US2190413A

US2190413A - Folding machine

Info

Publication number: US2190413A
Application number: US205571A
Authority: US
Inventors: Davidson William Ward
Original assignee: DAVIDSON Manufacturing CORP
Current assignee: DAVIDSON Manufacturing CORP
Priority date: 1938-05-02
Filing date: 1938-05-02
Publication date: 1940-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 1957-02-13

Description

w. w. DAVIDSON 2,190,413

FOLDING MACHINE Feb. 13, 1940.

4 sneetssheet 1 Filed Hay 2, 1938 Feb. 13, 1940. w. w. DAvmsoN FOLDINGv MACHINE Filed May 2, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb.13,194o. w w DAWSON 2,190,413

FOLDING MACHINE Filed nay 2, 1938 4 smeg-sheet :s

Feb. 13, 1940.

w. W. DAVIDSON FOLDING MACHINE Filed May 2, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 H @mw/humm Patented Feb. 1940 l I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING MACHINE William Ward Davidson, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Davidson Manufacturing Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application May 2, 1938, Serial No. 205,571

24 Claims. (Cl. 271-49) In printing plants handling a variety of types able that the conveying table be convertible to of work the provision of folding machines which turn thev sheet in either direction with great will meet all of the requirements has been a ease, and that its cost shall not be greatly insevere problem. The folding to be accomplished creased to this end. l

may vary all the way from a single fold, as in From the foregoing it isevident that an obletters, pamphlets and the like, to a complicated ject of the present invention is t provide a conseries of folds some in one direction and some veyor table which in carrying the sheet from one in another, such as may be used in folding forms folding unit to another can turn the sheet. in of manypages for books. The folding of book either direction and accurately register it for the sections varies widely depending on the numsucceeding fold, and which is easily changed over 10 ber of pages and the manner of binding. from one function to another, although designed In the past a single machine capable of perto be relatively inexpensive in cost. forming various series of folds including folds Further objects and advantages of the invenin different directions has been extremely comtion will appear as the description is read in 15 plicated and has necessarily included many foldconnection with the accompanying drawings, in 15 ing units which would lie idle most of the time, which: when running simpler folds. To have the equip- Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view -ment available for a wide variety of folds retaken through the machine approximately on the quires large land bulky machines. The costs of line l-I of Fig. 2, the stacking unit being frag- .,U such machines have been so high and their mentarily shown in one position infull lines and space requirements so great that only large con- `in two alternative positions in dotted lines. cerns have been able to buy them. In general, Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken the size and cost of the machines have been neapproximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showcessitated largely by lack of ilexibility. In my ing the topof the turning table with a sheet prior Patent No. 1,620,444 I disclosed one many 0f paper shown in dotted lines in three posi- 25 ner of obtaining iiexibility, consisting in the protions. vision between two folding units of a conveyor Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing for carrying the sheet from one unit to the other, the machine arranged for turning the paper together with means for turning the sheet 90 in the opposite direction.

30. or not turning it at all at will. In its illustrated Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View taken ap- 30 form the present invention uses this combinaproximately-on the line 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 2. tion in improved form, preferably with a second Fig. 5 is a similar View taken approximately conveyor capable of turning the 4sheet and with on the line 5-5 of Figs. 1 and 2.

a delivery table or stacking unit which may be Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View taken attached adjacent to any -folding .unit so that approximately on the line 6-6 of Figs. l and `2. 35

the sheet may be ejected fromA the machine at Fig 7 iS a fragmentary View Showing the adthe earliest possible moment, -thus reducing the justable belt guide and tightenel taken 0n line number of idle folding units which the complete- 7-1 0f Fig. 1-

1y fouled sheet must pass and the number of" Fig. Bis aperspective view 0f the pressure strip 40 adjustments which must be made to cause the OI Dressing the papel against the COIlVeYOl belt 40 sheet to pass au the way through the machine to insure proper movement 0f the paper.

Without being further folded. Further simpli- `Fg- 9 iS a Similar VieW Of the paper guide cation is secured by providing a simplified form Which the paper Strikes and alOl'lg Which it Slides.

, of conveyor table capable of turning the sheet A preferred eIlbOdlfrlel'lt 0f the HVeTlO has in either direction. `been shown in the drawings and will hereinafter 45 It is very important that the conveyor table be described, all as required by Sec. 4888 of the be capable of turning the sheet in either direc- Revised Statutes, but the appended claims are tion since this will multiply the variety of folds not to be limited by the specic disclosure unthat can be accomplished by` the complete maless required by the prior art.

chine. Of course, it is not only necessari1 that As seen in Fig. l, the entire folding machine 50 the sheet be turned in either direction out ,in -may be supported by a frame I and, briey stateach instance it must be accurately registered as ed, includes a feed table indicated more or less to its angular position so that the succeeding fold diagrammatically at 2, a conveying and turning will be at exactly to the preceding fold. From table indicated as a whole by the numeral- 3, a

s.: the commercial standpoint it is of course desirsecond conveying and turning table indicated as g5 vlar at all positions.

begin with II in unit I0', 2| in unit 20, and 3| I0 and 20, and with an ,ejecting and stackingl unit 1 optionally positioned adjacent any folding unit to receive the folded sheet therefrom'.

Folding um'ts Although the folding units may be ofany type, that illustrated is the vbuckle type and it is simi- The reference numerals in unit 30, the last digits being the same for like parts. The paper is fed to the folding unit IIJ from lthe table 2 on which it is placedeither by hand or more commonly by an automatic feeding device 8. The construction of the folding units is seen best in Fig. 1, the feeding and folding rolls being numbered II, I2 and I5. The rolls and I2 first receive the paper and feed it into the buckle chute I3, which it enters freely until it strikes the paper stop I4 which stops the forward edge of the paper. Since the feeding action of rolls and I2 continues, the paper necessarily buckles into the space between rolls I2 and I5. The buckled sheet is thus caught by these 'two rolls and drawn in between them to crease the buckled sheet and thus complete the fold. The position of theyfold is determined by the position of the paper stop I4 which may be adjusted by loosening the clamping-nut I6. The two rolls I2 and I5 continue to draw the paper down between them, drawing it out of the buckle chute I3 and feeding it to the next unit of the machinel or an adjacent buckle chute if one is provided.A Thus, in the case of a double folding unit such as the unit 30 the rolls 32 and 35 may feed the sheet into a second buckle chute 38. This second buckle chute, together with rolls 35 and 39, makes a fold parallel to that made by the associated buckle. chute 34.

After the first fold the sheet passes from the rolls I2 and I5 to the scoring rolls 5, one of which may be grooved or formed of rubber to receive a blade-like member on the other. It may be observed that the scoring is not necessary before the first fold but is usually desirable for subsequent right-angle folds to insure a smooth fold of the already folded paper. If there is to be no subsequent right-angle fold, the scoring rolls may be separated or moved to one side so as not to score.

Defiectors Below the scoring rolls 5 and below eachbut the last folding unit is a defiector 46 for directing the paper in the desired direction away from the folding unit. These deflectors 46 are shiftable between the position shown in full lines and that shown in dotted line. In the full-line pov sition the deflector guides the folded sheet toward the next folding unit or, more specifically, onto the conveyor and turning table 3 or 4. When a deflector 46 is in the dotted line position it guides the folded sheet directly to the ejector rolls 48 and 49 which will then have been moved with the stacking unit 1 to the position shown in dotted lines adjacent the deflector 46'in question. It is evident therefore that the machine may be adjusted to eject the folded sheets Aimmediately after they leave any one of the three folding units. In other words, if the sheet is to be folded only once, it may pass through the folder I0 and If itis two folders I0 and 2|I and then immediately to the stacking unit 1.

Conveying ,and turning tables If more than one fold is desired in the sheetv the deflector 46 'below scoring rolls 5 will be set as shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to guide the folded sheet onto the conveying and turning table y 3 which will feed the sheet to the second folding unit or, more specifically, to the rolls 2| and 22 thereof. If it is desired that the fold formed by this second folding unit be at right angles to the first fold, this can be accomplished by turning the sheet through According to thev present invention the turning of the sheet is accomplishedby an-improved form of table. The table includes a table top 9| which may be supported from the frame I in any suitable manner as by brackets 92 and bar 94, seen best in Fig. 4. A feed belt 95 slides over table top 9|,v

being driven byroll 96. The belt passes around an idler roll 91 at its lower end and may be tightened-and positioned laterally of the tablev by tightener and vguide 98, which, upon loosening screw 98', may be slid along rod 99 carried by pivoted links |00. j

'I'he folded sheet is passed onto the belt 95 from the deflector 46 and iscarried under a traction plate |0| which is positioned by bracket |02 sliding on bar |03 and bracket |04 (Fig. '1) sliding on bar |05. The traction plate is positioned directly o ver the belt 95 wherever the belt may be positioned by belt guide 98 and is secured vin this position by set screws |06. The traction plate |0| may be provided with any means such as the marbles |01 for pressing the sheet against the belt 95l withrelatively little friction, so as to insure the proper movement of the sheet by the belt.

Resting on the table top 9| and preferably extending under the belt 95 is a paper guide III seen in Fig. 9. This paper guide is positioned properly with respect fto the belt 95 and traction plate I0| by a clamp I|2 secured at any position on the bar |05 by a set screw II3. The

with a shoulder I|6 forming a turning stop beyond which is an extension I|1 which forms a guide. over the sheet te insure that the sheet` A properly engages the shoulder IIB. Of course, a 'separately mounted spring finger could serve in place of the extension II1.

In Fig. 2 three positions of the /paper sheet being turned are shown in dotted lines. At 2| the sheet has been dropped onto the belt 95 and is being moved forwardly by it toward the shoulder ||6. At |22 the sheet has struck the shoulder ||6 which stops one end of the sheet and the belt 95 has carried the other end of the sheet forwardly, thus turning the sheet. At |23 the belt has turned the sheet through 90 and has carried it beyond the shoulder ||6. The lateral inclination of the belt 95 is now pressing the sheet against the edge guiding ange II5, thus insuring the accurate lateral position of the sheet and also insuring that it is turned to exactly 90. To be sure that the sheet'does not jam or slide off of its proper course, a pressure roller |24 supported from the traction plate |0| by spring urged arm 25 may be providedto press the paper firmly against the belt 35.

' shoulder I I6.

' aromas The position of the roller |24 is quite important. It operates best when positioned as shown with its axis extending approximately through the shoulder IIS, which forms the pivotal axis for the turning of the sheet. It will be observed that if the sheet rotates freely about the point ||6 that portion under the roller |24 is always movingin a direction perpendicular to a line` extending between the shoulder IIB and the roller |24. direction there will not need to be any lateral slippage either between it and the sheet or between the sheet and the shoulder I I6. From this standpoint the theoretical ideal position for the roller |24 would be slightly lower (to the left in Fig. 2) than the position shown so that its axis would exactly pass through the shoulder II6, the inclination of the roller being the same as the inclination of the belt. However, at the present time it appears to be desirable that the paper be engaged `in the bite between the roller |24 and the belt 95 at the time that it strikes the shoulder ||6 so as to insure the continued proper movement of the paper after it strikes the For this reason the roller |24 is positioned slightly in advance of the theoretical position mentioned. NcverthelessHit is so close to that position that the slippage between the sheet and the shoulder |I6 during the turning of the sheet may be negligible.

Another important consideration with respect to the roller |24 is that its pressure on the sheet be exactly regulated. lt will be evident that the sheet must twist under the roller |24 and hence the tension should be low enough to permit this twisting action without buckling the sheet. On the other hand, there is appreciable friction between the sheet and the other parts of the table, and the pressure of the roller |24 should be suiiicient'to overcome this friction safely in turning the sheet.V Furthermore, the pressure necessary and safe varies vaccording to the nature and thickness of the sheet. For this reason the pressure of the roll should be adjustable minutely or with infinitesimal variations. accomplished by the construction seen best in Fig. 8, in which the pressure is applied to arm |25 by spring |26, the tension of which may be adjusted by a thumb screw |21 threaded on a bar |28 which is pivoted at |29 to the post |30 to which the arm |25 is pivoted.

The .roller |24 could be made of conical shape with its axis intersecting the bottom of the stop shoulder. This would eliminate the necessity of slippage between the roller and the turning sheet and hence would decrease the necessity for ne adjustment of the pressure of roller |24.

After the sheet is turned, the inclination of the conveyor belt 95 thrusts it against edgeA guide ||5 so that it is accurately alined for feeding to the folding unit 20. The angular positionof the edge guide ||5 (and of the entire paper guide III) may be adjustedl upon 'loosening the set screw |32. Ordinarily the edge guide will be set to extend exactly perpendicularly to the rollers 2| and 22 as indicated by suitable markings on the clamp II2 and the pin |33 extending therethrough.

Reversed tum similar to the paper guide ||I but positioned If the roller rotates in this same lhence may be called swivel bearings.

This is on the opposite side of the machine and by changing the belt 95 and traction plate ||l| to position them near and incline them toward the paper guide 2|I. The guide strip I0| may -be shifted for this purpose by looseningr the set screws |06. The belt 95 may be positioned lateially by sliding the belt guide 98 along on its supporting shaft 99 after .loosening screw 98'.

In orderto incline the belt 95 in the oppositedirection, as shown in Fig. 3, it is necessary to reverse the angular position of the rolls 96 and S1l carrying this belt. To this end the

rolls

96 and 91 are journaled in bearing blocks |36 which are pivoted to slide bars |31 and |38 and As seen best in Fig. 5, the slide bars are supported by and slide with respect vto bracket S2. A handle 139 may be rigidly secured to the .slide bar |31 and extend outwardly from the frame I to fa. cilitate shifting the slide bar |31. The slide bar |38 is operated in synchronism with the slide bar |31 by means of a lever |40 pivoted by a pin I4! to the cross bar |42 of the frame so that when the slide bar |31 is moved in one direction the slide bar |38 is automatically movedin the cppc site direction. Any suitable means may be provided for securing the slide bars |31 and |38 in the adjusted position as, for example, the set screw |49. which is` threaded through the bracket v92 adjacent to the handle |39, and which, when advanced upwardly, bears against the slide bar |31. The belt 95 is driven by a drive belt |43.v Thebelt |43 should, of course, be driven from a position equidistant from the two positions of the pulley on roll 96 to permit the rcversing of the angularity of

the'rolls

96 and 91 as already described, and so that the belt will be tight in both positions.

The lower feeding table 4 may be substantially the same as the feeding table 3 already described, although for some purposes it need not be reversible to turn the sheet in either direction at will.

Additional folding units Although the folding units I0 and 2U have each been illustrated as only a single folding/unit, it should be understood that additional folding units may be provided at each position if desired.- For example, at either or both of units I and 20 there may be two or more folders. Such multiple folding units are well known and therefore need not be specifically described. The arrangement of such multiple folding units should be such as to cause the sheet to pass through all sections thereof to form two or more parallel` folds in the sheet or to skip all but one of the sections so as to form only one fold in the sheet at this position. 4

' vOperation When a flat sheet is fed along the table 2 to rolls II and I2, these rolls feed the sheet into buckle chute I3 until it strikes the paper stop I4, after which the sheet buckles and is caught between folding rolls I2 and I5 which feed the folded sheet between the scoring rolls 5 unless intervening folders are provided in' connection with folding unit I0. If ythe sheet is to be further folded, the deilector 46 below folding unit I0 is set in the position shown in full lines and the sheet passes onto the belt 95 which carries it along under the guidestrip ||l| and the guide extension ||1.

If the next fold is to be at right angles to the u 90 as it is carried on by the beu saagamst which the paper is pressed firmly by the. roller |24. After the sheet has been turned it is properly lined up for the next operation by being pressed against the edge guiding flange II5 due to the lateral inclination of the belt 95 in that direction. If the second fold is to be parallel to the first fold, the sheet is not turned on the table 3. Turning may be avoided by replacing the sheet guide with a plain sheet guide which does not have a roller |28 or stop H5, but instead has the edge guide ||5 extending the length of the table 3. If the sheet guide is retained, the machine may be adjusted to cause the paper to strike the edge guide I I5 after it has ,Fig 2, this can easily be accomplished. The

thumb screw |49 is released,l and the handle |39 is shifted to the left from the position seen in Fig. 2 to the position seen in Fig. 3 thereby reversing the inclination of the

rolls

96 and 91 so that the belt 95 will be inclined toward the 'right of the direction of the sheet movement instead 0f toward the left. 'Ihe sheet guide 2 I will then be placed on the right-hand side of the machine and lthe corresponding guide I removed from the left-hand side of the machine. Next, the lbelt 95 will be shifted to the proper position as seen in Fig. 3 with respect to the sheet guide 2||. This is accomplished by loosening the thumb screw 98 and sliding the belt guide 98 ,along the rod 99. Finally, the traction plate |0|. is shifted from the position seen in Fig. 2 to the position seen in Fig. 3 directly over belt 95 .in its new position. The various thumb screws will of course be tightened to hold the .parts in their new positions. Now when a sheet is delivered onto the belt 95 is will be carried without turning until its end strikes stop shoulder'` 2|6, at whichtime the belt 95 in cooperation with the roller |24 will rotate it as illustrated in Fig. 3 about the stop shoulder 2|6 until it has been turned 90, at which time it will strike the edge guide 2|5 and be accurately alined by said edge guide and held in the desired lateral position untilit is delivered to the rolls 2| and 22.

' One 'important feature of the inventionis its l simplicity, which is especially important in view of thenecessity for adjusting the machine to turn the sheet lin either direction or carry it without l sheet against the belt, and at the point where the greatest traction is needed the roller |2||` is provided. The use of a single belt is advantageous inherently in that it eliminates the possibility of the corners of the sheet catching on other belts as the sheet is turned. To prevent the leading edge of the sheet from catching onl table top 9|, roll 95, or roll 22, the sheet guides' and 2| are constructed to extend close to the rolls 9 6 and 22 and the table top 9| is made V-shaped at its ends so that the rolls 95 and-96 can t closely thereto. There is no possibility of the sheets catching on the flat portion ||4 of the sheet guide III (or 2| I) since its longitudi- `nal edge lies under the belt 95 and its end is depressed, at |56 adjacent the roll 96. Because of serving as an extension of the table this at portion lll may be called a supplemental table top.

These folding machines are sometimes operated at very high speed- The result is that the sheets will strike the edge guide ||5 with considerable speed and hence with appreciable momentum. This momentum tends to make the sheets bounce away from the edge guide and such bouncing would of course be disastrous to perfect 'registry of the sheet for subsequent folds if the effects lof the bouncing were not overcome. However, the marbles |01 in the lower part of the traction plate |0| which press the sheet onto the belt 95 are effective to substantially eliminate this bouncing of the sheets, by which is meant that if any bouncing occurs it is so slight that the belt returns the sheetto the edge guide H5 immediately and before it reaches the bite of the rolls 2| and 22. It is of course very important in a high speed folding machine that the sheets be turned and fed to the next folding unitwith abcorrections for errors on individual sheets, and,

lif one sheet j ams, a large number of sheets mayI be spoiled. 'I'he combination of the various features described produces this highly desirable dependability.

The belt 95 now feeds the paper tothe folder rolls 2| and 22 of folding unit 20 by which the sheet is fed into chute 23 until it strikespaper stop 2l, at which time it buckles and is caught between

rolls

22 and 25. Subsequent conveying or conveying and turning operations and subsequent folding operations are similar to those already described and therefore need not `be described in detail. The various features described in` connection with table! are embodied in the table 4 illustrated so that it will turn the sheets with equal dependability when such turning is de- 'Ihe 'statement in thev appended yclaims to the effect that portions of the diagonally-movingV sheet engaging means are spaced a substantial distance away from the side guide in order that sheets initially widely spaced from the side guide will be urged throughout substantially their entire length by said diagonally-moving means toward said guide and intoregistry therewith, is intended to mean that said portions of the diagonally moving sheet engaging means are spaced from the side guide a sufficient distance so that taking into consideration the range of error within which sheets may be fed to the conveyor. or the range of error within which a turn may be made, the diagonally-moving sheet engaging means will dependably move the sheets laterally in to engagement and registry with the side guide.

This application is a continuation in part of an application flied by Alfred Anderson and myself on February 24, 1936, Serial No. 65,372.

I claim: l

-1. In a machine of the kind described, a conveyor comprising two parallel spaced conveyor rolls, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls and I shiftable along said rolls, means mounting the rolls whereby they can be inclined relatively to the normal line of travel of articles on the conveyor to cause the belt to urge articles either toward the right or toward the left as they progress Aalong the conveyor, guides adapted to be arranged at the side of the conveyor toward which the articles are urged, a stationary plate extending between the rolls for supporting the belt, the guide having a iiat extension at its lower edge extending out over the stationary plate. 2. In a machine of the kind described, a conveyor comprising two parallel spaced conveyor rolls, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls and shiftable along the rolls, longitudinally. movable side bars, swivel bearings mounting the rolls on the side bars, means for moving the side bars longitudinally in opposite directions whereby the rolls are inclined relatively to the normal line of travel of articles on the conveyor for causing the belt to urge articles optionally either vtoward the right or toward the left as they progress along the conveyor, guides adapted to be arranged at the side of the conveyor toward which the articles are urged, and a stationary plate extending between the rolls for supporting the belt.

3. In a machineof the kind described, a con-` veyor comprising two parallel spaced conveyor rolls, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls and shiftable along the rolls, longitudinally movable side bars, swivel bearings mounting the rolls on the vside bars, a transversely arranged lever pivotally mounted between its ends on the conveyor frame to swing horizontally, means loosely connecting the lever with said side bar, the arrangement being such that, as the lever pivots, the .side bars move longitudinally in opposite directions whereby the rolls are inclined relatively to the normal line of travel of articles on the conveyor for causing the belt to urge articles optionally either toward the right or toward the left as they progress along the conveyor, guides adapted .to be arranged at the side of the conveyor toward which the articles are urged, and a stationary plate extending between the rolls for supporting the belt.

4. In a conveyor having conveyor rolls on which a conveyor belt is mounted, side bars, swivel bearings on the side bars in which the rolls are mounted, the side bars being shiftable longitudinally to change the inclination of said rolls, a transversely arranged lever pivotally mounted between its ends to swing horizontally, means connecting the ends of the lever with the side bars, the arrangement being such that as the lever is swung the side bars are moved longitudinally in opposite directions, and means for retaining the lever and side bars at both limits of their movement.

5. In a folding machine, a conveyor including parallel rollers for moving a sheet toward a folding unit,l sheet turning mechanism adapted to turn the sheet selectively in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction through an angle of while moving toward said unit, and means for pivotally supporting said rollers with each roller pivotal about an axis approximately perpendicular to thecoxiteyor and approximately. passing through the middle of said roller, and means for securing the rollers in parallel relationship and .inclined toward either side with respect to theI longitudinal axis of the conveyor whereby the conveyor is biased toward either side. optionally without changing the axis of the conveyor and stationary support means for supporting the sheet between the rollers having an edge thereof adjacent one roller V-shaped in the plane of the conveyor. with each leg of the V lying closely adjacent to the adjacent roller when the roller is in one or the other of its inclined positions.

6. The invention as dened in claim l, and sheet manipulating means adapted to deliver sheets to one end of the conveyor, and sheet manipulating means adapted to receive the sheets from the conveyor, the guide being adjustable to cause the delivered sheets to properly register with said last named sheet manipulating means.

7. In a machine of the kind described, a conveyor comprising two parallel spaced conveyor rolls, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls, means mounting the rolls whereby they can be inclined relatively to the normal linek of travel of articles on the conveyor to cause the belt to urge the articles toward one side of the machine, a guide positioned on the side of the machine toward which the articles are urged, a stationary plate extending between the rolls for supporting the belt, the guide having a flat extension at its lower edge arranged between the belt and said plate as and for the purpose specified.

8. A sheet conveying and turning mechanism i including an upwardly facing table, a pair of rolls at opposite ends of the table, a single conveyor belt trained around the 'rolls' and along the table, means for shifting the rolls substantially in the plane of the table whereby the belt is inclined optionally toward oneside of the table or the other to urge the sheets to the right or to the left as they are progressed along the table, means adapted to be arranged at the side of the table toward which the sheets are urged, optionally effective to turn the sheets and including edge guide means against which the edge of the sheet is thrust by the conveyorbelt, a plurality of traction devices distributed along the length of the belt for dependably dragging the sheets along the table top and urging them against the edge guide with suflcient firmness to substantially eliminate rebound at high speed operation, said belt being relatively narrow with respect to the width of the table but being wide enough to allow said traction devices to have ample contact therewith,

and means for shifting said belt laterally of the.

table to position it closelto the edge guide means toward which it urges the sheets.

v9. A sheet'l conveying and turning mechanism including an upwardly facing table, a pair of diagonally disposedrolls at opposite ends of the table, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls and extending diagonally along the table to urge the sheets toward one side of the table as they are progressed along the table, a stop intermediate the ends of the table and at the side of the tially eliminate rebound at high speed operation,

one of said traction devices comprising a roller having its axis located approximately in the plane that is normal to the edge guide and ln-A cludes the stop, and others 'of the traction de- I vices being rotatable in any direction.

l0. In a folding machine, a conveyor including parallel rollers for moving a sheet toward a folding unit, sheet turning mechanism adapted to turn the sheet selectively in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction through an angle of 90 while moving toward said unit, and means for pivotally supportingr said rollers with each roller pivotal about an axis approximately perpendicular to the conveyor and approximately passing through said roller, and means for securing the rollers in parallel relationship and inclined toward either side with respect; tothe longitudinal axis of the conveyor whereby the conveyor is biased toward either side optionally without changing the longitudinal axis ofthe conveyor, and side guide means cooperating with the conveyor to guide the sheet accurately to the folding unit and including a bottom flange which extends below thesheet on the conveyor and has an extension extending close to the folding unit to support the sheet between the roller adjacent thereto and the folding unit.

11. A sheet conveying and turning mechanism yincluding an upwardly facing table, a pair of diagonally disposed rolls at opposite ends of the table, a conveyor belt trained around the rolls and extending diagonally along the table to urge the sheets toward one side of the table as they are progressed along the table, a stop intermediate the ends of the table and at the side of thev table toward which the sheets are urged engaged by the sheet in its forward movement for stopping one end of the sheet, edge guide means against which the side ed'ge of the turned sheet is thrust by the conveyor belt, a plurality of traction devices. distributed along the length of the belt and pressing the sheets thereagainst for dependably' .at opposite ends of the.table, a single conveyor belt trained around the rolls and along the table and inclined towardwone side of the table to urge the sheets toward that side as they are progressed along the table, means intermediate the ends of the table and arranged atthe side of the table toward which thesheets are urged to turn the sheets 'and including edge guide means against which the edge of the sheet is thrust by the conveyor belt, and traction means e'ective along the length of the lbelt for dependably dragging the sheets along the table top and urgingv them against the edge guide with suilicient rmness to substantiallyA eliminate Arebound at high speed operation, said table being characterized by the absence of any shoulder that is capable of catching or fouling the corner of the sheet that is diagonally opposite the stop while said corner is moving laterally away from the stop during the turning movement of the sheet. Y.

-13. A sheet conveying and turningmechanism including an upwardly facing table, a pair of diagonally disposed rolls` at opposite ends of the table, a single conveyor belt trained around the rollsafid extending diagonally along the tableto urge the sheets toward one side of the table as mediate the ends of the table for turning the sheets asthey progress along the table, edge guide means against whichthe side edge of the turned sheet is thrust 4by the conveyor belt, and a plurality of traction devicesdistributed along the length of the-belt for dependably dragging theV sheets along the table top and urging them against the edge guide with sucient firmness to substantially eliminate rebound at high speed operation, said belt being relatively narrow with respect to the width of the table but being considerably Wider than the area of direct pressure between said traction devices and the belt to obtain maximum gripping of the sheets.

which the side edge of the sheetis thrust by the biased conveyor means-even though the sheet is unturned and is initially a substantial distance laterally from the edge guide, and a plurality of traction devices distributed along the length of t the conveyor means for dependably moving the sheets along the -conveyor means and urging them against the edge guide with sulcient rmness to substantially eliminate rebound at high speed operation.

15. A substantially horizontal sheet conveyor for carrying sheets along a contemplated direct line of travel from its entrancev end to its delivery end, sheet turning .mechanism adapted to'- be arranged for turning the sheets through substantially ninety'degrees either to the right -or to l the left asdesired, an associated guide toward which the turning mechanism is arranged to turn the sheets and arranged at an angle to the direction in which the conveyor is-v urging the sheets as they are received from the turning mechanism so that the conveyor will carry the sheets into contact with-the guide, and the guide being movable tov positions where the line of travel of the sheets as defined by the guide will be the contemf plated line of travel, the arrangement being such that the conveyor and the turning mechanism cooperate with each other in moving the sheet in the general direction in which it travels both in turning and in movement towards the sheet guide, said conveyor comprising a 'pair of cross bars pivotally mounted'at their transverse center points to swing in a horizontal plane, parallel longitudinal side bars pivotally mounted on the opposite ends of the cross bars and av plurality cf substantially parallel conveyor" rollers pivotally mounted at their ends on the side bars, the arrangement being such that the rollers can be sol changed in inclination so as to set them at such ineffective, an associated guide toward which the'A turning mechanism is arranged to'turn thev sheets and arranged at an angle to the direction in which the conveyor is urging the sheets as they are received from the turning mechanism so that the conveyor will carry the sheets into contact with the guide, and the guide being movable to positions where the line of travel of the sheets as defined by the guide will be the contemplated line of travel, the arrangement being such that the conveyor and the turning mechanism cooperate with each other in moving the sheet in the general direction in which it travels both in turning and in movement towards the sheet guide, said sheet turning means including an abutment associated with the guide and in the path of one end of the advancing sheet, said guide being provided witn an open ended slot through which the sheet advances to thelabutment, the wall of the slot being positioned so as not to impede a sheet positioned to pass inwardly of the abutment without being turned, and means for pressing the sheet upon the conveyor means to cause the sheet to turn upon the abutment as a pivot, said conveyor means including a diagonally-moving sheet engaging portion substantially' spaced laterally from the guide whereby an unturned sheet will be dependably registered with the side guide even through the sheet is initially widely'spaced laterally from the guide. l

i7. In a sheet conveyor, substantially horizontally disposed conveyor means, sheet aligning means adapted to be arranged selectively either at one side or at the other side oi the conveyor means, the conveyor means being adjustable to cause a conveyed sheet to be selectively carried toward an aligning means at one side or toward an aligning means at the other side of the conveyor as the sheet is carried forward by the conveyor, said conveyor -means comprising a plurality of substantially parallel conveyor rollers, the rollers being rotatably carried at their ends in bearings pivotally mounted on longitudinally movable side bars, the arrangement being such that the' rollers can be set at an advancing inclination to an aligning device at either side of the conveyor as and for the purpose specified.

18. in a device of the kind described, sheet conveying means which define a substantially flat horizontal conveying surface,'arranged and adapted to receive sheets at one end and discharge them at 'the opposite end, means for operating said conveyor means to advance a sheet in a predetermined direction from the entrance end to the discharge end of the conveyor, means associated with the .conveyor means for causing the sheetsto be turned in a horizontal plane through substantially ninety degrees selectively clockwise or counterclockwise, a guide adapted to be arranged in the path of the sheets as they are turned, and provided with a groove opening towards the conveyor means, the bottom ofthe groove serving as a sheet guide and larranged with its lower wall below the iiat conveying surface defined by the conveyor means and projecting into close proximity with the adjacent edge thereof, said conveyor means being capable of being selectively arranged @to urge the conveyed sheets towards the sheet guide (that is in the directionA in which the sheets are selectively turned). y

19. In a folding machine, a conveyor including parallel rollers for moving a sheet toward a folding unit, sheet turning mechanism adapted`to turn the sheet selectively in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction through an angle of while moving toward said unit, and means 'for pivotally supporting said rollers with each roller pivotal about an axis approximately perpendicular to the conveyor and approximately passing through said roller, and means for securing the rollersv in parallel relationship and inclined toward either side with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor whereby the conveyor is biased toward either side optionally without changing the axis of the conveyor.

20. In a folding machine, a conveyor including parallel rollers for moving the Isheet toward a folding unit, sheet turning mechanism adapted to turn the sheets selectively in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction through an angle of ninety degrees while moving toward said unit, a frame for supporting said rollers including parallel side members which iix the spacing between corresponding ends of the rollers, and means for longitudinally shifting one of the side members relative to the other Without disturbing their parallel relationship.

21. In a device of the class described, a conveyor table comprising side guide means positionable 'on either side of the table and a biased conveyor adjustable to convey sheets optionally to one side or the other of the table, said conveyor including diagonally-moving sheet engaging means having portions thereof disposed longitudinally of the conveyor a substantial distance away from the side guide means, turning means adapted to be arranged in the path of the advancing sheets tocause them to be turned either to the left or to thel right in accordance with the vsetting of the conveyor and guide means, said turning means being capable of being rendered inoperative whereby sheets being moved along the tableby the conveyor will be urged through'- out substantially their entire length by said diagonally-moving means of the conveyor toward said guide means and into registry therewith, even though the sheets, or portions of the edge to be registered against the guide means are a substantial distance laterally from the 'guide 1 means after the sheet passes the positionof the out buckling as they progress along the conveyor means, edge guide means against which the side edge of each sheet is thrust by the biased conveyor belt, and a plurality of traction devices distributed along the length of the conveyor belt for dependably moving the sheets along the conveyor means andurging them against the edge guide with sumcient iirmness to substantially eliminate rebound at high speed operation.'

23. In a device of the class described, a conveyor table comprising vside guide means positionable on either side of the table and a biased conveyor adjustable. to convey sheets optionally to one side or the other of the table, said conveyor including diagonally-moving sheet engaging means having portions thereof disposed longitudinally of the conveyor a substantial distance away from the side guide means, turning means adapted to be arranged in the path o f the advancing sheets to' cause them to be turned said turning means being capable of being rendered inoperative whereby sheets being moved along the table by the conveyorwill be urged throughout substantially their entire length by said diagonally-moving means of the conveyor toward said guide means and into registry there"- with, even though the sheets, or portions of. the edge to be registered against the guide means are a substantial distance laterally from the guide means after the sheet passes the position of the turning means, and means for preventing substantially any rebound of the sheets away from the guide means including pressure devices adapted to be rotated by the conveyor and to be separated from the conveyor by the sheet being conveyed.

24. In a device of the class described, a conveyor table comprising side guide means position-A able on either side of the table and a biased conveyor adjustable to convey sheets optionally to one side or the other of the table, said conveyor including diagonally-moving sheet engaging means having portions thereof disposed `longitudinally of the conveyor a substantial distance away from the side guide means, turning means area-11's -adapted to be arranged in the path 'of the advancing sheets to cause them to be turned either to the left or to the right in accordance with the setting of the conveyor and guide xrieans, said turning means being capable of being rendered inoperative whereby sheets being moved along the table by the conveyor will be urged throughout substantially their entire length by s aid diagonally-moving means of the conveyor toward said guide means and into registry therewith, even though the sheets, or portions of the edge to be registered against the guide means are a substantial distance laterally from the vguide meansl after the sheet passes the position of the turning means, and means forpreventing substantially any rebound of the sheets away from the guide` means including a row of pressure balls arranged above the belt and adapted to be separated from the belt by a sheet being conveyed, -and said biased conveyor including ya belt looped about parallel rollers positioned on opposite sides of the sheet turning means.

WILLIAM WARD DAVIDSON, i