US2330831A - Wrapping machine feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 5, 1943. c. J. MALHIOT WRAPPING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June 20, 1941 3 Sheet-s$heet l INVENTOR. BY aiafmeJmlkz'ot J V M M W2 llllllill" i nu Mill Oct. 5, 1943. c. J. MALHIOT WRAPPING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June 20, 1941 Ill liimmlmll Illlllll Illl dill IIIIIIIIIHIIIM'IHIII INV ENT OR. Q a/"em? J/falkz'o Oct. 5, 1943.

c. J. MALHIOT v WRAPPING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed June 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. CYZarezzceJMaZigz'ot Patented Oct. 5, 1943 WRAPPING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM Clarence J. Malhiot, Oak Park, lll.,' assignor to F. B. Redington 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 20, 1941, Serial No. 393,939

22 Claims.

This invention relates to wrapping machines and more particularly to feeding mechanism for feeding sheets of wrapping material to a wrapping machine.

' The herein disclosed feeding mechanism is adapted to be applied to a wrapping machine of the type disclosed in applicants co-pending application, Serial No. 398,987 filed concurrently herewith, and assigned to the present assignee.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of new and improved feeding mechanism for feeding consecutive sheets of wrapping material to a predetermined position with respect to a wrapping machine, there being new and improved detector means for preventing the operation of the feeding mechanism when the article to be wrapped does not attain a predetermined position with respect to the wrapper feeding mechanism.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a wrapping machine feeding mechanism which is provided with a rotary.

mounted feeding roller adapted to operate at a predetermined speed until a part of the roller attains a position adjacent a wrapper to be fed and then attains a different speed during the feeding operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a feeding roller having a feeding surface provided thereon for engagement with a wrapper to be fed, the roller having a relatively slow speed when the feeding surface is first brought into feeding engagement with a wrapper and being accelerated after engagement of the feeding surface with the wrapper and partial feeding of the wrapper.

A further object of the invention is the provision of new and improved feeding means for feeding wrappers successively to a predetermined position, the feeding means being operated at a variable speed to effect proper contact with the wrapper to be fed and then movement at an accelerated rate after the said contact so as to feed the wrapper rapidly to a predetermined po-' sition.

Another object is the provision of feeding mechanism including a continuously rotating shaft arranged within a cylindrical feed roller,- there being means provided between the feed roller and the shaft to effect a resilient driving connection between the shaft and the roller, said driving connection being disengaged when an article to be wrapped is not in a predetermined position so as to prevent .feeding of a wrapper. A further object is the provision of feeding mechanism which includes a resiliently driven feeding surface adapted to be rotated in a predetermined direction at a variable speed to effect a feeding operation and be prevented from operating when an article to be wrapped is not in a predetermined proper position, there being means provided to prevent over-running of the said feeding surface and to effect the proper positioning of the parts and to return the parts to normal operating position.

A still further object is the provision of new I and improved feeding means including means for supporting wrappers in stacked formation and continuously rotating feeding surfaces adapted to engage the bottom of a lowermost wrapper and then move at an accelerated speed after the feeding surface has engaged and partly fed the wrap per from beneath the stack.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a feeding mechanism comprising a cylindrical roller, having a flexible feeding surface provided thereon, the feeding surface being resiliently driven but prevented from being driven when an article to be wrapped is notin proper position, said feeding roller being provided with disengageable driving means becoming inoperative when a sheet is not to be fed, and the parts returningcto initial driving position after a cycle of operation following disengagement of the driving means.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of parts so constructed and located in predetermined positions as normally to operate in proper timed relationship to effect feeding of wrappers properly and successively when an article to be wrapped is at a predetermined position but being prevented from operating when an article to be wrapped is not in the predetermined position.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout the progress of the following specification.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a selected embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. l is a detail elevational view of the improved feeding mechanism and embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail elevational view showing the driving mechanism for the device;

Fig. 3 is a detail top plan view of a wrapper feeding mechanism and embodying the invention;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 showing the wrapper roller 2 assess;

Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to Figs. 4 but showing the parts in advanced position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the position of the parts during the operation of the detector means when a package is not in proper position;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the parts returning to normal position after the operation of the detector mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a detail end elevational view of the mechanism looking from the right toward the left in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view on the line ||l-|0 of Fig. 5.

The particular feeding mechanism herein' shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention is adapted to feed wrappers to a predetermined position with respect to a wrapping machine so that articles may be wrapped. While the device is adapted to feed wrappers to any type of wrapping machine, it is particularly adaptable for feeding wrappers to a machine disclosed and claimed in applicant's co-pending ap-' plication, Serial No. 398,987 filed concurrently herewith.

The feeding mechanism comprises a suitable supporting frame or structure I which is mounted on a base 2, such as a machine frame. A magazine 3 is mounted above and suitably supported on the frame I to receive a plurality of wrappers 4, Figs. 4 to 6, which are in the form of sheets arranged in stacked relationship. The magazine 3 comprises side and end members 5 connected by upper and lower straps 6, Fig. 1.

Wrappers 4 in the magazine 3 rest upon rollers I mounted on a transverse shaft 8 and upon a plurality of spaced wrapper feed rolls 9. The wrapper feed rolls 9 are loosely mounted on shafts In which are suitably mounted in bearings carried by the supporting frame structure I. These feed rolls 9 are each relatively cylindrical in shape and are adapted to be driven by driving mechanism Figs. 4 to 6.

The driving mechanism comprises a driver |2 which is mounted on the shaft i0 and is adapted to be locked thereto by means of a screw or bolt l3 which passes through the split ends it and i5 of the driver securely to lock the driver in tight frictional contact with the shaft Hi. This driver I2 is provided with a pocket IE to receive a spring H. The spring I! is receivable in a pocket i8 in a complementary part l9 loosely supported on the shaft Ill. The driver |2 therefore drives the complementary member 9 through the medium of the spring H.

The driven member I9 has pivotally connected thereto at a finger 2| which is normally adapted to have driving contact with an arcuate flange 22 extending outwardly from the end of the wrapper feed roll 9. The flange 22 has a downwardly extending integral leg 23 which is fixed to the end of the roll 9 by suitable fastening means indicated generally by the numeral 24. One end of the finger 2| is provided with a surface 25 against which a surface on the complementary driven member i9 is adapted to abut. A spring 26 is arranged to urge the finger 2| about its pivot 20 so as to cause the surface 25 to abut its cooperating surface on the driven member I9 during normal driving operation of the parts, but is adapted to permit yielding inward movement of the'finger should the finger 2| be pressed inwardly.

The periphery of the roll a is cut away and supports an upstanding outwardly projecting member 2! which is rigidly connected to the roll 9 and therefore moves only during rotative movement of the roll. The projection 22 is provided with an elongated horizontal part 28 about which there is mounted a flexible resilient friction member 29 having rubber or rubber-like material arranged thereabout. Each roll 8, Fig. 3, carries four of these resilient flexible members 29 which extend upwardly a predetermined distance above the peripheral surface of the roll 9, so as to en gage a lowermost wrapper Q in the magazine to feed the bottom wrapper outwardly between spaced rollers 30 and 3| and between the spaced guides 32 and 33. During normal operation of the feed rolls the shaft in will drive the driver member |2 which drives the complementary driven member l3 resiliently through the spring H. The complementary resiliently driven member l9 causes the roll 9 to be rotated through the finger 2| carried by the member IS. The finger 2| is positioned below the peripheral surface of the roll 9 and, as above described, is adapted to have driving contact with the arcuate member 22 of the roll 9 with which it is normally in driving engagement. The rotation of the shaft in. therefore, normally causes rotation of the roll but effects such rotation only when the finger 2| is in physical contact with the arcuate member 22.

During normal rotation of the rolls 9, the members 29 will come into contact with the lowermost wrapper d and definitely engage the lowermost wrapper to such an extent that it will tend to raise the wrappers upwardly a predetermined distance as shown in Fig. 5. This contacting arrangement assures definitely that the lowermost wrapper will be frictionally engaged by the resilient members 29 and positively and definitely fed outwardly through the opening 34 provided in the magazine to cause the wrapper to be fed between the feed rollers 30 and 3| and through the guides 32 and 33. The guides 32 and 33 are juxtaposed with respect to the article to be wrapped and the parts are so positioned and synchronized that a wrapper will be fed to the article to be wrapped at the proper time.

In such instances where an article to be wrapped does not attain a proper position at the proper time, the rolls 9 will be prevented from operating even though the shafts l0 continue to operate. The rolls 3 will be prevented from rotating only when the fingers 2| of the respective drive mechanisms H are depressed So as to prevent physical contact or engagement with the projecting arcuate fianges 22. The fingers 2| are depressed and prevented from operating by a bar 35, Figs. 1, 3, '7, and 8, which is arranged adjacent the ends of the rolls 9 in close proximity to the fingers 2| but normally out of contact therewith. The bar 35 is positioned so that it will not come in contact with the finger 2| except when shifted, at which time it will engage and depress the finger 2| to prevent the finger 2| from going into driving engagement with the arcuate drive flange 22. The bar 35 is adapted to be shifted to depress the finger 2| only when a package to be wrapped is not in a proper predetermined position.

The bar 35 is rigidly secured to a transverse rod 36 which is pivotally mounted in suitable supporting members on the frame. An upstanding lever or arm 31 is rigidly connected to the transverse rod 36 and is adapted to give rotation to the transverse rod 36 when the lever is moved to the right or left, Fig. 1. A rod or connecting member 38 is operatively connected -t 39 to the upstanding lever arm 31 and has its other end 44 (to the left, Fig. 1) operatively connected to a roll detector member 4|, Fig. l. The detector member 4| is operatively connected at 42 to a brace or bracket arm 43' which is rigidly secured to a part of the frame or to a part of the magazine.

The detector member 4| has a curved or arcuate part 4| which is spaced from and parallel to a rotatively mounted roll carrying or supporting wheel carrying rolls 44 to be wrapped.

As rolls to be wrapped arrive at a predetermined position with respect to the detectormember 4|, they will push the detector member 4| outwardly, which will move the rod 38 to the right, Fig. 1. Movement-of the rod 38 to the right, Fig. 1, will shift the lever 31 to the right, *and inasmuch as the bar 35 is rigidly connected to the transverse rod 36, which in turn is rigidly connected to the lever 31, the bar 35 will be raised upwardly a predetermined distance, preventing the bar 35 from coming in contact with the depressible fingers 2|. The depressible fingers 2| will, therefore, remain in their normal u ward position for engagement with the arcuate flange 22 and therefore cause rotative movement of the rolls 9. If, however, there is no roll in proper position with respect to the detector arm or member 4| there will be no pressure on the lever 31, and, therefore, the rod 36 will drop downwardly and engage the fingers 2| to cause them to be depressed a distance sufiicient to prevent them from engaging their respective co-operating driving flanges 22. The depressing of the fingers 2| will, therefore, permit the members l2 and I9 carried by the shaft ill to continue to rotate with the shaft II], but the rolls and consequently the resilient flexible wrapper feeding members 29 will remain motionless. Accordingly, no wrapper will i be fed when a roll is not in proper position;

The depressible fingers 2| are shown as being depressed by the bar 35, in Fig. 7. Thus, the driving member 12 and itsco-operating driven elements will continue to rotate, but the rolls 9 will remain stationary because there is no driving connection between the shaft l and the arcuate flange 22. and the parts will assume the relative position shown in Fig. 8, which illustrates the parts moving from the position shown in Fig. 7 toward another cycle of operation.

The driver member i2 has pivotally mounted thereto at 45 a stop finger 46. This stop finger is urged outwardly by a spring member 41' arranged between the finger 46 and the driver member i2, the outward movement of the finger being limited by a pin 48 carried by the driver member i2 and engaging the tail end of the finger member 46. The finger 46 is for the purpose of preventing over-running of the roll 9 during its rotative movement.

The spring I! between the driver member I2 and the complementary driven member |9 forms a resilient connection between these members whereby the driven member I9 is driven by the driver member l2 through the medium of the spring l1. When the wrapper feeding elements 29 engage the wrapper there is some frictional engagement set up between these parts tending to compress the spring l1 and build up some compression therein. As the wrapper feed members 29 leave the stack of wrappers during a wrapper feeding operation, the built-up spring pressure tends to accelerate the rotative movement of the roll tending to cause the roll to rotate at a faster speed than the rotative speed of the shaft III. This faster rotation of the roll 9 as compared with the rotation of the shaft ID will cause the lug or flange 22 to be shifted a considerable distance away from the driving finger 2|. When the arcuate lug or flange 22 strikes the forward edge of the stop finger 46, however, the accelerated speed of the roll is arrested and the roll 9 is prevented from rotating any faster than the shaft l0. Inasmuch as the driver finger 2| is not now in engagement with the lug 22, the roll 9 will tend to lag behind until the finger 2| again engages the arcuate flange 22.

Fig. 6 illustrates the action of the stop finger 46. In this figure, the dotted lines show the position of the wrapper feeding element 29 at the time that the accelerated movement of the roll 9 begins to take effect because of the builtup spring pressure caused by the frictional engagement of the element 29 with the wrappers. The full lines show the member 29 in the position where the arcuate flange 22 has moved into engagement with the finger 46 and the accelerated speed of the roll 9 has been arrested. Thereafter there is a back lag between the roll and the driving member, as above described,

until the depressible finger 2| again engages the arcuate flange 22 to effect the driving relationship between the shaft and the roller.

When the bar 35 causes the depressible finger 2| to become disengaged with the flange 22 to prevent driving of the roll 9, the roll 9 will be stationary but the parts carried by the shaft l0 will continue to rotate, as described above.

During this rotation, the parts assume the position shown in Fig. 8 with the spring-pressed finger 46 riding under the arcuate flange 22, after which time the parts again assume their normal driving position of Fig. 4 provided there is a roll in position. Should there be no roll in proper position during consecutive cycles of the shaft ID, the parts on the shaft ill will merely rotate freely,-as indicated in Fig. 8.

The sheets or wrappers 4, as they are fed out of the magazine=3 by the feed rolls 9, are advanced between the rollers 30 and 3|'. The rollers 30 and 3i rotate at a faster speed than the feeding speed of the wrapper caused by the rolls 9 and feed the wrapper at a relatively fast rate of speed to a wrapper receiving position, such as to a wrapping wheel of the type disclosed and claimed in applicants co-pendin'g application Serial No. 398,987, filed concurrently herewith. The feeding rolls 30 and 3|, while rotating at a faster speed than the shaft III, also have a variable speed which is synchronized with a variable speed movement of the feed rolls 9, as will be hereinafter described.

The feed roller 30 is rotatively mounted in bearings 30' on angle levers 49 which are pivotally mounted at 50 to a transverse shaft suitably supported in part of the frame structure. Spring means 5| are connected to an end of the angle levers 49 and to a part'of the magazine frame to urge the feed roller 39 downwardly into frictional contact with the lower feed roller 3| mounted in bearings 3| carried by the machine frame.

A plurality of spaced upstanding needles 52 extend upwardly from the bottom of the magazine near one end thereof, to the right in Figs. 1 and 3, and pierce one or more wrappers 4 arranged in the bottom of the magazine. These wrapping operations.

of the wrappers and to assist in maintaining them in proper position so as to be fed only when they are positively fed by the feeding surfaces 29 on the rollers 9. The needles 52 cause a slight tear to be made in the end of the wrapper and so scraper elements 53 are provided to rub and smooth out any roughness caused by the tearing action of the pins on the wrapper. The

scraper members 53 are mounted on levers 5d which are pivotally mounted at 55 to the part of the feed mechanism housing or frame I. The levers are relatively long so as to provide the proper bearing of the scrapers 53 against the bottom of the wrapper.

Rotary driven brushes 56 are arranged adjacent the rolls 9 to engage the rolls and keep them cleanly brushed. The brushes 56 are mounted on shafts 57 and are rotated by pulleys 58 which are attached to the shafts 51 and are driven by belts 59 extending around pulleys 60 mounted on'the driven shafts ill.

The various parts of the machine so far described are driven by a gear 6| mounted on a shaft 62, Figs. 2 and 9. The gear 6| meshes with a gear 63 fixed to the first shaft ill, to the left in Figs. 1 and 3, which drives the first wrapper feed roll 9. An idler gear 64 is driven by the gear 63 and drives a gear -65 mounted on the center shaft Ill. The gear 65 meshes with and drives an idler gear 66 which drives a gear 61 mounted on the shaft 0 of a roll 9 at the right hand side of the machine, Figs. 1 and 3. The gear 63 meshes with a gear 68 Fig. 2, mounted on a shaft 69. The gear 68 has fixed thereto a larger gear 10 which meshes with a gear H mounted on a transverse shaft 12 which carries the lower feed roller 3|. The gear H has meshing relationship with a gear 13 mounted on a transverse shaft 14 mounted in the opposed lever arms 49jand upon which the upper feed roller 30 is mounted. The rolls 9, the brushes 56, and the feed rollers 30 and 3! are,

therefore, caused to operate synchronously in proper timed relationship.

It is advantageous and desirable that the parts rotate at a variable speed; that is, while they are continuously rotating, they will rotate at a relatively slow rate of speed throughout a partial cycle and then accelerate the speed during the remaining cycle of operation. The parts are so timed that the resilient surfaces 29 of the rolls 9 contact a wrapper substantially at the slow part of the cycle, thereby minimizing the initial acceleration of a wrapper upon starting to leave the magazine. This relatively slow initial feeding tends to prevent slippage of the resilient surfaces 29 on the wrapper, which slippage might easily occur if the peripheral speed of the surface 29 is very high, and therefore helps to prevent missing a wrapper entirely or feeding a wrapper out of time with respect to subsequent This variable speed is provided by means of a drive gear 15, Figs. 2 and 9, which has a plate 16 fastened thereto. This plate I6 carries an eccentrically positioned roller 11, Fig. 9, which is mounted between spaced driving plates or guides 18 mounted on a rotary arm 19.

The driving plates 18 extend a predetermined distance beyond the center line 80 of a main driving shaft 8|. The driving connection between the shaft lil and the driving gear 15 is, therefore, eccentrically positioned so as to provide for the variable speed. The shaft 8| carries a gear 82 which meshes with and is driven Operation The feeding mechanism herein disclosed comprises a magazine into which a plurality of wrappers are arranged in stacked relationship. The wrappers are supported on the rollers 9 and the supporting rollers 8. The lowermost wrapper is fed out of the magazine to the feed rolls 353 and iii by means of the resilient surfaces 29 extending upwardly beyond the normal periphery of the rolls 9. The main bodies of the rolls 9 are relatively smooth and merely slide over the bottom surface of a wrapper. When, however, the resilient rubber-like surfaces 29 on the rolls 9 come in contact'with the wrapper, they feed a wrapper outwardly of the magazine in the proper position between the feed rollers 30 and 3! which then feed the wrapper at a faster rate of speed to proper position with respect to an article to be wrapped.

The feeding operation of the rolls 9 is controlled by a detector mechanism which causes or prevents rotation of the rolls 9 by the presence or absence of an article to be wrapped with respect to a detector arm. The needles 52 engage and pierce one or more of the lowermost wrappers and prevent a wrapper from being accidentally fed. A scraper arm 53 is adapted to press or smooth out any tear or obstruction caused by the pulling of a wrapper away from the piercing needles 52. The brushes 56 are arranged adjacent the rolls 9 so as to keep the rollers clean. The feeding rolls 9 and the feeding rollers 30 and 3| operate at a variable speed and as all the operating elements are connected by trains of gearing, the parts all operate synchronously. After a wrapper has been fed by the rolls 9, they are given accelerated feeding movement by the feed rollers 30 and 3! and forced through the spaced guides 32 and 33 to wrapping position. The feeding mechanism herein disclosed is relatively simple in construction, is positive and eflicient in operation and may be readily applied as a part of new machines or as an accessory to existing machines.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages; and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, rotatable means for feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, rotatable means for engaging said sheet as it is fed from said stack and feeding it forwardly, and means for increasing the speed of said last mentioned rotatable means during a portion of its feeding operation.

2. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, rotatable means for feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, rotatable means for engaging said sheet and feeding the same at a speed greater than that at which the sheet is fed from said stack, and means varying the speed of saidlast mentioned rotatable means during portions of its feeding operation.

3. Apparatus of the character described for T feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, rotatable means for feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, rotatable means for engaging said sheet and feeding the same at a speed greater than that at which the sheet is fed from said stack, and drive means for said feed means providing for rotating each of said rotatable means at predetermined speeds during an initial portion of the feeding operation and at increased speeds during a subsequent portion of the feeding operation.

4. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable feed roll, resilient friction means on said feed roll and extending around a portion only of the outer surface of the roll for engaging a sheet at one end of said stack and feeding said sheet forwardly, and means for driving said feed roll at variable speeds comprising a pair of eccentrically positioned shafts, a roller eccentrically carried by one of said shafts, a drive member having a radially extending groove attached to the other of said shafts, said roller being received within said groove and providing a variable speed driving connection between the shafts.

5. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable feed roll, resilient friction means on said feed roll and extending around a portion only of the outer surface of the roll for engaging a sheet at one end of said stack and feeding said sheet forwardly, the remaining portion of said feed roll providing a smooth substantially non-frictional outer surface, and means disconnectible from said feed roll for normally driving the roll at variable speeds.

6. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable feed roll, resilient friction means carried by said feed roll and projecting outwardly beyond the outer surface of the roll around a portion of its periphery, a driving member for normally rotating said feed roll, and releasable driving means between said driving member and said roll.

7. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position for application to articles or the like comprising means for feeding articles to said predetermined position, means for supporting a stack of said sheets, rotary means for feedingsaid sheets from said stack, drive means for said rotary feeding means, and means for disconnecting said drive means from said rotary feeding means to prevent feeding of said sheets when an article is not in position to receive a sheet.

8. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position for application to articles or the like comprising means for feeding said articles to saidpredetermined position, means for supporting a stack of said sheets, means coordinated with the feeding of said articles for feeding said sheets to said predetermined position, said sheet feeding means including a feed roll for engaging and removing sheets from said stack, drive means for ieeding thereof for disconnecting said drive means from said feed roll to prevent feeding of said sheets when an article is not in position to receive a sheet.

9. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position for application to articles or the like comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll for engaging and feeding a. sheet from said stack loosely mounted on said shaft, means on said shaft for normally driving said feed roll to effect rotation thereof, and means for rendering said drive means inoperative to eifect rotation of the feed rail when an article is not in position to receive a s eet.

10. Apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material to predetermined position for application to articles or th like comprising means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll for engag n and feeding a sheet from said stack loosely mounted on said shaft, means on said shaft for normally driving said feed roll to effect rotation thereof, and means for rendering said drive means inoperative to efiect rotation of the feed roll when an article is not in position to receive a sheet, said drive means becoming automatically operative to drive the feed roll when an article is subsequently in proper position to receive a sheet.

11. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, means for continuously rotating said shaft in a single direction, a feed roll for engaging and feeding a, sheet from one end of said stack loosely mounted on said shaft, means on said shaft and continuously rotating therewith for normally driving said feed roll to eifect rotation thereof, and means for disconnecting said drive means to permit said continuous uni-directional rotation of the shaft without effecting rotation of the feed roll.

12. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll loosely mounted on said shaft, a drive means mounted on said shaft, a driven member carried by said feed roll, means cooperating between said drive means and said driven member to normally provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, and means mounting said last named means for movement into and out of operative position to provide for disconnection of the drive means from the feed roll.

13. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable snaft, a feed roll loosely mounted on said shaft, a driving member carried by said shaft, a second driving member mounted on said shaft, a resilient driving connection between said driving members, a driven member carried by said feed roll, a spring-urged member carried by said second driving member and normally extending in a position to engage said driven member and provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, shiftable means carried by a portion of the feeding apparatus for engaging said spring-urged member to move the member into inoperative position with respect to said driven member, and stop means carried by one of said driving members and engageable with said driven member upon over-running of the feed roll with respect to the shaft to arrest the over-running movement of the roll.

14. In apparatus for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll loosely mounted on said shaft for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, a driving member carried by said shaft, a driven member carried by said feed roll, a spring-urged member carried by said driving member and normally extending into a position to engage said driven member and provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, and shiftable means for engaging said spring-urged member to move the member into inoperative position with respect to said driven member.

15. In apparatus for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll loosely mounted on said shaft for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, a driving member carried by said shaft. a driven member carried by said feed roll, a movably mounted member carried by said driving member, means normally supporting said movably mounted member in a position to engage said driven member and-provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, and shiftable means for engaging said movably mounted member to move the member into inoperative position with respect to said driven member.

16. In apparatus for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll loosely mounted on said shaft for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, a driving member carried by said shaft, a driven member carried by said feed roll, a movably mounted member carried by said driving member, means normally supporting said movably mounted member in a position to engage said driven member and provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, and shiftable means for engaging said movably mounted member to move themember into inoperative position with respect to said driven member, said shiftable means including an arm pivotally mounted upon a portion of the feeding apparatus and movable into engagement with said movably mounted member.

17. In apparatus for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a plurality of rotatable shafts positioned adjacent th stack, a feed roll loosely mounted on each of said shafts for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, a driving member carried byeach of said shafts, a driven member carried by each of said feed rolls, a movably mounted member carried by each of said driving members, means normally supporting aid movably mounted members in positions to engage said driven members and provide a driving connection between said shafts and said feed rolls, and shiftable means for moving said movably mounted members into inoperative position with respect to said driven members, said shiftable means including an elongated arm movable into engagement with each of said movably mounted members.

18. In apparatus for feeding sheets of material from a stack and moving the sheets to a pr termined position for application to articles or the like, means for supporting a stack of said sheets, a rotatable shaft positioned adjacent said stack, a feed roll loosely mounted on said haft for engaging and feeding a sheet from the end of said stack, a driving member carried by said shaft, a driven member carried by said feed roll,

a movably mounted member carried by said driving member, means for normally supporting said movably mounted member in a position to engage said driven member and provide a driving connection between said shaft and said feed roll, shiftable means for moving said movably mounted member into inoperative position withrespect to said driven member, means for feeding articles to said predetermined position, and means extending into a position to be engaged by articles during feed thereof for controlling operation of said shiftable means.

19. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a rotatable shaft, a feed roll mounted on said shaft for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, drive means mounted on said shaft for normally driving said feed roll to effect rotation thereof, means for continuously rotating said drive means in a single direction, and means for disconnecting said drive means from said feed roll to permit said continuous uni-directional rotation of the drive means without effecting rotation of the feed roll.

20. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a feed roll forengaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, means mounting said feed roll for rotation about its axis, drive means mounted for rotation about an axis substantially in alignment with said axis of the feed roll and providing for normally efiecting rotation of the feed roll, means for continuously rotating said drive means in a single direction, and means for disconnecting said drive means from said feed roll to permit said continuous uni-directional rotation of the drive means without effecting rotation of the feed roll. j

21. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a feed roll for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, means mounting said feed roll for rotation about its axis, a drive means mounted for rotation about an axis substantially in alignment with said axis of the feedrgll, means for continuously rotating said drive means in a single direction, means cooperating between said drive means and said feed roll normally to effect rotation of the feed roll, and means mounting said last named means for movement into and out of operative position to provide for disconnection of the drive means from the feed roll. a

22. In an apparatus of the character described for feeding sheets of material from a stack, a feed roll for engaging and feeding a sheet from an end of said stack, means mounting said feed roll for rotation about its axis, a drive means mounted for rotation about an axis substantiale ly in alignment with said axis of the feed roll, means for continuously rotating said drive means in a single direction, a movably mounted member cooperating between said drive means and said feed roll normally to effect rotation of the feed roll, means normally supporting said movably mounted member in a position to provide a driving connection between said drive means and feed roll, and shiftable means for moving said movably mounted member into an inoperative position providing for disconnecting said drive means from said feed roll.

CLARENCE J. MALHIOT.

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