter for sheets, like newspapers, particularly when the sheets are fed in lapped relation.

Another object is to provide a novel selecting device, the purpose of which is to permit the grouping or stacking of a predetermined number of the objects to be shipped.

A further object is to vary the said predetermined number.

Still another object is to provide a counter in conjunction with the selecting device, so as to register the total number of objects passing through the machine.

'Ihe present invention relates also to sheetfeeding-and-counting machines. and more particularly to machines for counting sheets or bundles of shee This feature of the invention has particular application to the counting of newspapers, either as they come from the press, or returned newspapers, magazines and the like,

but is applicable also to other articles, like paper sheets.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section oi' a machine embodying the present' invention in its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a similar vertical section, taken upon the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a plan of the left-hand side of the machine shown in Fig. 2; Fig. l is an enlarged section taken upon the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a section taken upon the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5A is a corresponding end view, looking toward the left in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a vertical section, taken upon the line 6 6 of Fig. l or Fig. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. i is a vertical section, taken upon the line 1 1 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows: Fig. 8 is a vertical section, taken upon the line 8 8 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 9 is a vertical section, taken upon the line 8 9 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 10 is a vertical section, taken upon the line iB IIi of Fig. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 11 is a horizontal section. underneath the mechanism, taken upon the line Il l I of Fig. 13, looking upward in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 12 is a section, taken upon the line i2 |2 of Fig. 10, looking toward the left; Fig. 13 is a similar section, looking toward the right; Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic view corresponding to Fig. 13, but upon a small scale; Figs. 15 to 2l, inclusive, are similar views, showing the parts in different positions; Fig. 22 is a fragmentary elevation of the upper right-hand, or the discharge, portion of the machine shown in Fig. l; Fig. 23 is a. similar view, showing the stack of sheets as it is being released; Fig. 24 is a vertical section taken upon the line M of Fig. 22, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. -25 is a wiring diagram with the parts of the machine positioned in their approximate locations on the machine; Fig. 26 is an exploded perspectiv upon a larger scale, of parts of the mechanism shown at the right of Fig. 6; Fig. 27 is a section similar to Fis. l of a modification in which the sheets are stacked from above instead of from below; Fig. 28 is an end view of the selector-and-address mechanism embodied in the modification of Fig. 27; Fig. 29 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 2,

but on a larger scale, the section being taken upon the line 28--28 of Fig. 28, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 30 is a vertical sec-I tion of a modified selector mechanism, taken upon the line 38-38 of Fig. 31, looking 'to the left, in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 31 is a vertical section taken upon the line 3 I--3I of Fig. 30, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 32 is a corresponding end view, looking from the right of Fig. 31; Fig. 33 is a plan of a modied address plate; Fig. 34 is a vertical section taken upon the line 34--34 of Fig. 29, but upon a larger scale, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 35 is a vertical section taken upon the line 35--35 of Fig. 34, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 36 is a detail view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 35, but upon a larger scale; Fig. 37 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 31--31 of Fig. 29, but upon a larger scale, looking downward in the directions of the arrows; Fig. 38 is a circuit diagram of the modified selector; and Fig. 39 is a section taken upon the ilne 39--39 of Fig. 31, looking to the right, in the direction of the arrows.

A' plurality of newspapers 2 are shown in Fig. 1 in lapped relation, upon inclined conveyor belts 4 by which they are delivered into a hopper 6, where they become temporarily stacked. The right-hand ends (as shown in Fig. 1) of the inclined conveyor belts 4 may be disposed adjacent to a newspaper press (not shown), or a stack of newspapers (not shown), another conveyor (not shown), or any other source of supply of newspapers. Though the machine is shown in connection with newspapers, preferably fed with one of the folded edges l forward, it will be understood that other sheet material, such as magazines and other periodicals, may also be treated in this machine, or parts thereof; and the terms newspaper", sheet and the like will, therefore, to avoid circumlocution of language, be often employed in the specification and the claims, in this generic sense, except where the context or the state of the art requires otherwise.

'1Referring, first, to the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 26, the left-hand end of the conveyor belts 4 are shown in Fig. l disposed at the righthand end of the bottom of the hopper 6. As the first newspaper 2 is delivered by the conveyor belts 4 into the hopper 6, therefore, it is carried by horizontally disposed, continuously traveling belts 8, at the bottom of the hopper 6, forward, or toward the left, as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 8. The second newspaper 2 is similarly carried forward, to the left, on top of the first newspaper 2. The third newspaper 2 is similarly carried forward, to the left, on top of the second newspaper, and so on.

The forward, or left-hand (as viewed in the said Figs. 1, 2 and 8) ends of those newspapers 2 that are disposed above the lowermost newspaper or newspapers soon engage a vertically disposed, shield wall I0 that prevents their further progress. 'Ihe newspapers 2 thus become accumulated in the hopper 6, each on top of its next-lower neighbor, in the form of a stack, the weight of which serves to press the lowermost newspaper 2 against the said horizontally disposed belts 8, at the bottom of the hopper 6.

1t is desirable that the pressure of the newspapers against the conveyor belts 8 caused by their own weight be not too great; particularly as it is desired to' lift this stack from time to time, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

To relieve the pressure, therefore, only part of the newspapers in the hopper 6, above a predetermined height, are permitted to exert their full weight upon the newspapers beneath. This result may be effected in any desired way. Ac-

cording to the illustrated embodiment, the left-Y hand end I2 (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 8) of a wall I4 is disposed near the upper end of the vertically disposed, shield wall ID, at a point a little higher than 'the lowestpoint of the inclined conveyor belts 4. The wall I4 is shown-inclining toward the right, substantially parallel,

and oppositely disposed, to the said inclined conveyor belts 4. Above the point I2, therefore, the newspapers will become collected in the hopper 6 in an inclined stack between the wall I4 of the hopper 6 and the inclined belts 4.

The lower terminal portion of the vertically disposed, shield wall Ill terminates in a linger I6, disposed Very close to the horizontally disposed conveyor belts 8, but raised slightly thereabove, so as to provide a space through which the conveyor belts 8 may feed the lowermost newspaper 2 out of the hopper 6, into the space outside, to the left of the hopper, as shown in Fig. l. The finger I6 may be constituted of an integral portion of the vertically disposed shield wall I0, extending continuously downward, and bent or inclined smoothly forward in the direction of travel of the conveyor belts 8. The shield wall I 0 is vertically adjustableto regulate the said space between the finger I6 and the belt 8. It is usually preferred to have only one newspaper at a time pass under the extremity I8 of the finger I6. To eifect this result, the space near the belt conveyor 8, under the extremity I8 of the finger I6, should be adjusted so as to be less than the thickness of two newspapers, so that the second newspaper from the bottom shall be caught by the sloping, inner wall of the inclined linger I6, as illustrated more particularly in Fig. l. If desired, of course, the position of the finger I6 may be adjusted high enough so as to permit more than one paper to pass its extremity I8, particularly where it is desired to feed the papers overlapped. The belts 8 and the projecting finger I6 of the shield I0, or either of them, are suiciently flexible to accommodate themselves to the papers 2 as these papers are carried between them. y

The adjustability of the finger I6 to control the separate feeding of the papers passing thereunder, or their number so passing, may be effected in any desired manner. As illustrated more particularly in Figs. 1 and 8, the preferred mechanism for adjusting the position of the finger I6 comprises two eccentrics 20 disposed between two pairs of lugs 22 and 24 that extend horizontally out from the vertically disposed, shield wall I0, at the extreme ends thereof, though they may extend throughout the length of the shield. The eccentrics 20 are pivoted about a shaft 25 to which is fastened an adjusting handle 26 that is positioned outside the side frame |65 of the machine. By turning the handle 26, therefore, about the axis of the shaft 25, the eccentrics 2U will be caused to turn, engaging the lugs 22 and 24, and thus raising and lowering the vertically disposed shield wall I 6 and the finger I6 at its lower end. The shield wall Ill will be guided in such vertical movement by ways 29 in the side frames |65 and I6`I of the machine. The eccentric 20 may be maintained in adjusted position by means of a spring-pressed pin 28 on the handle 26, that may be caused to enter any of a plurality of index openings 38 (Fig. 8) disposed for different settings of the shield I0, along a circular arc about the axis of the shaft 26. The shield l0 need not, of course, be a continuous wall; it may be replaced by suitably arranged flngers or guides.

'I'he newspaper or newspapers are passed out of the hopper 6, under the finger I8, by the same conveyor belts 8 before described; and to this end, they extend forward, to the left of the vertically disposed shield wall i0, a considerable distance beyond the confines of the hopper 6. Because of the highercoetlicient of friction between newspaper stock and the material of which the belts 8 are constituted, than between the news-` papers 2 themselves, the belts have no difllculty in moving the lowest paper 2 in the hopper 6 out from under the others. The belts pass over

pulleys

32 and 34, the former adjacent to the lowerl end of the inclined conveyor belts 4, at the righthand end of the hopper 6, and the latter far to the left of the hopper 6. They pass also over an idler roll 33, shown just to the right of the shield I8. 'I'he number of belts 8 passing over the

pulleys

32 and 34 may be four, with spaces between them through which are vis"b1e the hereinafter-mentioned table supports |46. The right-hand pulley 32 is provided with a plurality of projections 35 for agitating the rear ends of the papers 2 in the hopper 6, as it revolves, thus eliminating the tendency of the papers 2 sticking together in the hopper 6, and also tending to drive the lowest paper 2 to the left, toward the shield I0. The agitator 35 need not, however, be attached to one of the conveyor pulleys, since it may be separately driven.

If more than one paper (or the desired other number of papers) should tend to feed past the shield i8, they will become separated by a separating roll 38 under which the belts 8 pass at an intermediate point, a little to the left of the iinger i6. This is effected by flexibly pressing the separating roll 38 against the belts 8 and an idler roll 36 under the belts 8. 'I'he advancing, forward end of each newspaper, 'just after the paper travels out of the hopper 6, is thus pressed between the spring-pressed roll 38 and the roll 38 and the belts 8, and the newspaper continues to be so engaged as it continues its forward travel, to the left. 'I'he sheets thus travel between the conveyor 8 and the roll 36 below and the roll 38 above, as they leave the hopper. By operating the separating roll 38 in the same direction as the direction of travel of the belts 8, but at a surface speed lower than the speed of travel of the feed belts 8, and by suitably adjusting the pressure of its spring 48, the papers will become slowed down and dragged back, effecting their separation, and ensuring that the front edge of any particular paper 2 shall be behind the front edge of the next preceding paper 2 a sumcient distance to permit separate counting of the papers by a counting finger 44 or counting fingers 44 and 46, as hereinafter explained. They may be entirely separated from each other, with a space 42 between each two newspapers 2, as illustrated in Fig. 1, or they may become overlapped, depending upon the adjustment and the drive.

If the papers 2 were all of equal thickness, and if there were no irregularities or other sources of like error, and particularly if the papers 2 were not overlapped. one counting finger 44 would ordinarily suffice. In the illustrated machine, the counting fingers 44 and 46 are not laterally separated, in a direction at-right angles to the line of feed, but are substantially exactly alined with each other in the line of feed, between two ad jacent belts 8.

If the shield I8 itself operates effectively to separate the papers 2, the roll 38 may either run idly, or it may be driven at the same speed as the feed belts 8. In that event, as the sheets at the bottom of the hopper 6 are separated from the stack and carried by the conveyor belts 8 through the space under the inclined finger I8 of the shield I8, the roll 38 will merely hold the paper 2 under it against the belts 8 and the roll 36 to insure its being drawn out. A deflector or guide plate (not shown) may be used to prevent the upper sheets, if overlapped, from becoming lifted by the roll 38.

When the newspapers 2 have an extraordinary tendency to stick together, aswhen under the influence of static electricity, they may be separated by the use of horizontally disposed belts or a series of rolls (not shown), as explained in a copending application. Serial No. 43,928, led October 7, 1935, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part.

After the papers have thus been caused to travel from the conveyor belts 4 into the hopper 6, and from the hopper 6 between the rolls 36 and 38, they are next counted. To this end, the counting nger 44 is illustrated in Fig. 1, above the left-hand portion of the belts 8, and to the from between the rolls 36 and 38 in Fig. 1, its forward, folded edge 1 engages this counting finger 44. As soon as the paper has traveled beyond the position occupied by the counting finger 44, it falls into the space 42 between the successive papers 2. Each raising and lowering of the counting finger 44 will result in registering a count, as will be hereinafter explained, to indicate that another newspaperv 2 has been conveyed by the conveyor belts 8 from the hopper 6 to outside the hopper. A similar operation takes place when the sheets traveling under the counting finger 44 are overlapped, as before described; though there is no space 42 into which the counting finger 44 may drop, there is a difference in height between different parts of the overlapped papers that produces the same raising and lowering of the counting finger 44. The additional counting finger 46, spaced from the counting finger 44 in the line of feed, may, however, be employed, particularly with overlapped newspapers, the operation of one counting finger following upon ire operation of the other. When the additional counting finger 46 is employed, it operates, like the counting finger 44, to engage the sheets that travel under it; but the count is registered in response to the differential, up-anddown movement of both counting fingers 44 and 4S together, and not in response to the movement of one counting finger only, as is explained in the said application, thus effecting a more accurate control of the counter mechanism.

The beit conveyor s, the shield wail in, the separating member 38, and the counting fingers 44 and 46, are disposed at the bottom of the machine, the newspapers 2 traveling therethrough from the right to left, as viewed in Fig. 1. The papers 2 are then transferred to the upper portion of the machine by means of vertically disposed, continuously traveling, lift,

conveyor belts

68 and 62. The

conveyors

8 and 68, may, of course, be in the form of a single conveyor. After the papers 2 have been thus raised by the

belts

68 and 62, they are again carried through the machine, but from left to right. This enables lapped papers to be in the correct position to be stacked from. beneath. The forward edges 1 of the newspapers are practically parallel at all times, the papers 2 being fed quite regularly in this machine.

The conveyor belts 66 pass over two

large pulleys

64 and 66 and a smaller pulley 68. The pulley 66 is disposed vertically above the pulley 66. The conveyor belts 62 pass over three pulleys 16, 12 and 14. The lower surface of the pulley 64 is disposed substantially on the same level as the upper reach of the conveyor belts 8, and the pulley 16 is disposed below and to one side of the pulley 64. The newspapers 2 thus travel horizontally into the bite between the

conveyor belts

66 and 62, and are turned upward, around the large pulley 64, toward the

pulleys

66 and 12. The pulleys 68 and 14, however, are situated to the right of, and above, the

pulleys

66 and 12, the pulley 14 being disposed a little to the left of the pulley 68. The upper portions of the

belt conveyors

66 and 62, therefore, are disposed below, and at an upward incline to, the bottom of a magazine 18, so as to convey the newspapers successively to the right, after they leave the pulley 66, at an upward incline, toward the pulleys 68 and 14.

Horizontally disposed, continuously traveling, conveyor stacker belts 86 at the bottom of the magazine 18 pass over horizontally

alined pulleys

82 and 84 at the bottom of the magazine 16. The pulley 82 is disposed on the same shaft as, so as to be coaxial with, the pulley 68, under the magazine 18. It is not essential that the

belts

8 or 86 be horizontal,they may be inclined under the hopper 6 or the magazine 18 at an angle.

The papers are thus carried toward a predetermined point of the bottom of the magazine 16, just above the pulley 82, and under thek bent portions 92 at the left of a hold-down weight or weights 16, or under the rearward projecting ends of the newspapers 2 in the magazine 18, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The function of the weight 16 is to press the lowest paper 2 against the conveyor belts 86. This function is not needed in the hopper 6, because ofthe weight of the papers 2 that are fed in from above the stack. In the magazine 18, however, the papers are fed in by the

conveyors

66 and 62 from below.

As the first paper 2 is delivered by the

conveyor belts

66 and 62, between the pulleys 14and 62, it travels at the said upward incline, above the said puleys 68 and 82, the pulley 82 thus serving as a guide roll.

The front edge 1 of the first newspaper 2 is first gripped between the body portion of the hold-down weight 16, at the point where it joins the bent portion 92, and the portions of the belts 86 immediately beneath. The said front edge 'i is then. dragged in by the conveyor belts 86, under the said bent end 92 of the hold-down weight 16. The pulley 84 is disposed beyond the magazine 18, to the right thereof, as viewed in Fig. l, so that the belt conveyor 86 would carry the papers in the magazine 18 beyond, and to the right of, the magazine 18, on toa table i46, were it not for stops 86 that project upward between the stacker belts 86' to engage the forward end of the lower paper or papers 2 in the magazine 18 and limit its or their further progress. The stops 86 need not project very high, since it is quite suiicient to restrain the travel of only the bottom paper 2 in the magazine 18.

As the newspapers 2 continue to be successively advanced by the

belt conveyors

66 and 62, the forward end 1 of each next-following newspaper, as it leaves between the pulleys 416 and 82, enters into the magazine 18 at a point between the pulley 82 and under the rear end of the newspaper already at the bottom of this magazine 18, overhanging, or projecting rearwardly over, the pulley 62, providing a small space for the entering paper 2 to pass between the bottom of the stack of papers and the 'upper reach of the belts 86. After the first newspaper 2 has been fed into the magazine 18, it will itself serve as such guide for the next-following newspaper, provided that the distance of the stop 86 from the uppermost point of the pulley 82, at the re- -ceivlng end of the conveyor 16, is less than the length of the newspapers. It need not, however, be a great deal less. The remaining papers in the magazine, above the bottom paper 2, will remain in the magazine, because they are protected from the feeding action of the belts 86 by the lowermost paper in the stack, which is alone in contact with the belts 86, and they are held in the magazine 18 by the hold-down weight 16.

' The newspapers 2 are thus fed into the magazine 18 by the combined movements of the

lift belts

66 and 62 and the stacker belts 86. The bends in the newspapers during such feeding are iniiuenced by both these sets of belts. It is possible to control the bends, therefore, by dierent arrangements of the belts, and also to have the newspapers leave the

belt conveyors

66 and 62 at a downward incline, as explained in the said application.

The

belt conveyors

66 and 62 may be modied by raising the central belts of one of them, and correspondingly lowering the central belts of the other, with respect to the side belts. The papers 2 will then be fed into the magazine 18 concaved or convexed and, therefore, stiffer than when fed into the magazine flat. Such stiffness will prevent the possibility of the unrestrained sections of the papers buckling in the space between the guide roll 62 and the bent portions 62 of the holddown weight 14 or the rearwardly projecting, tail ends of the sheets in the magazine. The convexity or the concavity need extend only part way under the stack at this point. v

It is desirable to have the horizontally disposed conveyor belts 8 travel at a higher speed than the inclined conveyor belts 4, but at a slower speed than that of the

lift belts

66 and 62 which, in turn, should travel more slowly than the stack belts 66. The papers 2'will then separate out more rapidly in the hopper 6, and congestion and buckling of the papers 2, that might be caused by slippage between thebelts and the papers 2, is avoided. Such slippage is particularlypossible in the magazine 18, caused by the drag of the upper papers Ztherein on the lowermost paper 2 as it is fed into the magazine 18. The desired relative speeds may be produced in any desired manner, as explained in the said application, from a motor 65 that is supported in a cradle 59. As shown in Fig. l, the

pulleys

32, 66, 12, 14 and 84 are idler pulleys. The desired speeds of the various conveyors may be attained by suitably proportioning the driven pulleys.

The newspapers 2 thus become stacked on the conveyor 86, and the stack in the magazine 18 thus rises higher and higher as the newspapers 2 are thus successively conveyed to the bottom of the magazine and successively fed thereinto, until the desired number of newspapers, as determined by the count of the counting linger 44 or the counting lingers u and I8, has been collected in the magazine 18. The weight 18 rises higher and higher during this accumulation of the papers in the magazine 18, so as always to press down upon the top newspaper in the magazine, thus to press the bottom newspaper in the magazine against the conveyor belts 80 during its feeding into the magazine.

To permit such raising of the weight 18, it is shown, in Figs. -1 and 22, as constituted of one or more at bars, having the integral, angularly bent portion 92 at the left, pivoted at 94 to the lower end of a link 95, the upper end of which ls pivoted to the frame lof the machine at 98, above and to the left of the newspaper stack in the magazine 18. In the lowermost position of the weight 16, the link 96 engages a stop |00 to limit the degree of movement of the link 98 and, therefore, the weight 16, to the left. 'I'he weight 18 is thus prevented from swinging to the left, out of the magazine 18, when it drops to the bottom of the magazine after the stack of newspapers therein has been delivered on to the delivery table |40. In this position, the bent portion 92 serves as a guide for guiding the first newspaper 2, as it is received from the

conveyors

80 and 62, in under the hold-down weight 16 and above the conveyor 80. As the stack of papers 2 in the magazine rises, the weight 1li also rises and, at the same time, moves to the right, as illustrated in Figs. 22 and 23, actuating the link 98 also to the right, away from the stop |00. The link joint enables the hold-down weight 16 to lie flat on the top paper 2 of the stack no matter what the height of the stack.

It may be desirable to stack the newspapers 2 so that each group of twenty-five or fifty, or any other desired number of papers, shall have the folded edges reversed; that is, so that the top twenty ve papers, for example, in a stack shall have their end and side folded edges facing north and east, respectively, and the next twenty five papers shall have those edges facing south and west, the next twenty fve, north and east again, etc. Alternating the papers in this manner is desirable for some purposes; for example, to facilitate their being counted by the persons receiving them, and also to make a more stable stack. 'I'his may be effected, according to the present invention, as described and illustrated in the said application. It is preferred, however, to employ the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 27.

'I'he papers 2 are delivered, before counting, from the left, as viewed in Fig. 27, to a belt conveyor 3. If no papers are in a hopper 339, they are conveyed by the conveyor 3 under a shield wall 5 disposed in the path of travel of the sheets from the conveyor 3, and on to a belt conveyor 9, which travels at a higher speed than the belt 3. Rolls |08 serve a function similar to that of the rolls 33. ceive the papers 2, as they are fed by the conveyor 3, in superposed relation, until the level of the stack of papers in the hopper 389 is high enough to touch the shield 5, as shown. As soon as the superposed sheets accumulate to the number predetermined by the position of the lower end of the shield 5, no more sheets will be fed past the shield 5 until a sheet or sheets has been fed under the shield by the conveyor 9. Further accumulation of the sheets in the hopper 339 beyond the said predetermined number is thus prevented at any one time.

So long as there is a supply of papers on the The conveyor 9 continues to re-` belt 3, therefore, the level in the hopper 339 will be practically constant, and so long as this level is maintained, the papers that are separated under the shield wall will be spaced uniformly. The shield justed so as to pass the papers 2 out of the hopper 339 one by one, or in groups. The number of sheets so passed under the shield is determined by the space of the opening separating the lower of supports disposed between the plurality of belts of the conveyor 9, is pivoted at |25, so that it may be raised from its normally ineffective position, by a half revolution of a cam |05, to the effective position, to close the said'opening, or block the said space, and to lift the sheets 2 oi the belts 9, thus to prevent the further feed oi the papers under the shield by the conveyor 9. The cam |05, which thus controls the feed of the papers below the shield is electromagnetic coil 22| (shown diagrammatical# trated in Figs. 28 to 39, so as to effect the upward pivotal movement of the table |2, thereby to stop the further feed of the papers 2 out of the hopper 339, after a predetermined number of the papers 2 have been stacked on a table 9|.

With the table below the surface of the belt The guide 55 may be constituted of two guide arms or members, one on each side of the center of the sheets stacked on the table: 9|, separated by a yoke 49, pivotedat 85 to an arm 4|, so as to equalize the pressure exerted by them on the uppermost sheet of the stack engaged by the two guide members of the guide 55, and each provided with the bent end 58. The bent ends 58 constito the right (as viewed in Fig. 27) and above the predetermined position occupied by the stack of papers on the table 9|.

The papers 2 are fed on to the table 9| from above the table 9|, at a downward incline, toward and against the stops 50, which stop their further movement, and thus cause them to become stacked on the table 9| in engagement with the stops. The sheets are guided, during their feeding movement, on to the stack on the table 9|, by the guide arms of the guide 55. The irnpact of the papers, passing under the guide arms of the guide 55, automatically raises them vertically, in accordance with the height of the stack,

and, with them, through the yoke 49 and the arm 4I, that connects them to the guide 55, the

rolls

21 and 3| and the arm members by which they are carried. The upper portions of the conveyors I1 and 2| are thus automatically raised vertically, in accordance with the height of the stack, to raise the point of delivery of the sheets 2 to the stack of sheets on the table 8|. The lower pulleys 51 and 59 of the belts I1 and 2|, however, do not change positions during the vertical movement of the

rolls

21 and 3|. The beit 23 extendsalso over fixed

pulleys

45 and 41.

The arm members 31 are provided with wheels (not shown) adapted to roll on a vertical track of a supporting column 42|, thus to guide their vertical movement and the vertical movement of the freely

movable rolls

21 and 3| by and against the force of gravity. To maintain tension in the belts 2|, an idler pulley 23 is free to move in a vertically disposed arc at the end of arms IOI pivoted to the frame of the machine at |03. The guide members are maintained on the top-most sheet of the stack by gravity, and to reduce the upward force which the papers must exert in order tolift the guides 55, a counterweight |44 is connected by a cord 422, running over pulleys I3| and |29 and attached to the member 31. The lowermost positions of the

pulleys

21 and 3| and the arm with the pulley 23 are indicated by dotted lines.

If the papers are fed forward with a folded end leading, they naturally arrive on the table 9| in the same way. When the correct number of papers, twenty five as an illustration, have been so fed and stacked on the table 9|, the table I2 is raised to stop the feed of additional papers, the guide 55 is likewise raised, and the table and the stack thereon turned a half revolution, in order to alternate the folded edges, by means of a shaft 95 on which the table 9| is supported. The guides 55 are then dropped, so as to become restored in effective position, the table I2 is lowered and the feed of the papers is resumed, resulting in a reversed position of the newspapers on the stack.

To effect the raising of the guide 55, a lug |58 on one arm of a bell crank |55 is moved up against the cord 422 upon the downward movement of the connecting rod |50 that is connected to the other arm of the bell crank. The lug |58 is provided with frictional material that binds frictionally against the cord 422 as the lug |58 is moved upward, thus pulling the cord 422 upward and to the left, thereby causing the raising of the guides 55 and the parts attached thereto.

It is now in order to describe the wrapperfeeding, addressing and severing mechanism.

Referring, first, more particularly to Figs. 1 to 26, the wrapping paper is fed intermittently from a roll or reel of wrapping paper Il8 that is mounted to turn upon a spindle or rod |20, disposed at the left-hand side of the machine, and a little below the magazine 18. From the roll II8, the wrapping-paper web |22 rises substantially vertically to a guide roll |24, over which it passes to the right, over a platen |26 and under a backing plate |28 of the addressing mechanism. As will be explained hereinafter, the platen |26 is intermittently moved upward to force the interposed wrapping-paper web |22 against a typebacked ribbon |30 between the web |22 and an address plate 228. Different address plates 228 will thus produce different addresses and other insignia upon the web |22.

At a suitable moment, the portion of the web |22 thus addressed is fed forward, to the right,

between feed rolls |32 and |34, the former of which is larger than the latter, and may be constituted of rubber, while the latter may be constituted of metal. One revolution of the feed roll |32 about its shaft |33 results in feeding the required length of wrapper from the reel I8. Such revolution of the feed roll |32 will be produced after a predetermined degree of rotation of the shaft 386, as will be explained later. The web |22 is fed between a cutter bed |36 and a cutter roll |38, and, through guides |35 and |31 (Figs. 1 and 2), over to the stacker belts 80, which grips the web under the hold-down weight 16 and carries it forward to the right, stretching it taut. The cutter roll |38 is mounted,upon a shaft 233. At the completion of the revolution of the feed roll |32, the cutter roll |38 is actuated, in synchronism with the other movements of the machine parts, to make one revolution, thereby severing the addressed portion of the web |22 from the remainder of the web. The severed portion of the web constitutes a wrapper; in the industry, it is often called a snipe.

Referring, now, to Figs. 27 to 29, the wrapping paper is fed intermittently from a roll or reel of wrapping paper 261 that is mounted to turn upon a spindle or rod |20, disposed at the left-hand side of the machine, and a little below the hopper 339. From the roll 261, the wrapping-paper web |22 rises substantially vertically to a guide roll 211, over which it passes to the right, over a platen |26 and under a backing plate 3|3 of the addressing mechanism. As will be explained hereinafter, the platen |26 is intermittently moved upward to force the interposed wrappingpaper web I 22 against a type-backed ribbon 3II between the web I 22 and an address plate 205. Different address plates 205 will thus produce different addresses and other insignia upon the web |22.

At a suitable moment, the portion of the web I 22 thus addressed is fed forward, to the right, between feed rolls 28| and 288, the former of which is larger than the latter, and may be constituted of rubber, while the latter may be constituted of metal. One revolution of the feed roll 28| about its shaft 32| results in feeding the required length of wrapper from the reel 261. Such revolution of the feed roll 28| will be produced after a predetermined degree of rotation of the shaft 388, as will be explained later. The web |22 is fed between a cutter bed 289 and a cutter roll 298; and, over aI guide 299 (Fig. 29), to the belts 3. 'I'he cutter 'roll |38 is mounted upon a shaft 233. At the completion of the revolution of the feed roll 28|, the cutter roll 298 is actuated, in synchronism with the other movements of the machine parts, to make one revolution, thereby severing the addressed wrapper or Snipe from the remainder of the web |22.

In the modification of Figs. 1 to 26, the wrapper, thus severed, is thereupon pulled into the magazine 18 by the belts 80, into engagement with the stops 86, and remains there until the first newspaper 2 enters the magazine 18 under the wrapper. The next-following newspapers are then fed in under this first newspaper, as before described, the wrapper remaining always at the top of the stack, under the hold-down weight 16. The name, address and other information relating to the dealer for whom the stack of newspapers 2 in the magazine 18 is about to be collected have previously been printed, as before described, on the upper side of the wrapper.

If desired. a secondary wrapper, perhaps of old the stacks intended newspaper, may be placed on the table |48 bei'ore the stack is released from the magazine, in order to cover the portions of the stack not covered by the printed wrapper. The staclnwith the printed wrapper thereon. would then be delivered on to the secondary wrapper on the table |48, in the manner presently to be described. The secondary wrapper may be deposited on the table |48 by some other mechanism than the belts 88, and this may be effected from a point in front or back of the table |48, instead of from the left thereof, as viewed in Fig. 1. Such modified arrangement may have preferences in cases where the sizes of for different dealers vary so greatly that dierent-length wrappers are desirable, in order that the wrappers may go completely around the sides and the top of the stack oi newspapers. The illustrated embodiment of the invention provides but a single-size wrapper, butJlt may be desirable to have an intercoordination between the size of the stack and the length of wrapper feed desired. The table |40 is provided with a vertically disposed, stop wall |42 for limiting the forward movement of the newspapers.

After a predetermined number of newspapers 2 have been accumulated in the magazine 18, as determined by the counting finger 44, or the counting fingers 44 and 48, further feeding of the newspapers into the magazine 18 will automatically be stopped, as hereinafter described. The stops 88 will thereupon be freed, whereupon the conveyor 88 will carry the stack of newspapers accumulated in the magazine 18. as a unit, out of the magazine 18 and on to the table |48, or the said secondary or other wrapper resting thereon. The'hold-down weight 18, of course, then falls by gravity once more to the bottom of the magazine 1l.

The mechanism for freeing the stops 88 is illustrated more particularly in Figs. 22 to 25. These stops are rigidly attached to a rock shaft |88 upon which is mounted a catch |4| that is normally retained in a recess |48 of an armature |45 of an electromagnet |41, by a spring |38 that normally maintains the armature |45 raised, but it may be released in opposition to the action of the spring |88, by thus energizing the electromagnet |41. The catch |4| normally, therefore, maintains the rock shaft in such position that the stops 88 occupy their effective positions, illustrated by full lines in Fig. 22; but the catch |4| becomes released when the armature |45 is attracted downward by the electromagnet |41. The belts 80 are then free to move the stacked papers 2 in the magazine 18 on to the receiving table |48, and the thrust of the stack of newspapers 2 on the moving belts 80 will then actuate the stops 88 from the position of Fig. 22 to the position of Fig. 23, in opposition to the force exerted by a counterweight |51. The counterweight |51 later returns the stops 88 to their normal positions, illustrated in Fig. 22. In order to absorb the shocks of the moving papers that strike the stops 88, as they are fed into the magazine 18, at high speed, the mounting of the catch |4| on `the rock shaft |88 is rendered yielding or resilient, through the medium of a resilient insert |53, interposed between the shaft |88 and a collar |5| that surrounds the shaft |88. The electromagnet is energized by the closing of a brush contact member (not shown) and a contact member 888 of a multiple-switch master controller |48, as hereinafter explained.

During the travel of the wrapper through the of course, there should be no furof newspapers to the conveyor magazine 18, ther delivery belts 80..

So long as the conveyor belts 8 engage the lowermost newspaper in the hopper 8. the belts 88 and 82 will continue to deliver newspapers to the magazine 18. Provision is, therefore, made for lifting the stack of newspapers in the hopper 8 up, out of contact with the belts 8, in synchronism with the movements of the other parts of the machine, when it is desired to stop the further feed of the newspapers 2.

To this end, a plurality of bar supports |48, rigidly connected together upon a common frame, are normally disposed below, and between, the belts 8, as shown more particularly ln Fig. 1. In such normal disposition of the supports |48, they are ineffective, and do not interfere with the feeding of the newspapers 2 out of the hopper 8 by the belts 8. The supports |48 may, however, become raised. as a unit, up between the belts 8, into an eifective position,

continue to space under the finger I8, so that the newspapers could not any longer be fed under the finger I8, even if the belts could, otherwise, be capable of doing so.

This raising of the table supports |48 is automatically effected, immediately after every feedpapers 2 out of the hopper 8, by means of long, parallelly disposed, side rods |88. The separating roll 88 is raised simultaneously with the raising of the table |48, as is also illustrated in Fig. 8, to reduce the friction upon any newspaper 2 that may happen to become clamped, part way out of the hopper 8, between the table |48 and the finger i8 at the bottom of the shield i8, thus to prevent damaging the clamped newspapers.

The cycle of operations is controlled by the counting finger or fingers. As a newspaper 2 travels from right to left,

engages, the next moment, 48, raising it pivotally about a pivot |54. Though two pivots |54 and |58 are illustrated, the counting fingers 44 and 48 may be pivoted about a common axis (not shown) by which the counting fingers may be carried. When the rear end of the paper 2 rides further forward, away from the contact finger 44, the latter again drops oil' the rear edge of the paper 2, into the space 42 between successive papers 2; and when the paper 2 travels still further forward, away from under the counting finger 48, the latter then also falls into the said space 42. The same result takes place when the newspapers travel overlapped. This operation results in counting the papers, as described in the said application, by means of contact members |84 and |88, shown in Fig. 25.

One function of the sagging of the belts plate |52 is to prevent 8 that travel over the plate 75